Here is all you need to know about the best between Ferns episodes! Zach Galifianakis is an actor known for his awkward stage humor and his very amazing role in The Hangover franchise. While he is a recipient of fat jokes, his show Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis is all about his passive-aggressive jokes toward his guests is what makes this real-life banter amazing.
As the title suggests, the show’s host, Zach Galifianakis, interviews famous people while resting between two potted ferns. The set is designed to look like a low-budget independent movie for open-access television, including on-screen graphics that feature intended humorous faults.
15. Jerry Seinfeld & Cardi B
Jerry Seinfeld is a wuss. Then he is outshone by Cardi B on his episode of BTF because those pesky college students don’t react to his comedy! Seinfeld is an ideal BTF guest since his public character has only become more cranky over the years.
Yes, there are the customary criticisms about Bee Movie, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, and “Kramer’s fantastic stand-up act” in this episode. The episode’s centerpiece, though, is a tender encounter between Seinfeld and Wayne Knight, who plays his comic rival, Newman.
14. Oscar Buzz Edition: Part 1
BTF returned in 2013 after a two-year sabbatical with a two-part Oscar special in which Galifianakis slung obscenities at several of the ceremony’s A-list candidates. As one might anticipate, it’s hit or miss, but at least the explosives are whisked away from the stage in a manner that would make the Apollo Theater’s Sandman happy. Jennifer Lawrence is up first, wearing a try-hard look that won’t win over her naysayers. JLaw is a fantastic performer, but her phony rage towards Galifianakis pales in comparison to the genuine rage she’s shown to reporters in the past. Anne Hathaway appears as a fake drunk in the spirit of staged performances. She’d win an Oscar just days later, so I’m betting her role in Les Misérables didn’t imbibe.
The funnier fantasy police procedural combo of Christoph Waltz & Naomi Watts thankfully follows all of this. The episode’s Star, though, is Amy Adams, who closes things up with the statement, “Don’t you ever pass gas on my tits again.”
13. Michael Cera
BTF’s debut episode is far from its greatest, but it achieves its goal as a clear model for the series. The very first episode sets the tone, airing in January 2008, a year before The Hangover gave Galifianakis stardom as well as several years prior, most of those homes could pronounce his name. It features the aggressive host questioning a then-rising Michael Cera. Given Galifianakis’s lack of public celebrity at the time, early viewers could have wondered why this strange man was being so harsh to the charming young lad from Superbad and Juno. The episode also has a rougher overall production and 480p resolution, which is more in line with its public-access influences.
12. Sean Penn
This is the only episode in which Galifianakis’s amicable identical alter ego Seth Galifianakis appears, and it is one of the shortest. With excellent reason: In David Letterman’s My Next Friend Needs No Introduction, Galifianakis stated that he felt Penn was truly upset with him. So Galifianakis immediately approached director Scott Aukerman and informed him that the shoot was ended.
But it turns out that the two-time Oscar winner was merely doing his job well, as Galifianakis informs Letterman that they headed out for a great meal later that evening. This installment may be shortened, but it’s excellent as is.
11. Natalie Portman (2009)
Natalie Portman has frequently played the lone grown-up in the room, whether as a tiny girl who meets a killer, a young monarch turned guerilla warrior turned galactic senator, or a smart astrophysicist compelled to babysit a stupid hammer-wielding deity. It’s not much different from previously in BTF’s career in this thoroughly entertaining episode.
There’s not much humor on Portman’s resume, but she’s an admirable straight lady, allowing the quiet to develop when asked if she waxed her “V for Vagina” during the making of the film V for Vendetta. The actual Star of the show is Portman’s toy dog, who spends most of the interview on his back, providing Galifianakis with an impromptu close-out line: “I got a bigger dick.”
10. Brad Pitt (2014)
Short-form humor, such as sketches, online videos, and stand-up, tends to age badly in comparison to humor movies and TV episodes. Sometimes it’s due to shifting cultural norms, and other times it’s just because a style has become outdated. Sometimes it’s because Louis C.K., a confessed serial sexual abuser, stops the program to do a minute of stand-up. With Galifianakis on board, this episode may have gone a little more viral in 2014. But, in 2019, it’s just a mediocre hit in Brad Pitt’s otherwise extremely attractive and amusing punch bowl.
9. Hillary Clinton (2016)
Hillary Clinton was projected to cruise to victory in the 2016 election. A little Nae Nae on Ellen, a little Pokémon Go to elections over there, and then an episode of BTF to bring it all together. However, unlike President Obama’s event, which seemed legitimately surprising and innovative, this one had the distinct odor of a delayed Hail Mary to boost her relatability. The irony is… it works. In this open-access Rose Show situation, Clinton is casual and pleasant. Unfortunately, that did always convert into a best Between Two Ferns episode… but not, you know, an electoral victory.
8. Bruce Willis (2010)
The presenter is the basis of the comedy during the first half, as Bruce Willis declines to interact. The interview goes to the second part by a suddenly too chatty Willis. Both are equally amusing, and this is among the most binge-able episodes of Between Two Ferns. In between these sequences is an advertisement for Stick Deodorant sandwiches. Willis seems irritated to have to do this, as opposed to the put-on displeasure of other guests. You should watch Red, the movie Willis was promoting, rather than this episode.
7. Steve Carell (2010)
In its simplest form, Between Two Ferns is about two hilarious individuals being hilarious, making fun of one another, and taking down Hollywood superstars. No episode does all of this while remaining consistently, hysterically funny from start to finish, like Galifianakis’ sit-down with a prepped, belligerent Steve Carrell. The more they chase each other, the more we giggle.
6. Will Ferrell & Jon Hamm (2011)
A rather pleasant episode, at least in the opening few minutes. The entrance of Funny or Die, boss man Will Ferrell, is memorable for its fist bumps, bro hugs, and cherry feedings by hand and mouth, which is a pleasant change from the online series’ normal gimmick of Galifianakis portraying an alt–insult comedian. The niceties, however, rapidly fade when a young girl who strolls onto the set verbally assaults Galifianakis.
The show is especially notable for including a film of a monkey pushing a frog to fall on him while a toddler wails in the background when Funny or Die’s oral history publish to the world.
5. Bradley Cooper (2009)
This episode involving co-star Bradley Cooper, released only days before The Hangover propelled Galifianakis into an unpleasant battle with stardom, reminds you why the first entry of the film series was so appealing despite its rude tendencies: chemistry! It’s a shame Galifianakis isn’t a Hollywood puppet rather than a talented artist with identity since if he were, there would already be a buddy movie with these 2.
And we’ll always remember Cooper’s two hot BTF appearances. This first one contains a conversation that encapsulates the entire program. “Why are you being so cruel to me?” Cooper asks. “I’m not,” Galifianakis says. “I’m only asking questions.”
4. Justin Bieber (2013)
Justin Bieber decided to exit his adorable Tiger Beat–cover prototype period in 2013. Still, he had not yet crisis-managed his path into his position as a guy devoted to both Jesus Christ and singing visitor hooks on some other artists’ songs. Since Justin was definitely in the phase that demanded his present persona in the year of Justin’s Lord 2013, Bieber was definitely in the era that required his current personality. Of course, I’m referring to his rough moments.
Do you recall those? Over two years, Bieber had a DUI, spat in a janitor’s bucket, dobbed his neighbor’s house, and stated that Anne Frank would’ve been a Belieber. This was a period when Bieber was an obvious victim, yet he handled Galifianakis’s jabs like a champion, even if that was because his publicists were on vacation.
Galifianakis uses this edition to address a subject that many people have been thinking about for years: Think he meant an 80-year-old Anne Frank will be a Belieber when he stated Anne Frank would’ve been a Belieber? Or was Bieber imagining a situation in which he could travel back in time? And, if either, would he murder baby Hitler or let him alone since he, too, is a Belieber? In other words, a very outstanding interview.
3. Conan O’Brien & Andy Richter (2009)
Zach, It’s always strange to witness a talk-show presenter when a colleague questions. Why is James Corden on the stage of Stephen Colbert’s show? What exactly is David Letterman accomplishing sitting in Jimmy Kimmel’s seat? Is there going to be a war?! Whenever a talk-show presenter interviews an Absurdist online series about two gigantic vascular plants, it’s doubly weird.
Conan O’Brien and frequent companion Andy Richter make for a classic episode of BTF replete with witty remarks, boiling wrath, and uncomfortable intervals taped only a couple of months into Conan’s truncated Tonight Show career, which should come as no surprise. The episode’s lone flaw is Andy Dick’s unwelcome surprise entrance.
2. President Barack Obama (2014)
For a variety of reasons, President Obama’s BTF experience was astounding. But the biggest shock was that its purpose — enrolling young folks in Obamacare after quite a terrible two months while HealthCare.gov was almost unavailable — exceeded all expectations. The White House claimed that visitation to the site surged by 40% in a single day, with the majority of that traffic undoubtedly coming from the youthful YouTube-watching Americans who are critical to keeping the Affordable Care Act afloat.
Our country’s first black president’s quips and confident comic manner, the episode is the 2nd most-viewed clip on Funny or Die’s YouTube.
Sure, “What’s it feels to be the country’s last black president?” The gags that everyone recalls are that campaigning for a third term would indeed be “sorta like filming a third Hangover movie.” But my favorite line is Galifianakis’ weary comment after Obama urges viewers to join up for health care: “Is this what they mean by drones?”
1. Ben Stiller
Between two ferns with Zach Galifianakis has seen many comedians on the sets, but seeing Stiller battling against Galifianakis is just like witnessing the dream showdown of NBA fans’ fantasies, LeBron vs. Jordan. It’s two giants in perfect control of their disdain, trading silent insults like 2 Wasps carrying on a millennia feud sparked by their great-great-grandfathers over just a pen. It’s two males using their eyeballs to kill each other. Galifianakis is alluding to Ben Stiller’s most well-known performance as “Jewlander.” There is no more realistic disdain in these 22 episodes, and so, as a result, this is the best between the two Ferns episodes.
