Review of Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019) by Theredsky — 21 Sep 2019

Between Two Ferns: The Movie is unfortunately, a forgettable comedy film. Here are the positives. The best part about this movie is that most of the celebrity interviews are pretty funny. The segments with Matthew McConaughey, John Legend, Paul Rudd, and Peter Dinklage are pretty funny while the other celebrity interviews are entertaining at best.

There are some outtakes during the end credits that are funnier than most of the film. That’s kind of disappointing that your outtakes are funnier than most of your film. I think Zach Galifianakis does a good job with what he is given and helps keep this film afloat.

The film has this mockumentary feel for it and the camera work compliments that. It’s shot in a way a mockumentary would be and it’s refreshing. The film can be self aware at some points and doesn’t try to make itself bigger than what it is supposed to be.

The film does what it needs to do and then it is over. Here are the negatives. The story is kind of lame. It’s another one of those “redemption stories because a character did something embarrassing” that has been done to death.

The film doesn’t do anything to establish itself as something different. Everything other than the celebrity interviews is incredibly boring and starts to drag heavily. Fortunately, as it starts to drag even heavily, it switches to another celebrity interview.

This also leads to a weird structure issue though. It does start to feel out of place when it changes so suddenly but it does lead to better scenes. About 75% of the jokes aren’t that funny which is unfortunate since it is a comedy film.

Like I said earlier, I got a bunch of laughs out of the outtakes than I did most of the film. The editing for this film feels very amateurish. It has a bunch of quick cuts that are distracting and obnoxious.

This also leads to a pacing issue. It’s weirdly paced due to the quick cuts and awkward structure. It’s these issues that really drag the film down. Overall, Between Two Ferns: The Movie has some funny sequences but is held back by a cookie cutter story, lots of boring moments, and awkward pacing.

I give Between Two Ferns: The Movie a 4/10.