Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead (2015) User Reviews

Review: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of The National Lampoon Is A Raucously Entertaining Doc

[glenonfilm · 8/10 · 6 May 2015]

Director Douglas Tirola boasts (somewhat cheekily) that Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead features more bare breasts than any other documentary in history. Judging by the raucous end result that details the hard- partying genesis and spectacular flameout of the National Lampoon humour magazine, he may well be right.

From an inauspicious start at Harvard to an ignominious end (that is mostly glossed over), National Lampoon magazine proved notable and memorable, with Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead reliving all the glory years of drugs, clubs, pubs, parties, and oh yeah, ground-breaking humour too. Focusing on the many disparate players that had a hand in the magazine (including numerous publishers, comedians, actors, hangers-on, and most importantly, the core writers that drove it all) Tirola wrangles a cacophony of voices and personalities into a digestible narrative that zips along with wit and verve.

It helps that his subjects are a motley crew of top-rate satirists, a group who at one time helped make National Lampoon the 2nd most popular magazine in the country and a world-changing counter- cultural force. Yet with the inevitable rise comes a crashing fall, exemplified by broken friendships, drug casualties, untimely deaths, and other assorted tragedies. It's an epic story and a must-watch for comedy nerds and casual fans alike.

Founders Doug Kenney and Henry Beard are the main subjects, although a litany of faces (many famous) chime in throughout on the impact and legacy of National Lampoon itself. Kenney and Beard are shown to be the initial visionaries who, along with the help of publisher Matty Simmons and a key group of art directors, launched the magazine. National Lampoon spun off a Harvard publication in 1970 and immediately showed an irreverent wit and willingness to go after any target with ruthless precision (the bigger the better). Politics, race, gender, the rich, the famous – they were all fair game and National Lampoon tore them to shreds with razor-sharp satire (like a more ribald precursor to Saturday Night Live, and later The Colbert Report and The John Oliver Show).

Behind the scenes it was a non-stop party, with the Lampoon's New York office being a hub of sex. drugs, and rock 'n' roll. The writers had free reign to imbibe and indulge in whatever they liked, so long as a magazine was produced each month. And with coke-fuelled marathon writing sessions and Kenney and Beard's dogged work ethic, they were able to keep up. It was highly dysfunctional but many of the talking head segments reveal former staff members looking back on their time in those madhouse offices fondly.

Tirola keeps the tone lively and fast-paced, using excerpts from National Lampoon's radio show and comedy albums as audio-only interstitials, and bringing many articles and illustrations to life through animation combined with vivid recollections from the folks who were on the front lines. Among them are Billy Bob Thornton, Tim Matheson, Kevin Bacon, and other actors who were related to the brand (a fresh-faced Bacon got his ass paddled in a memorable sequence from Animal House), as well as those that were profoundly influenced by the magazine and its spinoffs, like comedy hitmaker Judd Apatow.

There's great archival footage of early National Lampoon troupe members like Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, John Belushi and Harold Ramis performing, which sadly recalls that three of those four have passed away now (while the ever-elusive Murray appears only in old footage). Chevy Chase figures prominently into the narrative, as he was one of the first members of the comedy troupe and was a close friend to co-founder Doug Kenney. The making of Caddyshack (not an official Lampoon production but featuring many alumni) is recounted in detail, as is the uproar over and eventual exaltation of the classic Animal House, which helped make the careers of John Landis and Ivan Reitman (both of him appear on-camera as well).

For every interview that Tirola may have missed out on (an extremely young Christopher Guest is seen fleetingly in footage from the 70's), there's three great anecdotes that will have audiences either in stitches over some ridiculous tale, or watching raptly as the next drug trip goes bad or close friend is lost. There's a wealth of material to draw on, and to the movie's credit it remains fleet and sure-footed, nimbly picking which story to expand and which interviewee to probe.

Chase himself – once a titan of comedy but now often seen as an ungrateful blowhard – is humanized greatly and his relationship with the hard-living Kenney provides an emotional anchor for the craziness surrounding the Lampoon. The loss of life and shattered friendships are not glossed over but the film does make the needed decision to focus mostly on the main players of the Lampoon as there's only so much screen time.

The later years of the magazine become somewhat dire as much of its best writers and actors are poached by Hollywood and Lorne Michaels, but the film (and the magazine) soldier on in the face of adversity. The down slide is given less screen time and Matty Simmon's hand- waving away of the bad later years is both glib and appreciated in the context of the movie (when asked about Michaels, Simmons responds "Who?" with a smile). While the magazine ended in 1998, its brand and looming influence continues to live on.

