In 'Between Two Ferns: The Movie,' the story is a mess and the performances are loose and self-aware. Then again, would we have even wanted a full-assed treatment of this concept? BilgeEbiri reviews
Would we have even wanted a full-assed treatment of this concept? Photo: Adam Rose/Netflix “I noticed that you’re wearing a shirt. Is everything okay?” That’s one of the first questions Zach Galifianakis asks Matthew McConaughey in the opening scene of Between Two Ferns: The Movie, and it reminds you that this whole schtick, while pretty old by now, still works.
I’m not sure, and apparently, neither are Galifianakis and his partner in crime, Scott Aukerman , because they’ve fashioned Between Two Ferns: The Movie only partly around the interviews . Instead, it’s structured as a kind of road movie, with Galifianakis and his small crew forced to drive across the country recording episodes after an impressively catastrophic plumbing mishap floods their studio and almost kills McConaughey.
So, our heroes hit the road, visiting David Letterman , Paul Rudd, Tessa Thompson, and Peter Dinklage, with assorted, mildly interesting interstitial shenanigans along the way. It’s a half-assed premise, given a half-assed treatment that makes Wayne’s World look like The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The performances are loose and self-aware, the filmmaking strictly at the level of sketch comedy, the jokes amiably predictable, and the story a mess.
But I also ask you this: Would we have even wanted a full-assed treatment of this concept? It’s Between Two Ferns, for crying out loud. Shoddiness is built into its philosophy, and things like production value, sharp scripting, and delicate acting might only degrade the project. At the same time, however, the addition of narrative bits involving these celebrities somewhat undermines the project.
Beyond that, and more importantly, one misses the interviews themselves. It’s not that there aren’t that many here. There are, in fact, quite a few — but they’re presented in brief fragments that, while entertaining, make you long for the extended, awkward-silence-laden wallows in cringe comedy that the show perfected.
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