‘Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain’ Review
Stars: Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, Ben Marshall, Bowen Yang, Meg Stalter, X Mayo, Nichole Sakura, Cedric Yarbrough, Sunita Mani, Conan O’Brien | Written by Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, Ben Marshall | Directed by Paul Briganti
If the title of this wacky comedy seems a little weird, that’s probably because the comedy troupe Please Don’t Destroy are largely unknown to UK audiences. This is their big screen debut, following a series of comedy sketches that lead to them becoming regular contributors to Saturday Night Live in the US. As such, it’s something of a hit-and-miss affair, but the hits are just about good enough to make it worth your while.
Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain centres on twenty-something buddies Martin, John and Ben (comedy troupe trio Martin Herlihy, John Higgins and Ben Marshall, who also co-wrote the script), all of whom work for Ben’s grumpy dad (Conan O’Brien) at sporting goods superstore Trout Plus. When John discovers that an antique compass might point the way to a legendary treasure (a golden bust of Marie Antoinette, not that it matters), the trio set off to find it and make their fortunes.
The trail leads the trio to Foggy Mountain, a mountain in a state park where the boys found the compass while on a camping trip as kids. Along the way, the three friends encounter various obstacles, including an aggressive hawk, an odd-looking bear, a cult of failed treasure seekers and two female park rangers (comic actors Meg Stalter and X Mayo) who decide to steal the treasure for themselves.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Please Don’t Destroy trio, then it’s fair to say that their brand of humour takes a little bit of getting used to. In essence, it’s broadly absurdist humour, with a lot of puerile sex jokes thrown in. Inevitably, a lot of the jokes fall flat, but there are a handful of inspired gags, most notably one involving Martin’s supercool alter-ego, Laurence, whom he has largely repressed since dating his church-loving girlfriend Amy (Nichole Sakura).
On the plus side, the three leads are likeable and their rapport is believable. There are also a couple of amusing cameos, including Stranger Things’ Gaten Matarazzo and, best of all, John Goodman (“from The Big Lebowski and a ton of other shit”) as the film’s narrator, another inspired gag.
The film is directed by Saturday Night Live veteran Paul Briganti, who at least ensures that the film doesn’t outstay its welcome (it clocks in at a relatively trim 92 minutes), even if he also frequently allows scenes to run too long. In addition, the film has some fun with the conventions of children’s adventure movies (The Goonies is an obvious influence), the highlight of which involves the group discovering a clue about working together in perfect harmony.
In short, Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain is an unashamedly silly comedy that won’t work for everyone, but if you’re in the right goofy mood for it (and you can read that however you want to), it will hit the spot nicely. Indeed, it’s the sort of film that might end up with a cult following on that basis alone.
*** 3/5
Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain is on limited release in the UK now.
