The Alamo Drafthouse is the No. 5 most innovative company in the world.
Photo by Nick Simonite
In life, there are small victories, like scoring the primo seat in a movie theater, and big victories, like beating Oprah on a listicle. Austin's own Alamo Drafthouse has just scored a big victory.
The movie theater chain has been named the No. 5 most innovative company in the world, coming in well ahead of Oprah's OWN Network at No. 9. (Though, we'd like to note, it's impossible to truly be better than Oprah.)
The Drafthouse sits among some serious heavy-hitters on Fast Company's annual roundup. The top five companies responsible for redefining entertainment are HBO, Netflix, Marvel, Comedy Central and ... the Alamo Drafthouse.
"The Austin-based cinema chain’s intense focus on quality and the customer experience — there is a strict no-talking and no-texting policy, and beer and food are delivered to people’s seats — has made Alamo a darling among film lovers," writes Fast Company.
Film lovers across the U.S. will soon be able to find out why. According to Fast Company, the theater chain hopes to have 50 cinemas open across the country by 2017. And it's not just the theater experience that secured the No. 5 spot. The magazine also points to the success of Founder/CEO Tim League's other endeavors under the Drafthouse brand including Drafthouse Films, Mondo and Fantastic Fest.
Comedian Tim Robinson has gained a cult following thanks to series like Detroiters and I Think You Should Leave, in which his brand of cringe comedy is on full display. The former Saturday Night Live writer/performer has had a few small movie roles over the years, but he’s now getting his first starring role in the off-kilter Friendship.
Robinson plays Craig, a mild-mannered suburbanite with a wife, Tami (Kate Mara), and son, Steven (Jack Dylan Grazer). Craig has a boring life that involves little more than going to his middle manager job while wearing the same clothes day after day, anticipating the next Marvel movie, and helping Tami out with her at-home floral business.
He gets a jolt of energy when Austin (Paul Rudd) moves into the neighborhood. The two men seem to hit it off, with Austin — a weatherman at a local TV channel — even taking Craig on a couple of impromptu adventures. But when Craig commits a couple of faux pas at a group gathering at Austin’s house, their bond starts to fracture.
Even though the film is written and directed by Andrew DeYoung, it’s clear that Robinson had a big influence on the style of comedy it features. There are no big set pieces with a slew of jokes coming one after another. Instead, the film forces the audience to try to vibe with the very particular type of wavelength it’s giving off, one that could almost be called anti-comedy for the way the laughs come out of left field.
The 100-minute film is full of random comedic moments, like Steven kissing Tami on the lips, Craig being obsessed with his plain brown clothes, a group sing-along, and more. More often than not, it’s the way Craig reacts to both normal and abnormal situations that gets the laughs. The character is needy and oblivious, two traits that combine to make many of his actions cringeworthy.
Perhaps most importantly for this type of movie, many things in the story go unexplained or don’t make sense. Seemingly crucial elements are brought up only to fade away just as quickly, while other parts that appeared to be throwaway sections get callbacks later in the film. DeYoung and Robinson are determined to keep the audience on their toes the entire time, never knowing what to expect next.
Robinson has the perfect face for a story like this, one that’s bland enough to blend into the background but memorable enough to sell the jokes. His demeanor is also excellent, never becoming too expressive, even when he gets angry. With long hair, a mustache, and a certain swagger, Rudd is a great complement to Robinson. Only in a film like this would an everyman like Rudd be considered the suave and cool one.
There will be some that will see Friendship and come away wondering what the hell they just watched. But anyone who goes in knowing that they’re about to witness a comedy that challenges their sensibilities will likely have a great time.
