Trying to explain Norm Macdonald was always difficult. Netflix’s new documentary is smart enough not to try too hard.
Directed by Judd Apatow, Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald traces the comedian from his famously deadpan run behind Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update desk through stand-up, television and his transformation into one of comedy’s most influential “comedian’s comedians.” Rather than building the film around endless interviews, it uses archival footage, personal photographs and rare home videos contributed by friends and fans, allowing Norm to remain at the centre of his own story.
The result looks less like a conventional celebrity biography and more like spending another couple of hours inside Norm’s wonderfully strange brain — dry, unpredictable and permanently resistant to behaving the way anyone expected. Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald premieres October 16 on Netflix.
