The Comedy

2012

1h 30m

Drama

List

50%

36 Reviews

Tomatometer

55%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A guy in Williamsburg ignores the notion of inheriting his father's estate while he plays games with his friends.

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Peacock

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent The Comedy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

Tim Heidecker's misanthropic role proves him capable as a dramatic performer, yet The Comedy's study of privilege unchecked is never as illuminating nor engaging as it should be.

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Monica Castillo

Dig Boston

For something titled The Comedy, this movie isn't funny. Or charming, likable, enjoyable, or any other adjectives you would find splashed on a poster.

Apr 13, 2016

Full Review

Nicolas Rapold

Film Comment Magazine

While this could have been the perfect portrait of a certain kind of idiot, the baroque cruelties and tonal monotony go too far.

Jun 28, 2013

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David Ehrlich

Boxoffice Magazine

An essential portrait of a generation of people laughing so hard that they've forgotten the joke is on them.

Rated: 5/5

Apr 1, 2013

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Justin Micallef

Vague Visages

Rick Alverson’s The Comedy takes this type of person, with all of their privilege, vapidity, evil and, yes, humanity to explode their universe onto the screen...

Feb 6, 2024

Full Review

James Slaymaker

Vague Visages

A piercing critique of millennial amorality, The Comedy takes as its subject one of the most off-putting lead characters to grace contemporary American film.

Jun 15, 2023

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

After spending 90 minutes with characters like Swanson and his friends, no one will want to resemble them in any way whatsoever. That alone makes The Comedy a success.

Rated: 7.8/10

Jun 29, 2019

Full Review

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Eddie M

5 bags of popcorn, and two little miniature boat figurines I remember feeling something different than I've ever felt from a movie after this one. Give it a watch, but don't expect it to be funny, not in a classical sense.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/26/22

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Audience Member

The storyline is more of a rolling portrait of privileged trust-funded, twenty-somethings. When I first saw it, I was waiting for the punchline. Months later, I realized how many times I replayed scenes in my mind.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

kevin c

Aiden Quinn and Taylor Schilling are a May - December romance in Ireland who come to a crossroads when she learns she is pregnant and he doesn't want kids. Well acted romantic drama by both leads. Beautifully shot. Always enjoyed Aiden Quinn's work. Michael Ironside is also featured in a supporting role. Good flick.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Not funny or ironic. Mean spirited and hateful. The dialogue is moronic, may be humorous to rich white teenagers.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

09/20/21

Full Review

Audience Member

Hysterically dark, immensely funny, and moving at the same time. I think (spoiler alert) where anyone might struggle in enjoying this film, is confusing needing to like a character, to like a film. If going to the movies (let's be honest, no one "goes" to the movies anymore -- such a shame) is about learning about yourself through the stories of others, about healing your pain, unmasking your shame, growing and being free, then this is the exact type of movie that must be made and must be seen. Don't listen to the fucking idiots who don't get it. They are most likely sleeping outside for three weeks, desperately hoping to be in the first grouping to see the new Star Wars or X-Men or whatever the current trash is.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Don't go into this movie thinking you're going to be in for a bunch of laughs. Don't go into it thinking it's anything more than what the cover art of Tim Heidecker's emotionless, dead-eyed stare suggests. It is as dead pan as comedy...let me rephrase that. Its is as dead pan as acting gets..and I think that's the meaning behind it. Tim and Eric, for those who know...annoy the shit out of me, but this movie suits their style perfectly. The rating system on this site is nonsense. I give it 3.5 stars, with a hint of 5 star "so fresh". Ignore the 55% audience score...25% of them are clearly idiots.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Rick Alverson

Director

Gregg Turkington

Bobby

Tim Heidecker

Swanson

Rock Kohli

Raj

James Murphy

Ben

Adam Scarimbolo

Brent

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Critics Consensus: Skyfall Is Certified Fresh

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Synopsis

A guy in Williamsburg ignores the notion of inheriting his father's estate while he plays games with his friends.

Director: Rick Alverson
Producer: Jonathan Cargill
Screenwriter: Rick Alverson, Robert Donne, Colm O'Leary
Production Co: Glass Eye Pix, Rough House Pictures
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 23, 2013
Runtime: 1h 30m

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