Documentary Now! - Season 1 (2015)
There's something about watching these shorter shows I've been into recently. I think it's allowed me to get some much-needed variety in my binge-watching habits. Case in point: going from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I decided to watch something I had first encountered thanks to one of my bandmates: the SNL alumni project Documentary Now!
My first exposure to the show came one late night while we were at our homestay for the weekend and decided to spend some quality time on Netflix. One of us suggested that we watch the second episode of Documentary Now! because it was an absolute riot, or so he claimed.
Well, now I'll claim the same thing: this show is a riot.
However, what may be surprising to many of you is that, despite being helmed by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, and Seth Meyers, Documentary Now! is not a laugh-out-loud kind of show most of the way through. Instead, it possesses a huge amount of dramatic irony that all good parodies do. Most of the comedy is quite deadpan in nature, which also means that some of the jokes will be lost on those of us (including myself) who don't have a massive affinity for documentaries. Take the series's third episode, for example: it's spoofing Nanook Revisited, a look back at the controversial docudrama Nanook of the North. I haven't seen either of these two films, and it was probably the least funny the show got for me, taking me three sittings to get through the 21-minute episode. Granted, there were still some decent bits, but for the most part this episode was entirely lost on me. The first episode "Sandy Passage" had a similar effect, but thankfully there's a little more to laugh at due to Armisen and Hader's chemistry. The two playing a mother and daughter in a dilapidated house with some spooky stuff going on is priceless, even if the full effect is a little lost.
However, not all of Documentary Now! is that alienating. "The Eye Doesn't Lie" (spoofing The Thin Blue Line) has some great situational comedy revolving around the convict being falsely accused. As the pieces come together, we as the audience begin to realize this before the characters in the show do, and it becomes a great moment to simultaneously yell and laugh at the screen. Another good episode is "A Town, a Gangster, a Festival," which as far as I can tell (and research on the Internet) doesn't directly spoof anything. I think that is this episode's strength, as it feels very unique and free instead of put into a pre-existing box. While for Documentary Now! that might sound like a bad thing, considering that every episode is supposed to directly spoof existing material, it actually works quite well because of how novel the concept of an Icelandic town having a festival dedicated to Al Capone (yes, you read that right) actually is.
The best two episodes of Documentary Now! by far, however, are "DRONEZ: The Hunt for El Chingon" and "Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee." "DRONEZ" spoofs the VICE News documentaries and involves Hader and Armisen searching for a Mexican drug lord in Tijuana. What escalates this episode's humor above the rest is how over-the-top it ends up being. Jack Black is the internal narrator from DRONEZ, a news outlet, and he would steal the show if it weren't for Hader and Armisen's antics as three different sets of reporters (the first two sets are killed while looking for El Chingon). It is one of the few episodes that had me constantly laughing out loud, which is why I'd recommend watching it first like I did, as it's a much more accessible starting point for the show.
"Gentle and Soft," spoofing History of the Eagles, is more about being subtle in its comedy; however, to those that know the story of the Eagles and their music, it can be quite hilarious at times. The original music (actually performed by Armisen, but Hader's voice is dubbed by a female) is so unmistakably American 1970s rock, which makes this two-parter so much more authentic. The fashion and the story are so identifiable, as are the two main characters. It's incredibly well done and accurate.
Overall, Documentary Now! is not a show for everyone. It's definitely for those of us who love subtle humor and parody and for those interested in documentaries. Granted, if you've been a fan of Hader or Armisen on Saturday Night Live, you'll definitely find moments to enjoy throughout the series; however, some of the irony might be lost on you. It's a lot higher-brow that you might expect or want, but for the most part it is enjoyable without a background knowledge on documentary filmmaking.
My recommendation: watch the second episode before judging it. You might like it.
My grade: 76
Where to watch it: Netflix
Well, now I'll claim the same thing: this show is a riot.
However, what may be surprising to many of you is that, despite being helmed by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, and Seth Meyers, Documentary Now! is not a laugh-out-loud kind of show most of the way through. Instead, it possesses a huge amount of dramatic irony that all good parodies do. Most of the comedy is quite deadpan in nature, which also means that some of the jokes will be lost on those of us (including myself) who don't have a massive affinity for documentaries. Take the series's third episode, for example: it's spoofing Nanook Revisited, a look back at the controversial docudrama Nanook of the North. I haven't seen either of these two films, and it was probably the least funny the show got for me, taking me three sittings to get through the 21-minute episode. Granted, there were still some decent bits, but for the most part this episode was entirely lost on me. The first episode "Sandy Passage" had a similar effect, but thankfully there's a little more to laugh at due to Armisen and Hader's chemistry. The two playing a mother and daughter in a dilapidated house with some spooky stuff going on is priceless, even if the full effect is a little lost.
However, not all of Documentary Now! is that alienating. "The Eye Doesn't Lie" (spoofing The Thin Blue Line) has some great situational comedy revolving around the convict being falsely accused. As the pieces come together, we as the audience begin to realize this before the characters in the show do, and it becomes a great moment to simultaneously yell and laugh at the screen. Another good episode is "A Town, a Gangster, a Festival," which as far as I can tell (and research on the Internet) doesn't directly spoof anything. I think that is this episode's strength, as it feels very unique and free instead of put into a pre-existing box. While for Documentary Now! that might sound like a bad thing, considering that every episode is supposed to directly spoof existing material, it actually works quite well because of how novel the concept of an Icelandic town having a festival dedicated to Al Capone (yes, you read that right) actually is.
The best two episodes of Documentary Now! by far, however, are "DRONEZ: The Hunt for El Chingon" and "Gentle and Soft: The Story of the Blue Jean Committee." "DRONEZ" spoofs the VICE News documentaries and involves Hader and Armisen searching for a Mexican drug lord in Tijuana. What escalates this episode's humor above the rest is how over-the-top it ends up being. Jack Black is the internal narrator from DRONEZ, a news outlet, and he would steal the show if it weren't for Hader and Armisen's antics as three different sets of reporters (the first two sets are killed while looking for El Chingon). It is one of the few episodes that had me constantly laughing out loud, which is why I'd recommend watching it first like I did, as it's a much more accessible starting point for the show.
"Gentle and Soft," spoofing History of the Eagles, is more about being subtle in its comedy; however, to those that know the story of the Eagles and their music, it can be quite hilarious at times. The original music (actually performed by Armisen, but Hader's voice is dubbed by a female) is so unmistakably American 1970s rock, which makes this two-parter so much more authentic. The fashion and the story are so identifiable, as are the two main characters. It's incredibly well done and accurate.
Overall, Documentary Now! is not a show for everyone. It's definitely for those of us who love subtle humor and parody and for those interested in documentaries. Granted, if you've been a fan of Hader or Armisen on Saturday Night Live, you'll definitely find moments to enjoy throughout the series; however, some of the irony might be lost on you. It's a lot higher-brow that you might expect or want, but for the most part it is enjoyable without a background knowledge on documentary filmmaking.
My recommendation: watch the second episode before judging it. You might like it.
My grade: 76
Where to watch it: Netflix
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