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Link to original content: http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/96065/without-you-im-nothing
Without You, I'm Nothing (1990) - Turner Classic Movies

Without You, I'm Nothing


1h 34m 1990
Without You, I'm Nothing

Brief Synopsis

Film version of Sandra Bernhard's hit off-Broadway one-woman show.

Film Details

Also Known As
Without You I'm Nothing
MPAA Rating
Genre
Adaptation
Comedy
Release Date
1990
Distribution Company
MALOFILMS DISTRIBUTION/MANAGEMENT COMPANY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP (MCEG)
Location
Coconut Grove, Los Angeles, California, USA

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 34m

Synopsis

Film version of Sandra Bernhard's hit off-Broadway one-woman show.

Crew

Kevin Adams

Art Director

Morgan Ames

Song Performer

Morgan Ames

Music Producer

Morgan Ames

Music Supervisor

Steven Antin

Other

Karole Armitage

Choreographer

Nickolas Ashford

Song

Burt Bacharach

Song

Robert Balbridge

Production Assistant

Dan S Barnes

Other

Gerald Beg

Boom Operator

Sandra Bernhard

Music Producer

Sandra Bernhard

Screenplay

Sandra Bernhard

Other

John Boskovich

Screenplay

John Boskovich

Music Producer

Joe Branam

Other

Van Buren

Assistant

Hal Burns

Production Assistant

Robin Byrd

Assistant

Mike Cain

Electrician

Ndugu Chancler

Music

Hank Cicalo

Sound

Jeff Clayton

Music

Newt Cole

Production Assistant

Myles Connolly

Assistant Editor

Clark Conrad

Sound

Sherri Cooke

Electrician

Mark Coppen

Gaffer

Larry Corbett

Music

Patrick Cowley

Song

Darryl Cox

Music

Jake Crain

Camera Assistant

Jeffrey L Crawford

Assistant Director

Jim Czarnecki

Line Producer

Hal David

Song

Joel Derouin

Music

John Doe

Other

Kevin Dorsey

Music

Christopher R Dotterweich

Accounting Assistant

Bruce Dukov

Music

Stephen Earabino

Wardrobe Supervisor

Steven Epstein

Production Assistant

Richard Favazzo

Other

Robert M Fischer

Grip

Matt Freeman

Production Assistant

Ray Fuller

Music

K Gamble

Song

Gordon Germaine

Art Assistant

Romeo Gigli

Assistant

C Gilbert

Song

Geoff Gillette

Sound

Jim Gilstrap

Music

Jim T Graham

Special Effects

Joseph Guigliuzza

Caterer

Mentor Heubner

Visual Effects

Jeffrey Hill

Craft Service

Greg Hoffman

Key Grip

L Huff

Song

Gregory Irwin

Assistant Camera Operator

Fred Jackson

Music

Jeff Jackson

Special Effects Coordinator

Clydene Jackson Edwards

Music

Peggy Jacobson

Assistant Director

Donna Karan

Assistant

Suzie Katayama

Music

Mark Kern

Art Assistant

Mike Korkko

Grip

Jonathan D Krane

Producer

Christopher J Kristoff

Wardrobe Assistant

Christian Lacroix

Assistant

Raymond Lee

Costume Designer

B J Lehn

Boom Operator

Jerry Leiber

Song

Pauline Leonard

Wardrobe Assistant

Neal Lerner

Production Assistant

Michael Levine

Assistant

Kate Lewis

Script Supervisor

Joy Luczak

Assistant Camera Operator

Dwayne C Lyon

Production Assistant

M.c. Ren

Song

Brett Mabry

Production Assistant

Mason Malone

Production Assistant

Pamela Malouf

Editor

Barry Mann

Song

Jhoni Marchinko

Assistant

Lori Matsushimita

Hair Assistant

Lori Matsushimita

Makeup Assistant

Dean Mauro

Grip

Lincoln Mayorga

Other

Patrick Mcdermott

Electrician

Mikey Mcguire

Grip

Tom Meyers

Wardrobe Assistant

Claudio Miranda

Electrician

Isaac Mizrahi

Assistant

