Documentary Now! - General Discussion

[VCRTracking]

The trailer for The Kid Stays In the Picture:

[biakbiak]

12 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

Evans did have a memoir movie called The Kid Stays in the Picture.  I saw it once but can't remember if it matches up to this.

The book that the movie is based on is great as well but I highly recommend the audio book version, a rarity for me, because Evans does the narration.

[Mumbles]

I love both the book and the documentary The Kid Stays In the Picture, but I loved this even more. Every time they psyched us out with Fred's character, I screamed ("the Roman Polanski...of Italy.") And the fake movies were awesome ("Going Steady" lol) 

The Kid Stays In the Picture is streaming on HBO Go, check it out - Evans is a real character. And oddly inspirational, nothing got him down.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Mumbles

[Phishbulb]

"When Marlon Brando got the Land O'Lakes butter girl to accept his Oscar for him.." hahahah

I love how many Hader/Mulaney collaborations there were this season. It's good they keep the seasons short too; every episode is just packed with so much detail.

[PrincessAndrea]

Mr. Runner Up has got to be the funniest mockumentary to come out since Spinal Tap! (Even if it is a lot shorter in duration)... especially the second part. I haven't lol'ed that hard since watching the very first episode of the series, the Gray Gardens ripoff. I personally liked that one mainly because I have always had such a fondness for both the original and the Emmy award-winning remake starring Lange and Barrymore, but boy, this was even more brilliant than that... and it didn't even play homage to any particular documentary as a whole! So many lines that are quote-worthy that I already can't recall. (Am eight months pregnant so my memory has gone in the crapper lately, but I digress). 

All I can say is well played, guys, well played!

[biakbiak]

On Seth Meyers tonight they mentioned that Fred just finished filming a new episode of Documentary Now, so season three is coming!

[Irlandesa]

Finally.  I knew it had been renewed but I gave up thinking it would ever actually happen 

[annzeepark914]

Thank God!  There's so little I watch on TV these days (partly because I'm picky and partly because we don't do amazon, hulu, HBO, etc).  Maybe Documentary Now can hold me until Maine Cabinmasters returns.  Sure hope Bill Hader's filming along with Fred.  Those two, in that Grey Gardens spoof and then the episode mocking those murder documentaries, were pure gold (as in, "gold Jerry, pure gold!")  Whenever I see those tall goofy balloon things outside some business, I think of that murder documentary with Fred being interviewed by the detectives.

[BetterButter]

[BetterButter]

Batsh*t Valley: Part 1 & 2 Full Episode ft. Owen Wilson, Michael Keaton & More | Documentary Now!

[chitowngirl]

Starts up tonight! It’s an hour long episode.

[cpcathy]

Sandy Passage is still my absolute favorite. Hader was outstanding in it. The Sondeim parody looks super promising.

[cpcathy]

I watched Batsh*t Crazy, and did NOT care for it at all. Hader and Armisen are so busy this season with other things, they are not in this one at all (unless I missed it). I hope the rest of the shows are funnier. This was too straightforward.

[Phishbulb]

I thought it was funny, but unfortunately SNL already did a parody of "Wild Wild Country" around the time the real documentary came out, so it seemed like well-trod territory at this point. Also, the SNL sketch got Nasim Pedrad to play the Indian woman from the real documentary, which is a role she was born to play- she looks just like the real woman. The actress in this episode did a good job though. 

I actually don't know if Bill is in this season at all. I don't see him anywhere in that trailer that was posted above. He may have been busy filming "Barry" and "It Part 2" and not had time to participate in this season.

[cpcathy]

I didn't see him in the trailer either, it's a shame. He was so brilliant in both seasons, I enjoy this show, but enjoy it less without him.

[Irlandesa]

Part I was okay but I really enjoyed Part II when Michael Keaton entered the picture and we saw how it all came together.

[biakbiak]

I enjoyed it. I do think one of the things that worked against it is that the true story is so absolutely batshit.

[chitowngirl]

Episode 4-Waiting for the Artist: Cate Blanchett! I loved this episode.

[cpcathy]

Yes, this episode was back to form. Great performance from Cate, and Fred was back! I think you need his absurdity, I just laugh when he shows up. The ending was ridiculously great! I also thought Izabella's piece with the bucket and what it was supposed to represent was on pointe.

[12catcrazy]

Another hilarious episode!  I didn't really recognize Cate Blanchet - I kept looking at Izabella and thinking "I KNOW that actress..." but couldn't put my finger on who it was.   And I agree!  Fred was great as usual.  And I totally loved that ending.  

