In 2024, I was sitting in a packed theater in Times Square full of a few thousand people who were there for one thing and one thing only – a rare reunion by 8 or 9 of the original cast members of the MTV sketch comedy show, The State. I knew that they had sold out two or three shows, and there was some irony that this live performance was taking place in a theater that was literally in the basement of the building where the comedy group had offices back in the ‘90s, while they were making the four seasons of their MTV sketch comedy series.
Cut forward a year and Matthew Perniciaro’s Long Live the State premieres to a similarly rapt audience at the Tribeca Film Festival, and it’s as much a love letter to the 11 members of the group, as it is a chance for them to lavish praise and love on each other, saying things that might have been tough to share when they were in the thick of things thirty years earlier. After its four seasons, the group fell apart and went off to do their own projects, but looking at all that the individual members did after the show, both individually and together, it’s absolutely awe-inspiring when they’re all mentioned in one place.
Before we even get to MTV, we follow the group forming as the New Comedy Group at NYU with various configurations and each of them taking on different duties, performing so many ad hoc shows in various locations that eventually word gets to MTV, who is convinced to have them take part in the series “You Wrote It, You Watch It,” hosted by Jon Stewart, no less. Perniciaro’s doc does a great job covering this period with some amazing archival footage, spending maybe the first 45 minutes leading up to MTV giving “The State” their very own sketch comedy show.
The original show famously was loathed by the critics, as were some of the projects that arose after it, including the David Wain-directed Wet Hot American Summer, and the Comedy Central shows, Stella and Reno 911! This isn’t just a hippy-dippy love-in for the group, as the members get into the internal politics and the campaigning to get sketches approved, which ultimately divided the group, something that got worse as they went their separate ways with clearly delineated factions formed.
One great thing Perniciaro does with this movie is that he gives each of the members of the State their own moment, insuring that there is a much-needed equity among the 11 members, especially since a few of them, like Ken Marino and Michael Showalter, definitely got a lot more of the focus when the shows were airing due to their recurring characters and catchphrases. Ironically, some of the still-quoted catchphrases came out of MTV expecting the group to be more like Saturday Night Live. That’s why people still will yell, “I want to dip my balls in it” at Marino decades later, a joke that clearly backfired by working so well.
Wain went on to direct many great comedies, and I somehow never realized that Michael Patrick Jann directed 1999’s Drop Dead Gorgeous, starring a very young Kirsten Dunst and Amy Adams. (Jann also has an upcoming horror film called Alma and the Wolf, whose star I literally just spoke to – look for that soon.) Showalter has gone on to become a well-respected director of his own, having directed Jessica Chastain to her first Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye. Showalter was a holdout from the 2024 live shows, because, as he says in the movie, he’s just not comfortable on stage anymore.
I also loved Perniciaro’s musical choices, with many staples from MTV from that era, including the Jesus and Mary Chain and Pixies. It feels somewhat ironic, since it took the State many years to finally release the episodes on DVD due to the issues with licensing some of the songs used on the show. Clearly, Perniciaro didn’t have as tough a time, but it works perfectly to set the
Perniciaro’s doc is not just something done merely for the fans, because many people might not be aware of the projects that came from the various members – Night at the Museum, for instance – without realizing the history of “The State” or how the group inspired each of the individual members to thrive in the comedy world. Long Live the State is an absolutely brilliant doc, that is as funny as it is poignant, and hopefully, it will find the proper distribution to ensure it’s seen by those who never quite got what “The State” were trying to do.
Rating: A
Long Live the State is playing at the Tribeca Film Festival through the weekend, with tickets remaining for many of the upcoming screenings.
Director: Matthew Perniciaro
Cast: Michael Showalter, David Wain, Ken Marino, Michael Ian Black, Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garrant, Kerri Kenney, Kevin Allison, Joe Lo Truglio, Todd Holoubek
Producer: Adam F. Goldberg, Kelsey Oluk, Matthew Perniciaro
Production Co: Diorama
Genre: Documentary
Language: English
Runtime: 110 Minutes
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