The modern hipster phenomenon is a strange one, because it seems hating hipsters became something mainstream culture was aware of before they ever even knew what hipsters were. What is it about these kids that causes such an immediate, visceral backlash from those around them? Is it their horn-rimmed glasses, their vintage clothing, their insistence on schooling everyone who will listen on the cutting edge of art, music, and culture? No that’s not it. More likely its the undercurrent of smugness and insecurity that runs beneath hipster personas. Hipsters are so worried about not being the smartest person in the room, the person most up on the newest thing, that they’re prone to attacking anyone they perceive as being beneath them on the intellectual ladder. They’ll knock anyone down in order to prop themselves up, even those that are supposed to be their friends and colleagues. Co-writer/director Rick Alverson’s new movie, The Comedy, takes these unappealing parts of the hipster persona and amplifies them, nearly to the point of horror.
The Comedy casts Tim and Eric star Tim Heidecker as Swanson, a listless Brooklyn hipster whose pocketbook is heavy and work calendar light. Swanson spends his time lazing around on his dying father’s boat, getting drunk, and spending time with his hipster friends—who are all so self-conscious and insufferable that they can’t even hang out with each other and have a good time without viciously critiquing each other’s attempts at humor. Their interactions illuminate one of the most essential truths of today’s young intellectuals: nothing is more frightening to them than trying at something and failing, so, as a defense mechanism, they treat effort or sincerity as being the most disgusting thing on the planet.
That’s not to say that The Comedy is such sharp, illuminating satire that everyone should run out and watch it right away. Its focus on contemptible characters also makes it a really tedious, difficult watch. Heidecker’s Swanson is casually racist, sexist, and politically incorrect, past the point of detached irony and bordering on sociopathy. His offensive rants seem to be a challenge to the audience as much as they are to the hapless innocents he shares scenes with. Once again, to take anything seriously is the scariest thing in the world for a hipster, so to not sit idly through rich kids talking down to working people, sexually harassing every woman they meet, and making quips about Hitler will get you immediately vilified by them, and often make you feel like you’re not “getting it” as you watch this film. The Comedy effectively satirizes its targets by recreating how insufferable it is to be around and to be judged by today’s entitled youths, but it also makes itself an unpleasant experience in the process. There are a few scenes late where Swanson’s armor of detachment breaks down, where we see him become affected by real, human things... but is that bit of character development enough to make the film worth the suffering it puts you through, and ultimately a success? Not quite. But it is enough to make it interesting.
