A Futile and Stupid Gesture: My take on the movie [review]

If you’re anywhere around my age which is mumble mumble chances are you’ll enjoy A Futile and Stupid Gesture. The Netflix original about Doug Henney, the driving force behind National Lampoon, Animal House, Caddy Shack and that whole brand of humor. My husband kept saying I remember that cover, I bought that issue, etc.

Being that it’s about funny people, it should be funny and for the most part it is. It’s also eye opening—they were all on coke when they made CaddyShack!—and a little bit tragic. Or a lot tragic when you consider how the movie ends.

Domhnall Gleeson & Will Forté

Anyway, ignore the bad hair—I can’t remember a period film where the hair and makeup department so spectacularly failed—and enjoy the poignant A Futile and Stupid Gesture based on the book by Josh Karp. The movie stars Will Forte as Doug Henney, Domhnall Gleeson as his early partner at Henry Beard, Joel McHale as Chevy Chase, Martin Mull “Modern Doug’’ and Emmy Rossum as Henney’s wife Kathryn.

Half the fun is identifying moments we lived through from the movies and SNL—the show many of the National Lampoon writers left the magazine to join—and deciding how closely the actors channeled the real life characters they played. Gilda, Bill Murray, John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Lorne Michael. They’re all there.

Watch the trailer, see what you think.

I told you about the hair, right? Are they wigs or just horribly styled? Let me know what you think.

I’m all ears.