★★★1/2

An earnest, straight-forward documentary about two life-long pranksters seems like something of a missed opportunity. However, co-directors Ben Steinbauer and Berndt Mader humanize the men behind the gags and deliver a fair summation of the legal trouble the founders of the Found Footage Festival stumbled into in 2017.

As avid collectors of obscure and random VHS home videos, covering everything from B-movie feature films to special interest titles to children’s videos and corporate training modules, Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher developed their traveling film festival consisting of some of the wildest clips from their vast videotape archives.

In addition, the men are lifelong pranksters. And in the mid-2010s, they created a handful of fake personas and attempted to make it on morning television news programs. You know these shows - the locally produced, human interest-driven telecasts which typically carry the name of “New Day (City)” or “Good Morning (City). ” After a handful of appearances from a variety of characters of their own creation, the childhood best friends developed the strongman act “Chop & Steele.” After appearing on a morning news program, the network’s parent company, Grey Television, sued the duo and put their careers and livelihoods in jeopardy.

Full of witty moments and humor, Chop & Steele paints a convenient timeline to walk us through the turmoil that engulfs Joe and Nick. That Steinbauer and Mader play the movie without gimmick does offer us the chance to see the people behind the silly and goofy antics they have created. However, a part of me kept wondering, as the movie neared to its final moments, if at some point - Chop and Steele, or Joe and Nick, were going to pull a “Surprise!” and come up with a prank on the audience.

An extended sequence where the duo get their act booked on “America’s Got Talent” is quite fun and comedians like David Cross, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Reggie Watts sing the duo’s praises. Even Howie Mandel provides a ringing endorsement, as the only judge who voted to send them through the audition round.

Throughout the movie, Chop & Steele may leave some opportunities for humor and cinematic chaos on the cutting room floor. Yet, the documentary presents two kind-hearted men, bound together through their stunts, Found Footage Festival, and lifelong friendship, reeling from the potential of having their brand of humor weaponized against them. We see what motivates them, the ways they circle back to one another, and the creative sparks that fly between them.

Chop & Steele finds a heart amidst the chaos.