It's a totally absurd and low-brow film poking fun at the tour de France. If you're a fan of subtlety or only enjoy sophisticated humour, don't bother. I personally thought it was a riot. It looked like the actors were having a blast and all the cameos of sports stars not taking themselves too seriously were brilliant. At only 40 minutes or so in length, the joke didn't wear too thin and I was giggling all the way through.
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RubyMouse28 July 2018
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kim34914 April 2019While channel surfing I came across this movie and couldn't stop laughing. Missed the beginning and will definitely watch it again to see the whole movie. Tons of big name actors.
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"Tour de Pharmacy" is a 39-minute live action movie that premiered only a couple days ago, so it is obviously from this year (2017). The cast includes many many big names and even if most of them only have a scene or too, it is somewhat refreshing to see all these famous faces. I will not give a total list, bit let me just say I liked Rashad, Hamm, Bacon, Forte, Goldblum and some others. I do not like Samberg, Rudolph and Bloom (even if he is better than usual). Oh yeah, and Mike Tyson was pretty hilarious explaining to us how he entered the world of boxing with a memorable connection to cycling. Still if you really want to watch something informative about the subject of substance abuse in the professional sport of cycling, then this is not the one to watch. Let me tell you this as somebody who really has a strong interest in the sport of cycling. It is only worth seeing for some of the comedic stuff, even if obviously not all of it is working. Director is Jake Szymanski and writer is Murray Miller and these two already collaborated on a similar mockumentary not too long ago with the focus on tennis back then. I would say that this one here is by no means as good as the one on tennis, which was actually one of the best films under 45 minutes of its respective year. This one probably is not, but it still offers some fairly funny sequences and writing. I think it gets better the longer it goes and overall I give it a thumbs-up. Go check it out, especially for the scenes with lance Armstrong that stayed incredibly entertaining until the very end and never got repetitive, even if it somewhat was the same joke over and over again. I honestly would like to see him in acting.
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oregonziggy9 July 2017If you like Andy Samberg's style of comedy you will love this. Totally makes fun in an over the top way of doping in cycling.
If you liked 7 Days in Hell, you will also like this on.
Even though tennis is the most boring sport to watch in the history of the world, two people hitting a ball back and forth over and over and over again. Acting like giant babies when the judge makes a call. 7 Days in Hell was still funny.
The gags where all pretty funny, it is always cool to watch actors do things that are not in there norm. -
frukostrast10 July 2017I do look at a lot of cycling sports because my family is totally into it. I'm not taking part but when there's Tour de France or another competition on TV - it's on. So, I watch quite a lot of cycling sports.
This mockumentary is funny and it shows a lot of the cycling world's problems, in a crazy way. There are a lot of problems and it must have been easy to find stuff for this mockumentary. The cast is great with Orlando Bloom, Danny Glover, Kevin Bacon, Dolph Lundgren and many more. Lance Armstrong's role is spot on! It's only about 37 funny minutes but I don't think they could have made it longer. 37 funny minutes is enough! I give it 7 out of 10. -
npvarley30 July 2017Well, these kinds of mockumentaries can be a bit hit and miss. Suffice it to say that this one is simply brilliant. I was laughing out loud the whole way through.
The cast is stellar and they have a riot. Who knew Cena could do comedy so well? Orlando Bloom was hilarious and I didn't recognise him at first! Tyson really have poke fun at himself, too.
The running gag, involving a certain well-known cyclist is really well done, too.
I think HBO may have struck a rich seam here. There are all kinds of sports stories that could be hilarious mockumentaries if they let Andy Sambergh loose on them.
Really, watch this! -
guszak12 July 2017Really eagerly awaited this "mockumentary" after seeing the previous collaboration, Seven Days in Hell. Although not perfect, Seven Days had more than a few laugh out loud moments. Seeing the commercials for this one one got the feeling the budget got larger, as did the star power, hence, so would the laughs. Wrong! Very few laugh out loud moments and very flat in many parts. One major problem is the complete waste of Andy Samberg, who was so great in Seven Days. Here, he is given a funny back story, but little else. Nobody really else picked up the ball and ran with it. Moreover, the reoccurring Lance Armstrong joke got old, fast. Not saying I did not laugh at this show, I did, but it could have been a lot better. Props to Danny Glover, who steals the flick.
