Documentary Now!
A “mockumentary” series created by Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas
Starring Helen Mirren, Fred Armisen, and Bill Hader
Season 1, 7 episodes: released 2015
Season 2, 7 episodes: released 2016
Season 3, 7 episodes: released 2019
Season 4, 6 episodes: released 2022
Watch Time: less than 25 min. per episode
I had spent the morning researching the election of Milei and the afternoon writing about the COVID hoax and was not in the mood to watch a “serious” movie. Instead, I clicked on the first episode of Documentary Now!, a TV series a friend had recommended.
It begins with Helen Mirren, in an elegant dress against a somber background, appearing as the host of the series and welcoming the audience to what she says is its 50th season.
It was great – and the episodes I’ve seen since then have been great, too. I don’t know if I can convey how and why this series is so wonderful. Giving you brief descriptions of the first six episodes might do the trick.
Episode 1. An in-depth look at the daily lives of two aging socialites and their crumbling estate.
Episode 2. An investigation into the seminal 1922 documentary Kunuk the Hunter that attempts to separate what is real from what is fabrication.
Episode 3. The hipster media empire DRONEZ sends a series of its notoriously fearless journalists to track down Mexico’s most wanted drug lord.
Episode 4. An investigation into the wrongful conviction of a man sentenced to death for a 1976 murder.
Episode 5. A documentary crew travels to Arborg, Iceland, for the annual festival honoring American gangster Al Capone.
Episodes 6 and 7. A 2-parter charting the rise and fall of soft rock band The Blue Jean Committee.
Here’s what I can say from what I’ve seen so far. Documentary Now! is always smart and often very funny, satirizing everything from war to peace to culture the way such topics are typically addressed in “serious” documentaries. And that shouldn’t surprise anyone considering the people that put it together: Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Seth Meyers, and Rhys Thomas.
Critical Reception
Documentary Now! received critical acclaim and a slew of awards for writing, acting, and directing throughout its four seasons, including Primetime Emmys, Critics’ Choice, and Peabody Awards.
* “This is pure, 100 percent uncut catnip for film nerds.” – Rolling Stone
* “At barely 23 minutes each, these episodes are extraordinarily intricate pieces of miniature art.” – Vanity Fair
* “A loving and ludicrous satire of classic non-fiction films that feature an absurd wit and impeccable detail.” – The Age(Australia)
Interesting
The idea for the series came from a bit Armisen, Hader, and Meyers did in 2013 on Saturday Night Live, portraying aging British punk rockstars in a sketch titled “History of Punk.” Hader has said that their main inspirations were Woody Allen’s Take the Money and Run and Zelig.
You can watch the Season 1 trailer here.
Hamilton: Building America
A documentary produced by the History Channel
Starring Michael Bonini, Connor Dylan, Donald Imm, Don Meehan Jr., Jessie Ruane, Hugh Scully, and Jeff Wilburn
Released: June 1017
Watch Time: about an hour and a half
I’ve always been interested in history, but never enough to take more than a handful of history courses in college and read some history books during the next 40 years.
But when I hit my 70s, I found myself more interested in history than I’d ever been before. I developed an appetite for books and essays and movies and videos on historical events and I began reading historical biographies and autobiographies.
A few weeks ago, I was cruising video documentaries offered by the History Channel, and I came upon one about Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s founding fathers – and, if I remember the little I’ve read about him, one of the most important ones in respect to the core Constitutional ideas about government, politics, and fiscal matters.
And so I sat down one evening at the Swamp House (the family cottage in the botanical garden) and watched Hamilton: Building America.
If you’ve ever watched a History Channel documentary, you know that they are generally low-budget productions. This one is no exception. But that didn’t bother me because so much of the information about Hamilton’s life and his contribution to our country’s Constitution and values were new to me.
I hardly feel like I know enough about Hamilton to have a long conversation about him, but I have learned enough to be glad I watched Hamilton: Building America and I am looking forward to reading and watching more about him in the future.
You can watch the entire documentary – for free – here.
LaRoy, Texas
Directed by Shane Atkinson
Starring John Magaro and Steve Zahn
Released: April 2024
Watch Time: 1 hr, 50 min.
