A Futile & Stupid Gesture (2017)
January 26, 2018 5:10 PM - Subscribe

In the 1970s and '80s, National Lampoon's success and influence creates a new media empire overseen in part by the brilliant and troubled Doug Kenney.

Packed with comics playing comics, this funny and tragic story recreates an important chapter in privileged white guy comedy history.
posted by Stanczyk (9 comments total)
 
This was probably the best and least annoying way for the history of this crowd to be told. If it was just a Cavalcade of Stars it wouldn't be as good.
posted by rhizome at 8:41 PM on January 26, 2018


How different is this from Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead?
posted by Clustercuss at 9:18 AM on January 27, 2018


It's not a documentary.
posted by Stanczyk at 2:04 PM on January 27, 2018


>How different is this from Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead?

This isn't as good. It's not terribly terrible, but it's not a documentary. Probably wouldn't have gotten made unless Netflix was barfing cash on any project it could.
posted by Catblack at 2:26 PM on January 27, 2018 [1 favorite]


Well dangit, I was thinking "Drunk Stoned," so nevermind me. It's been a few months since I watched it.
posted by rhizome at 5:58 PM on January 27, 2018


I laughed out loud several times watching this, but it didn't really cover any ground that Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead (or any other fictionalized movie about any troubled creative genius) didn't do better. So, it works well enough as a David Wain comedy, which was just fine for me.

It's way better than Wired. (Go ahead and quote me on the DVD box.)
posted by doctornecessiter at 7:41 AM on January 29, 2018


OK, I've watched it now and I can't hate this. It's a pretty good and still not annoying way to tell the story. The cast and cameos were perfect and it seems like a labor of love in a way (which may be a synonym for Netflix Cash).

I think this and Drunk Stoned are companion pieces, which I think the topic deserves. Kinda weird how they came out so close to each other.
posted by rhizome at 10:18 PM on January 29, 2018


I uh... really enjoyed that? I agree it's probably the least worst version of this narrative that could be told. But I liked it.
posted by figurant at 7:18 PM on January 31, 2018


I found A Futile & Stupid Gesture entertaining as a biopic, and Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead fascinating as a documentary. I'd watched the documentary first but wished I'd done it the other way around.

The wigs in the biopic? Horrifying and hilarious....there was not a lot of Netflix cash spent on those.
posted by wheek wheek wheek at 4:57 AM on February 3, 2018


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