Brow Beat

Mike Birbiglia’s Charming Don’t Think Twice Trailer Shows the Dark Side of Improv Comedy

Mike Birbiglia exposes the bittersweet side of improv comedy in the excellent new trailer for Don’t Think Twice. The film, which premiered at South by Southwest, stars Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Chris Gethard, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher, and Birbiglia himself as an improv troupe called the Commune, who spend their free time dealing with day jobs and getting older. But success might turn out to be even more complicated than obscurity for the comedians when Jack (Key) secures them an audition for a Saturday Night Live–esque late-night sketch show.

Much like Birbiglia’s directorial debut, Sleepwalk With Me, Don’t Think Twice has certain autobiographical elements—in addition to his standup, film, and TV work, Birbiglia is an alum of Georgetown’s Improv Association, the same group that produced Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, and Alison Becker. The trailer, while definitely melancholy, still promises plenty of laughs, and Birbiglia will be promoting the film, fittingly, with a multicity improv tour that will include pop-up screenings of the film before it reaches theaters on July 22.