A friend recommended this film, saying that it reminded him of a Coen brothers movie. That got me to check it out right away.
LaRoy, Texas was, no doubt, influenced by the Coen brothers work – and particularly by Raising Arizona. It has the same darkish comedic plot, the same ensemble of flawed and quirky characters, the same ability to make sociopathy funny, and the same dark cinematography.
Its plot, however, is more convoluted, to the point of sometimes feeling contrived. And the colorful characters are more numerous, which makes it seem more “made.” A depressed man plans to kill himself, but his plans suddenly change when a stranger mistakes him for a low-rent hit man. Desperate to earn a little respect, he decides to play the part. However, when the supposedly simple plan begins to unravel, he recruits a private investigator to help him escape from the actual killer and make it out alive.
Robert Daniels, reviewing the movie on RogerEbert.com, iterated my impressions:
LaRoy, Texas is a convoluted yarn whose unnecessary intricacies aren’t helped by Ray’s unbelievable stupidity. Somewhere between not connecting the obvious dots of his wife’s infidelity and believing that a salon will make it alright, the character jumps the shark to frustratingly insipid, to the point that you’re ready to murder him, too. Thankfully, Magaro is so excellent, so at ease playing vulnerable losers, that you’re compelled to look past the writing’s flaws. The same could be said of the chemistry between Magaro and Zahn. This is a film propelled by their unguarded male friendship, one shared by two unserious failures in need of someone to recognize their passions, desires, talents, and personhood. In each other, they find a worthy, moving mirror.
Critical Reception
* “LaRoy, Texas remains as unpredictable as an overly agitated rattlesnake and has just about as much bite to it.” – San Jose Mercury News
* “If Atkinson isn’t quite the Coen inheritor he aspires to be, this hectic flurry of schemers, snatchers, and low-lifes puts him three-quarters of the way to inventing a new genre: Texan noir farce.” – Guardian
* “LaRoy, Texas benefits from a standout cast and an intriguing enough storyline that is too complex by half but not enough to distract from the fun.” – Screen Rant
You can watch the trailer here.
Preacher
An AMC series based on a comic book series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
Developed by Sam Catlin, Seth Rogan, and Evan Goldberg
Starring Dominic Cooper, Joseph Gilgun, and Ruth Negga
Season 1, 10 episodes: released May 2016
Season 2, 13 episodes: released June 2017
Season 3, 10 episodes: released June 2018
Season 4, 10 episodes: released Aug. 2019
Watch Time: 42-65 min. per episode
I don’t know how I found it or why I decided to watch it, but I’m only halfway through the second season and I feel like I’ve gotten more than I expected.
The Premise
Jesse Custer is a hard-drinking, chain-smoking preacher who, enduring a crisis of faith, becomes infused with an extraordinary power. He embarks on a quest to better understand his new gift and literally find God, alongside his trigger-happy ex-girlfriend, Tulip, and new vampire friend, Cassidy.
What I Like About It
* It has everything I like in fantasy entertainment, including action, adventure, supernatural forces, blood, guts, and zombies.
* It is a cornucopia of genres and styles that I like, blended in a manner that makes it difficult to describe. At first, I saw it as an action series with stimulating touches of horror, gore, and dark humor. Then I saw it as a science fiction action film with Southern Gothic styling. Now I’m enjoying it as a supernatural morality tale with Spaghetti Western scenery.
* The script is smart and tight. The acting is smart and funny. And the characters are a happy mix of the Coen brothers and Quentin Tarantino.
Critical Reception
* “Preacher is a black comedy, a horror funhouse, a mild meditation on belief, and a wicked good time.” – Boston Herald
* “Even when I didn’t enjoy Preacher, I admired it, because it’s peculiar and ambitious and often feels obsessively personal.” – New York Magazine
* “Preacher has a strong enough story going for it, but it’s truly the bizarre mishmash of colorful characters that help bring this comic book tale to life on the small screen.” – The Blue Spot
* “Its irreverent, dangerous spirit keeps it both coherent and excitingly unpredictable.” – People Magazine
* “At times Preacher is weird, interesting, and tortuously slow, but it eventually sucks you into its strange, quirky small town world.” – Eclipse Magazine
You can watch the Season 1 trailer here.
