In 2016's mesmerizing Comedy-Drama 'Don't Think Twice', Writer-Director-Actor Mike Birbiglia asks us a very vital questions: Are Our Dreams Ready For Us? By ready I mean, are the dreamers going to accomplish their dreams or is just an imagination of their minds? For Birbiglia, its uncertain. And interestingly enough, Birbiglia has made a film that's nothing less a triumph in terms of storytelling.'Don't Think Twice' Synopsis: When a member of a popular New York City improv troupe gets a huge break, the rest of the group - all best friends - start to realize that not everyone is going to make it after all.'Don't Think Twice' is about dreams, dreamers & the part of destiny & luck doing its job. No one in this world is born without skill, courage or determination, and the characters here, an amusingly lovable improv troupe from NYC, are shown as dreamers with talent. But, as luck chooses its opportunists, only one of them, actually makes the cut. And its sad what happens here, but not all of it. Triumph in life is usually waived by the amount of money & fame you can make for yourself (not only in showbiz), but at times, when the dreams aren't materializing in reality, you look on the gift on looking at the gifts you have left: To Be You!Birbiglia is up for top-honors. 'Don't Think Twice' is a bitingly great film, whose nakedness on life & dreams, is of high-order. Birbiglia's Screenplay is super strong, while his Direction, is extremely arresting. The Cinematography & The Edit, merit a special mention.Performance-Wise: Birbiglia does well as an actor as well. Clearly, the man has excelled in all the roles he's put himself in! Keegan-Michael Key is nicely restrained. Gillian Jacobs is outstanding. She's at her best here! Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher and Chris Gethard, also deliver magnificently. Others lend excellent support.On the whole, 'Don't Think Twice' takes a piece out of you & stays in your mind long after it concludes. How many films do that? Don't Think, Just Watch It!

Having seen his stand up special "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend", it has remained obvious that Mike Birbiglia is not only one of the best comedians working today, but also one of the most creative and brilliant. With his second feature film, Birbiglia absolutely stuns by emotionally portraying the hard times befalling upon an improv group when one of its members get a job on THE most popular sketch show in town. Portrayed with poignancy, humor, and intensity, "Don't Think Twice" is a strongly sincere and powerful work of art, combining tones of realistic melodrama and witty comedy. The central improv group is portrayed as a talented, hilarious, yet deeply flawed bunch that sail through life with both laughter and tears. Obviously personal at heart, and brilliantly written from start to finish, the film presents the weaknesses of its characters in a way that easily allows the viewer to sympathize and root for them. There are no good or bad guys, despite the extreme conflicts scattered about this indie masterpiece. I would have to recommend this breathtaking dramedy mostly to fans of comedy. While I believe that a vast majority of viewers will fall in love with the film due to its likability, entertainment value, sharp sense of wit, and practically flawless writing, its main audience is most certainly those who appreciate the art of making others laugh. This is a film made primarily by, and for, comedians, as well as those who actively participate (and struggle to make it big) in any other creative art forms. Aspiring authors, artists, filmmakers, etc. may not have ever joined an improv group, but will still likely find within the film's often broken, yet still strong characters much to relate to. This is a brilliant and funny work of heart that dedicates itself to the hardships of artists. It tips its hat at the often misunderstood art of skillful comedy, portraying the struggles an independent, yet extremely skilled comedian must go through in order to "make it big". Through smiles and frowns, Birbiglia weaves together a heart poundingly dramatic saga of love, loss, and laughter.

Hi film makers. Here a free tip. Never make movies about people that are supposed to be funny, and then show what is supposed to be funny. No actor ever, ever ever ever, manages to make that not cringe worthy. They come close here, but maybe as close as anyone ever will be. Here the thing: We see a lot of improv comedy, and it is supposed to be funny, and the audience is laughing because it's funny. (in other words, we are told that is funny or not) Here's the problem: we get to see what the audience is seeing and it's NOT funny. That really takes me out of it. And even if it WERE funny, we would know it was probably scripted, and scripted improv, well that's not very funny. (I realize the improv scenes a probably a blend of script and not, any-who, it not funny)Let's say you made a movie about the worlds funniest joke. It would be a lot smarter to not show the actual joke and just let the mind wonder about it. As soon a you show the joke, well, it ruins it, because chances are it's not the funniest joke ever. See?OK. With that said! Most of the improv seems quite natural though, and the acting is good. I didn't find the movie very funny, but I think where it shines is in the drama. Because this movie has some pretty good, heart felt points about human behavior. It's got some tense scenes, and quite a few times it hits quite close to home. (At one time I was like: wow, that character is me. NOT gonna say who)I sort of wish they had solved the improv-thing in another way, by maybe not showing so much of it, or making it supposed to be cringey. I don't know. It's a sad movie, not really a feel good one, and that's good.

