The Rehearsal

Dir. Nathan Fielder. 2022, 194 mins. plus 15-minute intermission. DCP. Even the most devoted fans of Nathan Fielder’s “reality” comedy series Nathan for You—an unsettlingly hilarious capitalist critique in the guise of 21st-century cringe comedy—could not have prepared themselves for his unclassifiable follow-up, the HBO series The Rehearsal. Across six shifting, amorphous episodes of brilliant, escalating hilarity and discomfort, Fielder destabilizes viewers with a project that defies easy description: challenging the adage that there are no rehearsals in life, he enlists people who want to prepare for major upcoming events or confrontations. To “help” them—if that’s what he’s really doing—Fielder constructs a series of elaborate “fake” worlds full of trap doors: rehearsals within rehearsals, deep dives into methods of acting and mechanisms for coping, and, as it becomes clear, a thorough working out of the grand creator’s own neuroses and narcissisms. Gut-bustingly funny even as it grows increasingly surreal and provocative, The Rehearsal questions the dubious concept of reality itself.

Tickets are free with Museum admission: $20 / $12 senior and students / $10 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members. Purchase general admission and reserve your ticket. Pick up your ticket for the screening upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit. Review safety protocols before your visit.