So while I was reflecting on last year's best films, Netflix released a movie that I've been anticipating for quite some time; A Futile and Stupid Gesture. Regardless of how you feel about the increase of made for streaming movies recently, you have to admit that it is having an effect on cinema. Some hate this development, and others are fine with it, and I must say that I'm in the latter category. I think that it's a good thing that film is evolving in this way, and these streaming services are producing films that deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as big-budget studio productions. I enjoyed several Netflix original films last year, and when the trailer for A Futile and Stupid Gesture came out, I was pretty excited. Anyone who has spent even a minute on this blog will know that comedy is my favourite genre, so I'm very familiar with National Lampoon.
Or so I thought I was. See, as a lover of comedy movies, I was only really familiar with the films associated with National Lampoon. I actually knew very little about the magazine or Doug Kenney. And what a biopic. When it was announced, I was certainly interested. When I saw the trailer, I was really looking forward to it's unconventional, humour filled approach to telling Kenney's life story. When it was released? I couldn't have enjoyed it more. I know that it's only the first major release of 2018, but hot damn, this is a strong start to the year.
At the start of this film, a brilliantly clever joke is told on the people who don't really know about Douglas Kenney (myself included). What the movie does won't be spoiled here, but trust me when I say that it's used to great effect. Those who do know about Kenney's life can appreciate how the story is told, and the payoff of that opening scene. As I said, I knew very little about Douglas Kenney going in, and I was totally fooled by the reveal. A twist in a biopic isn't the most common thing, but it's used to such a phenomenal effect, but more on that in a bit.
First things first, the casting. Will Forte is surprisingly good in the lead role. Again, I don't really have anything to compare him to, but he really captures the essence of a man who is completely isolating himself from those around him. And yet he's hilarious. He's so much fun to watch, and never turns the film into anything overly serious. I mean yes, there is drama, but it's never overly heavy, and the film never gets caught up in the unpleasant details of Kenney's life, a lot of which I think does come down to Forte. He creates this great sense of self destruction, one in which he masks his inner turmoil with banter and comedy. But where Forte excels is at portraying the man beneath the humour. He'll be cracking you up and breaking your heart all in the same scene.The supporting cast really succeeds at portraying the people in Kenney's life too. I'd have never thought that Joel McHale would have been a good Chevy Chase, but hey, I guess four seasons on the same show results in a pretty decent impression. Domhnall Gleeson (who I swear appears in every film being made now) is a fantastic foil to Forte, playing Henry Beard, who I'll admit I knew nothing about. He's such a great counterpart to Kenney, simultaneously his best friend, gretest critic and ultimately, an object of envy for Kenney.
I also love the fourth wall breaking style. Having modern Douglas Kenney appear to comment on certain events really gives the film an edge, and enhances the reveal at the end. It really gives the dramatic moments a comic edge, and hell, it makes the ending so much smarter than its probably should be, because the stupidity of what happens at the end is suddenly combined with a cleverly subversive joke that delivers one of the strongest finishes to a film in recent memory.
And the film really succeeds at leaping between tones. It's quite hard to do a good comedy drama, as one can overpower and undermine the other very easily. But by telling a story that's both inherently funny and fairly tragic, the film can operate between the two. It's never just funny and then just dramatic, it does them simultaneously and really succeeds. It undercuts dramatic moments with sharp one liners, and grounds funny moment with heartbreaking truths. The end of the film is a good example. It's a fairly sad moment, but it never gets caught up in its own tragedy, instead immediately switching to a joke that really, really works and brings this hilariously melancholic story to a fitting close.
All of this builds to create a fairly strong film, one that'll probably be hard to top in 2018. I mean, near perfect balance of comedy and drama, performances that cycle between hilarity, charm and melancholy, subversive and smart fourth wall breaks that never get obnoxious and one of the smartest reveals I've seen in a while. Netflix has quite a few excellent original films so far (I'm especially fond of Okja and The Meyerowitz Stories), but this may be their best yet. A great biopic is a special thing. It can provide an insight into the life of a well known figure, but with a personal touch that gives it a human edge. A Futile and Stupid Gesture goes above and beyond, being so much smarter than I would have expected a biopic to be. And so much funnier. I have a feeling that the filmmakers knew that not too many people actually know who Doug Kenney is, so instead of enlightening the audience though conventional means, they turn it into a massive joke that laughs at the people unfamiliar. And for those who do know, it's a fantastic gag that fits Kenney's character so well. And in general it leads to a fantastic experience. Odd as it is to say, this biopic makes fantastic use of it's reveal, which might actually be the best thing in the film. That's not me exaggerating, it's so good that it massively enhances the already excellent film. The only complaints I have are that sometimes the comic interludes in the quiet dramatic scenes are a little too in your face. The fake infomercial about being Doug Kenney in particular is so poorly placed that it actually cheapens the effect of that scene. They do actually do it well with Kenney's wife leaving him via a comicstrip, but it's when they just shove a joke into what should have been a quiet moment of reflection that it becomes slightly problematic. But that's honestly about the only flaw that really effects the film in any significant way. Everything else seriously works here. The bar has been set. Your move, 2018.
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