Cynthia Morrow

Music

Douglas Mowat

Set Decorator

Rick Nahmias

Transportation Coordinator

Ramsey Nickell

Electrician

Alfonso Noe

Makeup

Laura Nyro

Song

Jose S Ortiz

Security

Leah A Palco

Assistant

Greg Peterson

Dolly Grip

Timothy Philben

Sound

Tom Power

Production Assistant

Jack Rappaport

Other

Douglas Raskoff

Production Assistant

Diane Reeves

Music

Debora Reissman

Production Coordinator

Robert Richter

Other

Nicolas Roeg

Executive Producer

Bill Rose

Production Accountant

Erica Rosenast

Hair

Beth A Rubino

Property Master

Alexandra Rubinstein

Assistant Art Director

Dave Rudd

Camera Operator

Kevin Rupnik

Production Designer

Patrice Rushen

Music

Patrice Rushen

Other

Julie Satterfield

Production Assistant

Dan Sawyer

Music

Mitch Schneider

Assistant

Mark Sheret

Sound Mixer

Andrea Sherman

Production Assistant

William Shubert

Electrician

Nina Simone

Song

Valerie Simpson

Song

Adam Milo Smalley

Music Editor

Mike Stoller

Song

Dave Stone

Music

Sam Travolta

Location Manager

Carmen Twillie

Music

Joel Unangst

Electrician

Phil Upchurch

Music

Freddie Washington

Music

Oren Waters

Music

Chris Weber

Negative Cutting

Gary Weber

Negative Cutting

Cynthia Weil

Song

Burt Weinstein

Sound Editor

Ken Wild

Music

Hank Williams Sr.

Song

James Wirrick

Song

Joseph Yacoe

Director Of Photography

Joseph Yacoe

Other

Steven Zeller

Production Assistant

Michelle Zivahl-fox

Music

Film Details

Also Known As
Without You I'm Nothing
MPAA Rating
Genre
Adaptation
Comedy
Release Date
1990
Distribution Company
MALOFILMS DISTRIBUTION/MANAGEMENT COMPANY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP (MCEG)
Location
Coconut Grove, Los Angeles, California, USA

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 34m

Articles

Without You, I'm Nothing (1990)


Actress/comic Sandra Bernhard made a big splash in Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy (1982) as Masha, a rich young groupie of a late-night TV host (Jerry Lewis) who teams up with a would-be comic (Robert De Niro) to kidnap him. Bernhard improvised a lot of her pivotal scenes especially the funny but unsettling sequence in which stripped down to her pants and bra, she tries to seduce the kidnapped host who is wrapped in yards of tape. 

The New York Times’ Vincent Canby declared that the gangly, tall and curly-haired Bernhard “maybe one of the decade’s comedic finds.” She even won the prestigious National Society of Film Critics award for her performance. No sooner did The King of Comedy open in New York Bernhard made her first of many appearances on NBC’s The Late Show with David Letterman where her in-your-face comedy not only terrified but also seem to excite the host. She even showed up on the series with a padded stomach declaring she was carrying Letterman’s love child.

Bernhard was one of many young comics of the era changing the face of funny. Instead of relying on the rat-a-tat-tat of one-liners, Bernhard, Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Gilda Radner and even Steve Martin were turning comedy into something akin to performance art in their shows. She made the leap from stand-up clubs to one-woman shows in 1988 with Without You I’m Nothing, co-written and directed by her friend, the late conceptual artist John Boskovich. The comedy show with music ran seven months off-Broadway.

