
A Futile and Stupid Gesture
In a life full of triumph and failure, "National Lampoon" co-founder Doug Kenney built a comedy empire, molding pop culture in the 1970s.
Movies Like A Futile and Stupid Gesture
Similar in style, tone, and themes — find your next watch.

SubUrbia
1997★ 6.2
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.

Family Weekend
2013★ 6.3
A 16-year-old girl takes her parents hostage after they miss her big jump-roping competition.

The Beanie Bubble
2023★ 6.4
Ty was a frustrated toy salesman until his collaboration with three women turned his stuffed animals into a defining '90s trend. This behind-the-scenes look at history's biggest toy craze is a wild story about what—and who—is valued in this world.

CQ
2001★ 5.9
A young filmmaker in 1960s Paris juggles directing a cheesy sci-fi debacle, directing his own personal art film, coping with his crumbling relationship with his girlfriend, and a new-found infatuation with the sci-fi film's starlet.

...All the Marbles
1981★ 6.1
A two-bit promoter tries to take a women's wrestling team to the top.

Bill Burr: Drop Dead Years
2025★ 7.2
In what might be his most personal and introspective hour yet, Bill offers hilarious takes on everything from male sadness to dating advice.

Hooking Up
2020★ 6.3
Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the road trip come to light, the unlikely pair force one another to confront their issues, discovering that there might actually be more to love than just sex.

Almost Friends
2017★ 6.3
A man in his mid-20s, still living at home with his mother and stepfather, puts all his eggs in one basket: the girl who works at his local coffee shop. The problem is, she has a serious boyfriend. As they become closer, the line between friendship and intimacy is blurred, and the situation forces both to examine where they are in their lives.

Standing Up, Falling Down
2020★ 6.3
An unlikely friendship kindles between a struggling stand-up comedian from L.A. — forced to move back home to Eastern Long Island with his tail between his legs — and a tragically flawed, but charming and charismatic, alcoholic dermatologist. Discovering to be kindred spirits, each helps the other find healing, in addition to the confidence to face the "failures" in their lives.

Small Apartments
2012★ 5.8
When a clumsy deadbeat accidentally kills his landlord, he must do everything in his power to hide the body, only to find that the distractions of lust, the death of his beloved brother, and a crew of misfit characters force him on a journey where a fortune awaits him.

Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill
1999★ 7.8
Eddie Izzard takes her show to San Francisco to give a brief history of pagan and Christian religions, the building of Stonehenge, the birth of the Church of England and of Western empires, and the need for a European dream.

Landline
2017★ 6.1
A teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan during the 1990s discovers that her father is having an affair.

The House of Tomorrow
2019★ 6.8
The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.

House of D
2004★ 6.3
In the present, artist Tom Warshaw recalls his traumatic coming of age. As a 13-year-old growing up in New York City in 1973, Tom hangs out with Pappass, a mentally disabled man. With Tom's mother battling depression after the death of her husband, the young boy is left to his own devices. When Tom develops a crush on schoolmate Melissa, Pappass feels abandoned and begins behaving erratically.

Pretty Persuasion
2005★ 5.8
A 15-year-old girl incites chaos among her friends and a media frenzy when she accuses her drama teacher of sexual harassment.

Hard to Die
1990★ 6.1
While doing the inventory for a lingerie outlet in a high rise office building, five attractive women are terrorized by a series of bizarre killings. They suspect that the strange janitor, who witnessed another series of killings six months previously, is at the bottom of the whole thing. Little do they know the real horror that they face in the end.

All About Nina
2018★ 5.9
Nina Geld's passion and talent have made her a rising star in the comedy scene, but she's an emotional mess offstage. When a new professional opportunity coincides with a romantic one, she is forced to confront her own deeply troubled past.

The Joneses
2010★ 6.2
A seemingly perfect family moves into a suburban neighborhood, but when it comes to the truth as to why they're living there, they don't exactly come clean with their neighbors.

Somewhere in Queens
2023★ 6.3
Leo and Angela Russo live a simple life in Queens, surrounded by their overbearing Italian-American family. When their son finds success on his high school basketball team, Leo tears the family apart trying to make it happen.

Ricky Gervais: Mortality
2025★ 7.1
Ricky Gervais tackles life, death and the state of the world in a brutally honest special that spares no topic, even his own mortality.