At one point in my life, I was a stand up comic (Ed Note: he performed at open mics). For four years I lived and breathed the art form. I’ve spent every second I could trying to get on stage; seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. I’ve seen everything the NYC’s comedy scene can throw at you; from terrible bar shows all the way to crowds of hundreds cheering your name. Don’t Think Twice managed to capture every little facet and intricacy of the New York City Comedy scene.
Mike Birbiglia, who also made Sleepwalk With Me and one of the best standups of our time, wrote, directed and starred in this amazing epic about an improv troupe struggling to deal with the success of one it’s long-time members in New York City. It is, without a doubt, the best depiction of the comedy world ever fictionalized in a movie. It’s what Funny People could have been if Adam Sandler didn’t ruin the whole thing.
Birbiglia shows the real side of being a performer in NYC. Most improvisers and comedians struggle to get by, living in shitty apartments and performing for next to no money. Day in and day out, comics go to their shitty jobs just so they have a chance of living their dreams. For some it’s being on “Weekend Live,” the I can’t believe it’s not Saturday Night Live , and for others it’s just performing and making people laugh. Every character ends up sometime place entirely different than where they started. The growth is organic and doesn't feel forced – kind of like a good improv set.
The actors in Don’t Think Twice are phenomenal. I could gush over every member of “The Commune,” the name of their improv troupe, but I’d like to talk about one in particular. Chris Gethard, star of the surreal Chris Gethard Show, a public access television show shot at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Manhattan , has been a staple of the New York City Improv and lived in this world longer than anyone else. Gethard really puts it in his performance, channeling every success, failure and everything inbetween into a story about loss and acceptance. No spoilers, but if you aren’t crying by the end you are a monster.
Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs and the rest of the crew all have amazing improv chemistry that really comes together when they are on stage. How much of what their doing is improv or scripted I’m entirely sure of, but I think that’s just another compliment to how well they improvise.
Improv never really held my attention, I took three classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater and just never touched the art form again. After watching Don’t Think Twice , I might have to go take a fourth class.
Don’t Think Twice is playing at select theaters around the country and you can follow the move on Twitter .
