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Sometimes the journey is more interesting than the destination. SPARKBIRD is the encapsulation of this phrase.
Beginning with comedian and bird enthusiast Chelsea at one of her stand up specials, she is quickly interrupted by your classic heckler.
I would have given the actress props for handling the disturbance with such grace, if it were not built into the script. A testament to how natural both performers are.
Instead, the heckler is her partner Melvin. The two set out to air out the grievances of their relationship very publicly. Keeping score to see who is at fault for their impending breakup is a funny visual gag.
We are taken through several vignettes, pieced together to tell a non-linear story through multiple perspectives.
A fitting example is a very early scene where the two meet for the first time. Melvin plays it cool while Chelsea remembers an almost Charlie Chaplin-esque comedy of errors.
Throughout the journey, Melvin pulls off loveable, awkward comedy expertly, while Chelsea delivers content dense monologues quickly and articulately. All without losing any of the script’s sharpness.
Impressively, the two can effortlessly go from the playful banter of an early relationship, with very charming chemistry, to seething at each other’s irksome habits at the drop of a hat.
And drop hats they do!
With several asides to break up the tension, SPARKBIRD flows almost like a variety show. Formats range from a nature documentary, to vintage baseball announcers. Seemingly nothing is left on the cutting-room floor.
This absurdity piles on the laughs. With smooth transition between set pieces, they never interrupt the rhythm of the story but still manage dramatic pauses in all the right places.
The show is genre-bending, with an ending that defies doomed artist relationship tropes of The Last 5 Years and Tick Tick Boom. While proving that rom-coms still have more ground to cover, SPARKBIRD has something for everybody.