Live From N.Y.
By Jonathan Kane
Show business can be a cruel mistress and now we have proof of it in the new film “Don’t Think Twice” and its existence in the world of improv comedy. Just because improv groups operate as a family is no guarantee that there isn’t any room for some good old-fashioned stabbing in the back.
The movie has been written by and stars Mike Birbiglia, a stand-up comic who has fashioned this love letter to improv comedy. Improv, as we soon learn, is closer tied to the theater than to stand-up comedy and is performed through a strict structure of rules.
In “Don’t Think Twice,” we are introduced to the Commune, a six-member Manhattan troupe that has weathered the storm for 11 years at a midtown theater that they are about to lose. At the heart of the team is the attractive couple, Keegan-Michael Key, from “Key and Peele,” and Gillian Jacobs.
The troupe’s existence is thrown into turmoil when Key grandstands at a show attended by talent scouts from a “Saturday Night Live”-type show. The result is that Key gets an audition for the show and then is cast. With more envy than love, the remaining cast members are forced to deal with being ‘left behind’ and are forced to look at the choices they’ve made and their dwindling chances for success. Show business’s families are fragile, at best.
In the lead, the incredibly popular Key gets a real chance to spread his wings and shows that there is some great depth to his obvious talents. More serious roles are in his future. The rest of the cast each gets a turn to share the spotlight in the improv scenes but, unfortunately, these scenes never really take flight, as they would have given the film a big boost had they truly soared.