Between Two Ferns: The Movie

Based on the long-running web series, Between Two Ferns: The Movie follows Zach Galifianakis’ talk-show host as he embarks on a road trip to interview as many famous folks as possible. It becomes clear fairly early on that Between Two Ferns: The Movie is at its best in sequences revolving around Galifianakis’ awkward and antagonistic confrontations with various celebrities, as such moments, which boast appearances by familiar faces like Paul Rudd, David Letterman, and Keanu Reeves, possess an entertaining and often laugh-out-loud funny sensibility that proves impossible to resist. (Galifianakis’ encounter with Benedict Cumberbatch, and his bungled efforts at pronouncing his name, stands as an obvious high point within the erratic proceedings.) There’s little doubt, then, that the picture’s downfall is, in large part, due to the ineffectiveness of its central storyline, as filmmaker Scott Aukerman, working from his own screenplay, delivers a fairly tiresome narrative that contains few attributes or elements worth embracing and, in a far more problematic development, runs out of steam to a rather palpable degree – which, when coupled with a third act that feels just about endless, ultimately cements Between Two Ferns: The Movie‘s place as a feature-length adaptation that just doesn’t quite work.

** out of ****