As documentaries become an even more prominent part of the
home viewing experience, it makes sense that a group of talented writers like
Seth Meyers, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen would find a comedic approach to the
art form. With more and more people watching non-fiction filmmaking via Netflix
and films like “Life Itself,” “Citizenfour,” “20 Feet From Stardom,” “Amy,” “The
Look of Silence,” and many more becoming national talking points, the time is
right to poke a little fun at some of the most famous documentaries, and the
general clichés and oft-used tricks of the form. Documentaries may not seem the
easiest targets for spoofing, but Armisen has proven his sense of humor and wit
on “Portlandia” and “Saturday Night Live” is not exactly traditional, while
Hader is one of the smartest comedians in the history of Lorne Michaels’
cultural phenomenon. I’ve seen three episodes of their “Documentary Now!,”
starting this Thursday, August 20th, on IFC. I can’t wait to see
more.
“Documentary Now!” is structured as a PBS-style look back at
the history of documentary movies hosted by Helen Mirren. To celebrate the
program’s fake 50th anniversary, Mirren is introducing clips from
some of the most famous fake documentaries of all time. The premiere takes aim
at a relatively easy target but does so with witty, unexpected style. Directly
spoofing Albert and David Maysles “Grey Gardens,” Armisen and Hader play Big
and Little Vivie, an eccentric old pair who live in a dilapidated mansion in
the faux-doc “Sandy Passage” by The Fein Brothers. What starts as a riff on the
eccentricities of the real movie—Hader is absolutely hysterical in the way he
slowly allows a menacing side into his first-quirky character until “Sandy
Passage” becomes something more like “The Blair Witch Project” than “Grey
Gardens.” He also nails the real Little Evie’s need for attention. Few actors
could get so much mileage out of a line as simple as “Do you want to watch me eat?”
The premiere of “Documentary Now!” is very funny, but I’m
surprised and happy to report that the follow-up episode next week is even
funnier, taking dead, clever aim at the “Vice” series of you-are-there
documentary programs on HBO in the form of a fake show called “Dronez.” Jack
Black stars as the host/owner of “Dronez,” introducing this dude-bro approach
to documentary filmmaking with a story called “The Search for El Chingon,” in
which a pair of remarkably naïve but cocky reporters (Hader & Armisen) try
to track down a Mexican drug lord. The Dronez reporters complete lack of
understanding of what’s actually happening in the drug-war-torn part of the
world is not just funny, it’s rather insightful into the general failure of
most You-Are-There docs, which seek to recreate dangerous situations without
offering any research or commentary about them.
In the final episode of “Documentary Now!” made available to
press, the crew takes an entirely unexpected and also hilarious angle, spoofing
the nature documentaries of the early days of film by “revealing” the true
story of the fake “Kunuk the Hunter,” a famous doc from 1922 that introduced
the white world to Eskimos. Of course, most of it was fake. Kunuk (played in a bit
of silent-film glory by Armisen) was the dumbest Eskimo in the camp, and the
only one willing to be manipulated by a filmmaker played by John Slattery of “Mad
Men.” The final act twist, in which it’s revealed Kunuk may have actually been
a hell of a filmmaker, is really really clever.
That’s the word I kept thinking of in relation
to “Documentary Now!”—clever. This is a funny, smart comedy for fans of
documentaries or even just those who wish they had more time to watch non-fiction
filmmaking. In fact, “Documentary Now!” is so good that it should spark more
interest in the very art form it satirizes but also clearly loves, which I think will make Hader, Armisen,
and Meyers very happy.
