Chop & Steele

I have been a big fan of the Found Footage Festival for years, and have been a fervent lover of their bizarre pranks. Having been a former member of the print media I always used to hate how lazy the television media was. When I covered high school football games they maybe took a couple highlights and left. And the morning shows...yikes.

It was an absolute delight to me when they did the Kenny Strasser Yo-Yo Master prank. I still own the DVD of his compiled appearances and it is absolute gold. Then they did the cooking show prank. But in all honesty, Chop and Steele was their magna opus. The joke of course is they put no effort into it, and a simple google search would have proven they were frauds. But Lo and behold, people needed content and the legitimacy be damned.

Ultimately, this is a story about a prank that reached incredible proportions. It got so big that it not only reached federal court but it reached one of the most popular shows on television. But the part that makes this a great documentary is the life affirming side to it.

I made a similar comment about this when David Arquette made a documentary about his road to legitimizing himself as a wrestler. He learned a lot about himself and life in general, and what looked like a goofy concept turned out to be much more poignant and deeper. Nick and Joe are national treasures in my mind, and to think they almost hung it up brings a profound sadness to me. To do something like this for 20 years has to take its toll, and thus I always do my best to help them and purchase merchandise when they come to my home town.

Watch this film for the laughs, but also appreciate the human story that takes over in the final act. I think it will make you realize some things about your own life and allow you appreciate the little things we might take for granted.

Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett are childhood best friends who started with children's pranks. They became interested in a McDonald's training video. They started collecting unusual outsider VHS tapes and organized the Found Footage Festival. They went into pranking local morning shows with silly characters and that's where they got into trouble with their characters, Chop & Steele.

At its core, this is a story about two best friends doing a lifelong calling. It is the silliness of outsider comedy and grind of the work. It is sweet. I remember seeing these guys here and there but not knowing the whole story. The boys should have counter-sued for ruining their comedy skit and asked for a McDonald's coupon. The AGT bit is unexpected and perfect if only the show is funny enough to air it.

I wanted to make a review here right after watching this film (via the Blu-Ray release available on their store), because it deserves a lot of exposure and positive coverage. This has instantly become one of my favorite documentaries of all time. Masterfully executed, and absolutely brilliant. It was gripping and maintained my attention and was entertaining throughout. I need more of this! Also, Joe and Nick's YT channel is fantastic.. I especially love the cartoon commentaries. The hosts and their guests are just so.. endlessly humorous and witty. They deserve to grow and grow in scope when it comes to their creative output, because I definitely see some unique comedic genius work going on here.

Childhood friends, perseverance. Everyone in the world would love to be able to pull off a lifetime of doing what they enjoy. Is it all a laugh riot? No of course not, it is inspirational. It's a joy to watch two connected humans with the same goals working together. If they would have asked for donations at the end I would have donated.

Life isn't always easy, I've worked for years in jobs that I hated, it was an important lesson to learn that being happy and doing something you love is important in life. The movie is fun and light hearted solid entertainment without quilt. Obviously the hard work has finally paid off. Here we are watching, not a fairytale, but a real life story. I enjoyed it.