Encore Michigan

“Plot Twist” is funny trip to the movies at Go Comedy!

Review July 02, 2016 David Kiley

FERNDALE, Mich.–So, you like the movies. Plot Twist, which just opened at Go Comedy! in Ferndale, as the title of the newest sketch comedy show implies, turns what you think might ordinarily happens on its head.

In a riff on “Beauty and The Beast”, the Enchantress gets really bugged by the fact that Belle keeps calling the Beast “Beast”, and funny things ensue. In another sketch, a father with two kids is attempting to take his two off-center kids to the movies only to find the two possible kid shows are sold out. To assuage their insistence on seeing a movie, he takes them to see “Schindler’s List.” The humor comes when the mother of the kids appears after they have emerged from the concentration camp and starts quizzing them on what they saw.

There is a recurring character of the half-fish/half-girl who first appears in what seems like a divorce hearing with the Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah characters from the movie Splash. The off-spring daughter is so weird that neither of them want custody of her. Plot Twist!

There are a lot of sketches of varying length, all connected to a movie, or the idea of seeing a movie. In one sketch, a young man is on a date in his apartment, and the two are getting ready to settle in and watch a DVD. He seems suave and in control, but turns into a whiny, quivering ball of man-boy at everything from a strike of thunder, to the rain, to a spill on his clothes.

The ensemble cast is made up of Sheevani Desai, Chris Fortin, Brad Hicks, Erik Heilner, Doug Kolbicz, Jessica Loria, and Janelle Souilliere. Direction is handled by Peter Jacokes with assistance from MaryBeth Kolbicz and Musical Director Jeremy St. Martin. Writing is done by the actors and directors.

Like any sketch comedy I have ever seen, not all the bits fully land. But the connective theme of movie watching is a good device to keep the audience focused during the dips in the show. On the whole, the actors are a tight ensemble and have terrific stage energy and chemistry. All in all, a funny and diverting night at Go Comedy!

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