"It vaguely rang a bell from having watched Caddyshack and Animal House 7 billion times, but I didn't know really who he was,” says David Wain, alum of The State and director of Wet Hot American Summer (and its various Netflix offspring) as well as films like Wanderlust and Role Models. By signing up to the VICE newsletter you agree to receive electronic communications from VICE that may sometimes include advertisements or sponsored content. While the movie is flush with one liners, packed with an assortment of famous comedians portraying other comedians, and a real story worth telling, A Futile and Stupid Gesture is too self aware and stuffed with too much information to really drive home any particular point. ", McHale is more modest: “I don't know why David thought of me, other than he might've guessed that Chevy and I were the same height." This is as a result of his own insecurities as a result of his relationship with his dad (whose oldest son, the golden boy, died and ever since then, nothing Doug has done could make him proud, no matter how successful he is). When I sit down with Joel McHale to talk about his new film A Stupid and Futile Gesture—which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival this week before debuting on Netflix Friday—I have one question right off the bat: Does Chevy know? Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 3, Fall TV First Look: Find Out What’s Coming, The Best Peacock Original Shows and Movies, All Upcoming Disney Movies: New Disney Live-Action, Animation, Pixar, Marvel, and More. Dan is obviously making Rick and Morty, and it would be great." ... Will Forte Domhnall Gleeson Emmy Rossum Martin Mull Joel McHale … “He was very happy that Doug Kenney, who was his best friend at the time, is finally getting the due that he deserves. Having said that, naturally, Doug Kenney co-created the magazine with Henry Beard and, even then, they weren't the only contributors to the magazine and every other outlet they may have had. And, I'm fairly certain that the Seth Rogens of the world and such idolize the Lampoon style of comedy. The first half or so of the film deals with Doug and Henry's struggles to get the magazine up and running and how, at first, they struggle to break even on the magazine. As cliche as this might sound, but Doug is a victim of his own success. ", But squaring away the personal relationship was the tricky part. David Wain, director of famed comedies such as Wet Hot American Summer and Role Models, is asked to tackle a biopic of unsung comedian Doug Kenney, founder, creator, and life of National Lampoon. Forgot your password? I'd recommend it if you even remotely care about the history of comedy in the U.S. Definitely an entertaining, if unessential, watch. Will Forte stars as Kenney, but Martin Mull co-stars as the older, wiser man Kenney never became, wandering through scenes and breaking the fourth wall to offer up wry commentary like, “Yeah, so these actors don’t look like the real people. But, obviously, Doug and Henry were the co-captains of this pirate ship, so to speak. I enjoyed the film but didn't love the film, I liked the style of the film with the lampooning style but it lacked a lot depth to really set itself apart. So when Joel McHale was invited to play a younger version of Chase in A Futile And Stupid Gesture… Forte, Wain, and the rest of the cast do their best to honor the icon, and the result is an extremely fun meta-comedy. In a lot of ways, this story really is a sad one, because, again, Doug was never able to come to terms with his own level of success. It's funny and, for what it's worth, makes complete sense in terms of how it throws at us the attitude it is meant to represent and seemingly remember. I don't even know why anyone would deny Doug Kenney's genius in helping shape comedy not just in the 70s and 80s, but even to this day his influence is still being felt to this day, almost four decades after Kenney's death. Joel McHale is in final negotiations to portray Chevy Chase, ... A Futile and Stupid Gesture. This movie focuses on what some would call a comedy genius, as far as writing was concerned, in Doug Kenney. And I feel that this is where the beginning of the end comes for Doug. If someone was looking to get more information about Lampoon and how it came to be, A Futile and Stupid Gesture is certainly a good start to understand just how wide of a net the comic magazine cast in its early days in the 70's. Coming Soon. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! "I was like, 'Holy shit, who is this guy? I wouldn't call this film laugh-out-loud hilarious, but it does make you chuckle consistently from beginning to end thanks to Will Forte's fantastic portrayal of Kenney. Naturally, of course, the magazine starts picking up steam and you get to see the rewards of that success. He would definitely… let that be known. Please click the link below to receive your verification email. The problem is I was so entertained by learning about how Lampoon became a comedic powerhouse (and the influence it had on the rise of other comedic drivers like SNL) that I nearly forgot toward the end of the film that this was still a movie about Kenney. Will Forte is perfect. This doesn't last long, and fast forwarding a bit, he ends up pitching Animal House to Universal, who, begrudgingly, agreed to finance the movie. | Rotten (14). It'd be really bad if I was like, 'Hey, the movie's done, it's a real pile of crap, so… I'm so sorry.' 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