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Broken Mike is a story about the pursuit of a dream. The documentary follows a group of comedians for seven days as they compete in 2006 Seattle International Comedy Competition.

Experience one man's week long quest to win the Seattle International  Comedy Competition.

This film is heroic, tragic, comedic and sometimes &quot;action&quot; filled all at the same time. In talking to Mike one night on the phone, specifically about the film, I mentioned to him that the film does an outstanding job of connecting the audience with the characters. I found it engaging and entertaining all at once. I really liked the haphazard and gritty nature of the whole piece as you engage, with the participants, in what can only be described as a seriously melancholy week. I was particularly struck by watching Mike, in complete contradiction to logic, digress both slowly and at the same time rapidly from an optimistic comedian starting out in a competition, to a defeated slump of a man hellbent on just finishing. At times you just want to go through the screen and hug the poor bastard, tears ever so slightly brewing on the inside of your eyelid yet, at the very same time, you&#39;re laughing because there is just so much comedy in the film. I suppose is makes sense that a film of this type would pull a viewer in both directions as I have heard that comedy is quite often someone&#39;s attempt to make light of their own tragedy in an effort to provide self-therapy.<br/><br/>In the end, when you get to the credits, this film makes you sit there and process what you have seen. I truly enjoy films like that. Ones that even after the movie is over you still sit and think about all of the little subtleties and nuances you just experienced. Often times you watch movies like this with others and there is a warm, almost sublime feeling you get from your own thoughts about it and through the discussions with your fellow viewers.<br/><br/>I&#39;ve watched this film several times and it doesn&#39;t get old or predictable. Like a project that you never get to, it just sits there on your workbench, calling you to once again engage with it in pitched combat. Beckoning you, nay screaming at you to fix &quot;The Broken Mike&quot;.

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Broken Mike

The name of this documentary about a comedian&#39;s personal journey through the 2006 Seattle International Comedy Competition could have just as well been called &quot;Broken Man&quot; - That man being Mike Agostini, a usually, very funny, yet relatively new comedian who took a big financial risk in anticipation of furthering his dream career. The film has some funny moments, especially prior to the start of the competition when we see Agostini in his most relaxed and confident state of mind. We are then taken behind the scenes during the competition to witness the stress of competitive backstabbing, the stress of faulty stage equipment, the stress of unpredictable audiences... But what stays central through it all is Agostini&#39;s psychological battle to maintain motivation and confidence after repeated disappointments and failure to place. I came away from the film with a better understanding of the brutal nature of comedy. It is one of the few professions where a person is made constantly aware of how well they are doing while they are doing it. People either laugh or they don&#39;t laugh, the latter being an unnerving silence that can challenge the ego of even the most confident of characters. Broken Mike is truly an interesting film.

Broken Mike takes you behind the scenes of the 2006 Seattle International Comedy Competition with Mike Agostini. A behind the scenes look that turns out to be the longest week of Mike&#39;s life. Broken Mike will make you just as anxious as Mike Agostini is every time the winner for the night is announced during the week long competition. You&#39;ll get to experience the reality of giving a stand-up performance in front of a crowd of angry loggers in Vancouver, WA. You get a lot of great jokes and a killer soundtrack. If you think telling jokes is easy you need to watch this movie to be able to grasp just how difficult it actually is. I would definitely recommend Broken Mike to anyone that loves comedy mixed with a healthy dose of dramatic competition!

User reviews

Broken Mike

Sweet, sour and utterly heart wrenching

Broken Man

Experience one man's week long quest to win the Seattle International Comedy Competition.

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