Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon

Name: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon
Genre: Biography, History, Comedy, Documentary
Released: September 25, 2015
Duration: 98 min
Rating: 74

2015

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Generally favorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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7.3

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7.3	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 11 Ratings

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Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story Of The National Lampoon

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Movie Details & Credits

Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: September 25, 2015 | Not Rated

Summary: From the 1970s thru the 1990s, there was no hipper, no more outrageous comedy in print than The National Lampoon, the groundbreaking humor magazine that pushed the limits of taste and acceptability - and then pushed them even harder. Parodying everything from politics, religion, entertainment and the whole of American lifestyle, theFrom the 1970s thru the 1990s, there was no hipper, no more outrageous comedy in print than The National Lampoon, the groundbreaking humor magazine that pushed the limits of taste and acceptability - and then pushed them even harder. Parodying everything from politics, religion, entertainment and the whole of American lifestyle, the Lampoon eventually went on to branch into successful radio shows, record albums, live stage revues and movies, launching dozens of huge careers on the way. Director Douglas Tirola tells the story of its rise and fall through fresh, candid interviews with its key staff, and illustrated with hundreds of outrageous images from the mag itself (along with never-seen interview footage from the magazine's prime). The film gives fans of the Lampoon a unique inside look at a magazine that dared to think what no one was thinking, but wished they had. [Magnolia Pictures]… Expand

Director: Douglas Tirola

Genre(s): Biography, History, Comedy, Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 98 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Brad Wheeler

Oct 2, 2015

Douglas Tirola’s doc does the era and National Lampoon justice. The tone is sharp and freewheeling, the craziness is infectious and the pace is cocaine-quick. Read full review

Stephen Holden

Sep 24, 2015

Focusing on the magazine and not its offshoots, the film is uproarious, not for what its many talking heads say but for its astonishing procession of brilliant, boundary-breaching illustrations and captions (augmented by some animation), many of which are as explosively funny today as they were when first published. Read full review

Joshua Rothkopf

Sep 24, 2015

Tirola’s punchy timeline hits the breaks at the ’80s flameout, wobbling in its handling of self-destructive editor Doug Kenney. But until the defunct Lampoon starts magically reappearing in your mailbox, this excellently titled pic will do nicely. Read full review

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Sep 22, 2015

Satire, parody, racist skewerings of racism, sacred cows slaughtered, silly slides down the slippery slope into Anti-Semitism. And breasts. Lots and lots of breasts! Read full review

David Lewis

Oct 8, 2015

For the most part, though, Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead spends its time celebrating an era in which the comedy frontier was distasteful, brutally honest, and innocent at the same time. Read full review

Robert Abele

Oct 1, 2015

No matter how reflectively mellow the gray-haired, reminiscing interviewees are, the blizzard of featured illustrations from the magazine's '70s heyday offer scads of they-couldn't-get-away-with-that-today laughter. Read full review

Clayton Dillard

Sep 21, 2015

It mistakes touch-and-go navel-gazing for comprehension, as if speaking to as many subjects as possible produces an inherently compelling take. Read full review

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User Reviews

Brent_Marchant

Oct 11, 2015

A hilarious, fast-paced (sometimes a little too fast-paced) history of National Lampoon magazine and all of its spinoff projects in radio, theater, books and movies. This insightful, irreverent documentary effectively chronicles the rise of this comedic phenomenon and the impact it had onA hilarious, fast-paced (sometimes a little too fast-paced) history of National Lampoon magazine and all of its spinoff projects in radio, theater, books and movies. This insightful, irreverent documentary effectively chronicles the rise of this comedic phenomenon and the impact it had on shaping the humor of myriad entertainment vehicles in the four decades since its birth. Tune in -- and try to keep up with it!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

EpicLadySponge

May 3, 2016

I swear, that poster Metacritic has there is either funny or it just looks wrong, but we all know we ain't going to do dumb stuff like that, right? Just laugh at this, don't do anything stupid from this movie because it's meant to be funny.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Trailesque

Jun 9, 2018

A solid documentary chronicling the history of the late, great, irreverent, obnoxious National Lampoon. There are interviews with most of the major players, and the story of its rise and demise, and its other projects (like the Animal House movie) is told well. The tragedy of theA solid documentary chronicling the history of the late, great, irreverent, obnoxious National Lampoon. There are interviews with most of the major players, and the story of its rise and demise, and its other projects (like the Animal House movie) is told well. The tragedy of the brilliant, troubled Doug Kenney is also discussed. Whether you were a fan or not, this is worth a look.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Tyranian

Dec 27, 2019

Fascinating, but its this sort of degeneracy that has left the culture in such a mess.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

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