The film is necessarily guided by who would speak with Tirola but in the end that turns out to be a surprisingly large number of notable individuals, recognizable entertainers, and even more names who may not be as familiar but whose contributions were great and deservedly remembered here. If a documentary's job is to be true to its subject while informing and entertaining, then Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead achieves that goal with ease. To paraphrase the Lampoon's most famous magazine cover, "Watch this movie or we'll shoot this dog."

Good Inside Look at the Satirical Publication

[larrys3 · 7/10 · 25 May 2016]

This well presented documentary, directed by Douglas Tirola, gives us a good inside look at the highly satirical magazine National Lampoon. Founded in 1969 by 3 Harvard graduates, Doug Kenney, Henry Beard, and Rob Hoffman, the magazine published from 1970 to 1998.

In its heyday in the 1970's, National Lampoon presented dark and scathing social and political satire, where seemingly nothing was off limits. That would include its now infamous 1973 cover where a revolver is being placed against the head of a dog with the caption "if you don't buy this magazine we'll kill this dog".

The magazine would spin off into various other media avenues including radio, live theater, comedy albums, and finally movies, where its initial film presentation was the classic comedic gem "Animal House". An enormous list of talented comedians and writers would contribute to the success of National Lampoon over the years. However, this success would eventually lead to much of the talent moving on to other venues, such as SNL, leading to the eventual downfall of the publication.

Overall, the viewer should be prepared to see tons of female breasts in this movie, as well as all kinds of explicit sexual references and stories. Also, they'll be many references to the darkest kind of humor, on topics that would be considered strictly taboo by many. I thought the documentary gave me a solid inside look at an important part of American satirical humor history.

LAMPOON THIS!

[mmthos · 6/10 · 28 November 2020]

Fairly conventional documentary of the very unconventional National Lampoon comedy machine through the decades. Footage and photos of the times interspersed with recollections by the remaining survivors today, talkin' bout the glory days, which, at their height, had the magazine #1 in the college readership and second only to Cosmo in national circulation. Out of that grew cabaret acts, SNL, and "Animal House" et al. Always known for their subversive humor of dubious taste, it's quite shocking to see what was considered progressive in the 60's, 70's, and '80's viewed from the pc world of today.

An informative, educational, historic, and provocative and funny documentary about an icon publication!

[blanbrn · 7/10 · 25 January 2016]

Growing up I remember "National Lampoon Magazine" I would from time to time look at a copy at the drugstore counter or see a copy that a friend would bring to school, as my parents would not let me buy them they felt the content was to dirty! Yet I thought it was special the way that it blended funny stuff with society all blending in world events, famous people, politics, and movies and television as it even took a spin on race, sex, gender and many social topics.

Yet from watching this documentary I learned a lot about National Lampoon's and that was it got it's start from educated college guys and in fact it use to be a "Harvard" university magazine! Along the way after it branched out to a magazine it expanded to the radio airwaves, then even began Lampoon plays and stand up routines. Many of the stories written in the magazine would later become hit movies most notable was 1983's "Vacation" and the Lampoon industry would launch the creation of "NBC's" "Saturday Night Live".

And this documentary provided many good interviews from stars who got their start from the Lampoon franchise like Chevy Chase and Kevin Bacon and even John Goodman. And this picture told of the company history showing great highlights and drawings and covers of the magazine and news clips and commentary on how National Lampoon really did cause a stir with American society. Really this was a well done and good documentary to watch.

The Rise and Fall of the National Lampoon

[BoomerDT · 9/10 · 20 July 2016]

If you were living in your late teens and early 20's during the 70's, male (in most cases) there is a good chance you may have been a regular or semi-regular reader of the "National Lampoon" an outrageously funny monthly periodical of the time. A good description is that the NL was a natural progression for teenage boys when they were outgrowing "Mad" and developing some intellectual chops. The NL was screamingly funny, absolutely hilarious satire. I'll admit that when I first started reading in high school some of the stuff went over my head but one thing about the 'Poon compared to the lightweight so-called satirists of today, the overwhelming majority of whom are promoting a far left agenda - the NL was truly an equal opportunity satirist. I'm sure that most of the writers, being in their 20's and most with an Ivy League background were politically left but the 'Poon went after politicians and causes of conservatives and liberals with an equal vengeance, with Nixon and Ted Kennedy being 2 prime examples. While the NL made great sport of right wing iconic institutions like the military, big business, police, Christianity, the NRA and right to life, they also satirized virtually every ethnic group, liberal elites, homosexuals, the entire counter-culture movement, and women (plenty of tits!) Indeed, if someone would try to revive the NL in the spirit of the 70's I'd think the PC police would immediately begin to try to abolish its existence for being racist, sexist and homophobic.

