Marty, Life Is Short Review: This Netflix Documentary Is Full of Warmth and Heart That Make a Lasting Impression

Marty, Life Is Short is your typical Netflix documentary, but it is set apart by the love and admiration industry key players and audiences have for its subject, Martin Short. Like last year’s Prime Video documentary John Candy: I Like Me, the film features all of Mr. Short’s amazing comedic characters, full of warmth and heart, that make a lasting impression.

Those characters, like Ed Grimley and Jiminy Glick, featured in Marty, Life is Short, are classics (and let’s note a travesty that Uncle Jack from Arrested Development was left off the montage) as well as his work in famed television shows like the SCTV, Second City Television, the legendary Canadian sketch comedy show that rivaled Saturday Night Live.

What is Netflix’s Marty, Life is Short about?

Where most young television viewers only know Martin Short from Oliver Putman’s Only Murders in the Building, Short is a comedic force who has shaped comedy for generations. Yet Short used his work in Canadian sketch to land a coveted spot on SNL. Then, revealed in the film, he hated the American experience so much that he demanded his release.

Another aspect the film does well, while covering his career, is its exploration of his personal life. Frankly, it is refreshing to see a man who quietly raised a family in Ontario and rarely made headlines outside of his work. Like many comics, Short was one of many children, fighting for attention with his gift of elastic gab and manic energy.

A good portion of the film reminds us what it means to be the last leaf on the tree. Short’s curse of longevity became an ominous period in his life, as he watched his parents and older brother, his hero, pass away. As told on The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, he lost those key figures just before his teenage years and again during his first year as an adult.

Netflix’s Marty, Life is Short Review

Marty, Life is Short, is from Lawrence Kasdan, the acclaimed director of such, I guess, no longer “modern” classics as Body Heat, The Accidental Tourist, and The Big Chill. Lawrence Kasdan brings warmth, intelligence, and old-school Hollywood charm to the documentary, elevating the subject while simultaneously grounding him.

You’ll hear Short refer to the interviewer as “Larry” throughout the film, which is Lawrence Kasdan, as the two have been friends for years. As a result, the documentary often views Short through rose-colored glasses. Of course, this allows the film to lean into the kind of fan-service narrative filmmaking that Netflix now specializes in.

However, the movie offers insight while also delivering the nostalgia fans want and deserve, all while making the audience laugh. For example, there is a story about playing Scrabble with Chevy Chase (Community) on the set of Three Amigos. It’s those moments that lead to the bigger-picture moments in his life that shape your view of him.

Is Netflix’s Marty, Life is Short worth watching?

The sheer volume of people interviewed for this documentary film is a testament to Mr. Short as a man. Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, and Steve Martin all take a seat to testify to Mr. Short’s talent as a performer, husband, and father. Watching Spielberg, while holding his wife, actress Kate Capshaw, about Marty without his wife Nancy, who died of cancer, puts a lump in your throat.

Martin becomes choked up as he performs a song he wrote for Nancy. Then, Mr. Short talks about how loss is something you negotiate. All of this makes Marty, Life is Short, worth watching despite being a fan service because it chronicles a figure who deserves his accolades with a warmth and heart that leave a lasting impression.

You can watch Marty, Life is Short exclusively on Netflix May 12th!

Marty, Life Is Short Review: This Netflix Documentary Is Full of Warmth and Heart That Make a Lasting Impression