DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON.
US, 2015, 98 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Douglas Tirola.
This documentary about the origins and development of The National Lampoon was released on the 50th anniversary of its foundation by Douglas Kenney and Henry Beard.
For those interested in popular American culture, this documentary is a must, introducing the personalities behind the magazine, the development of its satire, articles, illustrations, parody. One commentator noted that practically everyone associated with The National Lampoon in its early days was white male American. On the other hand, another commentator noted: Questionable legacy of burnt-out hippies.
Be that as it may, whether one approves of the humour or not, this is a visual document, a great deal of footage of the 1960s and 70s, interviews with all those involved with the development of the magazine, its transition to radio, the move into films. And, all the while there is the parody, no holds barred in subject and treatment, visuals of the young audiences at the time enjoying the humour. In a way it was you name the possibility, we’ll do it, and more.
There was also the transition to the stage, and the film offering a revelation of the presence, oddball and drugged, of the independent ever-client John Belushi. Chevy Chase also features strongly, thinking back over the decades, the style of humour, the lifestyle, and Douglas Kenney being his best friend and his unexpected death in Hawaii. Also featuring are Bill Murray, Brian Doyle Murray, Harold Ramis, Gilda Radner, and the introduction to Ivan Reitman. There are also genial interviews with John Landis in connection with Animal House, also with Kevin Bacon, with Beverly D’Angelo in connection with the Vacation films.
A great deal of attention is given to the transition to films, the reactions to the themes and treatment of Animal House, sequences from the film. Chevy Chase also featured in the Vacation films.
While the success of the magazine reflected the upheavals and changes of taste, sexual freedoms, the proliferation of drugs in the 1960s and 1970s, there was a change of pace from the 1980s, attempts to rediscover the original impetus.
There are many interviews with editors, executives, financial backers, writers, or reminiscing about their life at the magazine, ups and downs, Douglas Kenney absenting himself for a year, the sale of the magazine, Kenney becoming more involved in films, including Caddyshack (with sequences). The film also shows how Michael O’Donoghue, writer, severed himself from National Lampoon and became the chief writer for Saturday Night Live, with many of the cast transferring to the beginnings of that most successful television program.