For those under about age 50 the National Lampoon is remembered for the movies that began in 1978 with the classic "Animal House" and then the series of "Vacation" movies, plus some others over the years not worth mentioning. The success of AH would continue the siphoning of the NL's most talented writers and performers (the NL Radio Show, which ran on Saturday evenings on a syndicated network, mostly AOR stations. Included Belushi, C Chase, Radner, Ramis and the Murray Bros.) which had begun with NBC's SNL. The NL couldn't compete with the money, fame and women that movies and TV offered their creative talent and the magazine died a slow death in the 80's. "DSBD" is a great look at this quick rise and fall of a comedy empire.

Entertaining Look at the Rise and Fall of Lampoon

[Michael_Elliott · 6 February 2017]

DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: The Story of the National Lampoon (2015)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

If you're a fan of the National Lampoon's magazine then you're certainly going to want to check this documentary out. The rise and fall of the magazine is discussed in this highly entertaining documentary that features interviews with surviving members of the magazine as well as those who got their start in the movies like NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE, CADDYSHACK and NATIONAL LAMPOON'S VACATION.

There's some really good material to have here but the documentary works the best for those who are unfamiliar with the magazine or just don't know the complete history behind it. We get some great stories about the early days as well as how the magazine finally took off, which of course led to Hollywood calling. There's some discussion of Saturday Night Live who stole a lot of their talent as well as some of the darker stories including the death of one of the founding members.

There are some great stories throughout this and there are some great interviews as well. I must say that the interview with Chevy Chase was probably my favorite because we really see a different side of him including a rather painful side as he talks about losing his best friend.

solid overview of the Lampoon's glory days

[cherold · 7/10 · 11 August 2018]

The edgy, twisted, often outrageously funny Lampoon died years ago, although I recall it continued as the walking dead for a few years. This documentary follows the magazine from its pre-creation with the Harvard Lampoon through its early success and then just the tip of its long, slow, painful decline. It is a talking heads documentary, but the talking heads are witty and illustrated with pages from the magazine that work as a Greek chorus and are often cleverly animated.

I probably started reading the Lampoon in the mid-70s - my favorite writers were Ellis Weiner and P.J. O'Rourke - but the documentary is most concerned with what it considers the magazine's glory days in the early 70s. Truthfully, the little bits of Lampoon stuff I've read by the early writers like Beard and O'Donoghue haven't really appealed to me, but the movie tells me they were amazing geniuses and perhaps they were.

The story the movie tells is a fairly superficial one. It gets into some of the drama and gives some nice background, but it sticks very closely to the geniuses-working-hard-and-having-fun. The decline is portrayed as the loss of geniuses to SNL and the movies, which seems simplistic, and there's not really much attempt to put the Lampoon into a larger societal context.

Which is fine, because it's an entertaining documentary, but for me it means people giving this 10 stars just have lower standards for a great documentary than I do. This is just a nice little history that fans of the magazine will enjoy. And it's probably pretty fun even if you don't know the magazine.

Landmark Humor Encapsulated

[george.schmidt · 9/10 · 28 September 2015]

DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD : THE STORY OF NATIONAL LAMPOON (2015) ***1/2 Documentarian Douglas Triola engages with a thorough look at the 1970s landmark magazine in humor that unleashed a generation of genius lunacy with its iconoclastic writers, publishers and editors which became a media empire with its successful forays into improvised comedy, radio, TV & film with a Who's Who of Contemporary Comedy that included many of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players on SNL. Talking head segments include collaborators and fans including filmmakers John Landis, Judd Apatow, Chevy Chase and Kevin Bacon among others recalling the zany antics involved with various productions including Animal House & Vacation. For those connoisseurs of low-brow and high-brow comedy - and everything in between -this is required viewing for historical humor at its greatest.