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wildturkeywill8 July 2017It's like 30 for 30 meets Saturday night live. Outstanding cast with a very funny cameo from Lance Armstrong. It has a lot of full frontal nudity and crude jokes so if that's not your thing maybe you won't like it. I wish it were longer but every bit of the run time is full of laughs. If you enjoyed 7 days in hell then you'll love this also.
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carlos37andre30 December 2017The only other mockumentary from HBO that I saw before that was "7 Days in Hell", it had Andy Samberg and Kit Harington (two actors that I'm a fan of), but didn't work for me, was unfunny at all. But here, man, this work!
Tour de Pharmacy has some amazing actors here (Samberg, Bloom), is really short, and really funny too, there are some cool and sily (in a good way) jokes. I think I have to warning you: It's a trash movie, so go see it with this in mind, and I think that you will have a good time.
7,5/10 -
UPCritic10 July 2017This is the funniest movie I have seen all year. Though I am not a fan of mockumentaries, this one had me constantly laughing out loud. The jokes hit and they just kept coming. The absurdity was so hilarious because in a way it wasn't so far away from reality. The cast was spectacular funny, and Lance Armstrong playing himself was the cherry on top.
I can only recommend "Tour de Pharmacy". Well done HBO! -
Samuel-Shovel15 July 2017This mockumentary has its moments but a lot of the jokes in here fall flat unfortunately.
The Lance Armstrong cameo started off as pretty humorous but quickly descended into a stale one-joke cliché. (How many times can we make a joke about how he can't be seen on camera?) I think they really missed a good opportunity to do a lot more with him.
For the amount of talent there was in this movie, I'm a little disappointed with the end result. I think James Marsden was really one of the only few bright spots for me. There was not enough Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Bacon, or Danny Glover in this for my taste.
Not a complete waste of time but also not recommended. If you're a cyclist maybe you'll enjoy it, I don't know. -
chell-6982716 July 2020Another classic Andy Samberg mockumentary. This only runs 37 minutes but took nearly an hour to watch cause I kept having to pause it to control my laughter! Super silly and random, and suits my Aussie humour perfectly. Cheers!
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sanjin_96329 July 2017I have to admit I hate cycling so much, I can't even put it into words without cursing my ass off, so this was right up my alley. I'm not usually a big fan of silly mockumentary films and I couldn't quite enjoy 7 Days In Hell since tennis is probably my favourite individual sport.
The gags are often hilarious. Spot on. This perfectly mocks the ridiculousness of cycling and its stable horse the Tour De France. I hate nothing more than wanting to watch some sporting event and when turning on the TV realising that the broadcaster decided that showing the Tour De France is more worthwhile than let's say .. Wimbledon.
There's nothing more boring than watching some guys drive a bike for hours. I also like the way how this exploited the subject of performance enhancing substances. Really appropriately ridiculed. Thanks HBO. Anyone who doesn't get a laugh out of this is an idiot or has no sense of humour (even if its flat humour). 6.4/10 -
Why are HBO involved with this?
Wasted casting. One basic joke (repeated repeated repeated repeated) sooo many times. The drug addict Arm-strong, but legs weak (unless high on steroids) proudly getting into the film industry.
Anybody want to see him being a 'comedian' to encourage kids to be druggies to win medals?
Hope someone tries another mockumentary about professional cycling, this could(?) be good with a decent script - but this attempt is poor.
Aimed 15yr olds and those who still love Animal House/ Road Trip reruns from their youth - and also have a parent who watches just the one cycle race a year.
Even the gag (just the one) must have sent the cast comatose, explaining the short runtime.
Please try the idea again with a different scriptwriter, but with the same cast.
*You have been warned* -
Prismark1012 July 2017Tour de Pharmacy, also known in the UK as Pharmacy Road is an Andy Samberg mocumentary that follows up Seven Days in Hell. This time in his cross hairs is the subject of cycling. More specifically the glory days of drugs induced cyclists in the Tour de France in 1982.
Due to bribery issues that year the race was whittled down to just 5 riders as they were too stingy to help out the chief administrator with his credit card debts. Even then the remaining five were on some kind of drugs. One was a cheetah, another was a woman (on drugs), there was even a white Nigerian, he certainly had to be on drugs.
