AUGUST 24, 2016
Don’t think.
That’s one of the tenets of improv comedy as the film instructs us in a pre-credit sequence. But don’t think that “Don’t Think Twice” is without an idea in its head, because Mike Birbiglia’s indie comedy is one of the most thoughtful films of the year.
Birbiglia wrote, produced, directed and stars in this comedy that was clearly produced as a labor of love that comes through in every frame. Birbiglia plays Miles, the leader of a struggling improv group called The Commune that has a loyal following but has yet to break through to a wider audience. Nearing 40, Miles still lures college girls up to his loft room with stories of how he just missed being cast on “Weekend Live,” the hot comedy TV show that airs on Saturday night and is live. (“Weekend Live’s” opening credit sequence is dead-on “SNL.”)
Miles has surrounded himself with five other comics who have formed a tight-knit group over the years. There’s Bill (Chris Gethard), a downer kind of guy who’s suffering through the illness of his father; Allison (Kate Micucci), a quiet sort who dreams of being a cartoonist; Lindsay (Tami Sagher), a pothead whose family wealth sparks some friction within the group; and a couple — Jack (Keegan-Michael Key of “Key & Peele”) who has a tendency to showboat and Samantha (Gillian Jacobs of “Community”) who has the talent to become a star but not the drive.
Once they finish their backstage rituals and hit the stage, these six are on fire, and Birbiglia takes the time to show how well they click together. This only makes it more difficult when a scout from “Weekend Live” shows up at a Commune performance and eventually hires one of the six to be a writer and on-air performer. The other five are thrilled with the success of their colleague, but there’s still that lingering feeling of “Why this person and not me?”
Slowly, long-simmering tensions within the group begin to come out, and even their audiences are changing — many now come not for the improv element but in a hope that the “Weekend Live” star will show up. And the theater that the troupe has been performing in for years has now been sold, and The Commune will soon have to vacate. Things are not looking good for the group, but there is hope.
If all of this sounds like inside show-biz stuff, “Don’t Think Twice” doesn’t play that way. Hasn’t everyone been in a situation where someone is promoted who might not have deserved it? Or what you thought was a close group on the job begins to crumble when one of your colleagues leaves? Those are the universal truths that Birbiglia plays on here.
The other big challenge he has is to make a comedic film with dramatic elements that works as both comedy and drama. So many films have tried this and failed, but “Don’t Think Twice” succeeds on both counts. The on-stage performing and backstage banter are hilarious, but off-stage, Birbiglia’s writing and directing are sensitive, bringing out the dramatic ambivalence that each character has about their chosen profession.
“Don’t Think Twice” is a small film, slowly making its way across the country. But if it comes near you, definitely go out of your way to see it.
GRADE: B+