Questionable Legacy of Burnt-out Hippies

[bonsai-superstar · 6/10 · 23 May 2016]

It's notable that none of the truly successful / funny people who got their start via Lampoon- related ventures (Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, etc.) are in this movie, vouching for the quality of the Lampoon. Why is this? Because they owe their start to Second City, not to the Lampoon. Just as the Lampoon blames Lorne Michaels for taking "their" talent wholesale, they took this talent from Second City - people like John Belushi, Gilda Radner etc. ever wrote for or even had anything to do with the Lampoon. Animal House had a few laughs and, as noted in the movie, created a genre, but a realistic viewer will suspect the laughs are the result of (non-Lampoon) Harold Ramis. Caddyshack was crap. P. J. O'Rourke is (still) a pompous, unfunny drunk / conservative. Chevy Chase is here, promoting the Lampoon because the Lampoon is affiliated with his glory years 3 decades ago. The National Lampoon may have been considered shocking, new, or different, but it simply wasn't as funny as this movie makes it out to be. A truly timeless work will stand on its own. What is the legacy of the Lampoon? Quite a few people spell it out in this movie: "tits". Pictures of breasts and juvenile cartoons. Breasts are great, but (generally) not funny. If the Lampoon had classic, funny articles, people would still be referencing them (people still reference the Marx Brothers or Shakespeare). But they don't - why do you think that is?

The Rise and Fall of Comedy Gold

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 9/10 · 9 May 2016]

For many of us our first introduction to off kilter and subversive humor came in the form of a magazine that was on newsstands everywhere. For pre-teens it was less the humor that was involved that got our attention but the fact there was nudity in it and it wasn't hidden under the counter. But for those who loved a good laugh it was the premier source of humor to find at the time, our own generations humor as opposed to that of what was popular at the time. There is a huge difference between Henny Youngman cracking wise about his wife and a magazine cover that pictured a dog with a gun to its head that read "Buy this magazine or we'll shoot this dog".

This movie takes a look at NATIONAL LAMPOON from its inception to its demise, covering all bases good and bad. A spin off of the HARVARD LAMPOON, the magazine was started by Doug Kenney, Henry Beard and Robert Hoffman. It was a humor filled magazine that parodied and focused on what was happening in the country, sort of like MAD magazine but from a more adult perspective. What the three of them did was bring in many of the most thought provoking comedy writers of the time to work for the magazine and in return its success skyrocketed.

You have to remember that these were the days before comedy clubs dotted the country and skit based comedy took over the airwaves. As a matter of fact it was from National Lampoon that many of those who went on to take over the airwaves began. As the magazine grew in popularity things happened that altered what was to come. Kenney left for a time leaving the magazine in the hands of Beard alone. A workaholic who helped create the tone of every issue, his disappearance had an effect on all involved.

But what helped move the downfall of the magazine as well was the departure of many of the staff members. As the magazine grew it evolved into a number of albums, weekly radio shows and stage productions involving those writers. NATIONAL LAMPOON'S LEMMINGS was a record and stage show featuring both John Belushi and Chevy Chase. As those writers and performers left for shows like Saturday NIGHT LIVE, the magazine suffered. Many other noted writers stepped in and did well but they too left.

The magazine got involved in movies in 1978 with the release of NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE but by then the magazine sales were dwindling. More successful movies followed but the magazine had lost its punch, relegating itself to special issues, rehashes of old issues and more nudity rather than humor. Eventually it ended publication.

This documentary takes a look at all of that. Using a stills, filmed footage and numerous interviews with those involved it blends them together to take us through the magazine as it was and as it ended. It talks about the good and the bad, never whitewashing facts to suit those who loved it non-stop. In so doing it also reflects the evolution of comedy from that time period. Nearly every major comedy writer or humorist at the time had some connection to the magazine be it SNL writer Michael O'Donoghue, political satirist P.J. O'Rourke or screenwriter John Hughes.

In some ways it was the success of the magazine that led to its demise years later. Coupled with a generation that relies solely on visual media and ignores printed matter there was little hope that the magazine could go on. Watching this movie makes that a sad realization that so much was lost when the magazine folded. But with this film many who weren't aware of the contribution to comedy that came from the magazine will be realized. Perhaps enough so that people will go back in search of old issues, maybe one fan will be inspired to create his own LAMPOON someday. We can hope.

Until then we can watch and learn from some of the most creative comic minds of the past century on screen here. It serves as a reminder that creativity and humor can walk hand in hand and inspire one another. And it lets others know that there was something funny long before they were born, something this generation seems to not realize yet. With this movie the proof is there. An interesting and delightful documentary that captures the time and the laughs in only 98 far too short minutes.

There once was a time in which people actually could get shocked by a MAGAZINE. Those were the days...

[imseeg · 6/10 · 18 March 2022]

A movie about a magazine? Yes, not just any magazine though. It was the time in which many taboos were broken about sexuality, religiion and racism. It's rise to fame was back in the late sixties and early seventies. And the National Lampoon made the mold of breaking taboos.

