LONDON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Tony Benna hadn’t worked with former advertising creative Andre Ricciardi in years, when one day his friend reached out to tell him, “I’ve got stage four cancer, but I want to make a comedy and I want you to direct it,” Benna said.
He was taken aback.
“First off, I was having to digest the fact that he has cancer. But second, how do you turn this into a comedy? Obviously, cancer is not funny, but Andre is one of the most hilarious and brilliant people I’ve ever met. So I figured if I could just capture Andre’s character, there was a chance to look at something so dark… through a very different lens.”
The result is “Andre Is an Idiot”, a raw and funny documentary following Ricciardi as he comes to terms with his terminal illness. The title refers to Ricciardi’s mistake of passing up on a colonoscopy the year before he finds out he has stage four colon cancer.
The movie follows Ricciardi as he deals with his progressing cancer but also uses humour to prepare for death. Audiences see him meet a “death yell” teacher to practice his last words or share wacky ideas like a television show in which participants offer up unique ways for him to die.
“What you see in the film is the tip of the iceberg as far as the adventures Andre took us on. And you never knew… if Andre was really serious about getting a head transplant or if it was just something he was joking about,” said Benna.
He used stop-motion animation to illustrate Ricciardi’s stories and ideas.
“You can’t show… ten different ways to have your body disposed of with a human… But with a puppet, it’s approachable. It adds the humour that Andre was really going for.”
The film features interviews with Ricciardi’s wife Janice, their daughters, and best friend Lee among others, and brought a lot of emotional challenges.
“Andre Is an Idiot” premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won two awards. It is released in UK cinemas on Friday.
“A lot of us hide, as Andre says in the film, from sickness. We’re afraid of it. We’re afraid to talk to our friends and family that have cancer. We don’t know what to say,” Benna said. “And what Andre teaches us is – just go be you.”
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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