CHRIS' QUARANTINE RECOMMENDATION OF THE DAY (4/1/20): BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE

CHRIS' QUARANTINE RECOMMENDATION OF THE DAY (4/1/20):

BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE

By Chris La Vigna (@Chris_LaVigna)

Zach interviews some guy from Texas in BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE

The rise of Zach Galifianakis' career in the late 2000s/early 2010s is probably one of the best things to come out of that period in pop culture. From his show-stealing performances in movies like THE HANGOVER and shows like BORED TO DEATH and BASKETS, not to mention his frequent work with Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim, Galifiniakis has established himself as a unique voice in the comedy world. He's perfected the art of "cringe comedy," finding the humor buried between moments of anxiety and discomfort. And there's no better evidence of his skills than BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE.

Written & directed by fellow comedy genius Scott Aukerman (COMEDY BANG BANG), the movie is based off of Galifianakis' popular Funny Or Die web series of the same name (which if you've never watched, you must do so RIGHT NOW), and is presented as a documentary about Zach's life as a struggling entertainer who makes his eponymous talk show with a crew of fellow misfits at his local public access station. Despite the low production value and Zach's penchant for asking uninformed and/or hostile questions, the show has been plugging along for years and seems to easily net a lot of A-list celebrity guests.

But then, disaster strikes: a burst pipe ends up flooding the entire studio mid-taping, leaving Zach with no home for his show. Luckily, or maybe not-so-luckily, Funny Or Die co-founder Will Ferrell (playing himself as a cocaine-fueled madman) swoops in to offer Zach and his crew a deal: If the Between Two Ferns team can go mobile and produce ten more episodes to get Funny Or Die some more of those sweet, sweet clicks, he'll give Zach what he's always wanted: A real late night talk show on network TV.  With that, Zach and the gang pack up their cameras (and the ferns, can't forget the ferns) and take their show on the road.

Zach haggles with the hotel concierge while Carol (Lauren Lapkus), Cam (Ryan Gaul), and Boom Boom (Jiavani Linayao) stand by his side.

That's about all the plot we need to set up a series of uncomfortable-yet-super-funny interviews with actors, artists, and media personalities like Brie Larson, Jon Hamm, David Letterman, Chance The Rapper, Tiffany Haddish, Peter Dinklage, Awkwafina, and more. As always, the guest's names are misspelled, and Zach's questions come off as a cheap shot to the gut, designed to provoke a fist fight rather than a thoughtful response.

Zach also manages to have other fun encounters along the way, like when he miraculously manages to pick up Chrissy Teigen at a hotel bar. All the big name actors spoofing themselves here seem to be having just as much fun as Zach and the main cast, and that infectious energy makes for a fun watch. Even with all of its absurd and snarky humor, the story still manages to, at its core, be about the beauty of weirdos banding together to their own thing, regardless of who "gets it" or not. 

This is definitely a great movie to watch if you're looking for some oddball humor to lighten up your day, or make you squirm uncomfortably on your couch, or both! BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE is streaming on Netflix, and with a runtime of roughly 82 minutes, you'll be zipping through it and digging deep into the web series for more fern-bookended goodness. On that note, I'll leave you with one of my favorite episodes of the original series. 

Oh, and happy April Fool's Day! Don't do anything mean, everybody's going through enough as it is, you bozos!