The magazine eventually died a spiritual and financial death, caused by lack of advertisers because the magazine was heavily boycotted, due to their offensive religious jokes, that didnt go down well with politics, when the hippie years were finally over.

The good: we get to see a snapshot of time, which was a remarkable period and the birth of many genius comedians of whom John Landis (director) and Bill Murray (actor) are the best known (living) examples today. But we get to see John Belushi in his early days as well, which is the nicest surprise.

However eventful and provocative their magazine was, this documentary is not an absolute thrill to watch, because some of the key creative minds are dead now and the other lesser artists are old and kinda jaded...

Bill Murray did not take part in this documentary. I can only guess why...

Remarkable Chronicling of the Brilliant Lost Genuises

[elicopperman · 8/10 · 2 November 2022]

From the early 1970s to the late 90s, National Lampoon magazine was one of the biggest successes of satirical parody literature. By being a magazine where nearly everyone behind it could push the boundaries without caring about going too far, it has earned its place amongst some of the most innovative shock content out there. So naturally, its long lasting impact on comedy and humour were necessary for the subject of a documentary, entitled Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead. Released in 2015, on the 70th birth year of co-founder Henry Beard, the film is quite the revelation of the rise and fall of such an iconic magazine.

The film itself details new interviews with National Lampoon staff members and other famous people who were fans of the magazine itself. On top of these interviews detailing a lot of context into how founders and Harvard alumni Douglas Kenney, Henry Beard and Robert Hoffman approached producer Matty Simmons to make their own inspired rendition off of the Harvard Lampoon, there are also never-before seen archival material from former late players including John Belushi, Gilda Radner and Michael O'Donoghue. As a magazine done to comment on society and the world in the mosto outlandish ways, the documentary breathes so much life into the material through the photos, animated recreations of already existing Lampoon work and even some transitional parodies from their radio show. At its core, National Lampoon was about saying what no one else had the guts to talk about, and while they were the subject of possible racism and sexism, anyone who understood raw comedy and anger through laughter kept the magazine afloat for so long.

However, like most documentaries, it is also a chronicle of the biggest downfalls in the magazine's history, specifically related to Doug Kenney himself. Known for being as manic as he was brilliant, Kenney was known for unannounced AWOLs and frequent substance abuse which turned off some of his closest collaborators, not at all helped by his other experiments such as book and script writing being hit or miss. There are also talks of creative differences and bad behavior mentioned by Tony Hendra, Anne Beatts and Michael Gross. In spite of those, the main focus of the documentary is chronicling how a lot of the magazine took a downward spiral following Kenney's sudden death and newcomers being forced to go in directions that negatively affected the humor. Where National Lampoon was meant to say something absurd and shocking about a subject, its later years made it all shock without the substance. From numerous crazy additions, to film spin offs to different voices being heard, it's no wonder the magazine would stumble as much as it would triumph.

Through a lot of dedication to the most far out magazine of its time and arguably today, Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead might be the best retelling of the National Lampoon the world will ever get. Despite the creative shortcomings the magazine would face later on, its impact on parody and satire will forever remain a staple of pop culture for years to come. If you're curious to check out the documentary, by all means give it a go, for you don't even need to be all that familiar with the original source material to get invested. As far as documentaries on controversial comedy go, this one is up there among the greats.

Entertaining documentary but doesn't put the Lampoon in the context of its times

[clivy · 5/10 · 13 January 2017]

I've given National Lampoon: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead a 5 out of 10. It's entertaining to watch: I was happy to find it on the Sky Arts channel here in the UK. But while the film traces the history of the magazine and its creators, and richly describes how the success of the magazine led to its expansion into radio comedy, comedy albums, stage shows, and movies, its images and interviews fly past quickly without the film explaining what factors led to the creation of the magazine and how it was related to other magazines, newspapers, comics, and cultural products of its time.

As the documentary pointed out, the magazine grew from the Harvard Lampoon, a Harvard humour magazine that didn't reach a national audience. In the 1920s there were nationally published magazines that collected articles and cartoons from universities around the US: "College Humor" was probably the largest, and was published from 1920 to the 1940s. These college humor magazines were aimed at a young but mainstream audience.

