Film Forum

WINNER, AUDIENCE AWARD, 2025 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
 
“Get a fucking colonoscopy” we're told at the end of ANDRÉ IS AN IDIOT, a wildly entertaining documentary collaboration between director Tony Benna and his friend, the title character. When André Ricciardi—a successful San Francisco advertising executive—learns that he has stage 4 colon cancer at age 52, he regrets he waited too long for a procedure that might have saved his life. But he also resolves to document his final journey in his own way—with his acerbic sense of humor and absurdist temperament (punctuated by Benna's uproarious stop-motion animation), often pointed at himself and his predicament. His therapy sessions and interviews with his wife, Janice, are particularly revealing and poignant—grounding André’s seemingly irreverent project in his efforts to protect his family during an increasingly painful time... and in his wish to never be forgotten.

Presented with support from The Endowed Fund for Emerging Filmmakers
 
2025     88 MIN.     USA     JOINT VENTURE

Reviews

“One of the most moving, most hilarious, most tragic, most wonderful works of non-fiction filmmaking in many years.”
– Jason Gorber, POV Magazine

“UNEXPECTEDLY FUNNY AND POIGNANT.”
– Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter

“FUNNY AND MOTIVATING... A much lighter experience than its logline might suggest, but its buoyancy in the face of oblivion is the source of its power.”
– David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“The funniest movie about cancer you’ll ever see.”
– Taylor Gates, Collider