''Don't Think Twice'' is a 2016 American
comedy-drama film
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
written and directed by
Mike Birbiglia
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
and stars Birbiglia,
Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series ''Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Netw ...
,
Gillian Jacobs
Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as Britta Perry on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015) and Mickey Dobbs on the Netflix romantic comedy series ''Love'' (2016â ...
,
Kate Micucci
Kate Micucci ( ; born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian and musician who is half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates. Some of her roles include Stephanie Gooch in '' Scrubs'', Ally in '' 'Til Death'', Shelley in ''Raisin ...
,
Tami Sagher
Tami Sagher is an American comedy writer, producer, and actress.
Biography
A native of Chicago, Sagher studied mathematics at the University of Chicago before joining Boom Chicago and then Second City.
Career TV
Sagher has written for the TV ...
and
Chris Gethard
Christopher Paul Gethard (; born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He was the host of ''The Chris Gethard Show'', a talk show based in New York City, which aired from 2011 to 2018. He hosts the podcasts ''Beautiful Stories ...
. The film had its world premiere at
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
on March 13, 2016
and was released on July 22, 2016, by
The Film Arcade
The Film Arcade is an independent American film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles.
History
Founded in 2012 by Miranda Bailey, Jason Beck and Andy Bohn, The Film Arcade recently released Mike Birbiglia’s '' Don’t Think T ...
.
Plot
The Commune is an
improv troupe in New York headed by Miles (Birbiglia). Other members include Jack, a talented improviser with a tendency to
grandstand
A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...
; Sam, his insecure girlfriend who acts as the group's
emcee; Allison, who has been working on a graphic novel for years; Lindsay, who lives off of her wealthy parents; and Bill, who loves improv but feels increasingly unsuccessful. One night, the group learns that staff from ''Weekend Live'', a ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
''-style sketch comedy show, are attending a performance. Miles is excited for another chance to audition for the show, having auditioned and not been selected years ago. However, Jack ends up grandstanding during the performance, much to the anger of the rest of the group.
Following the performance, Jack receives a phone call informing him that he and Sam are being invited to audition. Jack attends the audition, but Sam loses her nerve at the last minute and does not. Jack is selected as a new cast member, and his friends begin asking about the possibility of joining the writing staff, or having Jack arrange auditions for them. Meanwhile, Bill's father is in a serious motorcycle accident and the group travels to Philadelphia to visit him in the hospital.
Jack finds success at ''Weekend Live'' playing an old-timey ticket taker in a sketch, but finds the pressure of the show difficult to manage. The Commune sees an uptick in its audience, but they are mostly there to see Jack and his ticket taker character rather than the rest of the performers. With their theater space closing, the group decides to hold a show at a new space, but the ticket price discourages audiences from attending and they fail to recoup their investment.
The group gathers to watch ''Weekend Live'' and discovers Jack performing a sketch they had improvised at a prior Commune show. Infuriated, the group crashes the after party. Miles confronts Jack and punches him before being thrown out. When he then confronts Lindsay for failing to support him, she reveals that she has been hired by the show and did not want to embarrass herself in front of her new co workers. Embittered by this revelation, Miles, Allison, and Bill storm off.
At the final Commune show, Sam stands on stage alone and asks her usual opening question "Has anyone had a particularly bad day?" When an audience member suggests that Sam herself looks like she's had a bad day, she agrees and launches into a solo improv where she is trapped at the bottom of a well while her other castmates cannot decide how to help her. Jack arrives and joins the scene, promising that he will not abandon her. But Sam tells him that she is happy in the well and she knows and accepts that their relationship is over.
Eight months later, Jack and Lindsay continue to enjoy success performing and writing for ''Weekend Live''. Miles is in a long-term relationship with an old flame from high school, and Sam, Bill, and Allison are starting a new improv group and looking for local talent. The group reunite for Bill's father's funeral. Despite their conflict, the group has remained friends.
Cast
*
Keegan-Michael Key
Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series ''Key & Peele'' (2012–2015) and co-starred in USA Netw ...
as Jack
*
Mike Birbiglia
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
as Miles
*
Gillian Jacobs
Gillian MacLaren Jacobs (; born October 19, 1982) is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as Britta Perry on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015) and Mickey Dobbs on the Netflix romantic comedy series ''Love'' (2016â ...
as Samantha
*
Kate Micucci
Kate Micucci ( ; born March 31, 1980) is an American actress, comedian and musician who is half of the musical comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates. Some of her roles include Stephanie Gooch in '' Scrubs'', Ally in '' 'Til Death'', Shelley in ''Raisin ...
as Allison
*
Tami Sagher
Tami Sagher is an American comedy writer, producer, and actress.
Biography
A native of Chicago, Sagher studied mathematics at the University of Chicago before joining Boom Chicago and then Second City.