It surprised me that Drunk Stone Brilliant Dead didn't mention Mad magazine. It was Mad. first published in 1952, that brought radical and subversive humour that poked fun at authority figures to a country wide audience. Without Mad, there probably wouldn't have been a National Lampoon. It also surprised me that the documentary made no mention of the Underground press and Underground comics of the 1960s. The art style of the first issues of the Lampoon looked very reminiscent of the style of Robert Crumb and other artists from Zap.

I didn't like National Lampoon very much in the 1970s. I read my older brother's issues. Even back then, I thought they were indulging in printing pictures of naked girls and making jokes about drugs and sex simply for the sake of it. They didn't have the force of the Underground comics, which were breaking ground in discussing subjects that before then couldn't be mentioned, and were using the archaic spirit of Mad to take apart the establishment and cultural heritage of the era. I remember the issue of National Lampoon that printed a spoof of Mad, taunting that Mad was stuffy, middle aged, and had long forgotten the meaning of satire. I thought that while Mad didn't print cartoons of naked women and guys smoking pot and snorting coke, it still featured strips that aptly commented on society: strips that have been reprinted and discussed in many studies about US history and the growth of graphic novels.

I thought while I was watching the documentary that National Lampoon branched out very quickly into other media and became a brand: while Saturday Night Live wasn't officially associated with National Lampoon the show clearly stole their talent and their style of satire. I think the magazine pulled its punches keeping an eye on their advertising revenue and growing empire. I'm not saying it wasn't funny- I thought the record albums and movies were funny- but I think the humour of the magazine was aimed at pleasing its creators and audience of liked minded readers, rather than exposing the darker aspects of its targets. The publisher of Mad, William M Gaines, didn't allow advertising in the magazine because he said a satire magazine couldn't make fun of an advertising campaign and then print an ad a few pages later for the same product or a similar product. He also saw it as a practical issue, saying that the magazine would then try to attract more advertisers, and if it started losing some of its advertisers and the advertising income, the readers would still expect the same fancy package, but without the advertising income to pay for the higher production costs, the magazine was sunk. Which it seems, along with loss of readership, was what ultimately happened to National Lampoon.

This was a nice diversion

[Twins65 · 8/10 · 25 April 2017]

I just watched this documentary about the rise & fall of National Lampoon magazine, a periodical I wasn't really supposed to be looking at when I was 14 in 1973, yet I did anyway (when I could find one). Despite average to good reviews here on IMDb, I found it quite enjoyable.

I especially liked the parts where we caught video of a pre-fame Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, and of course John Belushi. Those guys WERE FUNNY! And it also allowed me to travel back in time to the mid-70's, a time when there was and actual "underground" comedy scene. And it seemed to poke fun of everybody (whites/blacks, Dems/Repubs, Jews/Gentiles) and you could laugh and not worry about "politically incorrect repercussions". Sadly, that time is long gone.

Also, I saw a sh*t-load of 1970's era natural breasts, in both black and white and color! Say what you will about that long-lost magazine, they sure did know how to make funny visual jokes around naked women.

I'm recommending this for anyone who'd like to take a nice 40+ year rewind.

if humor isn't shocking, it isn't humor

[lee_eisenberg · 8/10 · 12 June 2021]

Everyone knows "Animal House" and the "Vacation" movies. You might remember that they carried the National Lampoon header. What you might not have known was that this header came from a cutting-edge magazine popular in the early '70s. "Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon" looks at National Lampoon magazine, and how it influenced humor for the generation that came of age during the Vietnam War and Watergate. Not surprisingly, many of the people involved in the magazine starred on "Saturday Night Live".

The documentary features interviews with Chevy Chase, Michael O'Donoghue, and other people involved with the magazine. In the process, we learn a lot about Doug Kenney; he helped launch the magazine and appeared as Stork in "Animal House" (What the hell we s'posta do, ya mo-ron?). Unfortunately, he met an ignoble end in Hawaii in 1980.

Anyway, this is one documentary that you're sure to enjoy. The magazine's transgressive material was a real pleasure; those guys set out to offend everyone. Definitely check it out.

Very self serving

[nmjoe · 4/10 · 20 September 2020]

Very white, and very privileged. That describes pretty much everybody involved in this film, and therefore it can be assumed with National Lampoon. The film is somewhat entertaining but extremely self-serving. If you believe all the speakers, anyone involved with National Lampoon was one of the most intelligent, funny, and brilliant people in the world; they were are intellectual geniuses if you believe this film. The writers and creators of National Lampoon believed themselves to be very anti-establishment, and that they were. However, they were just a part of a different establishment. The inside information is somewhat interesting in the early part of the film, however even at 98 minutes it begins to drag on.