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A broken, aging comedian tours the California desert, lost in a cycle of third-rate venues, novelty tourist attractions, and vain attempts to reach his estranged daughter. By day, he slogs through the barren landscape, inadvertently alienating every acquaintance. At night, he seeks solace in the animation of his onstage persona. Fueled by the promise of a lucrative Hollywood engagement, he trudges through a series of increasingly surreal and volatile encounters. In Alverson's hallucinatory fugue, Gregg Turkington stars as The Comedian, caught in a struggle between be-ing the center of attention and the object of alienation, occasionally challenged by an unexpected cast of characters played by Tye Sheridan, John C. Reilly, Michael Cera, and Amy Seimetz.
 
Directed by Rick Alverson
Written by Rick Alverson, Gregg Turkington, Tim Heidecker
Produced by Ryan Zacarias, Ryan Lough, George Rush, Brooke Bernard
Produced by Rick Alverson, Patrick Hibler, Alex Lipschultz
Director of Photography – Lorenzo Hagerman
Edited by Michael Taylor, Rick Alverson
Production Designer – Bart Mangrum
Costume Designer – Elizabeth Warn
Sound Designer – Gene Park
Music Supervisor – Chris Swanson
Music Composed by Robert Donne
Casting Directors – Sig De Miguel, Stephen Vincent
Executive Producers - Chris Swanson, Ben Swanson, Darius Van Arman, Jonathan Cargill, Pindar Van Arman
Executive Producers – Jack Black, Priyanka Mattoo, Patrick Ewald, Shaked Berenson
Executive Producers – Champ Bennett, Russell Armand, Omar Elsayed, Armando Montelongo, David J. Phillips
Executive Producers – Walter S. Hall, Henry S. Rosenthal, Larry Fessenden, Johnny Mac, David Hansen, Andrew Logan
Co-Executive Producers – Bryan Ramirez, A.J. Trauth
Co-Producers – Shannon Houchins, Potsy Ponciroli
A Complex Corporation production
The Comedian – Gregg Turkington
Airplane Tour Guide – Annabella Lwin
Eddie the Opener – Tye Sheridan
Cousin John – John C. Reilly
The Heckler – Mike Hickey
Heckler Voice – Lawrence Michael Levine
Oil Field Tour Guide – Craig Holland
Gael – Juventino Martin
Alejandro – Sergio Estrada
Alejandro’s Daughter Maria – Susan Cernas
Ghost Town Tour Guide – Kevin Guthrie
Orange Grove Worker – Fabien Euresti, Sr.
Teresa – Tonantzin Carmelo
Cousin John’s Father-in-Law – Juan Cueto
The Chromotherapist – Lotte Verbeek
Woman in Bar - Amy Seimetz
Tommy – Michael Cera
Party Host – David Yow
Ruben – Dustin Guy Defa
Ruben’s Girlfriend – Natalie Contreras
Pregnant Woman – Ashley Atwood
Pants the Opener – Jeffrey Jensen
The Celebrity – Tim Heidecker
The Celebrity’s Henchman – Dean Stockwell
Fernando – Sergio Rafael
Hose – Joe Sachem
Sitcom Maria – Mariann Gavelo
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“A twisted, existential comedic masterwork.” - Indiewire
“A haunting deconstruction of a small time performer’s psyche.” - Vice
“An odyssey through a soulless American nowhere.” - Variety
“Revelatory…a roadtrip to the center of a harrowing abyss.” - The Guardian
“Rick Alverson is a director who increasingly stands among the most essential working.” - Village Voice
“MARVELOUS. A SINGULAR FILM THAT WILL STAND AS ONE OF THE YEAR’S VERY BEST.” – Nick Allen, RogerEbert.com
“Superbly ominous” - Slant Magazine
"Alverson’s direction and Lorenzo Hagerman’s cinematography create a beautiful portrait of an ugly existence.” - Consequence of Sound
“Bizarrely entrancing” – Indiewire
“Existential and hysterical….extraordinary to behold in its bizarre humanity.” - Twitch Film
“Its off-beat humor and existentialist bent will appeal to a vast underground audience seeking that weird next cult classic” - Twitch Film
“It’s impossible to deny that Entertainment is the expression of a daring artist who is hellbent on rejecting conventions and norms and firmly believes that the true purpose of cinema is to challenge, not satiate, viewers.” - Hammer to Nail
"Turkington’s compelling performance add up to an unnerving comedy.” - The Film Stage
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