It wouldn't be right to make a boringly dry bio-pic about Doug Kenney, the co-founder of American comedy institution National Lampoon.
When your subject kickstarted a comedy revolution and built an empire based on a curious and controversial combination of dark irreverence, gutter smut and childish absurdity, then playing it straight just ain't gonna fly.
Right from the start the traditional biopic narrative is skewered, as a cantankerous Kenney reprimands director David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer) for opening on a bummer scene of childhood trauma before turning on the audience for not knowing who he is.
When it's suggested he list his well-known achievements he protests, then in a series of increasingly heated fast cuts, acquiesces and rattles them off: co-founder of National Lampoon magazine, writer of screwball comedy movies Animal House and Caddyshack as well as the late-70s parody novel Bored of the Rings.
From there "Modern Doug" regularly breaks the fourth wall to talk directly to the viewer and either explain or fudge events. The movie makes no bones about shuffling facts around to fit the narrative. But even with this craziness the movie doesn't stray too far from the standard bio-pic arc.
