Mockumentary
Though the term was coined in reference to the groundbreaking 'This is Spinal Tap', Rob Reiner cannot claim ownership of the fake documentary genre. Woody Allen's debut as director 'Take the Money and Run' is an early example, but undoubtedly the number of these satirical slices of life has risen of late, reflecting the popularity (and banality) of reality television. Christopher Guest took the format and ran with it ('Best in Show', 'A MIghty Wind', 'Waiting for Guffman'), and classics include serial killer profile 'Man Bites Dog', Lars von Trier oddity 'The Idiots' and of course the cringingly accurate 'The Office'. Check out Alice's collection below.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
6.4/10
Director: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez
Starring: Heather Donahue, Michael C Williams, Joshua Leonard
On October 21, 1994, Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard and Michael Williams hiked into Maryland's Black Hills Forest to shoot a documentary film on the... Read more
The Comeback: The Complete Series (2005)
8/10
Starring: Lisa Kudrow, Laura Silverman, Damian Young, Malin Akerman, Robert Michael Morris...
Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow) used to be at the top of everybody's list, now with her hit sit-com behind her, roles are thin on the ground, and she's... Read more
The Garth Method (2006)
4.7/10
Director: Gregory Pakis
Starring: Gregory Pakis, Katrina Baylis, Scott Terrill, Jamie Unicomb, Jo Buckley, Elena N...
Writer/director Gregory Pakis also stars in this nutty mockumentary about an out-of-work actor so desperate he decides to make his own film - by kidna... Read more
The Grand (2007)
6/10
Director: Zak Penn
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Cheryl Hines, David Cross, Dennis Farina, Richard Kind, Ray Rom...
A largely improvised mockumentary with Woody Harrelson as a playboy actor who enters a poker tournament in order to save his grandfather's hotel from... Read more
The Gunston Tapes (1991)
Director: John Eastway
Starring: Garry McDonald
The very best of the ABC TV Norman Gunston shows... Remember the interviews with Warren Beatty, Keith Moon, Hugh Hefner, Muhammad Ali and a live allig... Read more
The Idiots (1998)
6.8/10
Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Bodil Jorgensen, Jens Albinus, Louise Hassing
Concerns a group of people who live in a villa in a small Danish town who share one interest: idiocy. Civilised and intelligent they pretend otherwise... Read more
The Larry Sanders Show: Season 1 (1992)
8.3/10
Director: Judd Apatow, Brent Carpenter
Starring: Megan Gallagher, Janeane Garofalo, Garry Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor, Rip Torn, Pe...
A landmark in '90s TV comedy, Garry Shandling is the eponymous Larry Sanders, a neuroses-laden, late-night chat show host. Along with loads of hilari... Read more
The Last Horror Movie (2003)
5.6/10
Director: Julian Richards
Starring: Kevin Howarth, Mark Stevenson, Antonia Beamish
The fine line between fiction and reality is blurred in director Julian Richards' award-winning blend of slasher flick and psychological thriller. Jou... Read more
The Magician (2005)
6.6/10
Director: Scott Ryan
Starring: Scott Ryan, Ben Walker, Massimiliano Andrighetto, Kane Mason
From the producers of 'Chopper' comes this blackly comic mockumentary about a hitman, Ray (Scott Ryan who also wrote and directed) who hires a film cr... Read more
The Office (US): Season 1 (2005)
Director: Ken Kwapis, Bryan Gordon
Starring: Rainn Wilson, Steve Carell, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, BJ Novak
Based on the hit BBC series, this is America's version of 'the office mockumentary' with funnyman Steve Carell as ignorantly insensitive boss, Michael... Read more