"This Is the Tom Green Documentary" – A Fascinating Look at an Underrated Comedy Pioneer
There are certain comedians, certain performers, certain personalities that don’t just make a mark in entertainment—they change the game. Tom Green is one of those people. Whether you love him, hate him, or just vaguely remember him painting naked ladies on his dad’s car and calling it the “Slutmobile,” there is no denying that Tom Green was ahead of his time.
"This Is the Tom Green Documentary," directed by Green himself, is a fascinating, deeply personal look at his journey—from his humble beginnings in Ottawa to the insanity of Hollywood fame, and ultimately, to his decision to walk away from it all in favor of a quiet, rural life.
It’s an incredibly well-made and insightful documentary, but if there’s one flaw, it’s this: Tom Green doesn’t give himself enough credit for just how important he was to comedy, television, and pop culture.
Let’s be clear—Tom Green was a revolutionary. He was doing hidden camera pranks, absurdist street comedy, and deeply uncomfortable, boundary-pushing stunts long before "Jackass," "Borat," or "The Eric Andre Show."
He was experimenting with live internet broadcasts before anyone even understood what streaming was. He was creating avant-garde, anti-comedy decades before that became a recognized genre.
And yet, for some reason, history often overlooks him in favor of the people who came after him and built on what he created. "This Is the Tom Green Documentary" does an amazing job of reminding us just how much of an innovator he truly was.
The documentary starts at the beginning—Ottawa, Canada—where a young Tom Green was a skateboarding, rap-obsessed kid who, at just 15 years old, started doing stand-up at the legendary Yuk Yuk’s comedy club.
From there, his artistic journey took all kinds of unexpected turns. He had a brief but notable career in the underground Canadian rap scene with a group called Organized Rhyme, earning a minor hit. But comedy was always his true passion, and soon he was making waves with a late-night public access show in Canada—a bizarre, hilarious, DIY oddity that got the attention of a small comedy channel.
That show became "The Tom Green Show," which then got picked up by MTV, and suddenly, this weird, gangly, loud, obnoxious Canadian was one of the biggest names in pop culture.
The rise was meteoric. "The Tom Green Show" blew up when it hit MTV. Green became known for his surreal, in-your-face, completely unpredictable comedic style. He’d pull pranks that blurred the lines between comedy and outright anarchy—whether it was taping raw fish to his head, climbing into dead moose carcasses, or ambushing unsuspecting pedestrians with bizarre performance art.
And his targets weren’t just random strangers—his parents, Richard and Mary Jane, became unwitting stars, suffering through their son’s relentless antics with an exhausted, barely contained frustration that became comedy gold.
One of the most interesting parts of the documentary is hearing from Tom’s old friends—Glenn Humplik, Phil Giroux, the people who helped create "The Tom Green Show" in the first place.
There are interviews with other famous comedians and entertainers, too, including Steve-O and Eric Andre, who both openly credit Tom Green as a massive influence. Eric Andre, in particular, acknowledges that "The Eric Andre Show" simply wouldn’t exist without Green paving the way. That’s something that should be obvious, but a lot of people forget it.
Even Steve-O—who made his career lighting himself on fire and stapling his own body parts—recognizes that "Jackass" might never have happened if "The Tom Green Show" hadn’t first proven that there was an audience for chaotic, fearless, reality-bending comedy.
But just as quickly as Tom Green became a sensation, it all came crashing down. His Hollywood success led him to starring roles in films like "Road Trip," "Stealing Harvard," and, of course, "Freddy Got Fingered," which he also wrote and directed. And this is where the documentary really hits its stride.
"Freddy Got Fingered" is, to this day, one of the most divisive comedies ever made. At the time of its release in 2001, critics absolutely destroyed it (except, of course, me...I lOVED it). It won multiple Razzie Awards. It was called one of the worst movies ever made. And yet… time has been incredibly kind to it.
Over the last two decades, "Freddy Got Fingered" has been re-evaluated as a brilliant piece of avant-garde filmmaking. It’s anti-comedy. It’s a surrealist experiment. It’s a prank on the audience. It’s a full-blown, absurdist takedown of Hollywood formulas. And people hated it for that.
But now, in 2024, it’s clear that Green was doing something far more interesting than just making a dumb gross-out comedy. It was an art piece disguised as a studio comedy, and audiences weren’t ready for it.
The fact that "This Is the Tom Green Documentary" doesn’t spend more time analyzing "Freddy Got Fingered"’s lasting impact is a little frustrating. But that’s Tom Green—he’s too humble to give himself the credit he deserves.
The documentary also dives into Green’s personal struggles. At the height of his fame, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The way he handled it was both brave and revolutionary—he turned his battle into a television special, "The Tom Green Cancer Special," which was deeply personal, emotional, and, somehow, still funny.
This is where we see the real Tom Green, the guy behind all the weirdness and chaos. He was scared, but he used humor to cope. And in doing so, he helped a lot of people. It was one of the first times a celebrity opened up about something so personal on TV, paving the way for the kind of openness we now see in entertainment all the time.
And then there’s the Drew Barrymore era. The documentary covers his whirlwind romance with Barrymore, their marriage, and their quick divorce. For a moment, Tom Green was living the Hollywood life—married to a movie star, starring in blockbuster films, guest-hosting "The Late Show with David Letterman," and even hosting "Saturday Night Live."
But, as he freely admits in the documentary, he never really fit in Hollywood. After his marriage ended and "Freddy Got Fingered" bombed, the industry turned on him. The love affair was over.
Instead of chasing mainstream success, Green pivoted. He became an early pioneer of web broadcasting, setting up an internet talk show years before YouTube became a thing. He did stand-up, he made indie films, he reinvented himself. And now? He’s left it all behind.
Green lives on a farm in Canada, away from the chaos of Hollywood, and he seems… happy. He still tours occasionally—he’ll actually be performing in Chicago in March, and I will be there—but he’s no longer interested in playing the fame game.
"This Is the Tom Green Documentary" is a fantastic deep dive into one of comedy’s most fascinating figures. The only downside? Tom Green directed it himself, which means he’s too nice about himself. He doesn’t fully acknowledge just how groundbreaking his work was. He underplays his influence.
And maybe that’s just who he is—he never set out to be a revolutionary, he just wanted to make weird, funny stuff. But in doing so, he changed the landscape of comedy, television, and the internet as we know it.
If you’re a fan of Tom Green, this is an absolute must-watch. If you don’t know much about him, watch it anyway—you’ll realize just how much of what we see in entertainment today can be traced back to this weird, fearless, boundary-pushing Canadian. It’s streaming on Prime Video now, and I can’t recommend it enough.
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