The Comedy

Heidecker's detached demeanor is so perfect for the role it's almost scary. More uncomfortable the more you can recognize in it; a saddening slice of life about man-children age 35 and up that have replaced empathy with cynicism, being stuck in lives empty of meaning, numb to the world and unable to grow as a person and hey you know what I'm just going to lie down for a little while.

As someone who has grown up with the internet, has seen the rise of 4chan, and the rise of a culture where tragedies are greeted with people trying to outdo each other offense-wise, it was amazing to see a film that tackles the lack of empathy in some areas of modern society so succinctly. Heidecker's performance is brave and the movie does right by it, giving you enough glimpses of humanity and a deeper yearning to stop Swanson from just being insufferable. A new favourite.

This is one that has grown on me more and more in the days since watching it. A sickening portrait of hipster nihilism. It's like a Jim Jarmusch film starring Billy Madison, except without any of the charm or character arc.

My rating system of "which movie would I rather watch at any given time" does not apply to my highish rating of this movie. I can not sit through this movie but I really love what I've seen of this movie... Yeah I had to stop watching it... It is painfully real and depressing...I will be consuming bits of this movie from time to time but I can not recommend watching it as a whole unless you love to make yourself depressed. That being said, this is one of the smartest things I've ever seen. Ever.

The movie didn't really make me feel uncomfortable, but I get it. It does a good job of showing us a guy who's detached from everything. Ultimately I just didn't really care about what was going on. I guess it was kinda boring, it didn't strike a fun balance of pointlessness like a Korine movie does. Sometimes it just feels like a bad indie movie... yeah perhaps it was satirizing some of that, but other times it just messed with whatever flow the movie had. I give it props for being challenging.

"Their boredom becomes more and more terrible. They realize that they've been tricked and burn with resentment. Every day of their lives they read the newspapers and went to the movies. Both fed them on lynchings, murder, sex crimes, explosions, wrecks, love nests, fires, miracles, revolutions, war. This daily diet made sophisticates of them. The sun is a joke. Oranges can't titillate their jaded palates. Nothing can ever be violent enough to make taut their slack minds and bodies."-N. West;1939

Heidecker is perfect as that type of chronically disinterested man most of us either know or are. It hits close to home and is monumentally, incapacitatingly uncomfortable to watch.

I first watched this on lots of benzos and didn't have any real memory of it aside from how much I enjoyed it, but now that I've seen it sober, I can confidently declare it the equal of the movie that started this whole mumblecore thing, Funny Ha Ha (that's the most hyperbolic kind of praise, by the way, for those who don't know my extremely high opinion of that film).

Heidecker turns in a brilliant performance as the sad product of the current age of hipster detachment in desperate need of a reset. Watching him test the limits of his own indifference is infuriating, heartbreaking, and fascinating all at the same time.

I'm not sure if it's a hipster Husbands or a hipster Naked, probably a little of both, but in any case it's a masterclass in cinematic awkwardness on par with what Leigh and Cassavetes did at their best. It certainly blows pretty much anything tagged as "mumblecore" completely out of the water.

a very challenging watch. the film is hit and miss, the story was strung together poorly. i appreciate the post-ironic themes and photography, but often felt that the film gets too far up its own ass.

It's a movie I was destined not to enjoy unfortunately. I think Heidecker gives a good performance but the whole mood of the film is unpleasant, often cruel, and detached. Even though I have many feelings of detachment in my own life it's no where near this level.

may be the most frightening apocalypse film of the decade so far...

While its cynical philosophy offers up a few laughs, and Tim Heidecker's performance is undoubtedly captivating, The Comedy, unfortunately, doesn't amount to much, trading its disturbingly thought-provoking and bleak message for a frustratingly incapable hackneyed delivery system of anti-comedy and existentialism that misses the mark.

I saw somebody on here ask why its called The Comedy. Life is a comedy, a tragic pointless comedy. The thing I think this movie did great was showing that these guys do have fun, they enjoy some of what they do, it also shows the low moments which not many films do well. I loved the bleakness and pure disgusted anger that heidecker put into this. I think this movie is brilliant.

The Comedy is nihilism. The main character believes that he's beyond ideas like racism, feminism, politics, religion, etc. Tim Heidecker stars, he portrays someone that thinks they know exactly how the world works while being very damaged themselves. I thought it was an interesting movie, but its definitely not for everyone. Most people will feel pretty uncomfortable at times. You may even laugh at something and then feel uncomfortable about laughing.

More an anti-comedy. It shows how out of complete lethargy and apathy some people just joke and mess around, because they have nothing better do and most of are afraid to show their real feelings and to really connect.

Don't know what to think really...I ended up feeling detached about a movie about detachment, then started thinking of my own life. I don't know if I can give the film enough credit for creating that thought process.

I did not enjoy The Comedy, but I feel like that's kind of the point. It makes you feel like absolute shit and forces you to evaluate your actions and identity, and it's begun to instill a fear in me of ever becoming like Swanson. In a cinematic landscape where pure emotional reactions are scarce, I feel like I have to give The Comedy a lot of credit for the lessons it gave me, even if they were hard to watch.

a real struggle to watch... touchingly pathetic, outrageously "IRONIC", don't know what was the claim ... just boring

It's really great at recreating the horrible qualities of this generation which gets off on the embarrassment of others, but I'm not sure what the point really is beyond that these people are assholes. (two times)

AICHE, your taste in movies is scum between my toes.

An outstanding depiction of the over privileged and the ruling white class, with all the flaws.

The Comedy could have been a disaster and, in some aspects, it still is. Surprisingly grim and altogether thought-provoking, Tim Heidecker delivers one of the finest performances of all time in this little-known, yet highly recommended, drama. It just might provide you with a new outlook on life.

okay movie

enteresan bir film olduğuna şüphe yok ama izlemek için dayanmak gerekiyor. ben dayanamıyorum böyle işlere.

Tim Heidecker is extremely believable and magnetic as a lead.

Not your traditional film and it was for this reason that I stuck it out through some trembling early moments. Heidecker gives a good performance that shines brighter as the movie goes on.

'Shame' for pranksters. It saddens me to admit I identified more with this movie.

Absolutely awful shit!

It's not an easy movie to watch, but it's one of the most interesting ones I've seen in a while.

really funny . REALLY REALLY funny.

Takes the awkward, often abrasive comedy of Tim (and Eric) and places it in something of a real-world setting where their antics are attacked, or supported, by others. Later on in this film are some incredibly weird moments, and although the ending is kinda simplistic, this is a film to show to your buddies so they can get pissed off at you for showing them a film that didn't go anywhere. I liked it.

Sort of like 'Somewhere' but funny, and thus, better. The final scene could've been a bit more original. Anyway, this is a movie I wish everyone would watch.

I looked back on this film, and what I had figured out and learned from the last 10-15 minutes moved me just about to tears. This film is even bleaker than Satantango, and a new favorite with the presence of 4chan-esque mock sincerity and irreverence presented in 21st century cinema. This film is proof of James Murphy & Tim and Eric's often overlooked versatility.

Yeah that seems about right

Really fantastic film about white privilege, annihilation, and transcendence.

I think the point was lost on me, if there even was one to begin with...

I guess this is what they call anti-comedy. Thankfully I torrented this so there's no way the film-makers made even a penny from me

why is it called "the comedy"?

is maybe not the most subtle exploration of white privilege ever made but heidecker is so fucking good in it (as is his cast of supporting shitheads) that it doesnt really matter. also think the film is much funnier (albeit tragically so) than people give it credit for

"Instead of getting to something, he's trying to get away from something." http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2016/01/episode-86-rick-alverson-arrives-2010.html

I guess this is what you would call a kind of "slice of life" movie. But normally you'd think of a movie like that as being sort of heartwarming and sweet, whereas this one just sorta makes everything seem like shit.

Difficult to watch these dicks be dicks, but that's the whole point after all. The ambiguity of the main character's actions are revealing. He obviously views his actions as ironic, post-criticism, post-political, etc., but in actuality he's racist, bigoted, and an asshole. It's hipsterism on display and it is ugly.

I get what the film was going for, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it all too much. Swanson comes off as incredibly unlikeable and unrelatable, making the film a somewhat frustrating watch. With that being said, I would still suggest that people give it a watch as it definitely seems like the type of film that some could find a lot of meaning in.

Post satyrical, what can i say. Scored big time for getting James Murphy, father of all hipsters, to feature in it.