--- title: "Between Two Ferns: The Movie: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/between-two-ferns-the-movie/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/between-two-ferns-the-movie" critics_score: 59 critics_reviews: 12 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): what the critics said Critics' score 59 from 12 reviews: 5 positive, 5 mixed, 2 negative. 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. ## The AV Club — William Hughes Rating B. 20 September 2019. 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 the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-between-two-ferns-movie-is-funny-but-a-little-defa-1838261376) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2019. The accessible page text does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It provides no readable praise or complaint to summarize. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/movies/between-two-ferns-movie-review.html) ## IndieWire — Ben Travers Rating C+. 21 September 2019. 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 the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/shows/between-two-ferns-movie-review-netflix-zach-galifianakis-1202175435/) ## The Guardian — Benjamin Lee Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2019. 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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/20/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review-ramshackle-cameo-comedy) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Robyn Bahr Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2019. 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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/between-two-ferns-movie-review-1241347/) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2019. 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 the review](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review-zach-galifianakis-1203342509/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2019. 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 the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2019-09-19/between-two-ferns-review-netflix-zach-galifianakis) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 20 September 2019. 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 the review](https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review.html) ## Den of Geek — Daniel Kurland Rating 4/5. 20 September 2019. 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 the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review/) ## Consequence — Blake Goble Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 21 September 2019. 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 the review](https://consequence.net/2019/09/film-review-between-two-ferns/) ## /Film — Josh Spiegel Rating 7.5/10. 20 September 2019. 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 the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/569216/between-two-ferns-the-movie-review/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B-. 20 September 2019. 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 the review](https://collider.com/between-two-ferns-movie-review-netflix/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/between-two-ferns-the-movie.md