Indifferent to the notion of inheriting his father's estate, a restless, aging New Yorker passes time with his friends in games of mock sincerity and irreverence.Indifferent to the notion of inheriting his father's estate, a restless, aging New Yorker passes time with his friends in games of mock sincerity and irreverence.Indifferent to the notion of inheriting his father's estate, a restless, aging New Yorker passes time with his friends in games of mock sincerity and irreverence.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 2 nominations
- Male nurse
- (as Seth Koen)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe black males Swanson (Tim Heidecker) encounters at a Brooklyn bar were not actors but participants. Their reactions from Heidecker stereotyping them were genuine.
- Quotes
Swanson: [affecting a southern accent while talking to his sister-in-law, who remains silent] Oh Liza, Liza. Them slaves be workin' hawd out heah. Dyin' out there in, in the thousands. In de sun. Just keelin' over from de heat. From de HEAT-UH. Come on, now. Ain't it good, ain't it right, to see them die? How hawd dey work? For dis fam'ly? Poppa use dem skin for makin' nice furniture. He tans 'em out dere, and makes a nice - that couch you on, in dere is all slave meat. Slave skin. As it should be. Lawd bless 'em. Slave penis and vagina. Come on, that's funny. I know you think that's funny. You ain't-your sense of humor ain't died. It's a good crop of slaves we have this year, innit? Real nice, nice bunch. I got to know 'em personally. Some of 'em, I know 'em by their first name! Old man be dead by now, I 'spect. Ain't breathin' too good. I 'spect he won't, he won't, shine too, too kindly on our family. He got one son out dere on a boat. He got another boy up dere, inna looneybin. Married to some whore. Who sh-who, who rubs, uh, who, who rubs, rubs sh-rubs shit on her vagina! Some whore, got, you-you are, you the kind of whore that, you the kind of whore that swallows cum. You are my only cum-swallowing sister-in-law, and I appreciate it. Cum swallower. That's the proudest thing to be, in this family.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Half in the Bag: Django Unchained and 2012 Recap (2012)
- SoundtracksBaby
Written by Donnie Emerson
Performed by Donnie & Joe Emerson
One half of the creative team behind Adult Swim's flatulent sketch show, Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Heidecker's brutal depiction of Swanson encapsulates, and furthermore parodies, the exact audience from which he has become a cult demigod – the trust-funded, apathetic hipster. Instead of the garish surrealism of said TV series, The Comedy is rooted in documentary-like naturalism.
Aimlessly wandering around his stomping ground of Williamsburg, New York, Swanson spends his days trying to find substance for life – picking up jobs as a dishwasher even though he's loaded, travelling across town via his cosy houseboat, heading into ghettoised bars so that he can rile up/bond with the local "brothers", and chatting to drunk women about how feudalism is great and Hitler misunderstood. Far from just testing the patience and credulity of the characters on screen, Alverson is reaching out to the audience watching The Comedy. Whether the embittered sentiment of the film is ironic, genuine or otherwise is dependent on your own tolerance level and engagement with this truly unsympathetic, crass character.
Uncritically speaking, I found Heidecker's performance mesmerising, but the character unrelenting nasty. In partiocular, there's a bedroom scene late on in the movie which left me feeling abused and nauseous. A powerful reaction to cinema, but certainly not a welcome one!
If you feel compelled to sit through this venomous, albeit fraught comedy, it would make for perfect double bill with the LCD Soundsystem documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits. Not only do both movies feature the humble DFA Records boss James Murphy, they both wryly depict the ennui and societal disconnect of an ageing American subculture.
More reviews at www.366movies.com
- octopusluke
- Dec 4, 2012
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Details
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $41,113
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $6,000
- Nov 11, 2012
- Gross worldwide
- $41,113
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1