(Photo by A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection. ITHE MOMENT)
The Best Mockumentary Films Ranked
The latest: This weekend in theaters, Charli XCX satirizes the music industry in the mockumentary The Moment.
When This is Spinal Tap released in 1984, audiences left the movie theater and walked right into their favorite record stores to catch up on the hit songs of legendary rock band Spinal Tap. There was only one problem: The band didn’t exist. The satirical film was so effective in its presentation that it convinced millions of people they just watched a real life rock star stick a cucumber down his pants.
That’s the magic of a mockumentary: making us believe something fake may actually be real. It’s how What We Do In the Shadows had us wondering if there really were vampires politely taking the bus into town, or how Borat convinced us that there’s a real Kazakhstan reporter wrestling with their naked producer, or how Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul made us believe that megachurch pastors could absolutely have six-pack abs. Well, sort of. But don’t worry, our list of the best mockumentary films is real, and we’re ranking them beginning with Certified Fresh films, followed by Fresh ones, and then the Rotten. Check it out to see where your favorites rank, and if you watch any of them, don’t forget to turn the volume up to 11! — Bryce Marrero
Critics Consensus: A fine example of writer-director-star Christopher Guest's gift for improv comedy, Best in Show boasts an appealingly quirky premise and a brilliantly talented cast.
Synopsis: The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting and the heady scent of competition is in the air as hundreds [More]
Critics Consensus: Behind and in front of the camera, Tim Robbins delivers a landslide comedic victory with Bob Roberts -- a shrewdly crackling lampoon of modern politics.
Synopsis: Millionaire conservative Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins) launches an insurgent campaign against incumbent senator Brickley Paiste (Gore Vidal), firing up crowds [More]
Critics Consensus: Part satire, part shockumentary, Borat gets high-fives almost all-around for being offensive in the funniest possible way. Jagshemash!
Synopsis: Outrageous situations occur when a popular reporter (Sacha Baron Cohen) from Kazakhstan comes to the United States to film a [More]
Critics Consensus: Though not as uproariously funny as Guest's previous movies, A Mighty Wind is also more heartfelt.
Synopsis: In this hilarious backstage mockumentary, three eclectic, never-quite-famous folk bands come together for the first time in decades following the [More]
Critics Consensus:Theater Camp's authentic depiction of the theater experience may not resonate as strongly with non-actors, but they'll probably be laughing too hard to seriously complain.
Synopsis: Tony Award winner Ben Platt and Molly Gordon star in the new original comedy Theater Camp as Amos and Rebecca-Diane [More]
Critics Consensus:Borat Subsequent Moviefilm proves Sacha Baron Cohen's comedic creation remains a sharp tool for exposing the most misguided -- or utterly repugnant -- corners of American culture.
Synopsis: Released from prison for bringing shame to his country, Kazakh funnyman Borat risks life and limb when he returns to [More]
Critics Consensus:Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping updates the rock mockumentary for the 21st century mainstream -- and hits many of its low-hanging targets with side-splitting impact.
Synopsis: Childhood friends Conner (Andy Samberg), Owen (Jorma Taccone) and Lawrence (Akiva Schaffer) found fame and fortune after forming the hip-hop [More]
Critics Consensus: Through the eyes of a British "documentary", this film takes a satirically humorous, and sometimes frightening, look at the history of an America where the South won the Civil War.
Synopsis: In mockumentary format, director Kevin Willmott examines an alternate world in which the Confederates won the American Civil War to [More]
Critics Consensus:Chalk approaches its potentially rich subject matter with a light touch, but still emerges with a humorous, heartfelt tribute to a noble profession.
Synopsis: Educators (Troy Schremmer, Janelle Schremmer, Chris Mass) try to make it through a new school year. [More]
Critics Consensus:Surf's Up is a laid back, visually stunning animated movie that brings a fresh twist to some familiar conventions. Its witty mockumentary format is fun and inventive, and the CGI is breathtakingly realistic.
Synopsis: Surfing means everything to teenage penguin Cody Maverick. Followed by a documentary film crew, he leaves his home in Antarctica [More]
Critics Consensus: A smart mockumentary that presents a gory, funny, and obviously affectionate skewering of the slasher genre.
Synopsis: Nice, normal-looking Leslie Vernon (Nathan Baesel) has an obsession with movie-style slashers like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger. [More]
Critics Consensus: Part raucous mockumentary, part drama-filled biopic, It's All Gone Pete Tong amuses and warms hearts with its touching, comic, and candid look at a musician faced with a career-ending handicap.
Synopsis: A deaf woman (Beatriz Batarda) tries to help a depressed, drug-addicted disc jockey (Paul Kaye) get back on his feet. [More]
Critics Consensus:Kenny uses its seemingly lowbrow mockumentary premise as the foundation for a well-acted and surprisingly thoughtful character study.
Synopsis: Australian Kenny Smyth (Shane Jacobson) has possibly one of the most thankless and off-putting occupations imaginable: He's a plumber who [More]
Synopsis: This lighthearted pseudo-documentary from one of the world's most serious filmmakers, Federico Fellini, is full of vivid imagery of clown [More]
Critics Consensus: This mockumentary about a non-existent New Zealand film pioneer and inventor features fake interviews and recreated archive footage that are so effective that many viewers were stunned to learn it wasn't real.
Synopsis: This mockumentary by Peter Jackson and Costa Botes details the life of innovative -- and fictional -- filmmaker Colin McKenzie [More]
Critics Consensus: Wryly amusing, technically impressive, and ultimately thought-provoking, Zelig represents Woody Allen in complete command of his craft.
