Movie Review: Galifianakis asks all the right questions–and the wrong ones

Poster courtesy of IMDB

By Catherine Engstrom-Hadley
Staff Writer

Grade: B+

Watch it if: You love a laugh, you want to see all your favorite celebrities’ cameos

Skip it if: You can’t sit in uncomfortable silence

Zach Galifianakis has had a great few years. His show “Baskets” on FX with Louie Anderson is truly a masterpiece and deserves a watch through all the four seasons, which follow Chip Baskets (Galifianakis), a French clown college dropout who turns to the rodeo for a job when he moves back home.

“Between Two Ferns” started on the Youtube channel FunnyorDie back in 2008, pre- “The Hangover.” The show has now been picked up as a movie for Netflix (streaming now).

The film opens to Galifianakis and whatever guest he is interviewing sitting between two ferns. During the interviews, Galifianakis is aloof and nervous; he shifts uncomfortably and keeps his eyes on his notes. “Between Two Ferns” uses this energy wisely, lobbing guests with uncomfortable questions and insults.

In his interview with Mathew McConaughey, Galifianakis asks: “Of all the things to win an Oscar for, how surprised were you when you won one for acting?”

In the interview with Benedict Cumberbatch, Galifianakis butchers his name repeatedly, without allowing Cumberbatch to chime in and correct him.

The physical comedy in “Between Two Ferns” is some of the best I have ever seen, in both the show and the movie. Watching Galifianakis and Carol (Lauren Lapkus) try to use an electric measuring tape to measure around the ferns was truly a joy.

Zach Galifianakis interviews Matthew McConaughey in a scene from “Between Two Ferns: The Movie.” Both actors play themselves in the film. Courtesy of IMDB

At one point in the film we see Galifianakis chug some white-out. These things are done so well, so naturally, they work perfectly to help build the interviewer’s persona.

Lauren Lapkus crushes it as Carol, the trumpet-playing nerdy assistant. Chrissy Teigen and John Legend have a truly amazing cameo involving macing someone’s genitals. In a sea of celebrities, Will Ferrell is a true MVP, based on the amazing bedazzled outfits he rocks during the movie.

The movie gives us as much as it can, but I found myself wanting to see longer cuts of his interviews, which are all cut drastically shorter to make way for the plot.

If you watch the movie without any knowledge of the show beforehand, it might land flat. Dear readers, if I had any advice to give to you, it would be watch the show first, and then the movie.