Place à l'impro

"I think for anyone - male or female - in improv, the biggest thing to get over is the fear. I think every improviser has that." Rachel Dratch

Don't Think Twice makes you think more than once about not just the enormous demands of comedy, including fear of failure, but also about doing anything for a profession that may give you little to no compensation other than the joy of doing what you love and are good at.

More than anything else, this comedy makes a poignant comment on the irony of talented people making it while other talents struggle never to be recognized. Miles (writer-director Mile Birbiglia) feels it painfully as he sees Jack (Keegan-Michael Key) win a spot on Weekend Live (no doubt, Saturday Night Live) while Miles and his other colleagues labor in the lesser venue of NYC on the improv team, The Commune.

As the title of their improv group suggests, their work is communal, depending on an effort for which individual spotlights have no place. Ironically, Jack wins the Weekend Live job partially by standing out doing a solo routine even though his colleagues warned him against it.

Don't Think Twice does an effective job of showing the inherent contradictions of communal support and individual talent. In the matter of a romance between Jack and Sam (Gillian Jacobs), the tensions between their emerging rewards for their talent and sacrifice are subtly displayed in their loving routines and their personal love.

You would not be surprised to know how difficult it would be to determine which bits in the movie are improv and which are rehearsed, so good are the performers. Even that puzzle supports a theme about the intersection of reality and artifice, a benign clash between the creative improvisation and the spontaneity of life itself. Both bring their rewards and disappointments.

Here is a comedy with touches of real life--hey, I think that's what life itself is all about.

"Don't Think Twice" is a real, heartfelt dramedy about a improv comedy troupe named "The Communes". The film begins after this troupe has been going for maybe over a decade, and all of its members are in their 30s and still have day jobs to get by (except for Lindsay, who has rich parents). The film starts with their preparation for a show, and it shows their connection to each other.

Improv comedy is about the group, as one of the three rules in the beginning of the film states, but this film is about each character, and how they let go of the group and move on. Unlike many comedy films today, the comedy in the film is character based, and since the characters are the main focus of the film, the comedy is intertwined with every scene. It isn't a film that has "jokes" necessarily, but its a film about funny moments because of the interaction between the characters, which is very similar to improv.

As stated in the beginning of the film, there is no losing in improv. Even as they fall, they can make it good on the way down, and they do that in real life and in their improv towards the beginning of the film. The problems begin to arise when the rules they could follow so easily before begin to fall apart. They said it was all about the group, but they can't progress in their career and get on "Weekend Live" (an obvious jab at SNL) if they don't worry only about themselves. They can't say yes to everything if they have to look out for themselves first. They have to think first if they're doing written material.

The highlight of the film is its performances and writing, but it is a visually interesting film in some regards. Scenes are shot with care and attention to the state of the characters. For instance, there is one scene in which Samantha is doing her last improv show alone, and during her performance she realizes that, even though she loves them, she likes being away from her troupe, and especially Jack. The scene is shot closer to her face and with a mire shallow depth of view as it progresses and she becomes more satisfied with her independence.

So, obviously the group begins to fall apart after Jack goes to "Weekend Live", but they end up accepting their maturity and realizing the only way they could keep the group together is to let each person do what's best for themselves.

This is the kind of film Judd Apatow wants to make: it isn't shot boringly, the comedy is real, the characters are relatable, and the drama doesn't feel forced.

Don't Think Twice is a tremendously satisfying film about a very specific world, and anybody familiar with the gruelling hustle of comics, writers and improvisers vying for any measure of success in those fields will recognize many of the characters and small details that Mike Birbiglia has written into this film. Outsiders, though, don't have to worry that this is all "inside baseball" for comedy nerds because the emotions and relationships that propel this film are pretty universal. Driven by a talented ensemble and featuring as many poignant moments as genuine laugh lines, this humble film may stick with you a lot longer than you'd expect.

"Fall and then figure out what to do on the way down." Miles (Birbiglia) has been running a improv troupe for many years and is still waiting for his big break. Everyone in the group is excited when scouts from the show Weekend Live show up one night. Everyone is riding high after the show but when Jack (Key) is the only one chosen the lives of every start to change. Reality hits everyone and they all begin to wonder what their lives are really about. This is a good movie, but not really for everyone. There is some funny comedy in this, but the movie is really more or less a character study of a group of very different people all trying for the same goal. The movie is more dramatic than I expected and feels very real, which adds to the enjoyment of this. Overall, funny and just real. Not for everyone, feels like a stage play but I did like it. I give this a B.

Hi film makers. Here a free tip. Never make movies about people that are supposed to be funny, and then show what is supposed to be funny. No actor ever, ever ever ever, manages to make that not cringe worthy. They come close here, but maybe as close as anyone ever will be.

Here the thing: We see a lot of improv comedy, and it is supposed to be funny, and the audience is laughing because it's funny. (in other words, we are told that is funny or not) Here's the problem: we get to see what the audience is seeing and it's NOT funny. That really takes me out of it. And even if it WERE funny, we would know it was probably scripted, and scripted improv, well that's not very funny. (I realize the improv scenes a probably a blend of script and not, any-who, it not funny)

Let's say you made a movie about the worlds funniest joke. It would be a lot smarter to not show the actual joke and just let the mind wonder about it. As soon a you show the joke, well, it ruins it, because chances are it's not the funniest joke ever. See?

OK. With that said! Most of the improv seems quite natural though, and the acting is good. I didn't find the movie very funny, but I think where it shines is in the drama. Because this movie has some pretty good, heart felt points about human behavior. It's got some tense scenes, and quite a few times it hits quite close to home. (At one time I was like: wow, that character is me. NOT gonna say who)

I sort of wish they had solved the improv-thing in another way, by maybe not showing so much of it, or making it supposed to be cringey. I don't know.

It's a sad movie, not really a feel good one, and that's good.