CHOP & STEELE -- A Silly, Fun Documentary

Review by Sean Boelman

Some of the best documentaries come from unlikely places, and the story of Chop & Steele is one that you probably wouldn’t expect to be this compelling. Funny and surprisingly emotional, Chop & Steele is a refreshingly breezy documentary that — like its subjects — will provide viewers with a dose of laughter to help them through their day.

The film follows best friend duo Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher, who became viral sensations for pranking news stations on live television as a fake strongman act named “Chop & Steele.” Eventually, they cross the wrong people and find themselves the defendants in a lawsuit where they must defend their right to expression.

Much of the documentary’s humor comes from the absurdity of there being a lawsuit over something so innocuous as this. The audience — like several people interviewed in the movie — will ask who this silly prank really hurts. To no one’s surprise, the answer is that it hurts absolutely no one.

The film features plenty of talking head interviews to discuss the legacy that the Chop & Steele bit has had on comedy, from the peers of Pickett and Prueher to more high-profile comedians like Bobcat Goldthwait, Reggie Watts, David Cross, and Howie Mandel. However, the best parts of the movie are those in which we get to hear from Pickett and Prueher themselves.

Pickett and Prueher are amazingly compelling subjects. Even if the documentary does feel a bit unfocused in trying to explore both sides of their careers — as comedians and as the founders of the Found Footage Festival — it does an excellent job of making the viewer admire them for their ambition, creativity, and spirit of fun.

There are some interesting things to be said through Pickett and Prueher’s story about the need for self expression. However, when the film attempts to get overly political, it loses track of what the duo’s purpose in creating Chop & Steele was in the first place: two guys having a good time to make people laugh. There’s plenty of laughs to be had here — and like its subjects, the movie never sells out — but it takes itself a tad too seriously at times.

As an independent documentary, the film is certainly rough-around-the-edges, but that scrappiness exemplifies the spirit that Pickett and Prueher live by in their work — both as comedians and as connoisseurs of the best in found footage. Beyond that, the story is wacky and entertaining enough to keep viewers’ interest.

Chop & Steele is a compelling and funny documentary. Although it doesn’t manage to make the political statement it seemingly strives for, it works extraordinarily well as a portrait of two friends who are just trying to make the world laugh.

Chop & Steele hits VOD on May 9.

​Rating: 4/5