Career TV
Sagher has written for the TV ...
as Lindsay
*
Chris Gethard
Christopher Paul Gethard (; born May 23, 1980) is an American actor, comedian and writer. He was the host of ''The Chris Gethard Show'', a talk show based in New York City, which aired from 2011 to 2018. He hosts the podcasts ''Beautiful Stories ...
as Bill
* Seth Barrish as Timothy
*
Erin Darke
Erin Constance-Maja Darke is an American actress. She is known for her role as Cindy in the TV series ''Good Girls Revolt''. She also plays Mary in ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' and Leeta in the AMC series ''Dietland (TV series), Dietland''. She ...
as Natasha
*
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham (, born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is known as the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series ''Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations a ...
as herself
*
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
as himself
*
Pete Holmes
Peter Benedict Holmes (born March 30, 1979) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and podcaster. Musings on spirituality and religion are frequent themes in his works.
Holmes gained recognition in the early 2010s as a stand-up comic, ...
as himself
* Maggie Kemper as Liz
*
Adam Pally
Adam Saul Pally (born March 18, 1982) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for starring as Max Blum in the ABC comedy series '' Happy Endings'' and as Dr. Peter Prentice in ''The Mindy Project''. He also starred ...
as Robbie
*
Jo Firestone
Joanna Firestone (born December 8, 1986) is an American actress, comedian, and television writer. She played Sarah Conner on the television series '' Joe Pera Talks with You''.
Biography
Joanna Firestone was born in 1986 to Jewish parents Fred an ...
as Jo
*
Connor Ratliff
Connor Ratliff (born August 27, 1975) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his podcast ''Dead Eyes (podcast), Dead Eyes'', is the star and creator of the long running stage and streaming show ''The George Lucas Talk Show'', and is ...
as Connor
*
Sunita Mani
Sunita Mani (born December 13, 1986) is an American actress, dancer and comedian. She is best known for her television roles as Trenton in the USA Network drama ''Mr. Robot'' (2015–2017) and Arthie Premkumar in the Netflix comedy '' GLOW'' (2 ...
as Amy
*
Sondra James
Sondra James (July 21, 1939 – September 12, 2021) was an American sound coordinator and actress.
Early life
Sondra James was born Sondra Weil on July 21, 1939, in the Lower East Side, New York City. She graduated from the Bronx High School of ...
as Bonnie
* Gary Richardson as Gary
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
on the film began in late-August 2015 in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Mike Birbiglia
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
directing the film based on his own script.
Birbiglia would also produce the film along with Cold Iron Pictures' Miranda Bailey and Amanda Marshall, and
This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internation ...
's
Ira Glass
Ira Jeffrey Glass (; born March 3, 1959) is an American public radio personality. He is the host and producer of the radio and television series ''This American Life'' and has participated in other NPR programs, including ''Morning Edition'', ...
, while Cold Iron and
The Film Arcade
The Film Arcade is an independent American film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles.
History
Founded in 2012 by Miranda Bailey, Jason Beck and Andy Bohn, The Film Arcade recently released Mike Birbiglia’s '' Don’t Think T ...
would finance the film.
It was also announced Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher, Chris Gethard, and Birbiglia would star in the film.
It was later revealed
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham (, born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is known as the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series ''Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations a ...
and
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is the son of the comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara. Stiller was a member of a group of comedic actors colloquially known as ...
would make appearances as themselves.
Release
The film had its world premiere at
South by Southwest
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...
on March 13, 2016. It went on to screen at the
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by TriBeCa Productions, Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive progra ...
on April 16, 2016. In April 2016, it was revealed that
The Film Arcade
The Film Arcade is an independent American film production and distribution company based in Los Angeles.
History
Founded in 2012 by Miranda Bailey, Jason Beck and Andy Bohn, The Film Arcade recently released Mike Birbiglia’s '' Don’t Think T ...
, who financed the film, would distribute the film in a
platform release in Summer 2016. The film was released on July 22, 2016.
Reception
Box office
The film had a one-theater opening in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
on July 22, 2016, and grossed $92,835 in its opening weekend, the highest per-screen gross of 2016 beating the record set the previous week by ''
Café Society
Café society was the description of the "Beautiful People" and "Bright Young Things" who gathered in fashionable cafés and restaurants in New York, Paris and London beginning in the late 19th century. Maury Henry Biddle Paul is credited with ...
'' ($71,858). Its record was then surpassed in October by ''
Moonlight
Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes.
Illumination
The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ful ...
'' ($100,519).
Critical response
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
gives the film an approval rating of 98% based on 126 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''Don't Think Twice'' offers a bittersweet look at the comedian's life that's as genuinely moving as it is laugh-out-loud funny -- and a brilliant calling card for writer-director Mike Birbiglia."
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 83 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
References
External links
*
*
*
* {{Official website
American comedy-drama films
American independent films
2016 comedy-drama films
Films shot in New York City
Films about comedians
Films about television
Films about theatre
Films directed by Mike Birbiglia
The Film Arcade films
Films scored by Roger Neill
2010s English-language films
2010s American films