They call themselves the Upright Citizens Brigade, and they had a brief, albeit memorable, run on Comedy Central a while back. Now, they've brought their finely honed improvisational skills to the big screen, courtesy of director Lawrence Blume. And if the result, Martin & Orloff, isn't as consistently amusing as the TV show was, it does have its moments, as when a guy who recently attempted suicide wipes up the blood stains to the tune of "Put On a Happy Face." He's Martin Flam (Ian Roberts), a marketing hotshot whose design for an eggroll costume led to tragedy. Having failed to kill himself, Martin's wound up with a shrink (Matt Walsh) who, truth be told, could stand to see a shrink. Think Anger Management, only more off the wall.
It's supposed to be off the wall, anyway. A rampaging id, Dr. Orloff takes Martin on one of those Kafkaesque carnival rides à la After Hours and Something Wild, where everybody else in the world seems to be on the same weird frequency. And the comedians they meet along the way include Amy Poehler, Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch of "Saturday Night Live," plus Andy Richter, David Cross and Janeane Garofalo. With so much talent involved, you'd think the movie would be funnier, but like a sketch that just keeps on going, it eventually spins out of control, leaving reality too far behind.
