The Doors Between Us

The above is a kind, serious description of the film. Personally, I’ve been a professional improviser for over twenty years in Southern California and I know an improv game with I see it. The basic idea of the whole film is what happens when crazy characters are locked in a room together, similar to an improv stage where two actors step forward, sit down on two chairs, and talk for an hour. The characters have strange quirks and backstories, they make stuff up, look for smart things to say in hopes of inducing laughter, and before you know it…magic.

I know there’s an improv community out there that’s more than willing to support their fellow improvisers by attending shows every weekend. I find a personal thrill performing on stage without a script, and hour-long single improvised stories are just as thrilling in its difficulty to perform alone. This cast has most likely done a long-form show for years and translated that show into a full-length movie. So, if supporting fellow improvisers is near-and-dear to your heart, check out The Doors Between Us.

“The characters have strange quirks and backstories, they make stuff up…”

In the end, this is a film and not a stage show. Here are the problems and I’ve mentioned it before in other reviews. The Doors Between Us is more about presenting humorous ideas to an audience than it is about making them laugh. There’s a difference between being humorous and making people laugh. The film is loaded with funny ideas—a clown who talks like Jar Jar Binks, two affluent white women going after one another, the hard life of a cross-eyed man and dying woman. But presenting ideas alone doesn’t produce laughter that most audiences want. Laughter comes from connecting with an audience with a situation, turning that situation on its head, and leading to a punch line. Saying “hey this guy talks like Jar Jar Binks” is a funny idea and we connect with it because we all hate Jar Jar, but that’s not a strong enough connection or one we care about and it doesn’t play well over its almost two-hour runtime. We connect with characters who are like us and have experienced the hardships of life. Hating Jar Jar is not high stakes enough.

The rest of the film plays out like a long-form improv comedy show. The characters wake up and start arguing with one another, and I’m talking a lot of arguing. At one point, it becomes a shout fest. But this moment gives each one a chance to reveal their comedic backstories and quirky quirks. They then panic wondering why they’re there. Soon panic turns to camaraderie in hopes of figuring a way out. This all leads to the glorious moment in the end when they call converge and every character interacts with all the other characters.

I’m not saying that The Doors Between Us is a complete catastrophe. It is what it is, which is a long-form improv show with a mystery house setting. There are genre shows like this every weekend in Los Angeles, which appeals to a small niche of people. An idea like this works better on the stage because when you walk in, you know everything you’re about to see is made up on the spot, and you root for the performers to succeed. As a film though, we except more—well thought out concepts and ideas, characters whose personalities are integral to the plot, and storylines that logically lead to a big ending. In the words of a famous director, “It’s not cinematic.”