AP’s Michael Kuchwara, who referred to her as the “pouty priestess of pop culture” described the 90-minute show as not “only off-the-wall but occasionally beyond it. With her new theater performance piece, Bernard offers a string of unconventional, often very funny observations about show business and the people who are consumed by it.” The LGBTQ icon and activist, best known to younger audiences as AIDs/HIV Nurse Judy on FX’s Pose, won a Grammy in 1989 for Best Comedy Recording of the hit show. A year later, what was described as an “elevated” movie version co-written and directed by Boskovich was given a limited release by New Line. 

Shot on location at the legendary Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel, Without You I’m Nothing finds Bernhard performing at an African American night club in Los Angeles. Her manager (Lu Leonard) tells the audience Bernhard is performing at this small club because her ego has swelled with the success of the off-Broadway show and wants to regroup.Her friend Steve Antin, who would later direct the infamous 2010 Burlesque, informs us about her sexual relationship with a Black hairdresser played by Djimon Hounsou in his film debut. A stoned emcee keeps referring to her as Sarah. John Doe joins her for a musical number. Singers, go-go dancers and ballet dancers provide backup. The audience seems non-plussed by Bernhard, though, they look askance at her when she dresses in an African dashiki and turban to sing Nina Simone’s Four Women or transforms herself into a Diana Ross-style singer.

In between musical sequences, Bernhard offers stories, one-liners and takes no prisoners. “My father’s a proctologist. My mother’s an abstract artist. That’s how I view the world. [Barbra Streisand] went down the Stoney End. She never wanted to go down the Stoney End, but somebody forced her down the Stoney End. We miss you, Barbra. Come Back to the Five and Dime, Barbra Streisand, Barbra Streisand.” Bernhard ends the film doffing an American flag wrap to reveal that she’s nearly nude in pasties and the tiniest of G-strings as she breaks into a bump and grind to Prince’s “Little Red Corvette.” Throughout the film, a beautiful woman (Cynthia Bailey) keeps weaving in and out of the proceedings. Bernhard explained the woman was a metaphor for “being on the outside.” The woman is the only one left in the audience, but she writes on the tablecloth what she thinks of Bernhard.

“The wit, costumes and fancy trapping may seem like an encumbrance, but they ultimately serve Bernhard’s Brechtian plan to reach an audience through alienation,” said Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers. “The impulse behind Bernhard’s humor is clear; to make us laugh, think and squirm.” The late, influential critic Roger Ebert squirmed a bit too much admitting he felt watching the film was “an uneasy experience…Parts of it are funny, parts of it are moving, parts of it are uncomfortable and off-putting. It’s not a jolly night out at the movies.”

Though traditional comedy concert films like Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) and Eddie Murphy Raw (1987) were box-office hits, the eclectic Without You I’m Nothing was not a success earning around $1.2 million. The film found an audience on home video and has transformed into a cult favorite over the decades.

Without You, I'm Nothing (1990)

Without You, I'm Nothing (1990)

