Don't Think Twice

Great insight into improv side of the comedy world and the struggles and emotions involved with trying to fulfill the dream of stardom. Both funny and touching,the film follows the ups and downs of each member of an improv troupe as they attempt to find their niche while dealing with day to day struggles with family, relationships and each other. It doesn't have light sabers or magical creatures, but if you can get past that (because you're an intelligent adult with a sense of humor) then I would recommend this film. The casting was perfect and I've added this film to a short list of movies that I can go back to at anytime and enjoy.

"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.

this sucked. didn't finish it, and don't have to. not enticing enough for a drama, not funny enough for a comedy. Got halfway through without laughing. Enjoy a lot of these actors' past performances but this is trash. my review needs to be longer to post so this line is irrelevant. do not watch this movie

One great quality of the film is that the acting feels natural, actual people having actual conversations. But the actors are pretty much playing themselves. It's cheating, but still entertaining.

Aside from one shallow trait (this one likes to draw, this one has rich parents, this one is Gillian Jacobs, etc.), the characters are the same person: Snarky, mopey, likes to mess with people, and appreciates the art of impov.

Rants about growing old and how following your dreams can be a nightmare are sprinkled throughout the movie, but not in a painful way.

I would value this movie more if I haven't seen so many indie comedies that talk about the same thing.

Unless you're not tired of indie movies yet and you still like seeing your favorite indie comedy actors do stuff, you'll probably just shrug your shoulders.

"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.