Review: Trust Us, This is All Made Up is one of those hilarious performances that barely escapes into the documentary genre. It is nothing more than a live performance with a little bit of actor background. And for purists, this may very well be a problem. Of course, this makes the whole movie sound boring. It isn’t. And when you couple these two actors humor with the realization that the entire hour-long performance is entirely adlibbed, you find yourself enjoying something truly extraordinary. Now don’t get me wrong, this is not a filmmaking masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it’s quite plain and boring. But for this feature, it’s exactly what you want the director to do: get out of the way. This is not about the director’s imprint, but the characters’ freedom. And while it would have been enjoyable to see a more interesting style of filmmaking during the background scenes, it was nice to know that any camera movement would be minimal. The also surprising lack of character background and methodology is a little disappointing. As someone who doesn’t know much about improv routines and couldn’t tell you where the nearest improv club is, learning as much about this rare and (most likely) difficult art would have been extremely beneficial. In fact, because the documentary ends with the performance, I actually couldn’t tell you the names of either actor or how and why they jumped into comedy as a profession. In many ways, merely adding 10-15 minutes of background information on the two actors spliced between the scenes would easily have fixed this fault. But then again, that brings it back to the filmmaking, which, as stated earlier, is not really a focus of the documentary and most likely could have directed from the performance at hand. As a helpful rule, if you find yourself complaining about the lack of proper cinematography or storyline or any other bland technical aspects of Trust Us, This is All Made Up, just remember this phrase: “are you not entertained?” The answer will most likely be ‘yes’ and that alone should suffice. So yes, there is nothing to gain from this documentary if you are a rising filmmaker, but as a lover of comedy, this will certainly make you laugh. And really, that’s all it ever intended to do. Review by Matthew Abshire Informative: 3- I can’t remember their names, but I can recall some great stories Entertainment: 5- you’ll laugh so hard you’ll forget it’s improv Technical: 2- extremely basic Overall: 3- the personalities and improv make this worth watching
Trust Us, This is
                all Made Up
Format: Theater Year: 2009 Running Time: 83 Min Distributor: N/A Producer: Alex Karpovsky Director: Alex Karpovsky Date Reviewed: 5-20-2009 Story: This wholly entertaining documentary showcases the mad improvisational skills of Second City alumni T.J. Jagodowski and David Pasquesi, who use their talents to spontaneously create original characters and fabricate hilarious situations on the spot. Featuring a performance recorded at the Barrow Street Theater in New York City, the film delves into the duo's dynamics and the mutual trust that is the foundation for their success as improv artists (NetFlix).