7 Days in Hell (2015)

I watched Tour de Pharmacy about a month ago and it was hilarious. Cycling will never get as compelling and entertaining as it is in Szymanski's mockumentary. Which is the reason I decided to watch 7 Days in Hell, the previous mockumentary by Szymanski. 

As you probably guessed from the poster, 7 Days in Hell is about tennis, and more specifically about the rivalry between an American tennis player, Aaron Williams (Andy Samberg), and an English tennis player, Charles Poole (Kit Harrington). The main focus of this mockumentary is the 2001 Wimbledon match between the two of them that lasted seven days. 

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

I was scrolling through Emma Stone's filmography when I first saw Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. It sounded like a really dumb movie from the title and having not heard of it before, I figured she only had a small cameo in it. Turns out I was right, but the film was pretty entertaining so I guess it's a win. 

The film is a mockumentary about Connor 4 Real (Andy Samberg), an internationally renowned pop star who became rich and famous at a young age. He is used to people loving him and his music, but when his new album turns out to be a failure, Connor does everything in his power to maintain his celebrity status. He is really willing to do anything, anything except reuniting with his old rap group, The Style Boyz.

Tour de Pharmacy (2017)

I remember people talking about Tour de Pharmacy last Summer, saying how good it was but I never even bothered checking out what it was about. Then back in March, Steven from thevoid99 left a comment on one of my reviews and mentioned John Cena's hilarious performance in this so I checked it out. 

Tour de Pharmacy is a mockumentary that follows the (fictitious) 1982 Tour de France, the hornet's nest of moral depravity, and through the perspective of five riders --the Italian JuJu Peppi (Orlando Bloom), the "Nigerian" Marty Hass (Andy Samberg), the French Adrian Baton (Freddie Highmore), the African-American Slim Robinson (Daveed Diggs), and the Austrian Gustav Ditters (John Cena)-- it gives an inside look on doping in professional cycling.

Zelig (1983)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Patrick Horgan, Garrett M. Brown, Stephanie Farrow, Will Holt, Sol Lomita, John Rothman, Deborah Rush, Marianne Tatum, Mary Louise Tatum

Storyline

A documentary telling the story of human chameleon Leonard Zelig (Woody Allen), a man who becomes a celebrity in the 1920's due to his ability to look and act like whoever is around him. 

Opinion

Leapin' lizards! What a perfect blend of old and new Woody! "Zelig" is a brilliant, amusing, and witty portrait of a deep psychological crisis that brings mockumentary to another level.

First of all it must be said that the concept is pure genius: the biography of a fictional character isn't new, and certainly wasn't invented by Allen, but this particular character is different, he is a human chameleon, a man able to take on the shape and personality of anyone around him to satisfy his continuous need to fit in society. 

The film has a lot to say about media sensationalism, society, and especially conformity. As the film urges, everyone should do the Chameleon by seeing Leonard Zelig, and Woody Allen uses that to create a comment on people's desire to conformity, trying to blend in with the crowd even at the expenses of their persona.

Allen brilliantly combined edited newsreel footage in which Leonard Zelig meets various historical figures - it should be noted that eleven years later the highly acclaimed "Forrest Gump" did the exact same thing -, real interviews discussing the life of Zelig, and a narrator that can make you forget it's just fiction. 

Furthermore, "Zelig" is the only Allen's 'mature' film that has the same level of silliness of his early funny films. He had already parodied the documentary format before in "Take the Money and Run", but while that was just a silly, hilarious film, this one shows the maturation of the director.

Behind the camera that uses lenses from the 20's to create a more realistic atmosphere there is no one other than Gordon Willis, which does a wonderful job. The music by Allen veteran Dick Hyman suits the period brilliantly, and give you the sense that you are there.

This is most likely Woody Allen's most underrated film. 

I'm 12 years old. I run into a Synagogue. I ask the Rabbi the meaning of life. He tells me the meaning of life... But, he tells it to me in Hebrew. I don't understand Hebrew. Then he wants to charge me six hundred dollars for Hebrew lessons. - Leonard Zelig