Don't Think Twice (2016)

We loved this hilarious yet touching story of a New York improvisational troupe dealing with personal loyalty, professional competition, and the craft of improv, directed and written by Mike Birbiglia (last blogged for Trainwreck), and starring him as Miles. The rest of the ensemble are Gillian Jacobs (after I wrote about her in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, she was great as the damaged co-star of the Netflix series Love) as Sam, Keegan-Michael Key (most recently in Keanu) as her boyfriend Jack, Kate Micucci (I don't remember her in Scrubs and didn't see her seven episodes of The Big Bang Theory, but loved her loony banjo-playing childcare provider in 26 episodes of Raising Hope, plus she has dozens more credits) as Allison AKA Data, Chris Gethard (his real name, he was a regular on Broad City and did three Inside Amy Schumer episodes and a bunch of other things) as Bill, and Tami Sagher (not her feature acting debut, but she was executive story editor on 30 Rock, co-executive producer on Girls, staff writer on Psych, writer on Inside Amy Schumer, and more) as Lindsay, all hoping to get their big break in a show called Weekend Live, a thinly disguised version of SNL. Some of the above were skilled at improv, others had to study, and a few of their live workshops are included in the movie.

Ira Glass, co-producer of Birbiglia's Sleepwalk with Me, does the same honors here, but with no cameo, though you won't miss short appearances by Lena Dunham and Ben Stiller.

The title is an unspoken motto of the troupe, and one spoken motto is "yes, and..." in which each member must accept where another's imagination has taken the sketch.

Composer Roger Neill (after Beginners, he scored 20 episodes of Mozart in the Jungle) provides original music which he uploaded to his soundcloud page, including a wonderful rip-off of SNL's theme (track 3) and a cover of Bob Dylan's Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (track 18). The latter plays over the credits which include a nice selection of production still photos.

This is very much a show biz picture and I'm glad the critics get it, because they are averaging 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, even though the less enthusiastic audiences, at 78%, may be less interested in the biz.

Sensitive viewers may get a touch of Motion Picture Motion Sickness from the not-so-steadicam work, so this is going on my running list of MPMS movies.

It looks like it will be held over another week in these parts and check this list if you want to see it on a big screen, though a small screen will get the point across just fine. Please do pay for it to support this fine work. You can even pre-order the DVD on amazon. Estimated release date is mid-October.