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Movies you might have missed: Gregg Turkington’s Entertainment

Gregg Turkington plays a version of himself, a comedian on a nightmare tour in the guise of Neil Hamburger 

Darren Richman
Wednesday 26 October 2016 15:12 BST
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Gregg Turkington as Neil Hamburger in Entertainment - a bleak look at the comedy circuit
Gregg Turkington as Neil Hamburger in Entertainment - a bleak look at the comedy circuit

Gregg Turkington has been honing his Neil Hamburger character since the early 1990s. A confrontational old-school comic with shades of Andy Kaufman’s Tony Clifton persona, Hamburger’s act largely involves question/answer jokes aimed at celebrity targets in between bouts of coughing up phlegm. His is an abrasive, caustic shtick and it’s safe to say this unique brand of anti-comedy is not for everyone. Indeed, at times some might argue it's not for anyone.

Entertainment, released just last year, is the culmination of a quarter of a century spent refining the routine. Although unnamed in the film, Turkington plays a version of himself, a comedian embarking on the tour from hell in the guise of Hamburger. It is a bleak, existential affair with the endless shots of the Mojave desert more reminiscent of the work of Terrence Malick than a traditional comedy.

Turkington had appeared in director Rick Alverson's previous film, The Comedy, and the pair co-wrote the Entertainment screenplay alongside Tim Heidecker (of Tim and Eric fame). Actor and director initially argued about key issues; Turkington felt he should wear his stage glasses and employ the Hamburger voice at all times, but Alverson won out in the end and the comedian’s life on and off stage are clearly delineated.

The tour lurches from one awkward, hostile encounter to the next as the protagonist trudges through the barren landscape with the promise of an exciting Hollywood engagement just about the only thing keeping him sane. His attempts to reach his estranged daughter are entirely in vain and one senses this is the kind of recurring nightmare that might plague a struggling circuit stand-up.

The title, like the character, is a provocative one. Alverson’s films have been noted for dispensing with the traditional three-act structure, while the unscripted dialogue creates an uncomfortable mood of unpredictability. John C Reilly and Michael Cera both appear, but there is no veneer of Hollywood gloss. This is an unforgiving look at a waking nightmare that treats the medium of cinema with the same deconstructive disdain Turkington’s live act has treated comedy for years.

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