The Improv: 60 and Still Standing (2023)

The Improv: 60 and Still Standing (2023)

An odd mix of half-developed routines that doesn't feel like the celebration it should be

5.1

Movie

United States
English
Comedy, Documentary
2023
JEFF TOMSIC
Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Bert Kreischer, Craig Robinson
81 min

TLDR

Love or hate this special, we can all agree that Craig Robinson was blazed out of his damn mind that night.

What it's about

Excerpts from the 60th anniversary celebration of the titular comedy club franchise, featuring short sets from a variety of current comedians and archival footage of classic comics performing at the original venue.

The take

More a clip show than a real stand-up special—and certainly not a documentary about the New York-based comedy club—The Improv: 60 and Still Standing only really seems to be for the most hardcore devotees of American stand-up. But even if you are familiar with all the comics who make an appearance here, the film doesn't give their already brief routines enough time to breathe. They've ostensibly been instructed to prepare their best stuff or to just riff, and the resulting performances are very half-baked, with none of the comedians able to dive into any particularly funny or challenging material. They're all still lightly amusing in different ways, but this movie really could've just been a series of YouTube videos to commemorate The Improv's 60th anniversary.

What stands out

If there's anything that can be taken from 60 and Still Standing, it's the sheer variety of comedians that The Improv has given a platform to, vaguely communicating the kind of openness and inclusivity that the club has promised from its beginnings. There are brash comics like Bert Kreischer, deadpan comics like Mark Normand, ventriloquist comedian Jeff Dunham, and whatever the hell Craig Robinson was doing for his set. However, somehow the night's most memorable performer was Filipino-American Jo Koy, whose comedy usually relies far too heavily on the same shallow jokes about Filipino culture and his mom's accent. But for this performance, he becomes much more relaxed and much more emotional, being the only person in the film to talk about what The Improv means to him, especially as a father. It's a weirdly poignant moment of vulnerability that the rest of the special could have actually used more of.

Comments

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

La Chimera (2023)

A dreamy, bewitching film that ponders on ideas of lostness and longing

8.0

Katt Williams: Woke Foke (2024)

Comedian Katt Williams performs a messy, boisterous gospel wrapped in crass and gossip

5.0

Cleaners (2019)

A weird and wonderful coming-of-age anthology featuring classic moments in 2000’s Philippine high schools

8.4

Drowning by Numbers (1988)

Peter Greenaway plays with structure and numbers in this surreal, quirky crime comedy

7.9

Hail Satan? (2019)

Forget everything you think you know about the Satanic Temple

8.0

An Autumn’s Tale (1987)

Two Hong Kong immigrants find a new life, and a new love, in this New York-shot romantic drama

7.6

Problemista (2024)

Dark, weird, poignant, and funny, this debut feature by Los Espookys star Julio Torres is a modern parable of the American Dream

8.6

Bray Wyatt: Becoming Immortal (2024)

WWE’s best effort to pay tribute to Windham “Bray Wyatt” Rotunda

8.5

The Farewell (2019)

Awkwafina shines in this complex culture clash comedy.

9.1

Wild Tales (2014)

Co-produced by Pedro Almodóvar, this tumultuous Argentine anthology film tests the limits of human sanity when pushed to the extremes – and will also test yours.

9.9

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.