---
title: "Between Two Ferns: The Movie"
year: 2019
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/between-two-ferns-the-movie"
fi1m_id: "between-two-ferns-the-movie"
imdb_id: "tt9398640"
tmdb_id: 584962
wikidata_id: "Q64015161"
fi1m_score: 62
critics_score: 59
critics_reviews: 12
published: "2026-09-25T05:43:32.507321+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-25T05:43:32.973263+00:00"
region: "AU"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019)

Directed by Scott Aukerman · 1h 22m · Comedy

## Identity

Between Two Ferns: The Movie

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/between-two-ferns-the-movie
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** between-two-ferns-the-movie
- **IMDb ID:** tt9398640
- **TMDB ID:** 584962
- **Wikidata ID:** Q64015161
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9398640/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/584962, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q64015161

**Fi1m score: 62** · Critics 59 from 12 reviews

*In a sentence:* We would rather be insulted by Zach Galifianakis than hear about his travel arrangements

> Zach Galifianakis gets some good laughs from the celebrity interviews, and Lauren Lapkus makes welcome company. The thin road-trip story is harder work: this is a decent comedy for those already fond of its host’s bad manners.

## Synopsis

Zach Galifianakis (Zach Galifianakis) takes his celebrity-interview programme on the road. Carol (Lauren Lapkus), Cam (Ryan Gaul) and Boom Boom (Jiavani) accompany him as he meets famous guests for a series of conversations. He has questions to ask, but his awkward manner leaves little room for talk-show courtesies. The questions turn into insults, and the guests find themselves drawn into uncomfortable exchanges rather than polite conversation. Between interviews, the host and his companions continue their journey, sharing the business of travelling together as well as the encounters with celebrities.

## Review

The pleasure of *Between Two Ferns: The Movie* is watching a celebrity receive a question no polite interviewer would ask. There are enough good insults here for a decent comedy, particularly for existing admirers, but the road trip is persistently thin. Director Scott Aukerman and fellow writer Zach Galifianakis never quite find enough for their host to do between guests. At 82 minutes, it still gives us too much time to think about the distance to the next interview.

Zach Galifianakis understands how much of the joke belongs to the person receiving the insult. His awkwardness makes even a simple exchange feel like work, and he is good at suggesting that any offence is the guest’s problem. We laughed hardest at the back-and-forth with David Letterman, whose replies give the host some resistance. That exchange lets both comic personalities contribute without a plot pushing them along.

Lauren Lapkus gives the travelling company much of its appeal. As Carol, she is an engaging presence even when the writing supplies little to make the crew worth following between interviews. Ryan Gaul’s Cam and Jiavani’s Boom Boom have less to work with; the group never acquires enough comic friction to sustain a separate story. We keep waiting for the companions to become as interesting together as the host is when someone sits opposite him.

Benjamin Kasulke’s cinematography is most effective when it simply allows us to examine the people enduring these conversations. Susie Mancini’s production design feels appropriately modest, keeping the attention on faces rather than surroundings. There is no need for the film to look grander because it has become longer. The trouble is that the travel passages offer little visual pleasure to compensate for the weaker material.

Hank Friedmann and Brendan Walsh cut the interviews briskly, sometimes too briskly for embarrassment to develop into anything more uncomfortable than a quick joke. The insults land, but the pauses need room as well, especially when a guest is capable of answering back. Alex Wurman’s music is unobtrusive, and its restraint is welcome when the verbal sparring supplies so much of the pleasure. It cannot do much for the stretches in which the script is merely moving its people onwards.

Scott Aukerman and Zach Galifianakis seem less certain about what anyone should do away from an interview. The road-trip structure provides opportunities for fresh encounters, but too many connective scenes establish a story we have little reason to care about. Some of the absurdity works because it is so casually offered; elsewhere, the effort to manufacture another comic incident shows. A talk-show parody needs a host and somebody willing to endure him, and these encounters already contain plenty to explore.