Actress/comic Sandra Bernhard made a big splash in Martin Scorsese’s The King of Comedy (1982) as Masha, a rich young groupie of a late-night TV host (Jerry Lewis) who teams up with a would-be comic (Robert De Niro) to kidnap him. Bernhard improvised a lot of her pivotal scenes especially the funny but unsettling sequence in which stripped down to her pants and bra, she tries to seduce the kidnapped host who is wrapped in yards of tape. The New York Times’ Vincent Canby declared that the gangly, tall and curly-haired Bernhard “maybe one of the decade’s comedic finds.” She even won the prestigious National Society of Film Critics award for her performance. No sooner did The King of Comedy open in New York Bernhard made her first of many appearances on NBC’s The Late Show with David Letterman where her in-your-face comedy not only terrified but also seem to excite the host. She even showed up on the series with a padded stomach declaring she was carrying Letterman’s love child.Bernhard was one of many young comics of the era changing the face of funny. Instead of relying on the rat-a-tat-tat of one-liners, Bernhard, Robin Williams, Lily Tomlin, Whoopi Goldberg, Gilda Radner and even Steve Martin were turning comedy into something akin to performance art in their shows. She made the leap from stand-up clubs to one-woman shows in 1988 with Without You I’m Nothing, co-written and directed by her friend, the late conceptual artist John Boskovich. The comedy show with music ran seven months off-Broadway.AP’s Michael Kuchwara, who referred to her as the “pouty priestess of pop culture” described the 90-minute show as not “only off-the-wall but occasionally beyond it. With her new theater performance piece, Bernard offers a string of unconventional, often very funny observations about show business and the people who are consumed by it.” The LGBTQ icon and activist, best known to younger audiences as AIDs/HIV Nurse Judy on FX’s Pose, won a Grammy in 1989 for Best Comedy Recording of the hit show. A year later, what was described as an “elevated” movie version co-written and directed by Boskovich was given a limited release by New Line. Shot on location at the legendary Cocoanut Grove nightclub at the Ambassador Hotel, Without You I’m Nothing finds Bernhard performing at an African American night club in Los Angeles. Her manager (Lu Leonard) tells the audience Bernhard is performing at this small club because her ego has swelled with the success of the off-Broadway show and wants to regroup.Her friend Steve Antin, who would later direct the infamous 2010 Burlesque, informs us about her sexual relationship with a Black hairdresser played by Djimon Hounsou in his film debut. A stoned emcee keeps referring to her as Sarah. John Doe joins her for a musical number. Singers, go-go dancers and ballet dancers provide backup. The audience seems non-plussed by Bernhard, though, they look askance at her when she dresses in an African dashiki and turban to sing Nina Simone’s Four Women or transforms herself into a Diana Ross-style singer.In between musical sequences, Bernhard offers stories, one-liners and takes no prisoners. “My father’s a proctologist. My mother’s an abstract artist. That’s how I view the world. [Barbra Streisand] went down the Stoney End. She never wanted to go down the Stoney End, but somebody forced her down the Stoney End. We miss you, Barbra. Come Back to the Five and Dime, Barbra Streisand, Barbra Streisand.” Bernhard ends the film doffing an American flag wrap to reveal that she’s nearly nude in pasties and the tiniest of G-strings as she breaks into a bump and grind to Prince’s “Little Red Corvette.” Throughout the film, a beautiful woman (Cynthia Bailey) keeps weaving in and out of the proceedings. Bernhard explained the woman was a metaphor for “being on the outside.” The woman is the only one left in the audience, but she writes on the tablecloth what she thinks of Bernhard.“The wit, costumes and fancy trapping may seem like an encumbrance, but they ultimately serve Bernhard’s Brechtian plan to reach an audience through alienation,” said Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers. “The impulse behind Bernhard’s humor is clear; to make us laugh, think and squirm.” The late, influential critic Roger Ebert squirmed a bit too much admitting he felt watching the film was “an uneasy experience…Parts of it are funny, parts of it are moving, parts of it are uncomfortable and off-putting. It’s not a jolly night out at the movies.”Though traditional comedy concert films like Richard Pryor Live on the Sunset Strip (1982) and Eddie Murphy Raw (1987) were box-office hits, the eclectic Without You I’m Nothing was not a success earning around $1.2 million. The film found an audience on home video and has transformed into a cult favorite over the decades.

Quotes

Trivia

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States Spring May 4, 1990

Released in United States June 13, 1990

Released in United States June 29, 1990

Released in United States on Video December 19, 1990

Released in United States July 2009

Shown at Outfest: Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (Special Events) July 9-19, 2009.

Began shooting August 2, 1989.

Released in United States June 13, 1990 (Los Angeles)

Released in United States June 29, 1990 (Chicago and Washington D.C.)

Released in United States on Video December 19, 1990

Released in United States July 2009 (Shown at Outfest: Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (Special Events) July 9-19, 2009. )

Released in United States Spring May 4, 1990