A hysterical mockumentary about everything from religion to DNA, Cunk On Life is full of hilarious observations along with overqualified and baffled scholars.
I love a good mockumentary. Between shows like Abbott Elementary and Jury Duty plus This Is Spinal Tap and Theater Camp, I am a huge fan of the format. It’s fun to be an observer of everyday happenings that are incredibly out of touch or wacky.
Cunk On Life is a mockumentary that is hosted by Philomena Cunk (a very funny and serious Diane Morgan) and covers topics like life, the bible, the atom, and dozens of other subjects for a very short time. She interviews many scholars and academics with questions that vaguely fit their specialty, but almost every ask is a little off-kilter in the best of ways.
My first thought about this comedy (and actually, it was a frequent thought), was, “What do they pitch to these specialists to get them to agree to this interview?” You have very well-respected people like physicist Brian Cox and surgeon and academic Prokar Dasgupta sitting there and taken aback by Cunk’s questions. She is very respectful of them, but the absurdity of her interview topics, which are laughable, have them second guessing how to answer.
For example, at one point she asks, “How soon after death is it safe to resume your day to day activities?” The flummoxed scientist responds with, “… You can’t resume your day to day activities…”
If you ever watched The Daily Show when Stephen Colbert was a correspondent, that is what this reminded me of. His sincerity along with the head shaking, “What??” of the questions are just priceless.
I found myself laughing out loud at Cunk On Life on the regular. I did feel a bit of a lull in the middle section, but it picked up quickly and turned a corner right back to where it had been.
This is a Netflix documentary, so it’s also interesting that they take a few minutes to reference Streamberry. Streamberry is a network that appears to be like Netflix (same design and coloring), but shows up in the Black Mirror series. Their goal is to keep you engaged in their programming instead of anything else, and by any means.
While one might feel like this is your basic silly mockumentary, there are a few variations. There is a full-on Hubble sex scene in the middle of the movie as well as cartoon programming for kids focused on those who might be standing on building ledges. This film is funny, but not for children.
To quote the movie, DNA is tiny yet complex, like Tom Cruise. You’re going to get a kick out of this.
I love a good mockumentary. Between shows like Abbott Elementary and Jury Duty plus This Is Spinal Tap and Theater Camp, I am a huge fan of the format. It’s fun to be an observer of everyday happenings that are incredibly out of touch or wacky.
