I’m sure most people know Zach Galifianakis as the funny fat guy from The Hangover. Before that, Galifianakis was an internet superstar with this awkward interview show Between Two Ferns, where he’d interview celebrity guests by asking brutally cutting questions. This is my favorite one, and this one made those viral clips officially mainstream. These clips don’t exactly scream movie, but Netflix, ever the content gobbler, probably saw this as a way to introduce itself to a bunch of celebrities as they come in to shoot their awkward 1 day videos. So might as well give Galifianakis a little money to find a way to make some bonkers film out of something that’s usually 5-10 minutes long, in probable hopes they can snare Benedict Cumberbatch, Rashida Jones, Jon Hamm, or any other famous celebrity hoping to be eviscerated by Galifianakis in between his two ferns.
I’m pretty sure they wrote Between Two Ferns: The Movie, in a day or two. Being just under ninety minutes, Zach Galifianakis figured he was going to conduct 10 interviews with 10 different celebrities. There’s 40-50 minutes right there. So all they need is 40 minutes of a loose story. Being the deconstrucionist meta guy that Galifianakis is, the movie is loosely an exaggeration of his character’s real life: Between Two Ferns is a local Carolina TV show overseen by Will Ferrell. After an unfortunate McConaughey related incident, Ferrell ultimatums Zach: get 10 interviews and get to LA in 2 weeks, and Zach will get a late night talk show, his dream. Road trip shenanigans ensue!
Between Two Ferns: The Movie is a perfect fit into the Netflix model. There’s no lofty study of the trials of stardom. There’s no social commentary about megalomaniac bosses. Between Two Ferns has but 1, simple, goal: make the audience laugh. If you like Galifianakis’s interviews (I’m 100% onboard), you get all their iterations here, especially the killer opening one with McConaughey (other highlights involve a Hollywood power couple, a former late night host, and a GOT character). Betwixt those interviews is a fun, light road trip comedy with Galifianakis, Lauren Lapkus, Ryan Gaul, and Jiavani Linayao (with an all time great character name, Boom Boom): the 4 bounce off each other easily. There’s also some really clever gags about the “hero’s” journey, like when the group splits and he needs a motivational speech from somewhere. Throw in some out takes, and a power tripping Will Ferrell in cowboy hats and scooters, and you’ve got yourself a totally satisfying 80 minutes of laughs.
Between Two Ferns can go on as long as Zach Galifianakis wants it to. The concept is simple, there’s a celebrity, and the execution is biting and often hilarious. Galifianakis has found this weird avenue into mainstream comedy that fits his personality; props to him for taking the road less traveled to bring us the funny.