Review: ‘Sketchflick’ on DVD

[Editor’s Note: After reviewing this post, it has come to my attention that I misused the term “improvisational” in reviewing this movie. I wish to clarify that this movie is a scripted sketch comedy and, while it does have some occasional improvised dialogue, is not improvisational as a whole.]

Improvisational Sketch comedy is, in my opinion, got to be one of the most difficult forms of acting out there. It can be absolutely gut-busting hilarious, or it can be so bad it hurts … either way, its all up to that comedian(s) in that very moment and whether they can pull it off.

I had an opportunity to watch a DVD of a movie called Sketchflick, which is basically 90 minutes of improvised sketch comedy, done in segments like Saturday Night Live and combined on a DVD to total a feature film length. The improvisational group consists of seven comedic actors, all of whom have some experience working with Comedy Central, MTV or Second City. What kind of experience, I couldn’t say for sure, but it says so on the DVD cover.

As you may have noticed, it takes a lot for me to write a bad review, and even when I do I try and find something positive about the movie. So, my overall opinion of Sketchflick is that its rarely funny, its poorly produced and I found it difficult to finish watching. Honestly, this seldom happens. On the other hand, and I mean this with all sincerity, the “concepts” behind “some” of these skits do have “some” potential, but are definitely works in progress. One element that turned me off quickly was that it looks like it was shot over a weekend in a rented college TV studio with extremely minimal sets.

Aside from this, the best advice I can give these comics is to hone their writing skills and develop some of the more unique skits, then hire professional comedic-actors to run with their material. This experience that is featured on the DVD cover doesn’t show in the acting, but may have some potential in the writing with a lot of hard work and effort. I congratulate them for taking a chance, but as in Las Vegas, the odds are rarely in favor of the gambler.

If you wish, you can check out their website at: http://www.sketchflick.com/