BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I am fickle. I think we all are in certain areas and should just admit it. For me, one of the things I’m fickle about is “Tim and Eric” comedy. When “Tom Goes to the Mayor” was on, I can’t think of any of my friends who were into it. I loved the hell out of it. That show didn’t last too long, but before it was over I wasn’t watching adult swim anymore and didn’t give these guys much more of a thought. I know they have a new show that seems to have more “cred” with folks and I know they’ve started to get into putting out film projects. It’s not that I’m not a fan or supportive. I’m just fickle. So when the opportunity of watching “The Comedy” was presented I went into it with a blank optimism. I’ve read vague things about it from Sundance. It’s getting a lot of positive attention so that’s cool. I quickly find out that despite both “Tim and Eric” being involved it’s not specifically their thing. It’s at least as much or even more a Rick Alverson joint. This movie is not much of a “comedy” at all. The movie revolves around a quiet douche guy played by Tim Heidecker. His father is dying and leaving him what are assumable millions in his estate. He hangs out with his rich loser friends, middle age hipsters. They just do random shit and say random shit pretty much just to do random shit and say random shit. It’s not a sense of creativity or spontaneity. It’s like they’re mindlessly being ironic. There is no line to cross because lines just don’t matter anymore. You can see the pain in these dudes and the sense that they’re all defeated and worn out. Still they keep up the wall of tiring snark. I don’t want to get into specific scenes. This isn’t a popcorn flick where you can say “Dude! Wait until the sand monster fights the dragon!” It’s all about moments and tone. Tim’s performance is great. You instantly see people you know in him and just hope you don’t recognize any of your own traits in him. It’s a really alarming movie. Despite his privileged existence, he still has some serious problems. The problem is in the coping and how he is programmed to emphasize, or not for that matter. Needless to say, I can analyze this movie for a while. That’s something of real value in film these days. It is on the abrasive side. People who don’t actually pay attention or aren’t capable of are going to see a vulgar movie that wonders aimlessly. There is going to sadly be a lot of those people out there. I just hope folks get a chance to decide for themselves and get what they can out of it on their own. The interviews I’ve heard and read, some news items, and even their Wikipedia page brings up them attempting to make a stand against anti-piracy. These days if you want to see something, you can pop online and “get it” for free. I see no problem in “sticking it to the man”, but projects like this isn’t made by “the man”. These are passion projects with artistic depth. Snatching a superhero movie is questionable, but these are the movies that need the love. Independent film is starting to become a mirror to the whole “Wall Street” fiasco. There is a 99% and there is a 1%. The 99% is putting out the blockbusters like formulaic clockwork and seeing A-list actors put out 100 million dollar movies under the guise of “indie”. Meanwhile, the “outsider art” of film is being buried in the internet. Get this movie on PPV/On Demand or go see it if that’s possible. Tell your friends. This movie isn’t perfect, but it’ll linger on your brain for longer than you’d expect. It needs to be seen. B+
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