The Comedy Reviews

After watching The Comedy, I'm sort of perplexed at the idea that I liked the movie. To be honest, I couldn't give you a real reason why either. As a character study, it works to a degree, but it is sort of aimless. As far as plot, none. The whole production is done in the quietest and most depressing manner possible. I'd even go as far as to classify it as a dull movie. Yet, I still liked it. 

A 35 year old hipster, who is on the verge of inheriting his dying father's estate spends his days on his boat or galavanting through downtown acting like he works at places he doesn't. His nights are mostly spent with his equally depressing and boring hipster friends who share in weird conversations with each other and drink. That's the basis of the story to the film, and most of the time a lot less than that is going on. 

The Comedy is offbeat and weird to be sure, but that is a big reason why I like it, I think. I love movies that desire to be something completely different and don't care how it's going to play to a large audience. This is completely different and it will never appeal to a large crowd, but there is an audience for it. 

By the way, The Comedy isn't really a comedy. You'd be hard pressed to throw this into any genre other than the broad Independent film genre. As far as a recommendation goes for this film; I would never give anyone the idea that they would certainly enjoy it. Odds are most won't be able to sit through it and those that do will wonder why they did. For those out there like me though that have a taste for these type of movies, it's worth a look.

While I may regret saying this at some future point in my life, I saw a lot of myself in Swanson, the protagonist of this film who, day by day, is trudging through a malaise. Not so much the naked debauchery, but definitely the desire to withdraw oneself from feeling.

Many people see this film as a critique of hipster culture. Exposing the popular fallacy of believing that it is better to be above it all. To make a life of understanding the way the game is played, but just choosing not to play. There is definitely some of that peppered in this film, but what I really latched on to was the character study; one of a man who is obviously capable of empathy and understanding, but seldom exercises either mental process.

At first it appears he feels nothing. Sitting beside the bed, concerned little with the cancer that is languidly eating away bit by bit at the man who he calls father, he probes the doctor about prolapsed anuses. Watching his sister-in-law frantically pace before his eyes, he assumes the role of a southern plantation owner, cracking wise about the good crop of slaves he now has in his possession. Yet, aided by a surprisingly subtle but strong performance by absurdist comedian Tim Heidecker, one can see that he isn't incapable of feeling. He simply prefers disaffection. After all, the world can some easily overwhelm you with emotion, so I understand the desire to want to control the sentiment of the room by creating one yourself.

There are a lot of parallels to the television show Louie. It has the capacity to make you laugh at the absurdity of it all one second, while leaving you speechless with grief the next. It is a recipe that doesn't sit well with many. But for those who were looking for this particular dish, even if as a whole it isn't perfect, the ingredients are a pleasure to take in.

Didn't know I would like this movie as much as I did. It shows something you don't usually see in movies. The main character pushes as many boundaries as he can. Despite the title, it's not a comedy. Though, I did laugh a couple times. It's a dark movie with a true meaning. Overall- It's a love it or hate it movie, and I loved it.

Suffice to say, "The Comedy" is not a comedy (even though it does contain laughs) nor is it necessarily about comedians. Spearheaded by a shockingly inspired performance from Tim Heidecker, what Rick Alverson's quietly brilliant film is, is in fact about pointlessness, indifference and mocking sincerity. Sounds riveting right? Well, it is...in a very experimental way. "The Comedy" is deep and poignant and fascinatingly layered with subtle jabs at society, as well as those who have so much in life, that they have become bored with everyday existence.

Opening with a sequence involving male nudity that is so awkward it may cause some viewers to say to themselves "what did I get myself into?", "The Comedy" follows a man named Swanson (Heidecker) who is seemingly unfazed by his father's impending death. Instead of a real job, he spends his days hanging out with his buddies, engrossed in inane verbal and physical (and sometimes sociopathic) games of one-upmanship. From impersonating store clerks and gardeners, to making the most inappropriate jokes during the most depressing and even life threatening moments, to degrading others in public in order to fulfill some kind of personal enjoyment, as this film progresses the activities of each of these men (including Swanson) become progressively offensive in order to maintain a sort of continuous high. And while this could be the plot to any crude Danny McBride piece of trash, it is Alverson's ultra serious tone, along with the fact that he throws these would be offensive but clownish comedic characters into a real world where people die, have disorders and are struggling to feed their families, which allows "The Comedy" to rise above the "crudeness for the sake of being crude" films of today.

