Metacritic reviews

This one is more forgettable than it could have been but also nowhere near the disaster that often comes when members of Lorne Michaels' troupe are allowed out during the day.

It’s a diverting enough entertainment from a group that has repeatedly proven itself to be capable of much more.

The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, like other SNL features that have come before it, runs long, losing the initial charm of its leads and the interplay that make Please Don’t Destroy’s skits funny instead of exhausting. The comedy troupe might have a great comedy in them; this isn’t it.

Please Don't Destroy's debut film isn't necessarily a treasure, but there are a few gems to make the future look solid for this trio.

The frustrating thing is that Marshall, Herlihy and especially Higgins really are funny, and the film has some huge laughs. That’s enough for a sketch show. It’s not quite enough for a film.

While the group’s short SNL videos are often quite amusing, this feature-length venture doesn’t do them any favors.

There’s obviously some talent at work here, but not much in the way of stretching, and the initial energy and sheer dorkiness doesn’t generate enough laughs – some decidedly low-brow (like John’s fascination with videos of mating animals), others cleverer – to sustain a movie.

The Treasure of Foggy Mountain is not Please Don’t Destroy’s answer to Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and it won’t cement them as the next generation’s comedy saviors. They may well have such a masterwork in them, but this isn’t it.

It’s weird to want to rein in the sensibilities of any comedian, especially when their proclivities lean towards the farcical and ridiculous; there is a palpable joy that emanates from their collective weirdness. Sadly, little of it translates into a laugh beyond a guffaw and most of it is empty.

As comedy writers and movie actors, the members of Please Don’t Destroy – Martin Herlihy, John Higgins and Ben Marshall – are out of their depth. That’s not a knock on their brand of comedy, which works in small doses.