Mike Birbiglia
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Filmography
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Connections, in both directions
At its best "Don't Think Twice," valentine on one side, cautionary tale on the other, harkens to some unexpected films not explicitly about improv comedy — Paul Mazursky's "Next Stop, Greenwich Village," or Barry Levinson's "Diner" — but very much in the improv spirit, about dreamers living in what Stephen Colbert refers to as a "humorocracy."
The Big Sick (2017)
Directed by Michael Showalter
influenced by Don't Think Twice (2016), Sleepwalk with Me (2012)
Themes
Nanjiani’s relationship with his fellow comedians (Aidy Bryant and Kurt Braunohler) brings to mind the group dynamics of Mike Birbiglia’s Don’t Think Twice, whereas his conflicts with his Pakistani family play like a less zany version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Aziz Ansari milks perceptive humor out of a similar identity crisis in “Masters of None,” and Kumail’s story also mines warm communal vibes and caustic humor specific to the standup scene that Mike Birbiglia probed in “Don’t Think Twice.”
Meanwhile, his stand-up career takes off, and Apatow lovingly captures the behind-the-scenes world of stand-up life in a way that recalls Mike Birbiglia ’s “Don’t Think Twice.”
The Big Sick may recall Sundance comedy hits past (Sleepwalk With Me comes to mind), but it’s too affecting to give the redundancies much thought.
Obvious Child (2014)
Directed by Gillian Robespierre
influenced by Sleepwalk with Me (2012)
Themes Plot
The critical success of the standup dramedy in Louis CK’s innovative series Louie or Mike Birbiglia’s feature Sleepwalk with Me invites comedians to explore fictional storytelling beyond the Seinfeld model.
It would almost seem like writer/director Gillian Robespierre had made a female response to Mike Birbiglia's 2012 "Sleepwalk with Me" if it wasn't based on her 2009 short - a marginal standup comic faces relationship issues along with a medical concern as he/she hones his/her act.