As much as I enjoyed "The Comedy", this is one movie that will assuredly come under heavy scrutiny from a majority (that's right, I said majority) of movie going audiences, because, for one, while there is a subtle story arc here, this film is not pushed along by heavy conflict. And secondly, many unfamiliar with Heidecker's form of comedy will undoubtedly be turned off by the amount of absurdist drama which is played out by a group, whom on the surface seem too spoiled and flippant to care about. In short, even those who loved the terribly long "Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie" or are fans of their show and have been eagerly awaiting more of the same skit driven comedy, may find "The Comedy" a bit too tonally heavy or obscure to take (and that is truly saying something).

Side Note: Some have said that the Tim Hiedecker's style of comedy is a form of avant-garde comedy or apart of the anti-comedy movement. Meaning, that much of his shtick consists of making his audiences (television or otherwise) highly uncomfortable, to the point where they either laugh at his awkwardness or dismiss his actions as strange. And while Hiedecker's awkward style of comedy is featured prominently here, his performance is anything but comedic. In fact, he gives a quite emotionally dramatic performance in a movie that, if it were a straight forward comedy, would have seen Zach Galifianakis in the starring role. Thankfully, this is not the case because Hiedecker's performance is absolutely magnificent (and dare I say award worthy?) in this role that was obviously tailored specifically for him.

Final Thought: I will reiterate, and I can't say this enough, how "The Comedy" is not for everybody; especially if you are expecting a comedy. To some audiences this is all going to seem as an exercise in pathetic nature and nonsensical mannerisms, but rest assured that there is something happening here on a very highly conceptual level that is not only meant to make viewers uncomfortable, and cringe and laugh at the most inappropriate things, as well as think these characters are pathetic while at the same time feel sorry for them, but is also a subtly laced work of a very skilled writer, whose entire point seems to be an analysis/criticism of the reaction of "normal people" to those who wish to push the limits of comedy. Not since Lars von Trier's "The Idiots" have I witnessed a movie that was this skillfully successful in demonstrating the complex struggles of a generation built on a doctrine of nihilistic irreverence. In short, if you chose to see "The Comedy", you will either absolutely love it or absolutely hate it.

Written by Markus Robinson, Edited by Nicole I. Ashland

Follow me on Twitter @moviesmarkus

An accurate depiction of a very specific type of person, but its not exactly a probing character study. Which would be fine, if it didn't set itself up to be one. As it is, its a pretty poorly-paced observational piece.

It could have been a striking portrait of deranged, over-privileged Williamsburg inhabitants, but instead opts for a not even quarter-baked character study of the most dull hipster of the bunch.

Waiting for his father to die so he can receive his fortune, a privileged Brooklyn man drifts through life, getting his kicks from playing immature pranks on strangers.

Living on a houseboat, Heidecker is the privileged son of a wealthy father, now on his death bed. Due to this, he has neither the need nor the incentive to work for a living. To fill time, he spends his days and nights hanging out with his immature friends, often making others feel uncomfortable in social situations by behaving like imbeciles. Fueled by a disdain for the lower classes, Heidecker pushes people to their limits of tolerance, all for his puerile entertainment. Though he doesn't need the money, he takes a job as a dish-washer, seemingly for the purpose of mocking his fellow workers.
Undoubtedly the worst thing to happen to American popular culture over the last decade is the "man-child" phenomenon. It began with the reprehensible TV show 'Jackass' and quickly bled into cinema with the likes of Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler making a more than comfortable living off audiences inexplicable interest in obnoxious behavior. Why anyone would enjoy watching middle-aged privileged white guys behaving like morons is beyond me but a large section of the public eats this stuff up. 'The Comedy' details just how abhorrent this mentality really is by focusing on a character who seems to have stepped out of a Sandler movie and onto the streets of New York. You won't have seen many characters as despicable as Heidecker but, equally, you won't be able to take your eyes off him, a walking car crash of a man.
We've all had the misfortune of encountering characters like this: the loudest guy at the party; the guy who sits beside you on the bus, insisting on talking to you just to mess with your day; that asshole holding up the line at the grocery store by arguing over some trivial matter with the cashier. They're usually middle-class white males whose only way to feel important is to use their untouchable privileged positions to ruin someone else's day. Here, Heidecker pulls horrid stunts like offering a taxi driver a sum of money too large to resist, all so he can drive the cab while drunk. Within a few seconds, the driver realizes he's made a huge mistake by allowing himself to be taken advantage of. It's a scene you could imagine might have audiences laughing their asses off if it appeared in a sequel to 'The Hangover', but here it plays as an uncomfortable scene of guerilla class warfare.
'The Comedy' plays like a riff on 'Falling Down' but, rather than baseball bats and bazookas, self-entitlement and solipsism are the weapons of choice for its loathsome protagonist.