Lance Armstrong appears to provide a certificate of authenticity, well who knows more about drugs and cycling than him. -
hunter-friesen22 October 2017Tour de Pharmacy is a hilarious and goofy cycling mockumentary that makes fun of the usual tropes you would find in the real world of professional cycling. While only being 41 minutes long, this television film from the team behind the tennis comedy 7 Days in Hell has enough laughs and hilarious moments that could fill a full feature-length film.
There are five main cyclers that we follow throughout the race. Each character is over the top and has their own quirks and personal motivations. Andy Samberg plays Marty, a white boy representing Africa, even though he's only African because his American family owns a blood diamond mine. Orlando Bloom plays the high pitched and flamboyant Juju Pepe. John Cena is the steroid-infused Austrian, Gustav Ditters. Daveed Diggs plays Slim Robinson, the nephew of Jackie Robinson who only races to be recognized as the first black cyclist. Finally, Freddie Highmore plays the woman Adrian Baton who dresses as a man in order to compete in the race. These core characters carry the film from start to finish, dishing up several laughs each minute.
The story takes place during the 1982 Tour de France where doping and steroids have taken control of the sport. After one day of racing, every cyclist except the main five is banned from the race. For the next several stages we solely follow the proclaimed "Fab Five" as they battle each other for the title. An onslaught of funny gags and scenarios occur that make the competition feel like an episode of the old cartoon Wacky Races.
The mockumentary style of the film is comedic gold and makes every laugh even funnier. The film is staged as a sports documentary that would commonly be shown on ESPN. There's archival footage of the race intercut with interviews with cycling experts and older versions of the racers as they tell their sides of the story of what happened at the race.
Director Jake Szymanski gives his cast all the power to carry the film and it pays off extremely well. The laughs are because of the characters that we learn to love for their unusual personalities. Szymanski's previous television film 7 Days in Hell shares several similarities with this one and he takes what worked in that film and uses it here. He also creates an authentic looking documentary by shooting the race scenes with VCR cameras so it looks like it actually took place in 1982.
Each core actor is great in their absurd and almost idiotic characters. There's also an endless parade of cameos and bit parts from celebrities such as Maya Rudolph, Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Bacon, Danny Glover, Dolph Lundgren, J.J. Abrams, and even Lance Armstrong (poking fun at his own use of steroids). They all serve as interview subjects for the documentary and add to the comedy. The biggest laughs come from Rudolph as a "cycling expert" and Goldblum as older Marty.
Tour de Pharmacy is a hilarious and silly film that never takes its subject matter seriously and just wants to have fun. The short run time and goofy characters create a brilliant popcorn flick that will have you laughing all the way through. -
evangw-4794814 July 2017I loved 7 Days in Hell so I'd been looking forward to this for months, but it kind of fell flat even though I laughed quite hard at the trailer itself, which in my opinion gave away the best jokes of the show.
It could be because I've seen 7 Days in Hell that the humor felt somewhat less original the second time around, as a lot of the jokes are in principle the same (e.g. the balls underwear in 7 Days --> the see-through microdick suit in this one). I think it's just too short to flesh out any of the characters properly, which was done perfectly with Kit Harington and Andy Samberg in the slightly-longer 7 Days. The Lance Armstrong 'joke' was fantastic, but overplayed.
That said, I'd definitely look forward to a "series" of these, but I'm not sure I'd recommend this one to friends like I did with 7 Days. -
drnossal31 January 2019Overrated. The jokes go on too long and often aren't that funny to start with. "7 Days in Hell" was a far superior exercise in deadpan sports comedy.
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aj_symons-3752329 November 2018This is one of the funniest things I've watch in a very very long time that made me pi$$ed myself laughing with tears coming out of my eyes and having very saw jaws after watching it's a must watch for John cena fans and keep the kids out of the room before you watch it too 😎
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deepfrieddodo27 August 2021Having Jeff Goldblum play an older Andy Samberg was brilliant, and the daftness of this character was easily the best thing about Tour de Pharmacy. For such an odd project there were a lot of stars involved, the Cena/Lundgren character share also pretty funny, but further than that it's not hilarious. Daft concepts but no real 'jokes', punchlines without any build up.