The guests’ willingness to look foolish keeps the film from feeling spiteful. Anyone expecting an assault on celebrity culture may find the company too agreeable, since the famous faces are willing participants in the joke. That friendliness will matter more than the story to viewers who already like the host. Save it for an evening when nobody needs much of a plot.

*Fi1m score 62, published 25 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are mixed, with broad agreement that Between Two Ferns: The Movie is funniest when it sticks to celebrity interviews. Critics repeatedly praise the insults, the guests’ willingness to join in and Zach Galifianakis’s awkward comic manner. Lauren Lapkus also draws praise for her supporting performance. Even several less enthusiastic reviews find laughs in the encounters, though agreement on individual jokes does not extend to the film as a whole.

The main reservation is the road-trip story, which many find thin, padded or too weak to justify expanding the original format. The spread is wide: Den of Geek finds the comedy consistently funny despite a formulaic structure, while Vulture argues that the shortened interviews lose the original show’s awkward tension. More favourable reviews accept the slight plot as a tolerable cost of the comedy; detractors find too little beyond the familiar routine to sustain a feature.

## Straight answers

**Is Between Two Ferns: The Movie worth watching?**

*Between Two Ferns: The Movie* is a decent comedy for existing admirers of Zach Galifianakis’s awkward insults; we score it 62 out of 100. The celebrity interviews supply the strongest laughs, and Lauren Lapkus is welcome company, but the thin road-trip story makes the gaps between guests feel longer than they should.

**How long is Between Two Ferns: The Movie, and what is it rated?**

*Between Two Ferns: The Movie* runs 1h 22m. It is a comedy film.

**Where can I watch Between Two Ferns: The Movie in Australia?**

*Between Two Ferns: The Movie* is streaming on Netflix in Australia. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Between Two Ferns: The Movie, and is it suitable for children?**

*Between Two Ferns: The Movie* carries a US R rating and has no UK certificate supplied here, so we would not recommend it for children. Its comedy centres on insults and uncomfortable celebrity exchanges; the R rating signals adult material, but we have no specific violence or frightening content to flag.

**How does Between Two Ferns: The Movie compare to This Is Spinal Tap?**

*Between Two Ferns: The Movie* is the narrower recommendation beside [*This Is Spinal Tap*](https://film.one/film/this-is-spinal-tap), whose patient performances and carefully crafted songs make it the stronger comedy. Both find humour in pompous public performers who cannot recognise their own absurdity, but we recommend *Spinal Tap* more widely; *Between Two Ferns* chiefly suits those already fond of its host.

**What should I watch after Between Two Ferns: The Movie?**

After *Between Two Ferns: The Movie*, try [*This Is Spinal Tap*](https://film.one/film/this-is-spinal-tap) (1984, Fi1m 91): Another pompous public performance undone by people who cannot recognise their own absurdity. Then [*Toni Erdmann*](https://film.one/film/toni-erdmann) (2016, Fi1m 86): For awkward encounters allowed enough time to become funny, painful and unexpectedly tender.

