Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain Reminds Us Why SNL Movies Rarely Work

Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, the first SNL film since 2010’s MacGruber, stars Martin Herlihy, John Higgins and Ben Marshall as fictionalized versions of themselves. While there are plenty of laughs along the trio’s journey, PDD reminds us why it’s been over a decade since the last SNL feature-length project.

Ben (Marshall), Martin (Herlihy) and John (Higgins) are three best friends who live together and all work at Trout Plus, the outdoor goods store run by Ben’s father (Conan O’Brien, because who else could play the redhead’s dad?). They are manchildren, albeit in a more wholesome manner than previous iterations (think rollerskating to work and eating snowcones as a morning snack rather than boorish locker room antics). However, Ben and Martin seem to be growing out of their carefree ways; Ben wants to take over Trout Plus, in the hopes of one day starting a hair salon for boys, while Martin is besotted with his religious girlfriend Amy, even undergoing an adult baptism for her (flashes of Righteous Gemstones here). John, meanwhile, is content with the way things are: hanging out together and abiding by their weekly tradition of getting drunk on hard seltzer (I’m not indulging in their egregious product placement) and going in the wingsuit machine. When he senses his friends drifting apart, John gets them to join him in hunting for the treasure of Foggy Mountain. On the way, they’re thwarted by park rangers Lisa (Megan Stalter) and Taylor (X Mayo), cult leader and ex-treasure hunter Deetch Norwind (fellow SNL player Bowen Yang), and a gross bear.

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Thematically, Please Don’t Destroy strikes at a genuinely very difficult crossroads, which people often happen upon in their mid- to late-20s: feeling like your friends are moving on, or on the other side of the coin, worrying that they’re holding you back. Stand By Me, another (much better) movie about a troop of young dudes venturing out into the woods (in search of something far more morbid), encapsulates this sentiment very well in the exchange between the protagonist Gordie and his best friend Chris. “What’s asshole about wanting to be with your friends?” Gordie complains, to which Chris responds, “It’s asshole if your friends drag you down! You hang with us, you’ll be just another wise guy with shit for brains.”

The choices that the PDD trio face aren’t quite as black and white as in Stand By Me; they’re not looking to leave their small town like Gordie eventually does, but instead want to graduate to the next phase of their lives. Martin wants to move on from living with roommates to shacking up with his romantic partner, and Ben wants to go from making ends meet to pursuing his dream job. However, these emotional beats don’t quite land because of the movie’s overriding silliness. Funny, goofy movies can have moments of sincerity—think John Candy’s hurt look in Plains, Trains and Automobiles; Kristen Wiig’s dejectedness in Bridesmaids—but only through careful handling by the writers, actors and directors. Here, the writers and stars are one and the same, and they’re really best suited to comedy sketches. Shortform is their language, and it’s a sizable transition to upgrade to full-blown movies. Director Paul Briganti isn’t nearly as green, but his credits are mostly confined to TV and shorts, and that experience shows. The movie’s plot unfolds in fits and starts, and the different title cards declaring the different “parts” feel more like reminders to the writers than a useful cinematic device.

That’s not to say this isn’t a funny movie. Please Don’t Destroy made me laugh plenty, mostly because of Marshall, Herlihy and Higgins’ hilarious dialogue. PDD is extremely quotable, and I can see it landing alongside the likes of Superstar in the SNL movie pantheon: not highly regarded, but beloved by the few who know its lines by heart. Despite the simple plot and lopsided structure—they find the treasure about mid-way through the movie—it’s clear that these are three friends who love riffing off each other. Also, I have to commend their casting of comedian (and Car World cult leader) William Banks, who plays one of Yang’s followers. Still, certain comedic beats are repetitive, but like with music, this can either be appealing to those who enjoy this particular rhythm or just exhausting for those who are looking for more.

As someone born in the same year as two-thirds of Please Don’t Destroy (1995—just on the millennial/Gen Z cusp), the needle drops during the movie hit incredibly well. These aren’t new songs, but rather staples from the mid- or late-aughts that I would’ve listened to as a tween, when I had very little independence, but listening to the right track allowed me to imagine a life where I could do what I want and be who I want. It only makes sense that music supervisor Linda Cohen would invoke these tunes—”D.A.N.C.E.” by Justice, “Take Me Out” by Franz Ferdinand, and another that I simply won’t spoil—for these burgeoning comedians’ first feature film.

At the end of the day, though, this is not a good movie, in large part because of the production quality. Sure, it may be produced by Judd Apatow, but the film looks akin to Netflix’s flat, overly bright, straight-to-streaming movies. And that doesn’t seem to be a coincidence—there’s no theatrical release for Please Don’t Destroy, which is out now via Peacock. Perhaps if this movie had a larger budget, or if there had been a stronger hand at the directorial helm, then there could have been more here. Marshall, Higgins and Herlihy are funny and likable; I’d love to see them in a more deserving comedic vehicle. Instead, this is an SNL movie that will get belly laughs from some and be largely forgotten by others.

Director: Paul Briganti
Writers: Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, Ben Marshall
Starring: Martin Herlihy, John Higgins, Ben Marshall, Conan O’Brien, John Goodman, Megan Stalter, X Mayo, Bowen Yang, Nichole Sakura, Gaten Matarazzo
Release Date: November 17, 2023

Clare Martin is a cemetery enthusiast and Paste’s assistant comedy editor. Go harass her on Twitter @theclaremartin.

Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain Reminds Us Why SNL Movies Rarely Work