“Has anyone had a particularly bad day?”
This is the opening line that NYC improv comedy group The Commune starts every show with in Mike Birbiglia’s heartfelt new dramady, Don’t Think Twice. They shows play to small audiences, can’t quit their unfulfilling day jobs, and haven’t become the comedy stars that they once dreamed they would be during their 20s, but they do it for the love of the art and together, they form a special unique bond.
Doing press rounds for the film, Birbiglia, who directed, wrote, and stars in the film, describes improv as “something that never happened before, and it will never happen again.” There’s an off-the-cuff naturalism to improv that requires a set of chemistry between a set of performs, and a natural instinct to find creativity, humor, and truth in a spur of a moment. That takes a special team, and for The Commune, that includes Mike (Mike Birbiglia), Bill (Chris Gethard), Allison (Kate Micucci), Lindsay (Tami Sagher) and couple Jack (Keegan-Michael Key) and Samantha (Gillian Jacobs).
Birbiglia and cinematographer Joe Anderson frame the group’s performances as The Commune with a sense of grace and spirituality that put us in the mind of these performers and made the performances feel unique to that moment, as it’s meant to be. We are guided through the ins and out of their pre and post show routines, riffing before the shows and slinging back some beers after the shows to ease the tension. You feel like you know the ins and outs of their routine and dynamic, and wish you were a part of it while watching.
The group begins to be torn apart when Weekend Live (a fictional version of Saturday Night Live) stops into one of The Commune’s performances and takes interest in both Jack and Samantha. This causes things to shift within the group as feelings of jealousy and self-doubt pushed to the surface as Jack begins to live out the dream that they all felt just mere “inches” away from. This particularly stings for Mike, who was a mentor to Jack, but hasn’t been able to ever land such a gig, and at 36 years old, future prospects are looking even more grim.
They all want to be happy for one another, but it’s hard for them to not to be envious and feel jealous when you’re also putting in the hard work, yet someone else you know is living out your dream. Life isn’t fair, it doesn’t always place the most deserving or hardest worker on the path towards success. Even with the newfound success, Jack finds that all the success isn’t all he thought it would be, not at the cost of his relationships. In that sense, life is a bit like improv and you got to just go with the flow and find a new angle or outlook to reach for and go for it, even if you don’t know what the outcome with be.
As a director, Birbiglia has improved significantly from his solid 2012 debut Sleepwalk with Me, crafting a sublimely mature film that is both charmingly funny but also not afraid to swing for the heart, touching on themes that always feel authentic and true. There’s a bit of a Woody Allen influence felt, along with Louis C.K.’s Louie as well. As a writer, he gives offers up fully realized and developed characters that we find equal affection for, and finding ourselves wanting to root for them. Credit to the great cast of both established actors and rising stars, who dove into these roles giving nuanced, believable performances.
In a drab summer full of empty blockbusters that offer thinly drawn characters that we couldn’t care less about, Birbiglia has crafted a delightful film that showcases six characters full of life, problems, and tons of humor (one particular scene of a fake band playing on SNL hit way too close to home for me). It’s a movie that touches a wide range of emotions, and does it with a delicacy and care that will make you laugh, cry, and reflect.
Now when can I try out for The Commune?
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