‘Get A Colonoscopy’: A Wake-Up Call from the Raw and Wildly Comedic ‘André Is an Idiot’

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“This project has changed my life, not only because it’s inspired my friends, my peers, everyone to get a colonoscopy, but it also asks us to consider a mortality,” Benna told SurvivorNet. “You know, if we consider a mortality, we live bigger, we live brighter.”

The film, which shows incredibly moving — and downright hilarious — moments with André and his loved ones after his colon cancer diagnosis, also inspires people “to face hardship with humor instead of anger or depression,” shared Benna. “André really changed my life in that way.”

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“Dark humor saves everybody from breakups, saves everybody from any sort of bad thing they go through — if you’re able to laugh about it with somebody that you love, it makes it less powerful,” said Benna. “You can lower the power of the being if you’re able to laugh it.”

 

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The “being,” in this case, is cancer and the unfathomable weight it can hold over those facing it.

‘We Need More Light’

Through this filmmaking process, André — and his outspoken, raucous personality — has certainly left behind a multitude of gifts for the masses, but more intimately, an animated life portrait for his wife, Janice, and their two daughters, Tallulah and Delilah.

And by default, a critically-acclaimed film project with his true friend Benna who helped bring his story to light.

“When André and I started making the film, I imagined I was going to capture his stories for his children. I never thought that this would get to this point,” Benna admitted of the unexpected attention the project has received, such as winning the Audience award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where the film first premiered.

“I feel that we would need more comedy. We need more light in our documentaries, even if they’re about dark subjects.”

“Can we look at them irreverently, can we sort of flip genres?” Benna implored. “I think that we’re all very stressed out with everything going on in the world and we are craving comedy, we’re craving some laughs, even if they’re dark-humored [laughs].”

“Sometimes, the best way to survive life’s cruelties is simply to laugh at them.”

André Is An Idiot is “ultimately a celebration of resilience, creative audacity and the kind of fearless humor that refuses to let darkness have the last word.”

“It invites audiences to rethink what ‘normal’ looks like in the face of sickness and loss — and to consider that sometimes, the best way to survive life’s cruelties is simply to laugh at them.”

‘A Comedy About Cancer’

When André, a San Francisco native and creative director, first told Benna he wanted to make “a comedy about his cancer,” Benna recalled laughing “and then realized he was 100% serious.”

“That’s when I knew this wouldn’t be a normal film,” Benna earlier announced. “But that’s André. He marches to the beat of his own drum: relentlessly curious, disarmingly honest, and gifted with a rare ability to find humor in the darkest corners of life.”

His daughters, 14 and 19 at the time of filming, recall André reading Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders to them in the hospital, describing him as a “unique” dad who “makes crazy jokes, swears a lot, and looks like someone who looks like he lives on the street,” with “huge hair. It’s just André.”

“Cancer isn’t funny,” Benna added. “André, undeniably, is.”

Learning About Colon Cancer

Colon cancers start out as a polyp, or small growth, in the colon that causes no symptoms.

Although polyps can’t be felt, they can be picked up by screening tests before they cause a problem. It takes up to 10 years for a colon polyp to become a full-blown cancer, which gives doctors time to remove the polyp before it causes a problem.

RELATED: Colon Cancer Screening is Extremely Important — Guidelines Say to Start at Age 45 if No Family History

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently drafted new recommended guidelines which state colon cancer screenings should begin at age 45. This is in response to the increase we are seeing of colon cancer diagnoses in younger adults.

The best and most complete way of screening is a colonoscopy every 10 years. In general, you should get your first colonoscopy at age 45 but the guidelines differ depending on your risk category.

Dr. Heather Yeo describes the process of getting a colonoscopy

If you have a close relative who had colon cancer, a rule of thumb is to get screened 10 years prior to their age of diagnosis to make sure any growths or cancers are caught early. If you have several family members who had colon cancer, or family members who got it at a young age (less than 50 years old), it may be necessary to undergo genetic screening.

And if you have a lot of polyps on your colonoscopy or if you yourself have had colon cancer previously, you will need a colonoscopy every 3 to 5 years.

What Increases Your Risk for Colon Cancer?

Risk factors are things that make you more likely to get colon cancer. They don’t mean that you’ll definitely get this cancer — only that you’re slightly more likely to be diagnosed, but there are a lot of culprits when it comes to colon cancer.

You may be at greater risk for colon cancer if you:

• Are older. About 90% of cases are in people age 50 or older, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Yet it is possible to get this cancer earlier in life.
• Have inflammatory bowel disease.  Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis can, over time, cause cells in your intestines to turn cancerous.
• Have a family history of this cancer. Just under one-third of people who get colon cancer have family members with the disease.
• Have a gene mutation. About 5% of colorectal cancers are caused by an inherited genetic mutation that causes syndromes such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome). