B | As their theater closes, an improv troupe contemplates what happens next. Directed by Mike Birbiglia Starring Mike Birbiglia, Keegan Michael Key, and Gillian Jacobs Initial Review by Phil Crone |
Over nearly a decade and thousands of hours of listening to The Adam Carolla Show, I’ve become more and more fascinated with the art of improv. Carolla is a gifted improviser, and he will occasionally harp on the important rules of improv and his days in improv in his 20’s while he waited on his big break. That, coupled with my love of Saturday Night Live in my formative years, drew me to the subject matter in “Don’t Think Twice.” Writer/director Mike Birbiglia brings those themes to life in a recognizable way here. I really enjoyed “Don’t Think Twice” for its memorable cast of characters and small moments that will stick with me, even if the overall narrative was a little lacking.
“Don’t Think Twice” focuses on a group of six improv actors who might as well be family. They live together, they work together, they visit sick relatives together. Many of the best moments of the movie occur at this time, between the warmup rituals, the impressions of Bill’s sick father, and arguing on the couch about the best “Weekend Live” cast. (A debate I love hearing about SNL, and Birbiglia states the truest words of the movie when he suggests that people think the cast they grew up with is the best. And he’s right.) Birbiglia spends the first third of the movie specifically hammering this home. Birbiglia draws on several archetypes to create The Commune – the veteran grinder, the artist-of-all-trades, the manic depressive, the star-in-waiting, the teacher and lover of “the craft,” and the rich kid who can follow her dreams until her parents cut her off. (We saw that last one in my favorite, “Frances Ha,” didn’t we?) The closest corollary I could think of would be a band touring together, hoping to one day be signed. Unlike a band though, not everyone HAS to have success.
Which is precisely what happens here. When Jack gets signed by “Weekend Live,” chaos ensues. Jack’s plight feels familiar to me by also being a fan of Jay Mohr, and it seems that Birbiglia adapted a lot of stories like his to show how difficult it can be to break through on the big stage. The rest of the group, now seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, turns to looking out for themselves and descends into jealousy and, ultimately, tosses aside the tenets that made them the cohesive and successful “family” that they were. This is the part that I didn’t realize occurred, and given Birbiglia’s commitment to familiar touchstones in the rest of the movie, I wouldn’t doubt that it does happen.
The movie ends with a reunion of sorts, with Jack having “made it” and everyone else looking like they were content with life. The ending felt a bit too cute and almost obligatory. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with it, and it was nice to see The Commune continue on in some form. This wasn’t the type of movie that needed a dark ending, but it did feel odd to end the way it did.
While I mentioned several aspects of the movie, the overall narrative just never clicked with me. I enjoyed all the characters and there are going to be a lot of moments I remember, but I found myself not terribly concerned with where the plot was actually going.
I really enjoyed a lot of scenes in “Don’t Think Twice,” and I’m going to remember them for a long time to come. The characters are well-realized and each gets a chance to shine in their own way. Being a fan of improv, it was great to see so many of those things present here. Even though the overall story just wasn’t there for me, “Don’t Think Twice” is a well-done movie that is necessary viewing for anyone who enjoys improv or SNL.
Grade: B
Which is precisely what happens here. When Jack gets signed by “Weekend Live,” chaos ensues. Jack’s plight feels familiar to me by also being a fan of Jay Mohr, and it seems that Birbiglia adapted a lot of stories like his to show how difficult it can be to break through on the big stage. The rest of the group, now seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, turns to looking out for themselves and descends into jealousy and, ultimately, tosses aside the tenets that made them the cohesive and successful “family” that they were. This is the part that I didn’t realize occurred, and given Birbiglia’s commitment to familiar touchstones in the rest of the movie, I wouldn’t doubt that it does happen.
The movie ends with a reunion of sorts, with Jack having “made it” and everyone else looking like they were content with life. The ending felt a bit too cute and almost obligatory. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with it, and it was nice to see The Commune continue on in some form. This wasn’t the type of movie that needed a dark ending, but it did feel odd to end the way it did.
While I mentioned several aspects of the movie, the overall narrative just never clicked with me. I enjoyed all the characters and there are going to be a lot of moments I remember, but I found myself not terribly concerned with where the plot was actually going.
I really enjoyed a lot of scenes in “Don’t Think Twice,” and I’m going to remember them for a long time to come. The characters are well-realized and each gets a chance to shine in their own way. Being a fan of improv, it was great to see so many of those things present here. Even though the overall story just wasn’t there for me, “Don’t Think Twice” is a well-done movie that is necessary viewing for anyone who enjoys improv or SNL.
Grade: B
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