If you’ve seen Marc Maron’s standup or listened to his podcast, you’re probably aware of the immense amount of grief that he went through after his late girlfriend, filmmaker Lynn Shelton, passed away suddenly from a rare blood disease.
It’s not easy to share grief, but Maron has dissected his own through humor for the past few years, which has been maybe some of his best work yet.
So it had to be hard for director Steven Feinartz (The Bitter Buddha) to come in and tell a story that Maron was already openly telling in more intimate spaces. That’s not to say documentaries cannot be personal, but it’s hard to beat the personal nature of a comedy show where you’re stuck in a room with a crowd of people, telling a story about the late love of your life. In Are We Good?, Feinartz does a good job piecing together both podcast and comedy show, while also painting a picture of Maron as a whole – digging through Polaroids of his past to connect the dots about how he got to where he is now.
Indeed, one of the best parts of Are We Good? is the time it spends observing Maron interacting with his father. Fraught parental relationships are tough to be open about, and to bring his father on camera to share good moments with him is a maturity that’s really tough to come by. Similar to the candid approach he’s taken with his grief, Maron has also been open about his father, dissecting his feelings about his dad’s late-in-life struggles. But what the documentary camera is able to catch is unique: It’s truly beautiful to watch Maron share a meal with his dad and to hear his dad admit that he thinks his son does a good job. There’s a light that glows on Maron’s face that cannot be replicated.
Oddly, one of the things that doesn’t really work in the film are the interviews with Maron’s pals. It’s cool that Feinartz was able to get John Mulaney to make a few jokes about his good friend and colleague, but it doesn’t add to the bigger picture in the same way Michaela Watkins does in her sound bites. These are talented people who are participating to support their friend, but if you cut out most of the interviews the documentary wouldn’t feel the loss of them.
Are We Good? is a gentle documentary – a hopeful film that shows us all that there is life after death, and humor can be found even in the darkest of times. For fans of Maron, it’ll feel special, a glimpse at the story behind the man who tells stories for a living.
Screens again Thursday, March 13.
Are We Good?
Documentary Spotlight, World Premiere
Catch up with all of The Austin Chronicle‘s SXSW 2025 coverage.
This article appears in March 7 • 2025.