The Comedy (2012)

Indifferent to the notion of inheriting his father's estate, a Williamsburg guy passes the time with his friends, playing games of mock sincerity and irreverence.

Director:

Rick Alverson

Writers:

Rick Alverson, Robert Donne,

Stars:

Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Jeffrey Jensen

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tim Heidecker	...	Swanson
Eric Wareheim	...	Van Arman
Jeffrey Jensen	...	Cargill
James Murphy	...	Ben
Neil Hamburger	...	Bobby (as Gregg Turkington)
Kate Lyn Sheil	...	Waitress
Alexia Rasmussen	...	Young woman
Liza Kate	...	Sister-in-Law
Adam Scarimbolo	...	Restaurant Manager
Seth Koen	...	Male nurse
Will Sheff	...	Will
Richard Swift	...	Richard
Angus Hepburn	...	Weathy man
Grace Kiley	...	Weathy woman
Grace Rex	...	Hospital Nurse

Storyline

Indifferent to the notion of inheriting his father's estate, a Williamsburg guy passes the time with his friends, playing games of mock sincerity and irreverence.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 January 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Komedija

Filming Locations:

Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$6,000 (USA) (9 November 2012)

Gross:

$6,000 (USA) (9 November 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Glass Eye Pix, Greyshack Films, Rough House Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The black males Swanson (Tim Heidecker) encounters at a Brooklyn bar were not actors but participants. Their reactions from Heidecker stereotyping them were genuine.

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Quotes

Swanson: [affecting a southern accent while talking to his sister-in-law, who remains silent] Oh Liza, Liza. Them slaves be workin' hawd out heah. Dyin' out there in, in the thousands. In de sun. Just keelin' over from de heat. From de HEAT-UH. Come on, now. Ain't it good, ain't it right, to see them die? How hawd dey work? For dis fam'ly? Poppa use dem skin for makin' nice furniture. He tans 'em out dere, and makes a nice - that couch you on, in dere is all slave meat. Slave skin. As it should be. Lawd ...

User Reviews

An unexpected, poignant piece of art.

I rented this on recommendation of a friend. I'm glad I did, because I was pleasantly surprised because this is easily one of my favorite films to come out this year.

The Comedy has a few expectations of its viewers, and meeting these are in some ways essential to fully enjoying the film.

The pretentiousness of the protagonist and his friends (the overuse of irony in any and all interactions with other people, the clothing that they choose to wear) could be seen as satirical, but it takes it beyond just "making fun of hipsters." The film paints a vivid and terrifying picture of white (and male) privilege, and some people's fascination with lower class cultures and others of different ethnicities.

If the viewer can at least admit to being able to relate to Swanson and his friends, however terrible they may seem, he or she can learn a lot from watching the film. I think people being disgusted and upset by this film has more to do with how they relate to the protagonist then the actual content of the film, because other than the crassness of the film it is objectively good. It's artfully shot, extremely well acted and the sparing use of music does an amazing job of setting the mood.