Synopsis
A look at the history of the American comedy publication and production company, National Lampoon, from its beginning in the 1970s to 2010, featuring rare and never before seen footage, this is the mind boggling story of The National Lampoon from its subversive and electrifying beginnings, to rebirth as an unlikely Hollywood heavyweight, and beyond. A humour empire like no other, the impact of the magazines irreverent, often shocking, sensibility was nothing short of seismic: this is an institution whose (drunk stoned brilliant) alumni left their fingerprints all over popular culture. Both insanely great and breathtakingly innovative, The National Lampoon created the foundation of modern comic sensibility by setting the bar in comedy impossibly high.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- John BelushiSelf / Actor (archive footage)
- John CandySelf / Actor (archive footage)
- Chevy ChaseSelf / Actor
- Bill MurraySelf / Actor
- Gilda RadnerSelf / Actress (archive footage)
- John GoodmanSelf / Actor
- Beverly D'AngeloSelf / Actress
- Kevin BaconSelf / Actor
- Richard BelzerSelf / Actor / Producer
- Christopher GuestSelf / Actor
Recommandations
- 90
The New York Times
Focusing on the magazine and not its offshoots, the film is uproarious, not for what its many talking heads say but for its astonishing procession of brilliant, boundary-breaching illustrations and captions (augmented by some animation), many of which are as explosively funny today as they were when first published. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Energetic, laugh-stuffed and very colorful (it would be a feat to make a dull film about these people). - 80
Variety
A generous and briskly entertaining doc. - 80
Time Out
Tirola’s punchy timeline hits the breaks at the ’80s flameout, wobbling in its handling of self-destructive editor Doug Kenney. But until the defunct Lampoon starts magically reappearing in your mailbox, this excellently titled pic will do nicely. - 75
The Playlist
Comedy enthusiasts will love the look back on the groundbreaking magazine, its talented players, and the way the doc captures its irreverent spirit. - 75
Movie Nation
Satire, parody, racist skewerings of racism, sacred cows slaughtered, silly slides down the slippery slope into Anti-Semitism. And breasts. Lots and lots of breasts! - 75
The A.V. Club
Ultimately, what makes Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead valuable is the sense it provides of how savage and uncompromising the National Lampoon was in its heyday. - 63
RogerEbert.com
If you’re a scholar of comedy, Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon, a concise doc about the founding, life, thriving, and death of the '70s-defining satirical magazine, is likely a must-see. It’s an engaging and entertaining film, filled with funny anecdotes expertly related.
