Preview — Between Two Ferns: The Movie
The Funny or Die web series, Between Two Ferns, is all grown up.
The feature-length film, aptly titled Between Two Ferns: The Movie, has found a home at Netflix. Its awkwardly smug host, Zach Galifianakis, takes to the road to see how many celebrities he can make uncomfortable.
The star-studded line-up is impressive. Tessa Thompson, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Keanu Reeves are just a few of the movie stars that will have to interact with Galifianakis. The trailer sports a long list of star power as well as other “celebrities.”
The bare-bones format is fleshed out with a road trip narrative which will give us a cast of characters that are behind the scenes of the unconventional talk show. This aspect looks just as funny as the main premise and, hopefully, will help round out the largely-improvised interviews that make up the web show.
Those interviews average around five minutes long, so it’s no wonder they added a storyline. With Galifianakis at the helm, hijinks and hilarity are sure to ensue, and no celebrity is safe. In 2014, President Barack Obama came on the show to promote the Affordable Care Act, and even he wasn’t immune to the shenanigans.
Zach Galifianakis: Which country did you root for at the Winter Olympics?
President Barack Obama: Seriously?
Purposefully dense questions like this are a staple of the show along with a plethora of other methods meant to weird out Galifianakis’ guests. Tina Fey sums it up best on the 2012 Comedy Central Special, Between Two Ferns: A Fairytale of New York:
You know there is a level of malice to your whole behavior and questioning style that while it’s kinda humorous, it’s actually very cowardly. It’s almost like you’re being willfully obtuse in these questions to make some kind of vague point about the fatuous nature of celebrity interviews which is a pretty well-trod observation. Yes, we all agree that celebrity interviews are vacant and empty, and at the same time, you asked me to come here. You called me and asked me to do this as a favor. And I come here and you’re very rude to me. It’s almost like “Oh, I’ll be rude to a celebrity to prove that I’m too cool to be caring about a celebrity,” at the same time increasing your own celebrity. Have you thought about that?
To which Galifianakis responds, “That’s pretty good …for a girl.”
It will be interesting to see this all play out on a larger scale. Check out the photos and trailer below for a preview!
Movie description: Zach Galifianakis and his oddball crew take a road trip to complete a series of high-profile celebrity interviews.
Photos from Between Two Ferns: The Movie:
Trailer:
What are your hopes for Between Two Ferns: The Movie? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Between Two Ferns: The Movie streams on Netflix September 20th.
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Erin Allen
Erin is a former script supervisor for film and television. She's an avid fan of middle aged actresses, dark dramas, and irreverent comedies. She loves to read actual books and X-Files fan fiction. Her other passions include pointing out feminist issues, shipping Mulder and Scully, and collecting pop culture mugs.