Chris Henchy’s Directorial Debut Brings Jokers to Life

By Jennifer Henn

About a year ago, writer, producer and dad Chris Henchy was trying to get his daughters to do their homework, but something on television had them distracted.

Comedy can do that.

Of course, Henchy knows that well. He’s the co-creator of the "Funny or Die" website. He’s written with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis.

Curious, the part-time Southampton resident turned his attention to the screen and “before you know it, an hour and half goes by.”

"Impractical Jokers" got to him, too.

Weeks later, in true movie plot fashion, Henchy’s agent called to say there was some interest in him directing a new film in the works. It would be his first time in the director’s chair, and he’d only recently started looking for opportunities.

The project? "Impractical Jokers the Movie."

“It was just so crazy that I had only started watching the show and only started looking for something to direct,” he said in an interview earlier this month. “It turned into an incredible experience.”

“Impractical Jokers the Movie” stars James “Murr” Murray, Brian “Q” Quinn, Joe Gatto and Sal Vulcano, collectively known as the Tenderloins, and features appearances from Paula Abdul, Joey Fatone and Jaden Smith. It was released in theaters on February 21.

The movie is an extension of the popular series on TruTV. It blends the Jokers’ formula fans have come to know — the stars competing with each other in unscripted hidden camera challenges involving unsuspecting civilians — and a fictional storyline crafted by Henchy that provides a framework for the hilarity.

Without giving too much of the plot away, the main characters face down an embarrassing high school event and in an effort to make peace with it, embark on a road trip. During the trip, they compete in their signature hidden-camera dares, and punishments, for a chance at redemption.

“It was a challenge, melding those things together, but I didn’t think you could sustain a film without the storyline,” Henchy said. “The guys didn’t want to do ‘acting.’ I promised them I’d write their dialogue and all they had to do was be themselves.”

His direction to the cast was minimal, and his approach was to guide, but get out of the way.

“That either makes me the best director or the worst,” Henchy said.

Most of all, the new director said he wanted to make a movie that “Impractical Jokers” fans would approve of and to help the cast execute the hidden-camera scenarios on their wish-list that just couldn’t be made for the television show.

Henchy said the project involved a lot of collaboration with the cast and he relied on the years of experience he’s had writing and producing films and watching directors at work. His credits include writing for “The Larry Sanders Show,” writing and producing the series “Spin City,” producing “Eastbound and Down” and “Entourage” on HBO, and writing the films “Land of the Lost,” “The Other Guys” and “The Campaign,” which he also co-produced.

Henchy was raised in Augusta, Georgia, lives in New York and Southampton and is married to Brooke Shields. They have two daughters. The family spends most of their time on the East End in summers, though Henchy enjoys winter in Southampton, too.

“I really love it out there. In fact, I’m a little surprised by it. I didn’t grow up that way, in that kind of life, but it’s crazy how quickly you can adapt to eating at the beach club and just signing for lunch. I switched over real quick,” he said with a laugh. “In fact, I never wore white jeans before. How did I get five pairs of white jeans? It’s like, when you get off at Manorville all your blue jeans turn white.”

A frequent guest of charity events across the South Fork, Henchy said he equally enjoys the simple pleasures. Drives through North Sea. Oysters on paper plates. Breakfast at Sip’n Soda after a workout at Hill Street Boxing.

“My wife always says, ‘I don’t understand. You go and work out so hard at 8 a.m. and by 9:30 a.m. you meet your friends and have a terrible breakfast.’,” he said. “I work out so I can eat eggs and sausage and hash browns.”

In New York City for most of the winter, Henchy is anxiously waiting for the premiere of his new film and hopes it is as well received by the fans as the television show is. It took five weeks of long days shooting, preceded by months of preparations and planning, and followed by a challenging bit of editing to ensure the fictional part of the story served to enhance the unscripted, improvisational hidden camera work. And when all was said and done, the result was worth it, according to the director.

“It’s wall-to-wall laughs, but one thing that jumped out at me about the cast and that I worked hard to show in the movie is this is a family of four guys together since ninth grade,” he said. “Me coming in, they had to let a fifth person into their world and we all had to have this kind of handshake agreement we’re going to do our best and trust each other because we all want the same result.

“It exceeded my expectations. I hope the fans agree.”