Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Crude sexual humor, language, violence in buddy comedy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
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Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain
What's the Story?
John (John Higgins), Ben (Ben Marshall), and Martin (Martin Herlihy) have been best buddies since middle school in PLEASE DON'T DESTROY: THE TREASURE OF FOGGY MOUNTAIN. They all work at the same store, owned by Ben's bullying dad (Conan O'Brien). But they're starting to drift apart, leaving John behind especially. When John realizes that a compass they found as kids might be the key to discovering an infamous hidden treasure, he sees it as a means to bring the threesome closer. The trio takes off to the mountains to seek their fortune. They're followed by two park rangers (Meg Stalter and X Mayo) after the loot, and they stumble upon a forest cult led by an evil buffoon (Bowen Yang). The trip could ultimately cause an irreparable rift.
Is It Any Good?
Translating sketch comedy into feature-length entertainment is no easy task, and the Please Don't Destroy comedy trio behind this film proves partially successful. With Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, they toe the line between teen boy humor (fart jokes, vulgar sexual references) and genuine messages about friendship and manhood. But mostly they're in it for the gags, and some are seriously hilarious. In particular, the opening sequence, which sets the threesome up as loveable losers, is golden.
But as the tale unfolds, the laughs get more spread out. This is too bad because the story itself doesn't have much depth. John Goodman provides a very funny voiceover, and Conan O'Brien's turn as the weaselly dad is great. Goodman mentions his infamous role in The Big Lebowksi, and the writing-acting trio here may be going for a Cohen Brothers-style twisted humor, but they'll need a bit more story and character development to reach the heights of a Lebowski or a Raising Arizona.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the core messages of Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain. What does each main character learn from their experience?
The characters here use intentionally raunchy language and sexual references. What's your reaction to this? Do you find that comedy often toes the line with things that might be offensive? Why is that?
Were you familiar with the writer-star trio behind this film? If so, how does a feature film differ from what they usually do? What do you think they gain and lose in the longer format?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 17, 2023
- Cast : Ben Marshall , Martin Herlihy , John Higgins
- Director : Paul Briganti
- Studio : Peacock
- Genre : Comedy
- Topics : Adventures , Friendship
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : pervasive language, sexual material, some drug material, brief graphic nudity and violence
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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