Zach Galifianakis’s fictional talk show Between the Ferns seemed like an unlikely candidate to be adapted into a featured length film when Netflix announced the movie earlier this year. The Funny or Die series was one of the best recurring comedy sketches on the internet, but could it really work in a much longer format? The hilarious first trailer and amazing lineup of stars seem to have overwhelmingly answered that question, because the only thing funnier than insulting celebrities to their faces is accidentally killing Matthew McConaughey, even if it’s just for a few minutes.
This first look at Between Two Ferns: The Movie shows the absurd reason why Zach Galifianakis and his talk show has to hit the road in the first place. He needs to restore his reputation after a disaster of an interview with McConaughey, when a busted pipe flooded the studio and drowned the Oscar winner. Turns out that while celebs are willing to put up with some ego shots to promote their work, they don’t exactly appear eager to risk their lives to sit betwixt a couple of cheap plants.
While the premise of the film and road trip aspect of the story will help turn a sketch into a full-length movie, there’s still plenty of what we love about Between Two Ferns here—super duper famous people getting knocked down by an insecure and hostile host. Before going under an obscene and hilarious amount of water, the interview with Matthew McConaughey alone was hysterical. And with all of the other celebrities who will make cameos—including Will Ferrell, Peter Dinklage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Rudd, Tiffany Haddish, Brie Larson, Keanu Reeves, Jon Hamm, David Letterman, Jason Schwartzman, Adam Scott, John Cho, Chance the Rapper, Rashida Jones, Hailee Steinfeld, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, and Tessa Thompson—there will be plenty of more opportunities for insults.
And we could watch that for hours.
Directed by Scott Aukerman (Comedy Bang Bang), Between Two Ferns: The Movie comes to Netflix on September 20.
Featured Image: Netflix