The Opening Act chronicles the early struggles of a stand-up comedian with insight and humanity, writer/director Steve Byrne hilariously and intimately chronicling the many detours endured on the path towards a dream.

There is an opening credits sequence in The Opening Act that is both beautiful and heartbreaking. It portrays a young Asian American child who develops a strong connection with his father watching endless hours of stand-up comedy. Void of dialogue and heavy on the feels, it lays the emotional and psychological stakes for the main story to follow. Yes, The Opening Act is a comedy, but there is a heart at its centre that beats loudly. It’s a story about living a dream and pursuing a passion, and as any dreamer will know, there are many nightmares to endure before that dream becomes a reality.

The dreamer in this case is Will O’Brien (Jimmy O’Yang). When he isn’t filing insurance claims for a living, Jimmy spends every waking hour working on his stand-up material, which he attempts to perfect during hard fought sporadic moments in comedy clubs. When Will is chosen to open a series of dates for his comedy idol Billy G (Cedric the Entertainer), he eagerly takes on the opportunity, but just might be over his head.

It’s not a surprise to find that much of The Opening Act is based on director and stand-up comedian Steve Byrne’s own life. There is a grounding to its story that is endearing, and brings forth the humanity and boots-on-ground reality of a comics life. The stakes here are palpable. Everyone has had a dream they wanted to pursue, or perhaps crashed and burned while attempting to do so.

Byrne has found the perfect alter-ego in Jimmy O’ Yang to tell this story. A gifted comedian in his own right, O’ Yang’s unassuming nature makes him the perfect innocent “every man” in an industry that will chew you up and spit you out, and laugh at your corpse afterwards. A main forte in a comics life is that of humiliation: it can strike at any given stage at any given moment. Will is constantly bombarded with this reality, undergoing what one character describes as an “avalanche on no’s” while finding his voice on stage.

A line-up of stand-up comedy royalty from Bill Burr, to Whitney Cummings, to Ken Joeng, all appear in a film that’s a testament to the strong ties within the stand-up community. Unlike the smattering of assholes that made up Judd Apatow’s Funny People, there is a feeling of camaraderie in The Opening Act, even if on that stage it is you against the world. The Opening Act encompasses all these feelings to make for a funny, and surprisingly moving film.