a futile and stupid gesture
Synopsis: Evocation of Douglas Kenney, avant-garde co-founder of
the famous American humor magazine "National Lampoon".
A funny ending - A Futile and Stupid Gesture - poster
There are two schools in Hollywood that oppose the genre of the
biographical film. There is the biopic that one could describe as
psychological, where the portrait of the hero is based on a traumatic event
that underlies the trajectory of the character and resonates throughout the
exhaustive evocation of the great events of his life. The other approach is to
focus on a given period of the hero's life, a significant period, apt to
symbolize, or at least to illuminate in its particular light an entire
existence. A funny ending , production Netflix, seems to first want to avoid
these two standards that carry their batch of shots.The story, inspired by the
book A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed
Comedy Forever, portrays Douglas Kenney. This comic talent, played here by Will
Forte, co-founded the satirical magazine National Lampoon, written and played
in American College (Animal House) of
John Landis,The Golf in Madness (Caddyshack) from Harold Ramis,and allowed
comic geniuses such as John Belushi, Harold Ramis and Chevy Chase to join the
legendary Saturday Night Live created by Lorne Michaels. He died on August 27,
1980 at the age of 33 from a cliff fall, as reported by the police. The
original movie title, A Futile and Stupid Gesture , is a quote straight from
American College . Opening precisely on the childhood trauma that would explain
the character (the death of his brother when he was a child), the film is
interrupted by an extra-diegetic narrator who is presented to us as the real
Douglas Kenney commenting on his own biography.Faced with a camera, this one
rejects the interest of the psychologizing approach and immediately immerses us
in the heart of its history, the creation of its magazine became cult in the
70s which had a real impact on the American meta comedy. Thus begins the first
half of the film, the most removed, carried by the energy and exuberance of the
characters. We follow the tribulations of the two founders and their teams,
narrated with a certain talent for the gag and a sense of rhythm.
A funny ending - A Futile and Stupid Gesture
Taking a series of comical skits that trace the glory days of the
National Lampoon , a funny ending also portrays an America in the throes of
change, bringing to the skies marginalized people without respect for the
conventions that would no doubt have been considered outcasts a decade earlier.
After this first promising part, the film is caught up by the clichés that he
had so ostensibly avoided in his opening sequence. The immense and unexpected
success of this overpowered editor ends up burning his wings; he left the
newspaper for a while and went through periods of depression. The director then
insists on the psychological background, tries to show us his character as a
shy child suffering from the lack of recognition and attention of his father.
The film then abandons its singular tone to string like pearls the
"obligatory passages" of the genre: the trauma of childhood, which is
finally shown to us, the trajectory of the Rise and Fall type of the successful
man caught up by his demons (we do not escape the sequences of abuse of psychotropic
drugs).David Wain, the director, is not slow in revealing the sources that
palliate his lack of inspiration, especially through the use of music. For
without wanting to prejudge the celebrity of Plastic Bertrand in the United
States, it's a safe bet that the use of It hovers for me is a reference to the
Wolf Wall Street . This supported reference betrays the lack of point of view
of a director as soon as the film ceases to be a succession of gags well felt.
These reservations made, it should be added, however, that the last
part of A funny ending has a surprise that throws a new light on the story.
When Doug Kenney, sinking more and more into depression, ends up committing
suicide. In this mise en abyme, we understand that the narrator, who is not the
real Doug Kenney alongside Will Forte who embodies him, is a fantasized version
of the middle-aged man he would have become he had not brought his own life. A
death that also suggests suicide rather than accident. The film then reveals a
melancholy hitherto unsuspected, which makes it regrettable that its director
has succumbed en route to certain facilities.
• A FUN END (A Futile and
Stupid Gesture)
• Chain / Platform:
Netflix
• Broadcasting: January
26, 2018
• Director: David Wain
• With: Will Forte, Domnhall
Gleeson, Natasha Lyonne, Elvy Yost, Joel McHale, Seth Green, Rick Glassman,
Emmy Rossum, Jon Daly ...
• Scenario: Michael
Colton, John Aboud, from Josh Karp's eponymous book
• Production: Peter
Principato, Ted Sarandos, Jonathan Stern
• Photography: Kevin
Atkinson
• Editing: Jamie Gross
• Sets: Jonah Markowitz,
Austin Gorg, David Cook
• Costumes: Debra McGuire
• Music: Craig Wedren
• Duration: 1h41
A FUTILE AND STUPID GESTURE
Duration: 1h 41min, Movie: American, Directed in 2017, by: David
Wain
With: Domhnall Gleeson, Will Forte, Seth Green
Synopsis: Will and Domhnall play in the evocation of Douglas Kenney
co-founder of a famous magazine
SYNOPSIS AND DETAILS
Will Forte and Domhnall Gleeson play in this evocation of Douglas
Kenney, avant-garde co-founder of the famous American humor magazine
"National Lampoon".
Netflix France distributor
Year of production 2018
Release date DVD -
Blu-ray Release Date -
Release date VOD 08/04/2017
Type of movie Feature film
Secrets of filming -
Budget -
Languages English
Production format -
Color color
Audio format -
Projection format -
Visa number -
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