Kristen Wiig stars in Imogene.
It's not screwball comedy, it's screw-up comedy, and Kristen Wiig is the master. She plays the titular Imogene, a failing New York playwright whose best recent work is a suicide faked to get her boyfriend's attention back. When the doctor remands her into the dubious care of her narcissistic, disordered mom (Annette Bening), Imogene is forced to spend three days in Ocean City, N.J., getting deeply uncomfortable with the past. You know she's going to find family secrets and truths that unlock her future. You know she's going to get a happy ending without fixing all the things that make her sad-funny. It's obvious, like an NBC family sitcom writ big. Still, Wiig's wryly self-pitying, weirdly sympathetic routine has yet to get old, no matter how many thirtysomething crises she acts out.
Sunday, September 16, Ryerson Theatre, 11:30 a.m.