Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019) - The Brilliant Web Series Gets Feature-Length Treatment To Mixed Results

Well, they gave it a shot.

Anyone who's seen Funny Or Die's charmingly lo-fi, hysterically funny deadpan web series Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis knows that it is utterly rife with pure comedy gold. It's a premise seemingly tailor made to fit Galifianakis' comic strengths, and to ring the most laughs out of the outrageously uncomfortable situations it creates.

The premise, for the uninitiated, is akin to most late night talk shows, but the bright lights and studio audiences have been replaced with a couple of ferns, between which our maladroit host, Mr. Galifianakis, interviews a wide range of celebrity guests, but does so in the most insulting and excruciatingly awkward manner possible.

A surprising catalog of famous individuals have made their way onto the set of Between Two Ferns since its inception back in 2008. From well-known actors like Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman to mega-popstar Justin Bieber, the show has a robust collection of past guests. Even prominent politicians like Hilary Clinton and former President Barack Obama have made appearances on the show.

And no matter the guest, Galifianakis' goal is always the same: try and make his interviewee as uncomfortable and frazzled as possible. The show is obviously staged, but the agonizing awkwardness is still palpable. And glorious.

Scott Aukerman, who co-created the series and directed many of its episodes, wrote a feature-length screenplay centered around the basic idea of the show, which eventually evolved into the Netflix production Between Two Ferns: The Movie. As a fan of the web series, I was cautiously optimistic about the prospects of a feature film. While much of the series' charm revolves around how quick and pointed the interviews are, I figured they would find enough funny material to round out the rest of the 83-minute run time in addition to a fresh batch of celebrity interviews.

Unfortunately, it appears I was incorrect.

Between Two Ferns: The Movie undoubtedly delivers more of what makes the web series so addictingly entertaining, but it does so in concert with an uninteresting and emotionally inert plot that successfully inflates the film's run time to acceptable length for a feature, but fails to augment the proceedings in any substantive way.

There are plenty of celebrity interviews sprinkled throughout the picture, and those are as fun as ever. But spliced in between these enjoyable vignettes is a half-baked, perfunctory narrative through line about a fictionalized Zach Galifianakis and his motley crew of producers and camera people. There is a half-hearted attempt to conjure some semblance of an emotional arc for Zach and his team, but the results are unfortunately lukewarm.

It seems Between Two Ferns was better off as an endearing YouTube gem rather than as the engine of a mainstream comedy feature. There are moments here and there that admittedly made me chuckle (Will Ferrell's over-the-top turn as the meatheaded CEO of Funny Or Die tries so hard to make you laugh that it just about succeeds), and, as I mentioned, the celebrity interviews are effective, though ultimately fleeting.

The best part of this movie is the end credits, which showcases a number of bloopers for the celebrity interviews. This was the only portion of the 83 minutes I spent watching this film when the smiles and laughs were consistent and free-flowing. Ultimately, instead of investing an hour and a half into this tepid affair, you should just binge watch the web series online. That would be a more rewarding use of your time.

C

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