Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim take their comedy very seriously, as befits two guys who started out as artists and filmmakers rather than sketch artists. At least, that’s how they explain it. When I spoke to them on February 7, 2012, the conversation included the allure of the shopping mall as a stage for their particular brand of comedy, what it is about low budgets that appeals to them, and why John C. Reilley is truly fearless.
Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim, San Francisco, CA 2/7/12
TIM AND ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR MOVIE is a cautionary yet uplifting tale of what happens when Tim and Eric are given way too much money to make a film for the Schlaaang company and diddle it away on a big star, a shiny suit, and a personal guru. On the hook for a billion dollars, they take a chance on America by taking over a failed mall in order to turn it around, recoup the lost funds, and maybe find love. Instead they find an orphan raised by the mall’s resident wild wolf, a spiritual healing that takes a decidedly earthy form, and the sort of local businesses that showcase a can-do attitude rather than a sound business plan. Undaunted, and with their fledging company, Dobis P.R., to help, Tim and Eric take on the challenge with grit, pluck, and a mall scooter made for two. The film co-stars Will Ferrell, Jeff Goldblum, Zack Galifianakis, Ray Wise, John C. Reilly, Tink Kaplan, Will Forte, and Robert Loggia, who does not dance on a giant piano keyboard. Fans of Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show will recognize many familiar faces, as well as those tropes that we have all come to rely on in order to further our understanding of what we have just seen. and I’m talking with Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, the eponymous Tim and Eric of It’s a cautionary yet uplifting tale of what happens when Tim and Eric are given way too much money to make a film for the Schlaaang company and diddle it away on a big star, a shiny suit, and a personal guru. On the hook for a billion dollars, they take a chance on America by taking over a failed mall in order to turn it around, recoup the lost funds, and maybe find love. Instead they find an orphan raised by the mall’s resident wild wolf, a spiritual healing that takes a decidedly earthy form, and the sort of local businesses that showcase a can-do attitude rather than a sound business plan. Undaunted, and with their fledging company, Dobis P.R., to help, Tim and Eric take on the challenge with grit, pluck, and a mall scooter made for two. The film co-stars Will Ferrell, Jeff Goldblum, Zack Galifianakis, Ray Wise, John C. Reilly, Tink Kaplan, Will Forte, and Robert Loggia, who does not dance on a giant piano keyboard. Fans of Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show will recognize many familiar faces, as well as those tropes that we have all come to rely on in order to further our understanding of what we have just seen.
Your Thoughts?