AFTERMATH ENTERTAINMENT ADRESS MOVIE

CZ “Entertainment” ©Magnolia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection The Aftermath: Someone Suffered to Make It If the fictional Turkington from that show was able to review “Entertainment” (assuming Tim Heidecker actually let him talk about movies for once), I’m confident he’d give it five bags of popcorn and throw in some stationary to write a suicide note. Squint hard enough, and you’ll see traces of his “On Cinema at the Cinema” character when he seethes about comedy clubs providing inadequate anti-heckling security. The genius of “Entertainment” lies in Turkington’s unparalleled ability to play passive-aggressive losers who see the world’s refusal to conform to their pop culture tastes as a catch-all excuse for why their lives suck. At a certain point, it becomes hard to distinguish whether the film has gotten stranger or if watching it has simply broken our brains. Like everything else he encounters, it’s a reminder that his life has amounted to a worthless replica of the dream he set out to chase.Īs The Comedian meanders through the desert to play a string of gigs at dive bars and prisons, his monotonous existence - and tragic personal life - lulls us into the kind of trance that a comic would eventually face after months on the road.

The opening shot shows The Comedian stepping onto a jet - presumably to fly to a gig - only to reveal that it’s an abandoned piece of junk in the Mojave Desert that’s been turned into a rinky-dink tourist attraction. “Entertainment” is to road trip movies what Neil Hamburger is to stand-up: the key components are all there, but they’ve been ripped apart and lifelessly rearranged. The result is a delightful fusion of alternative comedy and arthouse storytelling that hits particularly hard when watched after midnight. Instead, it lets us marinate in his odiousness as his existential crisis turns into a reflection on the roles that art and entertainment play in our lives. “Entertainment” is as abrasive and unwelcoming as the act that inspired it, never giving audiences a real reason to like The Comedian (as Turkington’s character is credited). Rick Alverson’s “ Entertainment” (2015) rectifies that by developing Neil Hamburger into a three-dimensional human being: a small-time comic who has been utterly broken by his pursuit of fame yet remains unwilling (or unable) to change the behaviors that annihilated him. Turkington’s fans relish his depraved subversion of the medium, so his live shows never capture the bleakness that would transpire if Neil Hamburger sincerely performed his “jokes” for an unsuspecting crowd. It’s a brilliant act with one flaw: The audience always laughs. the Extra Terrestrial love the taste of Reese’s Pieces? Because that’s what cum tastes like on his planet.”ĭenis Villeneuve Calls IMAX Releases ‘the Future of Cinema’ Clutching three gin and tonics under his arm, he clears copious amounts of phlegm from his throat before spitting out vile, borderline incoherent jokes like, “Why does E.T. His hair is always sculpted into the shape of a skunk that’s been run over by multiple semi-trucks. He takes the stage in a 1960s tuxedo that’s the sartorial equivalent of a half-cantaloupe filled with rancid cottage cheese. The fictional comedian, portrayed by Gregg Turkington in comedy clubs and on talk shows for over two decades, has built a cult following for meticulously urinating on the art form to which he’s devoted his life. The Pitch: Why Are We Entertained By This?Įvery Neil Hamburger stand-up set is a passionate rejection of the idea that the guy telling jokes on stage should endear himself to the audience in any way. Then, the spoiler-filled aftermath as experienced by the unwitting editor attacked by this week’s recommendation.

AFTERMATH ENTERTAINMENT ADRESS MOVIE

On Friday nights, IndieWire After Dark takes a feature-length beat to honor fringe cinema in the streaming age.įirst, the spoiler-free pitch for one editor’s midnight movie pick - something weird and wonderful from any age of film that deserves our memorializing.

Aftermath entertainment adress