Brigsby is a comedy I need to preface with a warning. If you’re expecting fart jokes and other low brow crap that Adam Sandler, and not thought-through Will Ferrell vehicles, make. This movie isn’t for you. The humor is subtle, observational. Its focus is on the awkwardness of a 25-year-old man having to adjust to an alien world, ours.
Let me put the humor into perspective to the premise. James lives in a fallout shelter in the desert with his parents Ted and April Mitchum. Some kind of disaster happened so you can’t go outside without a gas mask, unless you want to die from skincer (skin plus cancer). To pass the time, James does chores, works on complex mathematics, reads and watches a TV show that has a new videotaped episode delivered to the shelter every week…Brigsby Bear Adventures. The program is part Teddy Ruxpin and part Doctor Who. Within it are life lessons for when James was young (hygiene) but currently there discussions involve the complex mathematics he is working on. BBA is James’ obsession too, there isn’t anything else to watch anyway. During any free time, James runs an Internet forum to discuss the “science” and other plot points.
Then one night while he’s outside (wearing protective gear) observing the stars, a half dozen police cars arrive and storm the shelter. The cops arrest Tim and April because they are not James’ parents. They’re the couple who kidnapped him from the hospital when he was a couple days old. When he discovered that Brigsby Bear Adventures was a show created by his fake dad and his fake mom controlled the “Internet,” he initially feels pretty dejected, manipulated, confused and incredibly untethered.
After all the fuss dies down, James is “returned” to his actual parents, Greg and Louise Pope. They’re beside themselves with joy to finally see their son. James’ younger teenage sister Aubrey…not so much. The Popes do everything to help him assimilate into a typical middle-class family. They take him to the movies, they explain how to operate a TV, Aubrey sneaks him out to a house party and he learns how Google can answer many questions. His sad state continues though.
Eventually he recalls Aubrey’s movie-making classmate Spence from the party. James gives Spence a crash course on BBA because he decides to make the Brigsby Bear Adventures finale. Producing the conclusive episode provides three things for James: a creative outlet, closure to his past and most importantly connection to his real family and new friends. Fear not, hilarity continues to ensue as James recruits the arresting officer to play a wizard, hunts down the waitress who portrayed both Smile Sisters and his dedication to practical effects leads to disaster.
Again, if you like the more vulgar, lowest-common-denominator humor Hollywood cranks out, you’ll find Brigsby dull. This movie caters more toward those he enjoy the subtleness in past comedies I’ve recommended like Cashback or Edge of Seventeen.
Alamo Extras: Thanks to construction on MoPac, on a Sunday of all days, I was under the wire. I don’t think I missed much, what they were wrapping up before the trailers didn’t appear related to the movie.