A Futile and Stupid Gesture

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2:27

A Futile and Stupid Gesture

2018

1h 41m

Biography

Comedy

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Popcornmeter

67%

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43 Reviews

71%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Writer Doug Kenney co-founds National Lampoon magazine in 1970.

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Critics Consensus

A Futile and Stupid Gesture entertainingly recreates the birth of an influential comedic movement, even if it struggles to cover its creative ground.

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Todd Gilchrist

TheWrap

A Futile And Stupid Gesture is, ultimately, anything but pointless, exploring an important moment in pop culture through the life of a man who captured its essence as well as the people who made him an institution.

Feb 6, 2018

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

For those unfamiliar with the details, there's a neat narrative curve ball in the final act. Stupid: For sure. But futile? Hardly.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 5, 2018

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Leslie Felperin

The Hollywood Reporter

A move that, if nothing else, shockingly abandons the traditional rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-redemption four-part trajectory to which nearly every biopic slavishly adheres.

Feb 1, 2018

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Vadim Rizov

Filmmaker Magazine

The film is strongest in its first third, where all the jokes are.

Jan 5, 2023

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Mikel Zorrilla

Espinof

It is a very interesting proposal to understand a little better the whole process that may be behind the comedy genre. [Full Review in Spanish]

Jul 31, 2019

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Richard Trenholm

CNET

There's more to this Futile and Stupid Gesture than a line-up of celebrity impressions.

Apr 16, 2019

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Oggie B

The sometimes goofy and oftentimes playfully irreverent retelling of Doug Kenney's life story seems to fit the man well.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/24/25

Full Review

Marc Z

I really enjoyed this look at the founding of The National Lampoon's Magazine and movie series. Very much in the spirit of the mockumentary about the starting of Saturday Night Live last year this is a fun an interesting look at the times and the development of material we all have come to know and love. More interesting is the attention to the character actors, portrayed throughout, that it is fun to recognize the portayals of young comedic actors and actresses like Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and more. Not sure how much is true but I enjoyed it for what it is. The acting is good. The sets and costumes are good. Worth watching.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/25/25

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Tim M

For the most part, A Futile and Stupid Gesture's suitably irreverent humor and reverence for its subject are enough to overcome an inconsistent tempo.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/03/25

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Kyle M

Couple comedy classics and a weekly platform were, respectively, conceptualized and inspired by a lesser heard root that this elegantly fun, respectfully crafted film profiles with equal amount of passionate creativity and appreciative pathos for considerably balanced gravity in a process that realizes it’s not all jokes when supposedly innovating humor. (B+)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/22/25

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Jay H

Doug Kenney was a seriously messed up guy.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

06/30/24

Full Review

Augustine J

This movie was a nice creative interpretation of the ups and downs of Doug Kenney's interesting life. It had some neat narrative devices. It was alright, It was fun to see the start of that SNL sort of era in this movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/03/24

Full Review

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David Wain

Director

Will Forte

Douglas Kenney

Emmy Rossum

Kathryn Walker

Domhnall Gleeson

Henry Beard

Seth Green

Christopher Guest

Natasha Lyonne

Ann Beatts

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A Futile and Stupid Gesture: Featurette - Doug Kenney

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A Futile and Stupid Gesture: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Writer Doug Kenney co-founds National Lampoon magazine in 1970.

Director: David Wain
Producer: Peter Principato, Ted Sarandos, Jonathan Stern
Screenwriter: John Aboud, Michael Colton
Production Co: Principato-Young Entertainment, Abominable Pictures
Genre: Biography, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 26, 2018
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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