Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Nice effects though.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

All of us at some time or another have had a National Lampoon's experience.Perhaps it was a sneaky viewing of Animal House when you were too young to do so, watching the Griswold's various eventful vacations or maybe some golfing antics in the form of Caddyshack, National Lampoon's played an important part in mainstream comedy events of the late 70's and 80's and therefore has played a part in our lives at some stage or another.Looking to provide insight into how this world-wide recognised brand came to be, Wet Hot American Summer director David Wain has assembled a capable cast to front his Netflix distributed biopic A Futile and Stupid Gesture but this 90 minute feature will leave many more casually interested fans left wanting, while diehard fans will quickly begin to realise that well-renowned documentary Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead is a much more assured and insightful look at the rise and fall of main National Lampoon campaigner and co-creator Doug Kenney.Here played by cult figure Will Forte, Kenney is a complicated and hard to read figure that remains an illusively mysterious character throughout Wain's feature and a figure that's hard to fully connect with both due to the fact Kenney is a rather obnoxious person and that Forte feels out of his depth with a role that's hard work for the actor, particularly in the times Forte is tasked with bringing a college aged Kenney to life in the films early stages.Surrounded by quality actors such as a near unrecognisable Domhnall Gleeson as Kenney's partner in crime Henry Beard, Emmy Rossum as Kenney's second wife Kathryn Walker and supporting turns from the likes of Ed Helms and curiously Joel McHale as Chevy Chase, Forte never fully convinces in his lead turn while most actors struggle to make an impact as Wain's focus continually stops and starts as Futile's brief but cluttered 90 minute runtime moves forward.Adopting a rather unique approach to proceedings and trying its best to divert from the usual biopic by the numbers rulebook, Wain's film isn't afraid to break the 4th wall and even at one stage admits to all the things its skipped over or changed for dramatic license but at the end of the day Wain's film still feels rather generic and most disappointingly like a National Lampoon's greatest hits parade, showcasing all the things we expected to see (e.g. Animal House's inception, Chevy Chase doing far too many illegal drugs) without ever really surprising viewers in any meaningful way.Final Say - The story of National Lampoon and Kenney is a story worth telling and a no doubt intriguing one for fans of the comedic brand but A Futile and Stupid Gesture feels like a missed opportunity to fully encapsulate the brands inception and the beginning of a whole new era of comedy.2 studio lot fisticuffs out of 5

This movie really wasn't for me, didn't get it and if it was supposed to be funny I missed it. I'm sure it's good if it's your type of film, just wasn't for me...

Comedy geek movie for sure. I loved this. Clever direction, great performances from the leads. Some of the "impersonations" require a little suspension of disbelief but most captured the necessary essences, particularly Chevy and o'donahugh. There's real heart here. A great companion to the lampoon documentary.

Not sure why the movie pretends Doug Kenney is alive (Martin Mull plays him at the beginning) and why some people are saying Alex Garcia-Mata is a fictional character. Not really a spoiler but if Doug died in 1980 why does the movie pretend he's alive at the beginning? And as far as Alex is concerned, I'm no expert but a quick Google search shows she did exist and there's a NY Times article announcing their engagement in 1970 (http://www.nytimes.com/1970/01/17/archives/miss-garciamata-is-engaged-to-douglas-kenney-an-editor.html). Anyway....It is entertaining, which is what movies should be and I enjoyed watching it. I'll leave the rest to others to hash out!