A Futile and Stupid Gesture (adapted from Josh Karp's 2006 book of same name) chronicles the young, charismatic life of the Lampoon's lunatic-in-chief, Doug Kenney--an unassuming Midwesterner who, along with fellow Harvard Lampoon cohorts Henry Beard and Robert Hoffman, co-founded the seminal monthly publication in 1969.
Roughly ten years elapsed between the National Lampoon's first edition and Kenney's mysterious death in August of 1980; but in that decade--the nihilistic, cocaine-fueled 70s--the tormented, visionary humorist (played with nonchalant levity by Will Forte) spearheaded the magazine into heavy circulation and expanded the Lampoon brand into the mediums of radio, stage and screen.