There is an unbridled honesty to André Is an Idiot that is admirable, even if all of it doesn’t really work. It’s a simple, stark subject for a documentary: accomplished advertising creative André Ricciardi neglected to get a colonoscopy at the recommended age and when he finally did get one he learned he had Stage 4 Colon Cancer. In response to this death sentence, André decided to make a film about dying. It’s a bold idea, reflective of many of his ideas for commercials and otherwise.

Directed by Tony Benna, it’s snappily edited, full of good music and fun animation that band-aids terrifying procedures like chemotherapy. Its tone matches that of its subject: a mismatch of denial, optimism, and fatalism softened (constantly) by comedy. Ricciardi is surrounded by a deeply supportive family, a cavalcade of friends, and a team of top-notch doctors. There are lovely moments, such...