Its a little too repetitive, but it gets points for demonstrating a kind of "Sociopathic Irony" that the main character suffers from disturbingly well.

First of all, I know this isn't exactly a comedy. The title is meant to be somewhat ironic. I guess it's a portrait of overpriveleged hipster douchebags who think they are funny when really their lives are shallow and disgusting. And that's the joke. It's presented as some kind of art movie aimed at hipster audiences. But it's extremely empty and retarded. So in a way it's kind of ingenious. Maybe it would have been better as a short film than a full length movie. Sometimes it actually is funny but mostly it's horribly uncomfortable and difficult to sit through, which I take it was precisely the intention. Tim Heidecker is definitely a funny guy but he needs structure. Again, I know that the point was to be shitty, but there is no plot at all, only a series of scenes strung together and tones all over the place. Which, while it makes a point, is still not enjoyable to watch. Most of the time i couldn't tell if a scene was supposed to be funny until something either made me laugh or made me bored enough to check Facebook on my phone which could mean several minutes at a time of uncertainty about how one part of the movie links to the others and how i should be reacting. That being the case, although there are entertaining moments, the movie as a whole is just not enjoyable to watch on any level. No matter how smart it is if it's not entertaining, how am I supposed to give it a good rating?

Not what you'd expect from Tim Heidecker, but if you enjoy the guy then you will find the appreciation in this film.

Love Tim and Eric so was shocked watching this. The Schlock was't there , the same underlying comedy bits were there yet presented in a far less comfortable manner. Enjoyed watching the transition to "serious" comedy (without Humor per say) Maybe Ironic is the definition but well done is the prognosis.

This movie is pretty funny once you realize that he is mocking the hell out of Indie films. He exaggerates Indie film features like ridiculously long shots or meaningless scenes which have do not advance the plot but which the audience finds meaning in.

A most unique character study, one with some truly brilliant moments (such as the church scene and the taxi scene) but most of it falls flat. The decision to improvise the dialogue is brilliant as it lends the film realism, but that doesn't make it great. I really want to like this more but as it stands, my feelings are mixed.

If a director sets out to provoke and torment his audience, and achieves this proposed goal with overwhelming triumph, do you praise him for his successful effort, or scathe his feature with unbridled hatred for being obligated to endure it? Despite an extremely small theatrical release mostly limited to VOD, Rick Alverson's The Comedy has already gained a notorious reputation for being one of the most polarizing films of the year. It's a heavily improvised, glacially paced piece of experimental cinema; with a plot mostly consisting of a wealthy and sociopathic hipster messing with innocent civilians for no discernible reason. Occasionally disturbing, sometimes unbearable, frequently painful, and almost always uncomfortable, Alverson has directed the equivalent of torture porn for the overly empathetic. This is the very definition of a one-time-only film: It's very well constructed and acted, but I couldn't be bribed to watch it again.

One of the first scenes involves our antihero, fearlessly played by Tim Heidecker of Tim and Eric Awesome Show fame, sitting by the bedside of his comatose father, while a male caretaker checks the unconscious man's condition. It's the early morning, and while Heidecker is clearly hungover from the previous night's spree of booze fueled merriment, he's already moved onto his first glass of bourbon of the day. He slowly begins a conversation with the caretaker; making small talk over what jobs are entailed in the caretaker's line of work. Then, out of nowhere, Heidecker dramatically shifts the tone of their discussion by asking whether the caretaker has ever dealt with a prolapsed anus. The flow of their encounter no longer resembles ordinary conversation, but rather an improv sketch where only one of the performers understands they're in a bit. The caretaker is too shocked and disgusted to respond to the question, and Heidecker uses the silence as an opportunity to push the discomfort level forward. He then goes on to describe prolapsed anuses in graphic detail, and cracks a double entendre about what it'd be like to fix a prolapsed anus with a female doctor. Remaining silent as Heidecker monologues about this damaged part of the anatomy, the caretaker is in an implied state of infuriated shock as he finishes the procedure, and then storms out upon his completion.

