André is an idiot… or is he? According to the title of Anthony Benna’s documentary, literally called “André is an Idiot” (screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Feature Competition), he is a big one. That is for us to respond as we watch his retelling of a fascinating life long-lived, yet potentially cut short by a mistake he made: not getting his prostate checked when he turned forty, forty-five, or even fifty. An obvious thing to do was to check your colon. Even if there are no complications, one would be sure to get regular checkups, especially at that age. But André forgot, and forgot again, and then it was too late to reverse whatever damage the prostate cancer—one of the easiest cancers to beat if seen and treated early—had done.
Who is André?
By that point, it was already stage four. There is no treatment left to eliminate the mass. There’s only to beat the pain, making it easier to handle. He is genuinely sad by it all, missing his checkups and fearing leaving his partner and daughters alone in this world. In an act to make amends, both for his mistakes and for his forthcoming death, André Ricciardi decides to make a documentary that tells his story—one that reflects on his achievements, errors in life, idiocies, and odd yet brilliant ideas—and make a PSA about colonoscopies. Hence, the creation of “André is an Idiot.” It is a doc that, filmmaking-wise, is quite flimsy and wonky. However, since its messaging is so essential and eloquently placed onto the strange structure, you are all ears for what the man has to say.
Who is André? He is a charismatic, on-the-spot spontaneous, and highly extroverted guy who has a thousand stories to tell, and each one is more unbelievable. He introduces himself to us by telling a story about the time he pleasured himself against a wooden surface as a teenager, leaving splinters—that he took off one by one—on his genitalia. Some may be creeped out by this story. Others may laugh along with him. Or, in a distant corner of the room, you may not care much about this, like me, who found it quite random and oddly placed. But this quick tale gives you a taste of André’s personality and “idiotness.” He says this is the second biggest mistake of his life. The first one was not checking his prostate until it was too late. And that is how he and Anthony Benna fix the cold-open joke.
André mentioned that he told his mother what occurred to him, to which she replies, “What a f*cking idiot!” This remark, in turn, served as the inspiration for the title of this documentary. Then, the man explains why he wants to tell us these stories and the construction of this documentary. The film would be a portrait of a man with crazy ideas that he displays in his ads—like the “Planet of the Apes” remake “the apes are getting smarter” one, a brilliant advert that sells the movie to anyone—through his own chaotic, random vision. Benna does everything on André’s behalf to implement whatever idea he has in store to tell his story.
Many Comedy Bits Pave the Way for an Important Message
The first part of “André is an Idiot” of the doc concentrates on learning more about him. These are seen mostly (and narrated) through interviews where he explains how he got married for a green card, later fell in love with the woman after a successful game show win trip to the Bahamas, as well as his experiences in the ad game, where competition was tough. Still, they were no match for his random creativity. André never thought he’d fall in love with that profession or that woman. However, the two of them fit like a glove. The way André tells his tale is quite fascinating. Yet it did not hit me in the funny bone as he’d expected. What has happened to him is just a set of very particular occurrences. Only to André and André alone do these kinds of things happen.
André spends a lot of time putting us into his worldview and mind. He becomes an undependable yet intriguing narrator and storyteller. However, while he remains a charismatic figure to follow and listen to, the film itself slowly turns more rudimentary in its style and presentation. “André is an Idiot” takes a shift from the vivid and personality-driven aesthetic from the first half of the documentary. Many of its segments during the second half test the viewer’s patience. The subject’s storytelling, alongside Benna, who opts in for any stint he prompts, becomes more fractured. It makes use of random or extended bits that neither enthrall nor elicit laughs.
Sure, it all fits within André’s personality and mind state. But not every idea is a bright one. Benna includes too many moments that don’t add much to this story. They are just tidbits, or small sections, in which André divulges some of his half-baked realizations. For example, the “no cops, no doctors” policy is more than silly and quite ridiculous. “André is an Idiot” does not need more scenes like that. There is no need for them since the first half of the doc already had so many.
A Documentary with an Important Message
The second could be more of exploring his psyche and learning from his mistakes. Benna does include scenes and interviews where such happens. Yet the majority are just that, uninvolving segments. Nevertheless, even with those issues on the back half, the best thing that comes out of Benna’s doc is not the weird life stories or comments. It is the message behind them.
“André is an Idiot” is a PSA on the importance of colonoscopies and regular doctor checkups. It examines the life of its titular subject through most of the run-time. And then, after a series of bits, it retaliates about why you shouldn’t ignore these health situations, especially at an older age. Even though André may not be funny or charismatic for you as a subject—I’m somewhat in-between, liking some of his tales while others just annoy me—you can’t deny that the documentary has an important message. So, all in all, there is something to get out of the self-titled idiocy.
“André is an Idiot” screened at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Documentary Competition.
