Between Two Ferns: The Movie carries on the Funny or Die web series’ mission — calling attention to society’s unjustifiable and disturbing fascination with celebrities by making fun of Hollywood A-listers. Zach Galifianakis continues his tenure as the unpleasant host of the cable access show who mercilessly chides the rich and famous about everything from their names to their looks to box office reviews and receipts.
Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are just a few of the big names to spar with Galifianakis on his low-budget talk show, and there’s no shortage of star power in the movie spin-off. Here are the top 10 celebrity cameos in Between Two Ferns: The Movie.
Jon Hamm
Jon Hamm (Mad Men) appears twice on the web series, and he makes his third appearance in the movie. Galifianakis finds Hamm signing autographs in a church in the middle of nowhere, turning Hamm into a supposed cautionary tale — the sad lengths actors will go to in order to feel the warm touch of the spotlight when all they’ve got left are a shelf full of awards and their good looks.
Hamm is self-deprecating enough to play the doltish hottie and that’s the route he chooses during his time with Galifianakis — nice to look at but not a lot going on upstairs.
Chrissy Teigen
Supermodel Chrissy Teigen encounters Galifianakis in a hotel bar in Chicago and turns out to be a total fangirl. Galifianakis is less surly when he’s not parked between greenery, where he’s often immune to the beauty of his famous female guests. Thanks to his social awkwardness, Teigen does all of the heavy lifting in the scene. Models aren’t always naturals in front of the camera (even those who have their own reality shows). However, Teigen manages to channel the seductive sirens who provide the femme fatale sex appeal in the film noir crime dramas of the ’40s. Galifianakis never stood a chance.
David Letterman
In the film, Galifianakis’ goal is to become the host of a prime time network talk show, so it’s pretty ironic that he treats David Letterman with his usual bored indifference. Those who haven’t seen Letterman in a while are sure to be shocked by the previously clean-shaven late-night giant’s hipster beard which. Of course, Galifianakis makes this the focal point of his mockery.
Letterman is unflappable as usual. His flippant, observational humor is front and center, making fans wish he was still on the air, serving us verbal comfort food during these turbulent times.
Viewers who know anything about Letterman’s legendary show business woes will undoubtedly appreciate his ability to laugh at Galifianakis, who believes having his own talk show made Letterman happy. It’s an interesting contradiction that someone as underwhelmed by celebrities as Galifianakis is so singularly focused on attaining fame himself.
Keanu Reeves
Galifianakis loves to take the public’s perception of an actor and run with it. Keanu Reeves (John Wick) has starred in everything from love stories to quirky indies and even a big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. But his main claim to fame is playing a man of few words who prefers excessive amounts of gun violence to verbal communication.
Moviegoers have long memories — Oscar winner Sean Penn is still haunted by the character of Jeff Spicoli — and Reeves will never be free from his role in the Bill & Ted movies. Galifianakis capitalizes on the public’s inability to discern the real Reeves from his onscreen personas.
Reeves himself isn’t especially entertaining, playing it very straight, but Galifianakis requires minimal participation from his guests to garner laughs.
John Legend
Singer-songwriter John Legend’s interview goes off the rails and becomes a parody within a parody as Legend fingers Galifianakis as the man who sleeps with wife Chrissy Teigen. Legend and Teigen join forces to poke fun at the public perception of their picture-perfect marriage by going in the completely opposite direction. He’s an egomaniacal composer obsessed with “polishing his EGOT,” and she gets revenge by cheating with the least desirable person to cross her path.
In terms of comfort level, Legend seems much more at ease macing Galifianakis’ privates than he does appearing on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Okay, it’s a toss-up
Chance the Rapper
This cameo cracks the Top 10 for one reason only: Galifianakis takes a swipe at Chance the Rapper’s friend and collaborator Kanye West. Until this dig, Chance maintains a befuddled demeanor like many guests, choosing to go with the flow, but things go downhill when the host quips “You’re friends with Kanye West. That’s the joke.” Galifianakis is fearless, proving nobody is untouchable or off limits when it comes to comedy.
Galifianakis’ other jokes revolve around the understanding he knows nothing about hip hop, a fact which shouldn’t surprise viewers.
Tiffany Haddish
It’s a very thin line between humor and straight-up misogyny or racism, and Galifianakis straddles it well. His interview with comedian-actress Tiffany Haddish (Night School) is like the perfect storm of cultural ignorance, sexism and political incorrectness. Unlike Brie Larson (Room) or Hailee Steinfeld (Bumblebee), who both look a bit thin-lipped in Galifianakis’ presence, Haddish embraces vulgarity like she’s greeting an old friend.
Haddish’s strategy when it comes to Galifianakis’ inappropriate and insensitive line of questioning is to remain completely unfazed.
Benedict Cumberbatch
An ongoing joke on Between Two Ferns is Galifianakis’ inability to correctly pronounce his guests’ names. This means British actor Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange) must sit and listen to every ridiculous bastardization of his name ever conceived. This lack of interest on Galifianakis’ behalf when it comes to learning the bare minimum about his guests is just another way to diminish their worth — self-inflated or otherwise.
Cumberbatch reinforces the stereotype that British people are polite since he not only sits idly by as Galifianakis calls him a sell-out for joining the MCU, but Cumberbatch even quotes some of his own unflattering reviews.
Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) goes back and forth between looking annoyed and trying not to break during his interview on Between Two Ferns: The Movie. The real fun starts when the bloopers roll, and viewers get to see Galifianakis and Rudd riff, making us thankful their improvising didn’t end up on the cutting room floor. Fans never see Galifianakis break character, so watching him transform from an unlikable host to cutup is a real treat.
Peter Dinklage
Peter Dinklage plays up the big Hollywood star angle. He answers the door disheveled, clad in just a bathrobe and boxers like a poor man’s Hugh Hefner. He’s “the guy.” Dinklage wants viewers to see a big star who is impressed beyond measure by his own wealth and the ability to show it off. There’s nothing down-to-earth or relatable about him, which ties in perfectly with a subplot that requires the unknowing cooperation of someone completely self-absorbed.
There are a few times during the film when parody gives way to absurdity, and Dinklage’s self-imposed caricature of himself is one of those times.