Almost every other scene in the film plays similar to the one summarized above: Heidecker puts himself into a situation where he's positive those around him will not leave, and attempts to push the target to their absolute breaking point. This format is repeated multiple times almost exactly; with the encounters gradually increasing in extreme awkwardness and possible consequences. Making these scenes even more emotionally intense is Alverson's direction. Though I wasn't on set, it's difficult to imagine Alverson saying "cut" more than a couple times throughout the film's production. He lets the camera linger, almost like a fly on-the-wall, witnessing every conversation in its entirety. This is not a man who will sugar coat anything, or give his antihero an unjustified shot at redemption. Alverson understands that Heidecker is playing a sociopathic and self-loathing manchild, and revels in the inherent misery of that idea. The repetition of the same scene becomes dull at times, but this is necessary to drive the main point of Heidecker's character home: This is an almost soulless manchild, who's seemingly sole purpose in life is to make those around him as miserable as he is. And while he occasionally attempts to leave his self-deprecating existence, he finds ordinary life too difficult to inhabit.

It's impossible to underrate Tim Heidecker's performance; an uncompromising, masterful example of how constant improvisation can be used effectively in a dramatic film. It'd be simple to write him off as a far more realistic and depression variation of a Sasha Baron Cohen creation, based off the way he interacts with people, but the performance is far too layered for such a generalization. Take, for example, in which he attempts to seduce an epileptic woman who he may have developed feelings for. For a few brief moments, Heidecker shows a brief bit of humanity while innocently flirting with her in a comedic striptease (as opposed to a scene where he attempts to pick up a girl by defending Hitler). Then, as he begins to make a move on her, she jumps into a fierce epileptic fit. Rather than help his one possible chance at redemption, he does nothing. Displaying no emotion whatsoever, he sips on a glass of bourbon while waiting for the seizure to end. He's not concerned or distressed at all; simply bored. There's a solid minute and a half of Heidecker just sitting, drinking his bourbon, and passively waiting. It's the most disturbing moment of the film by a significant margin, mostly stemming from Heidecker's ability to sell this character in a way that we can actively despise him, but still find him to be compelling.

Another aspect of the film which works incredibly well is its soundtrack. While this could be more opinionated based of my own personal taste, music supervisor Chris Swanson has arranged one of the best mixtapes for lo-fi rock I've ever seen. It also helped that the music is used creatively in a way that helps the occasionally disjointed flow of the film; especially a Central Park softball game set to a section of "The Disintegration Loops" by composer William Basinski. Though the hour long, musical epic will likely never leave the specter of 9/11 that it will forever be related to, this imaginative use of the track may be as close as it will ever get. Soon after watching the film, I picked up the soundtrack on iTunes. Even for those who may have little to no interest in the feature itself, its soundtrack definitely deserves a listen, or maybe two.

Rick Alverson's the comedy is undoubtably one of the most polarizing features to be released this year, even with its very limited release. Because of a fascinating lead performance by Tim Heidecker, along with multiple scenes of well executed discomfort, I thought it was very well done, but it would be incredibly easy to determine why someone would hate this movie. It's hostile, experimental, glacially paced, and repetitious, with an almost soulless sociopath for a protagonist. Unless you're absolutely positive you can sit through 95 minutes of an emotional endurance test, it'd be a terrible idea to watch this movie. To answer my thesis question at the beginning of the review, if a director sets out to provoke and torment his audience, and achieves this goal with overwhelming triumph, you appreciate his film deeply for what it is, but you refuse to recommend it to anyone who may not be prepared to take on the challenge.

Grade: B+

I enjoyed this, i thought this was a very good character study with a fantastic performance from Tim Heidecker

If Sofia Coppola had directed Billy Madison, we would get a movie a lot like The Comedy. This is an aimless film with no story to speak of. This is simply a brief glimpse into the random life of an over privileged and vulgar man who says whatever pops into his warped brain and awaits the consequences that never come. As I was watching this ironically titled film, I couldn't tell if I was watching one of the best movies of the year, or one of the worst. But after a few days of consideration, I realized that many scenes from The Comedy were haunting me and Tim Heidecker pulls off a dramatically intense performance here as this despicable man, and it's nothing short of amazing.

Great concept, great acting, but could have benefitted from a couple of pages of scripted dialogue in order to make it a great movie. That said I love that somebody so directly is addressing the obnoxious behaviors of the un-empathetic and privileged.

It's only something Tim and Eric die hards would understand or at least care about.

The Comedy is an essay on the pointlessness and sometimes absurdity of life. The Comedy is not a comedy, if you missed that you probably missed the point of the movie as well. You are either laughing at the joke or you are the joke.

It made me never want to be sarcastic again.