A Futile and Stupid Gesture

Name: A Futile and Stupid Gesture
Genre: Biography, Comedy
Released: January 26, 2018
Duration: 101 min
Rating: 55
Cast: Annette O'Toole, Ben F. Campbell, Camille Guaty, David Wain, Domhnall Gleeson

2018

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Ratings

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6.6

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6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 30 Ratings

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A Futile & Stupid Gesture

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Movie Details & Credits

Netflix | Release Date (Streaming): January 26, 2018 | TV-MA

Starring: Annette O'Toole, Ben F. Campbell, Camille Guaty, David Wain, Domhnall Gleeson, Emmy Rossum, Finn Wittrock, Frank Gingerich, Harry Groener, Joe Lo Truglio, Jon Klaft, Martin Mull, Morgan Gingerich, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Scheer, Seth Green, Thomas Lennon, Will Forte

Summary: A Futile and Stupid Gesture is the story of comedy wunderkind Doug Kenney, who co-created the National Lampoon, Caddyshack, and Animal House. Kenney was at the center of the 70’s comedy counter-culture which gave birth to Saturday Night Live and a whole generation’s way of looking at the world.

Director: David Wain

Genre(s): Biography, Comedy

Rating: TV-MA

Runtime: 101 min

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Critic Reviews

Todd Gilchrist

Jan 25, 2018

Even if the casting choices in portraying some of iconic talents in Kenney’s orbit are occasionally questionable — a detail the film gleefully acknowledges — there’s something delightful about watching actors known for comedy now try to capture the sound or energy of the performers who inspired them. Read full review

Richard Roeper

Jan 24, 2018

This is quite possibly the most self-referential, inside-jokey, look-at-how-clever-we-are, off-the-charts Meta Movie I’ve ever seen. Sometimes that’s pretty great. At other times, it detracts from the core story at hand. Read full review

Michael Roffman

Jan 24, 2018

Although the film lacks his absurdism, there’s a musicality to Wain’s direction that’s addicting, and the emotional punch in the final five minutes proves there’s a future for the filmmaker that goes way beyond the yucks. Read full review

Leslie Felperin

Jan 31, 2018

Perhaps fittingly given the downturn in the repetitive final act, over the long haul the joke starts getting old in every sense. Read full review

Charles Bramesco

Jan 25, 2018

While pretty consistently amusing, the film still suffers from a chronic case of Wikipediitis, recreating Kenney’s bullet-point moments as substitution for original wit or drama. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Brian Tallerico

Jan 26, 2018

While there’s a bit of hero worship going on that deflates the piece, and Wain’s direction is surprisingly uninspired, the biggest problem is the script that tries to cover too much ground but doesn’t really have that much to say as it does so. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

Jan 25, 2018

Wain made a terrible mistake when he decided to turn Kenney’s story into a goof, a sketch, a riff of threadbare mockery, instead of treating it as a relatively straight movie with laughs. If he had done that, it might have been hilarious, though in an acidly downbeat and far-reaching way. Read full review

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User Reviews

Daniel_Campbell

Jan 29, 2018

Fun, stupid, boobs, farts, butt stuff, awesome. What more needs to be said?

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

NShep53

Feb 23, 2018

A movie I was expecting to just be a slapstick cameo fest is actually a really funny but also surprisingly dramatic and heartfelt. It is an amazing film. Will Forte is great here, as is all the other actors playing their respective roles. By the end, you truly feel like you know the man thatA movie I was expecting to just be a slapstick cameo fest is actually a really funny but also surprisingly dramatic and heartfelt. It is an amazing film. Will Forte is great here, as is all the other actors playing their respective roles. By the end, you truly feel like you know the man that is Doug Kenney.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Moose3208

Jan 28, 2018

This film hit me straight in the heart and the funny bone. Creative retelling of Doug Kenney, whom I really didn’t know, and now understand not only a piece of who he was but so many things I have to be thankful for. The directions was inventive, the writing original and the productionThis film hit me straight in the heart and the funny bone. Creative retelling of Doug Kenney, whom I really didn’t know, and now understand not only a piece of who he was but so many things I have to be thankful for. The directions was inventive, the writing original and the production beautiful. I took a point away for the wigs. The wigs were terrible.… Expand

2 of 3 users found this helpful21

DGOexpat

Jan 4, 2023

Forte and the other leads are excellent, and the directing and pacing are very good. Lampoonable/Lampooning praise: "The film is a surprisingly poignant reminder of the humanity, the dignity, and yes, the necessity of courageously irreverent humor in a world gone mad."

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Scraper

Jan 27, 2018

A fair retelling of the Doug Kenney story. You won't get encyclopedic details on his life but enough to let you know how influential this guy was. I think it nails the fact that sarcasm was just a way of life. The impersonations of the famous people that grew out of this scene were terrific frankly.

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

dangerfar

Jan 26, 2018

Sharp and quippy, AFASG rides the rails of an interesting life as it helped wind up the American Lampoonery that would drive much of comedy for the next several decades. It's best comedic moments come as a product of quick-witted banter delivered with perfect deadpan panache by Forte. AnSharp and quippy, AFASG rides the rails of an interesting life as it helped wind up the American Lampoonery that would drive much of comedy for the next several decades. It's best comedic moments come as a product of quick-witted banter delivered with perfect deadpan panache by Forte. An array of present stars playing older stars is fun to watch, and the directorial style and cadence manages to be both novel and familiar at the same time. Its moments of levity are better than its moments of weight, where it sometimes falters under a familiar and probably heavily pushed downward spiral. And we've seen this arc before. We've seen funny and charming protagonists suffer under the weight of their own egos on drugs in the 70s, and we've seen successful individuals tortured by being the wrong sibling and never feeling as though they live up to their parents' expectations. But, well, it's of course fitting in this case (at least the drug-fueled self-berating part seems confirmed), and was indeed an oft-repeating tale. "The happiest days I've ever ignored" makes for a fitting punchline to a comedic tragedy such a this, a reminder of our frequent insistence on depression and self-destruction in the face of beauty and joy. I didn't know much about Kenny prior to watching this movie, and after watching it I can't help feeling like from what I saw it's the kind of movie he would want to have made about himself. Irreverent, cheeky, and fun, with the man who took everything and nothing far too seriously at the center. A futile and stupid gesture maybe, but an amusing one, and sometimes that's all we really need.… Expand

3 of 5 users found this helpful32

LegendaryLass

Dec 14, 2018

As with most founders of counter-cultures, Kenney is a largely unknown figure these days. And seemingly, the film posits, with good reason. Kenney is played unlikable, sarcastic, erratic and extremely unsympathetic... which is apparently quite true to life. If it weren't so light onAs with most founders of counter-cultures, Kenney is a largely unknown figure these days. And seemingly, the film posits, with good reason. Kenney is played unlikable, sarcastic, erratic and extremely unsympathetic... which is apparently quite true to life. If it weren't so light on legitimate laughs, it may be worthy of the original Lampoon.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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