In fairness the concept is original and funny, and the characters are all novel and support the plot, but the delivery of humour is lacking. Definitely a bit of fun and easy enough to watch, but it is just a spoof, and whilst the whole Lance Armstrong inclusion was half-funny at first, it didn't really improve anything and you struggle to want to laugh at a cheat. -
Reno-Rangan24 July 2017Another 40 minute television mockumentary made by Jake Szymanski. The previous one was about the 1996 Wimbledon finals, where we saw Serena and Venus Williams in small parts. This one was across the English channel about the 1982 'Tour de France', where the boxing legend Mike Tyson makes into despite not related to the sport. Sets in the present day that interviews the those who took part and others who had connected with the '83 French cycling event. They share their experiences with us.
The director is kind of setting up a trend and his own style of filmmaking. I really loved it as I did for his other film. So I'm already thinking where he could go from here for the next one. Probably further south to Italy, for Grand Prix (F1)! But something is very clear, that it'll be a sports themed flick.
Those who loved the '7 Days in Hell' would do the same for it as well. Similarly, it was the film for adults, because of some full nudity. As you know how a documentary film is edited out with many clips from the different timeline/era, for this film they have used VHS cam to get the retro type effect. Very genuinely done. If you never visited online searching detail about the film and have not heard anything about it from friends and family, you might think it's real. Because that's how perfect it was.
Don't believe what I said in the previous line. If you know films, then you surely have some idea to differentiate the types of films you watch. Except there will be always some doubt till you read them online or get cleared by your friends and family. That's what I meant. So it was not perfect as the one Peter Jacson made in the 90s before getting fame.
❝When you put a crazy person in charge of the 'Tour de France', crazy things will happen.❞
In this case, it was too much unrealistic to the actual world. I mean in the serious world. But what you see in it was very funny. And again, to have that greater fun, one must know at least a brief history of 'Tour de France'. It's not mandatory to understand the film. Those who have got no idea about that cycling race can still have fun. But if you are familiar with, then the fun will be two folded.
Some of the historic events attached to it. Like a cyclist falling in love with a French farmer woman. And so on, the parodies would keep you entertained. If not, at least you should have seen Ben Foster's 'The Program' before trying this. That film will give you as much detail as you can feel comfortable with while watching this one.
Like Andy Serkis the master of motion-capture, Zoe Saldana the alien queen, now the Andy Samberg is becoming a specialist in mockumentary leads. Not to forget his 'Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping'. There won't be any surprise if he and this director team up again for a similar flick as I mentioned in the earlier paragraph.
Finally, it is one of the best films of the year. I highly recommend it. It is truly a multi-starrer. From John Cena to JJ Abrams to Lance Armstrong, it was a big cast for a short film. The twist and turns are everywhere. It opened with a twist in the tale, and so the end. Besides the game it related to, some of the sub-topic filled the rest of the film. And one of them, the highlight was gay theme. The mockumentary fans must not miss it. Even after reading my review.
8/10 -
JurijFedorov12 June 2023It's a bunch of really silly jokes. A lot of nakedness, slimmy jokes, and a ton of doping jokes about the fake 1982 Tour de France. Basically the gags are constant and the story is coherent to some degree. The mockumentary just shows a ton of scenes that mostly make fun of fake doped riders yet it's never once funny. I maybe smiled a few times at most as nothing here is played up for laughs. Rather it's over the top mockumentary stuff.
There was some nakedness here I didn't appreciate watching. And many jokes were nasty toilet humor. But it's nice seeing big actors in such silly roles. And a few gags were initially quite clever before they overplayed them. I would say skip this unless you randomly click a link. Then you may as well watch it if you have nothing else to do. -
There are many well known identities and actors in this film. With that there is an expectation that the film would have a level of quality. However, it doesn't take long to realise this is not the case. Primarily this movie fails due to the script. The humour is not clever or witty, but is obvious, juvenile, base and would seem to be aimed at early teenagers. In fact it is no better than a teenage road comedy but with adults for actors.
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bevo-1367831 March 2020It's funny because so many cyclists are drug cheats in fact probably most of them
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duben-080668 September 2019Super funny, can't believe who they got to talk about drugs and cycling?? Plus Mike Tyson's punch out camo.. LMAO