The Jimmy Show is a 2001 drama written and directed by Frank Whaley, based on the Off-Broadway play Veins and Thumbtacks by Jonathan Marc Sherman.
[2] The film centers on the life of Jimmy O'Brien (Frank Whaley), a warehouse clerk by day and a standup comedian by night.
Jimmy's aspiration to succeed contrasts sharply with the numbness of his pothead friend Ray (Ethan Hawke), who is just trying to get by.
Eventually, Jimmy is fired from his day job for stealing beer, which he abuses, and his wife finally leaves him and takes their daughter.
At the end of the film, Jimmy runs seemingly aimlessly in different directions in what appears to be him either on the verge of a nervous breakdown or spiritual awakening.