### Reviews we read (12)

- **The AV Club**, William Hughes (B): Hughes finds the film deeply funny but less subversive and more meandering than the original series. He praises Lauren Lapkus and the cast’s comic riffs, especially when the film embraces absurdity. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-between-two-ferns-movie-is-funny-but-a-little-defa-1838261376)
- **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The accessible page text does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It provides no readable praise or complaint to summarize. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/movies/between-two-ferns-movie-review.html)
- **IndieWire**, Ben Travers (C+): Travers finds the film serviceable but unable to justify turning the web series into a feature. He praises several sharp celebrity interviews, while criticizing the road-trip plot and forced bits. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/between-two-ferns-movie-review-netflix-zach-galifianakis-1202175435/)
- **The Guardian**, Benjamin Lee (60/100, inferred): The critic finds the film intermittently funny but featherweight and often forgettable. The celebrity interviews and their unrestrained insults are the funniest parts, while the road-trip plot feels like filler. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/20/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review-ramshackle-cameo-comedy)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Robyn Bahr (45/100, inferred): Bahr finds the film’s thin road-trip story weakens the original comedy’s premise, despite its laugh-out-loud moments. She especially praises the celebrity interviews, singling out David Letterman’s sharp back-and-forth with Galifianakis. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/between-two-ferns-movie-review-1241347/)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (45/100, inferred): Gleiberman finds the film amusing in spots but ultimately a tossed-together, room-temperature hangout movie. He singles out Lauren Lapkus as a magnetic comic standout. [Read](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review-zach-galifianakis-1203342509/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (35/100, inferred): Chang finds the movie only intermittently amusing and says its feature-length road-trip plot feels padded and goes nowhere. He praises the closing-credits blooper reel and Galifianakis’s performance, while lamenting that the brief interview comedy works better in its original format. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-09-19/between-two-ferns-review-netflix-zach-galifianakis)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (35/100, inferred): Ebiri finds the film intermittently funny but ultimately mundane and forgettable. He praises the guests’ comic commitment while lamenting that brief interview fragments lose the original show’s awkward tension. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review.html)
- **Den of Geek**, Daniel Kurland (4/5): Kurland finds the film consistently funny and more successful than its premise might suggest, though its road-trip structure becomes formulaic. He praises the celebrity interviews, comic writing, and supporting cast. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review/)
- **Consequence**, Blake Goble (75/100, inferred): Goble finds the film an effective victory lap that lasts just long enough, though its backstory sometimes needlessly expands the sketch’s concise formula. He praises Zach Galifianakis’s distinctive awkwardness and the celebrity interviews’ expertly sustained cringe. [Read](https://consequence.net/2019/09/film-review-between-two-ferns/)
- **/Film**, Josh Spiegel (7.5/10): The critic finds the film a delight for viewers attuned to its dry, surreal comedy, despite its thin plot. He especially praises the celebrity interviews and the sharp parody of modern talk shows. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/569216/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review/)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (B-): Goldberg finds the film funny but forgettable, with its celebrity interview segments delivering the laughs. He praises those interviews but faults the underdeveloped road-trip plot and crew dynamics. [Read](https://collider.com/between-two-ferns-movie-review-netflix/)

## Details

- **Director:** Scott Aukerman
- **Director:** Scott Aukerman
- **Writer:** Scott Aukerman, Zach Galifianakis
- **Cinematography:** Benjamin Kasulke
- **Editor:** Hank Friedmann, Brendan Walsh
- **Music:** Alex Wurman
- **Production design:** Susie Mancini
- **Costume design:** Erica Rice
- **Producer:** Zach Galifianakis, Caitlin Daley, Mike Farah
- **Cast:** Zach Galifianakis as Zach Galifianakis; Lauren Lapkus as Carol; Ryan Gaul as Cam; Jiavani as Boom Boom; Will Ferrell as Will Ferrell; Matthew McConaughey as Matthew McConaughey; David Letterman as David Letterman; Peter Dinklage as Peter Dinklage
- **Runtime:** 1h 22m
- **First release (Germany):** 20 September 2019
- **Genres:** Comedy
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjljgkCQv5c

## Where to watch in Australia

- Netflix: streaming

*Checked 2026-09-25.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *This Is Spinal Tap* (1984), Fi1m 91: Another pompous public performance undone by people who cannot recognise their own absurdity. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/this-is-spinal-tap.md)
- *The Trip* (2010): Competing comic egos make the travelling itself worth staying for.
- *Toni Erdmann* (2016), Fi1m 86: For awkward encounters allowed enough time to become funny, painful and unexpectedly tender. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/toni-erdmann.md)
- *What We Do in the Shadows* (2014): A deadpan ensemble whose petty disagreements give the documentary pretence something to do.
- *The Dinner Game* (1998): The insults acquire consequences in a comedy with considerably firmer plotting.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/between-two-ferns-the-movie