HBO’s ‘Tour de Pharmacy’ cycling mockumentary quickly runs out of
A little mockumentary goes a long way, but even at around 40 minutes, HBO’s “Tour de Pharmacy” feels stretched.
It does look that the actors had fun making this spoof of the doping and the Tour de France — there is no shortage of ridiculous wigs — but it only occasionally translates to laughs.
Drugs and cycling have been linked for decades, long before the 1982 Tour de France, which is the setting
of the mockumentary produced by Andy Samberg (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”; HBO’s “7 Days In Hell”), and written and executive produced by Murray Miller (“King of the Hill”; HBO’s “Girls”).
In supposed archival clips, Samberg plays a white cyclist representing an African nation, while Jeff Goldblum is the older version being interviewed on his memories of the race.
The joke is that drugs are so rampant that all but five riders have been disqualified, and so the race becomes this weird competition between them. John Cena, Freddie Highmore, Daveed Diggs and Orlando Bloom play the other riders. James Marsden is the BBC correspondent cycling along with them, and Kevin Bacon — with an especially crazy wig — portrays a corrupt biking official.
Meanwhile, sportscaster Joe Buck, boxer Mike Tyson, filmmaker J.J. Abrams, and basketballer Chris Webber drop in for faux commentary.
The weirdest ongoing bit — and casting coup, I guess — is getting Lance Armstrong, the now-disgraced cyclist who won seven Tour de France races before they were all later stripped from him for doping.
The joke is that his voice and face are supposed to be disguised, but the film crew keeps screwing it up.
The amount you’ll laugh at “Tour de Pharmacy” may depend on your tolerance for mockumentaries. This one, like most, is a string of gags. If you’re looking for something undemanding, it qualifies.
By the way, the real 1982 Tour de France has been described as one of the most boring in the race’s history.