The Best Mockumentary Movies That Poke Fun at Realism

Cow in New York City — 398266 03: Adrian Witzke (L) films co-worker John O''Brien wearing a cow costume during the unseasonably warm weather December 6, 2001 in New York City. Temperatures reached 70 degrees in New York and were expected to break records throughout the East Coast. The two men were filming a "mockumentary" for their company in New York's Central Park. Getty Images/Mario Tama

Mockumentary movies are a genre that pokes fun at real-life phenomena and events in the language of "realistic," faux-documentary film methods. The art form has been significantly around since 1938 when Orson Welles read a fake radio news broadcast adapted from H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds" and comically convinced Americans that aliens had invaded Earth.

The Best Mockumentary Films

During the lockdown, most of us have exhausted practically all the genres on Netflix and are now finding it a difficult choice to find the right comedy show or film to binge-watch. Mockumentaries are a fresh burst of fun and probably a genre that many users have not navigated in this quarantine.

Whether presented on the big or small screen, documentaries have been regarded as entirely serious works that cover potentially serious subject material. That does not have to be the case. You could also delve into a fictional world through a documentary or "mockumentary," a term that gained momentum in the 1980s courtesy of director Rob Reiner, according to Looper.

Mockumentaries are usually meant as a satire or parody. They are fictional works designated to mimic the appearance and manner of documentaries. After all, sufficed by iconic comedian Sid Caesar when he said, "Comedy has to be based on truth," reported Screen Rant.

Here are our recommendations if you are tired of scrolling to the same genres:

'This Is Spinal Tap'

This mockumentary by Rob Reiner depicted the rock 'n' roll culture very well that it did not dawn on some viewers that it was supposed to be a comedy. They thought that it was a real documentary depicting a real band.

Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest exhibited hilarious performances and shared palpable on-screen chemistry as a band.

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'Popstar: Never Stop Never Stop Stopping'

This mockumentary deserves five fire emojis. The 2016 comedy from the crew is narrated in the form of a musical documentary regarding the solo career of frontman Conner4Real breakup of the Style Boyz.

It was loaded by cameos of several artists and come through the musical stylings of Conner and his crew, underscored by catchy bangers including "Finest Girl (Bin Laden Song)" and the anti-humble anthem "I'm So Humble," according to EW.

'Chalk'

This film is a comedy mockumentary focusing on three teachers (Chris Mass, Troy Schremmer, and Janelle Schremmer) and one assistant principal (Shannon Haragan) who are grappling through life at a classic American high school. It was based on Akel's and Mass' real-life teaching experiences, reported

Almost wholly improvisational, the film was lauded for turning a 180 on the "inspirational teacher movie" trope.

'Between Two Ferns: The Movie'

Imagine a talk show hosted by Zack Galifianakis. For people who cannot recall the name, think "Hangover" or "Due Date." One could imagine how epic a talk show would be, especially when it starts to rain randomly amid the interview.

This Netflix mockumentary explores the entirely hilarious behind the scenes journey of (the talk show).