Mindy Project star Ike Barinholtzs new movie might help you get through Thanksgiving

Ike Barinholtz is the type of funny that can take two seconds or nearly 24 hours to get. Obviously, the actor, known for his oft-kilter one-liners on “The Mindy Project,” can squarely land a punchline, but he also makes jokes that throw you into fits nearly a day later, such as a seemingly off-hand remark he made about his “buddy Squee.” Same thing goes for Barinholtz’s new movie, “The Oath,” a dark comedy opening Oct. 12 about the horrors of Thanksgiving, too much news and tolerating family that sits with you for a while. The jokes are not just jokes. They are political satire and social commentary wrapped up in turkey and Tiffany Haddish. We caught up with Barinholtz a few hours before the Washington screening of the film he wrote, directed and starred in to get to the serious stuff underneath the silly.

You’ve got itchy Twitter fingers. Has anyone on your “team” ever told you to tone it down a notch?

I have done some self-moderation. Don’t tweet when you wake up right away. Ease into it. No one has ever said to me, “Hey, you can’t do that!” But I’ve pulled back a little bit.

I was basically like Chris in the movie. The year running up to the election and the year and a half after, I was over-plugged. There was one morning when my wife was breast-feeding our newborn. She’s in bed next to me, and I’m reading some godforsaken article about something horrible that’s happening, and I turned to her and say, “America is lost.” And she’s like, “Dude, too heavy. Too early. I’ve got a kid on my b–b.”

That was literally your wake up call.

I was almost like a rage-aholic, constantly letting my first thought out there. The place I’m in now, which I know is healthier because I feel better, is staying very aware of what’s happening and [speaking my] mind a little bit. But what I was doing was letting everything else fall by the wayside, and we need those things. Obviously the big things like family, but also movies and TV shows and working out and cooking. So I’m trying to get to that balance. But I just made fun of Lindsey Graham this morning.

It seems like everyone has political fatigue. Was there any fear that audiences wouldn’t be interested in a dark comedy about politics?

Share this articleShare

The short answer is yes. I tell people the movie’s not about politics, it’s about an American family living in this modern America where politics has permeated everything. Up to two years ago, you could still sidestep political conversation at the table. You could pivot to football. Not anymore! You could pivot to TV shows, “Hey, you seen ‘Roseanne’?” “Screw her!”

So what do we do?

The message of the movie to me is that we do have an obligation, we have to at least try. These big external forces, we can’t let them disable our family ties and our personal relationships. Because there will be a day where there’s a different president. If we cut all these tethers, our bubble becomes smaller and thicker.

In the movie, your IRL brother, Jon, plays your on-screen conservative brother. Have you two had dinner table tirades off screen?

It was the Thanksgiving after the election. We’re sitting around after dinner — a few drinks in. It was Brother, and my mom and I, and we really started getting into. And we all voted for the same person! My brother was more of a Bernie Guy, but he went to Indiana to canvass for Hillary. My mom was furious that they forgot about the Midwest. She was so angry that they lost Ohio and Pennsylvania. And I, like a lot of my liberal friends, was like, “Jim Comey! It’s Jim Comey’s fault.” The next day I was like, “Oh, my God, what the hell is going on?” I knew that the dynamic of the table was forever changed.

You have said we are living in a roller coaster. How do we get off? Can we?

Despite everything, I am optimistic about the country, and I know it’s easy for a white guy to be like, “We’re gonna be fine!” But I think America is bigger and better than any president and any political party.

Hillary Clinton joins celebs for push to get people to volunteer, not just vote

Alicia Keys, Michael Stipe and other celebs will protest Kavanaugh

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZLumw9JoqZ6kmZavrbGMrKauqpOafLi8jmtnanBfZn1wfJNopKKmlK56sb7Oo5ycrF2owaK%2BjKKinmWSlr%2Bquseoo62yo2K7psOMpqavoZViuqqzx61koZ2cpXq6u9Rmnp6sXam1s7vUoJ9mrJiWu6y%2FxqKtoqaXZA%3D%3D