The Commune is a comedy improvisational that performs in a small theater in New York. With Jack (Keegan Michael-Key), one of the six friends on the group, being hired by a big time comedy TV show and their theater being sold away in a matter of four weeks, the Commune and all of its members start to realize that their lives might be changing in a way they don't like and can't control.Portraying the comedy scene intimately and bringing to life a varied cast of quirky and beautiful characters, "Don't Think Twice" is a heartfelt, touching comedy that combines laughter with a deep insight into creativity, a small indie film made with real passion behind it and with some remarkable craft in writing and directing to support it.Being a man of many talents definitely helped Mike Birbiglia in putting this film together and he shows it in many different ways. He just nails the feel of the group and its dynamics, he manages to really bring to life on screen 'The Commune' with all of its quirky individuals and the internal group relationships which make the film as funny and as interesting as it is.Many time during the film he manages to hold on performances and little moments and the cast emerges with small touches that make a whole scene worth the watch. The way in which jealously and conflict or peace between characters is hinted at with body postures, timing in the blocking or the orchestration of eye movement is majestic, these are all small details that are the difference between great and good scenes and this film has many great ones.The improv performances are incredibly vital to the structure of the film and they are gold mines of visual storytelling. So much of how the characters move or what they do manages to build their archs and complement the story, most amazing of all is that even with that they still manage to be funny performances that really sell the artistic medium being portrayed. So many times in movies there is an integral part of them that presents a world of craftsmanship and so many times that world is not given a dignified portrayal or at least one that presents the medium in a convincing and clear way to the audience.Well, that's not the case here, you manage to really participate into the art the characters are involved in, everything about it is genuine and the world around is built beautifully. More than that you manage to directly see the impact of the art on these characters' lives and how it affects differently each one of them.The discussion that this film opens on creativity and artistic fulfillment is really special, it isn't glamorous or sugar coated, it doesn't ask questions without giving answers and most of all it doesn't fall into clichés. Everything it brings up about it is right, honest and moving. It is truthful to every individual presented in the film, all of them have the pay off they deserve and what ultimately this film says is that it does not matter how successful you are in something, what matters is your happiness in doing that.The cast is magic, they succeed in bringing to life this group in a genuinely likable way, you fall in love with all of them and it takes not even ten minutes of the film for you to be able to distinguish them all in their look and their characteristics, that is something insanely rare to find in features and this one does excels in it. Kate Micucci was a stand out for me, her casting is perfectly on point, yet, even more than her Gillian Jacobs gave a powerhouse of a performance. I think that not many people are yet familiar with her, but in a few years we'll be all talking about her talent. After 'Love' and this she has put out in a single year two of my favorite performances of the year. She manages to live her character entirely on screen, other than all of the comedic stuff that she pulls off she also sells the dramatic side and brings to the screen probably the most interesting character.The camera-work and the editing are both remarkable too. Firstly, the camera manages to capture some really intimate moments with incredible simplicity but effectiveness, it might be that the performers are so good on screen, but by keeping the camera movement simple and complementary to the story we manage to get moments of really big emotional scope. Then we have the editor putting this together so fluently, paced with relentless flow and with really smart choices on when to cut a scene or a montage.Overall what this film partially lacks is a stronger dramatic heart. Whilst tonally it manages to be seamless thanks to really good plot development, it does not have a climactic turn of events that manages to make the viewer captivated by the turn out. It could be said that the film does not need that kind of structure, but I felt that it might have done with some more development in the dramatic side since the pay off on that note doesn't really hit you as hard as it could.But that's enough meandering on flaws, "Don't Think Twice" is a glorious dramatic comedy with one of the best ensembles and combinations of characters to actors I have seen all year, a genuine and touching message for all artists and creatives out there, a really special gem of the indie world and a fantastic underground film on the New York comedy scene.