Zach Galifianakis has come a long way from his professional goofball roles of the Hangover era of his career.
He’s been involved in more nuanced comedies this past decade, as well as Baskets: one of the best dramedies in recent years. The latter (a dual role) is one Galifianakis was really able to sink his teeth into and learn to subdue some of his crazier urges to deliver a more multi-faceted performance. That experience extends to the Between Two Ferns film.
If you haven’t seen Between Two Ferns yet, Google it, I’ll wait. If you aren’t down for that, don’t worry, as a concept is simple: it’s a web series starring a fictionalized version of Zach Galifianakis awkwardly interviewing (real) famous stars on a “public access channel.” That’s…pretty much it. But it’s not so much the idea that works so well as it is the execution, as Galifianakis brings a certain clueless and aggressive gravitas to the whole thing, similar to how Eric Andre plays off his guests on his titular show.