Anybody know what real documentary this was based on?  And what struck me was that even though it was a satire, the real modern art world is just as stupid as depicted in the show.   Jeff Koons, anybody?  

[biakbiak]

49 minutes ago, 12catcrazy said:

Anybody know what real documentary this was based on?  And what struck me was that even though it was a satire, the real modern art world is just as stupid as depicted in the show.   Jeff Koons, anybody?  

Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present. 

[Phishbulb]

It turns out that Bill Hader did have something to do with this season after all- he cowrote this week's episode. It was all right, but given Hader's penchant for going dark with his comedy, I felt like it could've gone even further out into the realm of Fred Armisen's character becoming a creepy, psychotic stalker hell-bent on meeting his idol Gary Larson. I did like how they made his character a complete self-centered dick who was neglecting his wife and newborn child to make his dumb movie. 

[12catcrazy]

This Gary Larson one was good.  It reminded me of a doc I saw pretty close to 20 years ago done by  some guy (nerdy middle aged guy with a family who looked well-off financially) who goes off in search of a writer who wrote a very literary book the guy fell in love with in the early 70s when he was a teenager.   The author wrote the book, received critical acclaim, and then dropped off the map.   I think the filmmaker did eventually find the guy who wound up working as a mailman or something similar.  

I just remember watching it and thinking the film seemed to be more about the filmmaker than the missing author.  It was a watchable movie and I enjoyed it at the time but there weren't that many kinds of movies like that back then.  

[Dowel Jones]

I wonder if Gary Larson was informed that he would be an offscreen character in this little excursion, or if he tuned in by accident one night, and said "Wait, what?"

[Phishbulb]

They really back-loaded this season with all the Fred Armisen-centric eps. He was the focus of last week's and of this week's too, which looks like another typical "Fred as a musician" things (he did so many of these types of sketches on SNL). We probably didn't need TWO musical episodes in one season, to be honest.

The season finale with Michael C. Hall and Bobby Moynihan as the bowlers should be fun though.

[CaliCheeseSucks]

On 3/16/2019 at 9:35 PM, Phishbulb said:

It turns out that Bill Hader did have something to do with this season after all- he cowrote this week's episode. It was all right, but given Hader's penchant for going dark with his comedy, I felt like it could've gone even further out into the realm of Fred Armisen's character becoming a creepy, psychotic stalker hell-bent on meeting his idol Gary Larson. I did like how they made his character a complete self-centered dick who was neglecting his wife and newborn child to make his dumb movie. 

According to the AV Club, 'Searching For Mr. Larson' was held over from last season, thus explaining Hader's writing credit during this season. 

[biakbiak]

On 3/19/2019 at 2:37 PM, Dowel Jones said:

I wonder if Gary Larson was informed that he would be an offscreen character in this little excursion, or if he tuned in by accident one night, and said "Wait, what?"

I believe he owns the copyright for his strips so they would have had to get permission and pay him for using them in the show.

[aradia22]

Skipping around season 1. Sandy Passage, the first episode based on Grey Gardens is the only one I like so far. Bill Hader really sells it. I just think the ending is a little too over the top and a bit mean-spirited. 

They nailed the voices on the Dronez (VICE) episode but that joke just went in circles and they didn't have much else. Even for a short show like this, it was too much.

The Eye Doesn't Lie (Thin Blue Line) episode also just had the one joke that Fred Armisen's character is annoying. 

The two part finale Gentle and Soft (History of the Eagles) was decent. There were other little jokes besides the personalities of the two main band members. And Bill's character was impressively dickish. Somehow with his flat delivery it wasn't too over the top. All the work on the production and look even down to recreating the magazine covers was great.

[aradia22]

Juan Likes Rice and Chicken (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) was really good. I think I like the episodes that skewer a doc that's already very stylized. Or maybe I just like the episodes written by Seth Meyers. His writing is so beautifully stupid. The episode was consistently funny throughout.

[aradia22]

I feel like I would have gotten more out of Final Transmission (Stop Making Sense) if I knew anything about The Talking Heads. Without that, this felt similar to Gentle and Soft except the narcissistic leader was the one who was less interested in making money. I did like the songs though. The lyrics were nonsense but they sounded good.

[aradia22]

Mr. Runner Up (The Kid Stays in the Picture) was a little dull for me. Bill Hader looked good. It made me want to see him in a legit period movie.

