André Is An Idiot Review – A Riotously Funny, Painfully Honest Film About Facing Death

There are astir a zillion films – fiction, nonfiction, and everything successful betwixt – astir group coping pinch cancer, truthful kudos to nan squad down this 1 for uncovering a comparatively caller measurement to tackle nan subject. San Francisco-resident André Ricciardi – a perpetually wisecracking erstwhile advertizing executive, a semi-reformed hard-living hedonist, and begetter of 2 teenage girls and loving hubby to woman Janice – was only successful his early 50s erstwhile he realised that he’d made a large correction erstwhile he passed up nan chance to person a colonoscopy trial pinch his champion friend, Lee Einhorn. Because only a twelvemonth aliases truthful connected from erstwhile he would person had that colonoscopy, he recovered retired that he has shape 4 colon crab which had it been spotted earlier mightiness person been much treatable. Damn.

With assistance from head Tony Benna and a movie crew, Ricciardi goes connected a ngo to create, among different goals, an unconventional nationalist work announcement successful nan shape of this movie to seduce (American) viewers not to beryllium idiots for illustration him and get colonoscopies whenever imaginable aft nan property of 45. (In nan UK, nan process isn’t automatically offered by nan NHS, though location faecal immunochemical tests are recommended each mates of years aft a definite age.) At 1 point, Ricciardi moreover hooks up pinch his colleagues astatine his aged advertizing agency to counsel connected a witty PSA run utilizing consequence and different mundane objects pinch vaguely anus-shaped orifices to raise awareness.

But astir of nan movie consists of Ricciardi fighting against nan dying of nan light, recounting nan discomfort of recovering from chemo (years of hangovers proved useful training, he says), nan ridiculous indignities of radiotherapy and different treatments, weird side-effects specified arsenic eyelashes increasing longer than usual, inept bedside manners from aesculapian professionals, and nan administrative screw-ups that punctuate nan process. A earthy funnyman, Ricciardi is good alert he uses humour arsenic a defence. The movie follows suit, moreover going truthful acold arsenic to create jocular small stop-motion animated sequences showing a mini-André successful each his hirsute glory, dressed successful sneakers and a infirmary gown, enduring type treatments.

But arsenic Ricciardi comes person to nan extremity he opens up connected camera astir feelings of grief, rage and sadness. Indeed, nan therapist encourages him to “be generous and fto [his daughters] consciousness sad”, and reminds him that he doesn’t person to make them laughter each nan time. There’s thing extremist aliases groundbreaking astir either that connection aliases nan film-making connected show here, but Ricciardi and Janice’s honesty and so that of each those astir him, beryllium to beryllium very moving successful nan agelong run, underscoring that there’s arsenic galore ways to look decease arsenic location are to unrecorded life.