The Comedy. 2012. USA. Directed by Rick Alverson. Screenplay by Alverson, Robert Donne, Colm O’Leary. With Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, James Murphy. DCP. 95 min.
In the 10 years since Rick Alverson (Entertainment, The Mountain) collaborated with the merry pranksters Tim & Eric and James Murphy (of LCD Soundsystem) on The Comedy, America seems to have become an even less forgiving and hospitable place, making this study in sneering entitlement and sour irony all the more piquant. “Could there be a more unsympathetic character in today’s culture than a well-born white male who uses his privilege irresponsibly?,” asked Karina Longworth in the Village Voice. “A highly improvised fictional exposé in search of the elusive heart and soul of hipster nihilism, The Comedy stars alt-comic superstar Tim Heidecker as Swanson, a trust fund 35-year-old hanging out in Williamsburg, fucking around, and waiting for his sickly dad to die.”