Tribeca Film has acquired North American rights to The Comedy, one of the most buzzed-about films from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Rick Alverson and starring Tim Heidecker (of “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” on Adult Swim), The Comedy has been called “one of the most wildly inappropriate and pitch black comedies I’ve ever seen” (Film Threat). The Comedy, which also played South By Southwest and will screen at BAMcinemaFEST this June in Brooklyn, will be released in October of this year.

“Tim Heidecker’s performance pushes the limits and the result is a film that feels refreshingly new and fearless,” said Geoff Gilmore, Chief Creative Officer of Tribeca Enterprises. “We look forward to the film sparking conversation and debate when it reaches a wider audience through Tribeca Film.”

Despite the title, The Comedy has dark roots that run as deep as the funny. Heidecker stars as Swanson, an aging hipster in Brooklyn who hangs out daily with his similarly-minded friends, (“Tim & Eric” co-star Eric Wareheim, LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy and comedian Gregg Turkington a.k.a.“Neil Hamburger”) in games of comic irreverence and mock sincerity. As Swanson awaits a large inheritance from his father’s estate, he grows restless of the safety a sheltered life offers, and he begins to test the limits of acceptable behavior, pushing the envelope in every way he can. Heidecker’s deadpan delivery cleverly masks a deep desire for connection and sense in the modern world.

With his third film, Alverson delivers a powerful and provocative character study. Hollywood.com agrees: “Heidecker’s Swanson is wired like Robert De Niro’s Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, swapping violence for wisecracks.”

“My hope is that The Comedy may be seen as both a challenging, cautionary tale and an unapologetic immersion in a culture of irony and recreational cruelty many have come to find liberating,” said Rick Alverson. “We're very happy to be in the competent hands of Tribeca Film and look forward to a partnership that will bring this movie to a wide audience.”

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