Given the subject matter, I should be writing this completely off the cuff. However, since the players didn’t, I won’t either. Kinda hard to film improv that isn’t improvised, isn’t it? Or is it? If the camerawork is shoddy, can you just chalk it up to “they caught me off-guard?” Improvised or not, Don’t Think Twice is a classic bait & switch film, promising comedic joy and delivering a weighty depression as a result of what happens when delusional entertainers wish they were better at their craft.
Comedic troupe “The Commune” proved equally as amusing as their name, which is to say, not at all. Ok, that’s not quite fair, but for a movie about a comedy team, Don’t Think Twice could stand to be a great deal funnier. The Commune starts every show by milking the audience for one idea … and then it’s off to the races to see if the seed can blossom into a hilarity tree. What’s important is not how amazingly unsuccessful they are as individuals, but how pathetic they are as a team. After a show, the gang loves to hang out together watching “Saturday Night Live” (they call it “Weekend Live,” but you’re not fooling anyone), each member desperately dreaming of reaching that ultimate platform for mediocre comedy. The strangest part of this dynamic is the players know “SNL” isn’t great art, “it’s the kind of thing that seems funny, but isn’t.”
And then magic happens! Jack (Keegan-Michael Key) gets the SNL break and the group slowly implodes. Miles (writer/director Mike Birbiglia), a grown man living in, essentially, a tree fort, leads the jealous charge. The in-fighting bugged me here. As did the coat-tailing. When Jack becomes a paid cast-member, all of his friends seem to assume 
there’s instant access to Lorne Michaels or whomever. It’s like your friend getting a job at a Toyota plant and every family member suddenly assuming a free car is coming. And you, “SNL,” what the hell is wrong with you?! You produce one funny sketch a week and that entitles you to be snobbish about it? Would it kill you to have at least an intern wade through the friend material? It couldn’t possibly be worse than another “It’s Pat!” sketch, could it?
It is not the comedy, but the drama that drives Don’t Think Twice. If you’re looking for a laugh, trust me, do think twice. This film felt like an audition for better films. Check it out folks, we can make every single scene in this film awkward. Quite a skill set, no? My two takeaways from this film are: 1) while I don’t see any major awards in Keegan-Michael Key’s future, I sure see his career flourishing. A starring role in a major film he didn’t write is not out of the question. 2) Gillian Jacobs reminds me a lot of Alyssa Milano. Maybe this stuff plays better to the aspiring “SNL” flunkee in all of us, or maybe it plays especially for the NYC starving artist crowd, but I don’t see any great reason to see this film.
Don’t think twice
Pair of dice
Move your mice
Boomtown rats
Minnesota Fats
Indiana Jones
Virginia Slims
Texas Tea
Lone Star state
Two star rate
Rated R, 92 Minutes
D: Mike Birbiglia
W: Mike Birbiglia
Genre: The drama of funny people
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Struggling comedians
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: People who didn’t invest in their hobbies
