Last night the 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival staged a world premiere with BRIGHT BEAUTIFUL WORLD: THE INFECTIOUS JOY OF PAT MCCURDY. I don’t think it’s too say that Pat McCurdy is a regional institution. At least if you describe a region as consisting of Chicago, Wisconsin (with a concentration on Milwaukee and Chicago) and Minneapolis. Early on the documentary notes that Pat has had over 10,000 and counting live shows. More that the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, the Beach Boys, and The Grateful Dead performed separately. Despite never having a hit record, although he has created a massive number of songs. Pat McCurdy also observes early that this isn’t going to be a story of massive fame, before succumbing to addiction, before overcoming and having a redemptive comeback. So, what kind of story was this going to be?
There’s the saying, if you love what you do, then you’ll never work a day in your life. I don’t know if that’s quite true, but it explains a lot. Pat McCurdy loves playing music and interacting with his crowds who love to sing along. But, Pat McCurdy has been performing as a solo act for close to 40 years now, so it is also a tribute to perseverance.
To an outsider, it’s hard to define Pat McCurdy’s songs. It’s not strictly speaking a comedy show. It is bawdy, but not obscene or pornographic, a clever rhyme or transition is clearly much more important than shock value in his lyrics. Heck, I’m surprised American Players Theatre or some theater company hasn’t recruited him to play a bard/clown/fool in a Shakespeare production. The music is not quite folk, but more power pop. And, Pat McCurdy brings up the best comparison to Randy Newman’s lyrics. And then there’s the audience participation part of his shows from singing along, calls and responses, and fun audience dances that have become part of the show itself. The audience connection is a big part of what makes Pat McCurdy an institution and that developed organically. And it was obvious in the theater last night with many in the audience singing along, including myself at points.
Movies like BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY and MICHAEL have been rightly criticized for sanding off all the rough edges and essentially just having the idealized portraits of their subjects play the hits. BRIGHT BEAUTIFUL WORLD: THE INFECTIOUS JOY OF PAT MCCURDY certainly plays the hits, the film is full of his songs, but you get the sense that there aren’t any rough edges that needed to be sanded off. Heck, looking at his schedule averaging around 300 shows a year, when was he going to find the time to develop rough edges? I think the rough edges that are briefly touched on are totally accidental. Like a pair of skinheads misreading the satirical content of some of his lyrics. Or of the song “Science.” Although Pat’s sons inappropriately doing the “Sex and Beer” dance in third grade on the playground, is probably his fault. But that’s the closest the film gets to a darker portrait, which is more sitcom level of amusing than actually dark. But revealing that there’s nothing to reveal of a life spent performing is the principal enjoyment of the movie.
Well, and just re-experiencing how fun a Pat McCurdy show is. It all came back very clearly to me. I have no idea on how this movie will play outside of this region, to people who aren’t familiar with Pat McCurdy. But if you are, the movie is a non-stop selection of songs only briefly interrupted by interludes of interviews and snippets of shows providing context to his story. If you can’t attend a show in person, it’s the next best thing. It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s lively, and it’s a communal experience. BRIGHT BEAUTIFUL WORLD: THE INFECTIOUS JOY OF PAT MCCURDY lives up to the promise of its title, it’s pure joy.
The 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival runs from April 16, 2026 until May 30, 2026. It’s too late to see BRIGHT BEAUTIFUL WORLD: THE INFECTIOUS JOY OF PAT MCCURDY at this point, although a fall festival run is promised with an eventual streaming release being targeted. However, the film festival isn’t over. Tickets to other upcoming films can be purchased at MKEFILM.ORG.
