Movie Features
André is an Idiot

Andre Is An Idiot Screens at Sundance 2025

Andre Ricciardi, an eccentric advertising executive, lived a unique and tragically short life. As his daughters, Tallula and Delilah, described him, he “looked like someone who lives on the street.” This 88-minute film, directed by Tony Benna, explores Andre’s life and his battle with cancer.

The “Idiot” Diagnosis

Andre dubbed himself an “idiot” after he declined his best friend Lee’s invitation for a colonoscopy when they turned 50 (both born in 1968). Roughly a year later, after ignoring symptoms, doctors diagnosed Andre with terminal Stage 4 colon cancer that had spread to his liver. He died in 2023 at the age of 55. He confessed to his mother, “If I don’t defeat this, you’re right: I’m a fucking idiot.” This film became his public service announcement (PSA), urging others to get colonoscopies by age 45. His daughter, now in her thirties, had friends who died of colon cancer at a young age. This highlights the increasing trend of colon cancer in younger patients, similar to breast cancer. Early screening, even before 50, may be life-saving.

A History of the Unusual

Andre’s life in San Francisco advertising was filled with unconventional choices. He married his Canadian bartender, Janice, to help her stay in the country. He then arranged for them to appear on The Newlywed Game Show, believing it would be good practice for Janice’s INS interview. Knowing little about each other, they devised a strategy to win. They always chose the nicer answer. If there were two choices, they picked the one starting with the highest letter of the alphabet. The couple won the episode and a trip to the Sonesto Beach Resort in Anguilla. The vacation was a success. They remained married for 28 years and had two daughters. Lee, Andre’s best friend, who resembles Seth Rogen, shared a story about Andre reading “Helter Skelter” aloud to one of his daughters while she was hospitalized.

On Death and Dying

Andre underwent 50 rounds of chemotherapy. He tolerated it surprisingly well. He attributed this to his “complex relationship” with drugs and alcohol (“Nothing more serious than meth and heroin”). He gained weight.

Despite losing his wild hair, he quipped, “The healthier I am, the sicker I am…There is an awkwardness between people and death.” Lee added that they both “find humor in shitty situations.” Andre, anticipating death as nothingness, said, “I’m not afraid the way so many people are of dying. I’m afraid for the people I’m leaving behind. Dying is surprisingly boring. This is like a vacation for me. I feel that everything should fall into this ‘I’m dying’ mode and it isn’t and it doesn’t. How mundane my own death is. It’s hard to think of a more serious topic than dying of cancer. I am using a proportionate amount of humor.” His therapist, Peter, observed, “You have the capacity to find the comedic in everything.”

Exploring the Causes

André_is_an_Idiot-Director_Anthony_Benna

Anthony Benna, director of Andre is an Idiot, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Traci Griffin Benna.

Andre humorously speculated on the causes of his cancer. His theories included eating salmi, ingesting rat poison, and his mother running behind DDT trucks as a child. The film shows Andre using a bong each morning. Tommy Chong appears, portraying Andre’s reluctant father.

A Road Trip and a Game Show Idea

Andre and Lee embarked on a van journey reminiscent of “Will and Harper.” They worked on a “death yell,” instructed by an online guru. Andre’s yell was “So long. Suckers.” Lee’s was “Come and get me, Spaceman.” After screaming into a canyon, Andre remarked, “You might actually die doing this.” Peter, Andre’s therapist, listened to his latest idea: a game show called “Who Wants to Kill Me?” This isn’t a completely original concept. The 2017 film “The Show,” directed by Giancarlo Esposito and starring Josh Duhamel, explored a similar premise. Peter reiterated, “You have the capacity to find the comedic in everything.” The film also shows Andre dealing with freakishly long eyelashes, a side effect of medication, and learning to use an eyelash curler.

Music and PSAs

Dan Deacon provided the music and some amusing rhymes, including: “Cancer’s always been depressing. It’s never been pleasant.  It don’t care if you’re a royal. It don’t care if you’re a peasant.” Another song’s lyrics were, “Please remember to feed the cat. Please remember that I’m never coming back.” Andre’s ultimate goal was to promote colonoscopies. He approached his former agency, Mekanism Ad Agency, and his former boss, Jason Harris, to create a PSA campaign urging people to get colonoscopies at 45. The billboard ads are still in progress. The meeting with his former employer provides humorous moments as Andre hears various creative ideas for the ads.

Final Thoughts

Andre’s final message, delivered by AI, is poignant: “I sat with fear today.  I didn’t run from it or try to defeat it. Instead, I greeted it like a friend and let it wash over me again and again, terrifying me.  But it was okay.  My fear is insignificant compared to the love around me. I wept for the first time in years.  It was remarkable.  I thought I needed suffering, but, instead, I got bliss.  My heart has never been more open and my fear of death, also tapping at my window, feels a bit more familiar and a little less powerful.” He also added, “We paint the portraits we want people to see, but the most beautiful portraits are the ones that show the flaws within us.”

This meditation on death and dying, directed by Andre’s friend Tony Benna, is a serio-comic exploration of a serious topic, treated with the same irreverence that Andre lived his life. Director Benna explained, “Every project Andre ever had was insane.  Cancer is not funny, but Andre definitely is.  I wanted to get some of his outlandish stories on film.” One suggestion Benna rejected was conducting the Q&A during a “live” colonoscopy, a nod to Katie Couric’s on-camera procedure after her husband’s death from the disease.

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    Movie Features

    Andre Is An Idiot Screens at Sundance 2025

    Andre Ricciardi, an eccentric advertising executive, lived a unique and tragically short life. As his daughters, Tallula and Delilah, described him, ...
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