"Treasure. Why is it always so goddamn hard to find? This is the story of the treasure of Foggy Mountain — the priceless golden bust of Marie Antoinette. It was stolen from Versailles by French Naval explorer Jean-Pierre LaRoche. He fled to America and hid it deep within the mountain. In his final days, he built a map, a key leading to this legendary treasure. It was his dream that the bravest, most feared adventures in the world would find it and solve its puzzle... That is not what happened."
— The Narrator
please don't destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain is a 2023 American comedy film, written by the titular Saturday Night Live trio and directed by Paul Briganti (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend).
John Goodman narrates the adventure of Ben, Martin, and John, three childhood friends turned deadbeat co-workers, who fend off hairless bears, desperate park rangers (Meg Stalter & X Mayo) and a hypocritical cult leader (Bowen Yang) in the hopes of finding a priceless treasure, only to discover that finding the treasure is the easiest part of their journey. Oh, and Conan O'Brien plays Ben's dad in it.
The film was released on November 17, 2023, streaming directly to Peacock.
Previews: Official Trailer
, First Four Minutes.
please don't destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain contains examples of:
- A Minor Kidroduction: The prologue detailing the events leading up to the present day features a brief flash of Ben, Martin, and John finding the first piece of the map as children.
- all lowercase letters: The titular group has their name in all lowercase in the title.
- Blatant Lies: The three attempt to excuse their buying liquor for kids by saying that the drinking age in Europe is "Like, ten", and that the kids could have been European (regardless of the fact that they are in middle America).Farley: What made you think they were European?
Martin: They had a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. - Chekhov's Gun:
- Ben gets his hands on a bird call that sounds more like a death whistle. The only thing it can summon is the hawk. When the guys are surrounded by the cult and Deetch has the bust, Ben uses it again which leads to the hawk grabbing the bust and flying off.
- Chekhov's Skill: John was traumatized by his magic act Gone Horribly Wrong as a child, but remembers enough to do a literal smoke and mirrors act to steal the bust from Deetch and the cult.
- Death by Cameo: Gaten Matarazzo appears As Himself to appraise the bust of Marie Antoinette, and is the first to be killed by the cult.
- I Choose to Stay: John realizes he has less to go back to than Martin and Ben, and ends up joining the cult. For about two weeks.
- Precision F-Strike: Farley, Ben's father, greets the trio in their workplace with a "Where the FUCK were you?!"
- Gilligan Cut: After three kids threaten the (very adult) trio to buy them beer, all three members raise their fists for a fight... Cut to later, when all three are happily drinking beers, with the leader of the pack shouting "Thanks, boys!" after them.
- Surprisingly Happy Ending: Initially, it appears that the hawk has flown off with the treasure but the trio accepts it and is content with the fact that they've mended their friendship. Then the hawk comes back to give it to them and they get their riches after all.
- Time Skip: One chapter is literally titled "Two Weeks Later".
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Ben, who's obviously set to inherit the outdoor goods shop from his father, is incredibly miffed about his father favoring one of the regular employees instead. Subverted as his real dream is to start a beauty salon for boys.
