Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of The National Lampoon
Review by Paul Preston
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When I see a movie that’s a new release in theaters or for home viewing, I’ll give it a proper review in the “Reviews”, otherwise, I’ll write about it here.
March 8, 2017 – Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of The National Lampoon
Here’s a must for comedy fans! As director Doug Tirola and his team investigate the ups and downs of one of the most ambitious satirical magazines of all time, you get plenty of screen time with comedy legends you love – Belushi, Chevy Chase, Michael O’Donoghue and more. But even more satisfying is to learn the stories of the unsung heroes, the founders, contributors and editors who never received high national acclaim like Bill Murray, yet steered a rebellious comedy juggernaut into the waves for years – guys like Henry Beard and Matty Simmons and the long, strange trip of Doug Kenney, who lived the oddball ways of his magazine to intense degrees.
The roll call of comedy greats that rose the ranks at The National Lampoon profiled here includes John Hughes (yes, that John Hughes), Anne Beatts, Tony Hendra (Spinal Tap’s manager is a bigger deal than you think) and Al Jean and Mike Reiss, who helped steer The Simpsons to greatness.
This doc really is a snapshot in time, preserving a treasured era of blazing satire likely to not be among us again. The closest thing I can think of to match The National Lampoon’s output and parody level is The Onion, but they don’t even approach The Lampoon’s success at and desire to gleefully offend.
The interviews are uncensored and fascinating (I haven’t seen Chevy Chase this human in some time) and there are as many fans of The National Lampoon as there are participants interviewed. There’s also a real treat in seeing rare footage of the likes of Harold Ramis and Gilda Radner doing hilarious early work. And the film ends chronologically a short time after National Lampoon’s Vacation, so we’re spared profiles of Loaded Weapon 1 and other lesser efforts that shared the Lampoon name without sharing the rebel sensibilities. And that’s probably best.
Directed by: Doug Tirola
Release Date: September 25, 2015
Run Time: 98 Minutes
Country: USA/UK
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