Waiting for the Artist (Marina Abramovic) was also kind of meh but whatever worked about it was mainly due to Cate Blanchett. It felt like one long, mediocre SNL skit carried by how good the celebrity host was that week.

I was saving Original Cast Album: Co-Op. Well, it was no Sondheim. Of the songs, I thought the patter songs (the Richard Kind song and the Not Getting Married Today parody about the holiday party) sounded the best. Richard Kind was the funniest bit. John Mulaney was good in the background. The joke on "I Gotta Go" (probably an Elaine Stritch song?) was that she was singing it badly but I kind of the conceit of the Cinderella thing. It was insanely repetitive though.

[aradia22]

S3E1 and S3E2 Batshit Valley 

Ooh, I hated Ra-Sharir. I'm glad she ended up being a criminal and not just a fanatic. 

They did a fantastic job on this one. The guest actors were great without being distractions from the story. Keaton was awesome. And the way it was put together made for one of the best episodes yet in terms of the look and accuracy. I didn't find it that funny. It felt more like a real documentary besides little jokes like the Steelers colors and names and paying in pennies.

[aradia22]

Searching for Mr. Larson was solid. It was similar to the DRONEZ episode but a more incisive and thus harsher takedown of these kinds of documentaries. 

[DanaK]

Season 4 (I think) is set to premiere this Fall on IFC and AMC+ with 6 episodes http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2022/02/10/ifcs-emmy-nominated-documentary-now-returns-in-2022-622114/20220210amc03/

[MtLCL]

[BetterButter]

Cate Blanchett, Tom Jones Among ‘Documentary Now!’ Season 4 Guest Stars

Quote

IFC has revealed the first round of guest star casting for the ”53rd season“ of the comedy

[BetterButter]

[DanaK]

Specifically, it premieres October 19 at 10pm with a 2 part episode http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2022/08/05/alexander-skarsgard-nicholas-braun-and-more-join-the-highly-anticipated-53rd-season-of-documentary-now-525415/20220805amc01/

[DanaK]

nvm

Edited October 5, 2022 by DanaK

[TakomaSnark]

That premiere was fantastic.

[DanaK]

Unfortunately I missed the 2 part premiere because of an issue with the channel that appears to be fixed now. I will try to catch the episodes at some point on AMC+

[Irlandesa]

7 minutes ago, DanaK said:

Unfortunately I missed the 2 part premiere because of an issue with the channel that appears to be fixed now. I will try to catch the episodes at some point on AMC+

IFC On Demand has the premiere and  the third episode available as well if you have cable.

[DanaK]

45 minutes ago, Irlandesa said:

IFC On Demand has the premiere and  the third episode available as well if you have cable.

After some checking, it appears only past seasons are on AMC+; I'll have to see if the Roku Channel has the current season. After some further checking, it looks like the IFC website via my desktop computer will let me have access to the current episodes as a cable customer

[Irlandesa]

I loved the Netflix-esque My Monkey Grifter episode.  At first I though it was going to be a run-of-the-mill wildlife documentary and I was missing the parody.

Then, as all good Netflix documentaries do, it went batshit crazy.

[SHD]

The first two-part episode and My Monkey Grifter were the only two episodes this season that I enjoyed. The Three Hairdressers one was only interesting if you watch the original inspiration to see how meticulously they copied some aspects of it. I was completely bored by the last French one and the one about the rock throwing sport. A so so season for me. As their inspirations become more obscure, the less I seem to be enjoying it.

[Irlandesa]

I rarely have seen any of the documentaries they're riffing off of but I still enjoy the show. 

The Herzog two parter is one that I know was liked by a lot of people but I didn't enjoy it as much because it was a two-parter.  I prefer the 30 minute episodes.

I loved last night's episode.  Maybe it's because it reminded me of my French film class. 

[patty1h]

I've had this show on my "one of these days" list for years, but I finally took the plunge after a rec in the NY TImes this week.  So far I've watched "Soldier of Illusion" with Alexander Skarsgaard.   I was very entertained and laughed a lot - a Werner Herzog-like film maker splitting his talent between a doc about isolated mountain people and a sitcom called "Bachelor Nanny".   

Ingeniously, they threw in hints to Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man, two works that Herzog is famous for.

[cpcathy]

If you haven’t already, do watch season one, it’s brilliant.

[DanaK]

I’m finally watching “Soldier of Illusion” on Netflix and it’s definitely nutty insane and enjoyable in how nutty insane it is