DVD Review: Don't Think Twice

Don’t Think Twice
(DVD Don’t)

I eagerly snagged this one from a display, as I’m a huge fan of Improv Comedy — Whose Line is it Anyway? (both the US and UK versions), Second City, Saturday Night Live, etc. Add to that the fact that Keegan-Michael Key (Jack in this film) is a recurring visitor to the current version of Whose Line is it Anyway? (on the CW network), and is hilarious on that show. (Disclaimer — I’ve never really watched his show Key & Peele).

This was an interesting film, in a general sense, and a disappointing film, as a fan of “improv”. The plot, in a nutshell, is that a six-person Improv comedy troupe called “The Commune” has been struggling to be noticed by talent scouts for the past 11 years. At the same time that the club they’re regulars at has decided to close up, there’s also a chance that a producer from Weekend Live (basically a thinly-disguised SNL) is going to scout the group at one of its final performances.

Jack is the most extroverted and career-conscious of The Commune’s six members, and takes advantage of the Weekend Live scout’s presence to get his foot in the door at the TV show, hoping to pull his girlfriend and fellow Commune member, Sam(antha) along with him. She, however, doesn’t crave the limelight the way he does. When Jack manages to “make it big”, the rest of The Commune regroup and deal with issues ranging from jealousy to despair, now that their long-term performing space is vanishing.

The performances in this are terrific, from writer/director Mike Berbiglia’s “Miles” to Gillian Jacobs’ (Community) as Sam. Key does a fine job as Jack, reaching for the brass ring and then regretting that he grabbed it. But some of the best performances are from the other Commune members — Tami Sagher as Lindsay, Chris Gethard as Bill and Kate Micucci as Allison. Overall, this is a rather bittersweet look at the costs of having dreams fulfilled. I was hoping for more examples of improv comedy, and there was scant little of that. There are a few short “extras” on the DVD, but nothing that can’t easily be skipped.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the improv show Whose Line is it Anyway? or the sketch comedy series Key & Peele. The libraries don’t have either of these on DVD (they do exist on DVD, at least partially — and season 1 of Key & Peele is available through our digital Hoopla resources), but you can find them on YouTube or via various streaming platforms.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Don’t Think Twice web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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