Synopsis: In this fictional documentary, a man achieves notoriety for his ability to look and act like anyone he meets. With [More]
Synopsis: Virgil Starkwell (Woody Allen) is intent on becoming a notorious bank robber. Unfortunately for Virgil and his not-so-budding career, he [More]
Synopsis: In writer-director Jim McBride's deadpan spoof of pretentious 1960s cinema verité documentaries, idealistic but easily confused young filmmaker David Holzman [More]
Synopsis: This mock documentary follows sociologist Nina Blackburn (Kasi Lemmons) during the year she spends studying hip-hop artists Ice Cold (Rusty [More]
Critics Consensus:Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. has some broad targets but refuses to take cheap shots at them, instead offering a pointed, well-acted satire of organized religion.
Synopsis: Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. is a satirical comedy starring Regina Hall as Trinitie Childs -- the proud first [More]
Critics Consensus: As bizarre as it is, this mockumentary about a pair of conjoined rockers is surprisingly poignant and filled with authentic period details.
Synopsis: Untalented but charismatic, conjoined twins Barry (Harry Treadaway) and Tom (Luke Treadaway) Howe become rock stars in 1970s England, until [More]
Critics Consensus: Crude and offensive, but with ample cultural insights and gut-busting laughs, Bruno is another outlandish and entertaining mockumentary from Sacha Baron Cohen.
Synopsis: Blacklisted after crashing a runway presentation, a flamboyant Austrian fashionista travels to the United States, where he hopes to launch [More]
Critics Consensus:Mister America misses a number of its targets, but fans of Tim Heidecker's unique brand of comedy will find moments worth savoring in this dry political satire.
Synopsis: Despite being completely inexperienced and broke and having just defeated a murder charge, a man mounts a campaign to unseat [More]
Synopsis: The activities of rampaging, indiscriminate serial killer Ben (Benoît Poelvoorde) are recorded by a willingly complicit documentary team, who eventually [More]
Critics Consensus:The Nowhere Inn may be a clever concept in search of substance, but the results are often oddly appealing.
Synopsis: From real-life friends Annie Clark (a.k.a. GRAMMY award-winning recording and touring artist St. Vincent) and Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia, Sleater-Kinney) comes [More]
Critics Consensus:Incident at Loch Ness will undoubtedly be of greatest interest to Herzog fans, but for those in on the inside jokes, it delivers on its weirdly unique premise.
Synopsis: Believing that the Loch Ness monster is a figment of the collective psyche of the Scottish people, famed avant-garde film [More]
Critics Consensus: Getting the band back together for an encore, Spinal Tap II's dry sense of humor doesn't reach the heights of the original's comedic brilliance but still hits the right nostalgia chords while wisely acting its own age.
Synopsis: Forty-one years after the release of the groundbreaking mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, the now estranged bandmates David St. Hubbins, [More]
Critics Consensus: Satirizing Brat Summer and the pitfalls of pop stardom, The Moment is a mockumentary that could've used sharper barbs, but Charli XCX acquits herself well as a presence that can bind even an unwieldy movie together.
Synopsis: A rising pop star navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut. [More]
Critics Consensus: Pokes fun at the obsessive personalities that make up peculiar American subcultures, but misses its targets too often to be more than merely passable.
Synopsis: A dental hygienist (Sean Anders) collects frozen dinners and sings in a Christian punk-rock band. [More]
Critics Consensus: As unkempt and inscrutable as Joaquin Phoenix himself, I'm Still Here raises some interesting questions about its subject, as well as the nature of celebrity, but it fails to answer many of them convincingly.
Synopsis: Director Casey Affleck follows Joaquin Phoenix as he carries out a plan to retire from acting and concentrate on a [More]
Critics Consensus: As the object of satire gets bigger the jokes become thinner, and Christopher Guest isn't as droll or insightful here than when he was lampooning smaller subjects.
Synopsis: The possibility of Oscar gold holds the cast and crew of an independent film in its grip after the performance [More]
Critics Consensus: It's dark humor sometimes hits, but mostly misses the target.
Synopsis: An annual beauty pageant in small-town Minnesota turns ridiculously competitive and ultimately chaotic in this biting comedy. Amber Atkins (Kirsten [More]
Critics Consensus: Despite a game cast led by an enjoyably over the top Arnold Schwarzenegger, Killing Gunther feels like a sketch overstretched to feature length.
Synopsis: Robert Gunther Bendik is renowned as the world's greatest hitman. A group of self-obsessed assassins team up to take Gunther [More]
Synopsis: England's Football Association scrambles to find a replacement for the national team's manager after Phil Cope (Malcolm Terris) dies of [More]
Synopsis: In this mockumentary, an observant alien reveals the bizarre and hilarious truth about human dating rituals and relationships. The alien [More]
Critics Consensus:Reno 911!'s anarchic brand of comedy loses much in translation to the big screen where it feels slapdash and shallow.
Synopsis: Bumbling officers (Thomas Lennon, Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney) of the Reno (Nevada) Police Department finally get an opportunity to attend [More]
Critics Consensus: Though Justin Lin's premise is precocious enough, the sight gags and comic timing are tired in this mockumentary about Asian typecasting in the 1970s.
Synopsis: In 1973 legendary martial artist Bruce Lee dies while filming "Game of Death." Rather than scrap the movie, producers decide [More]
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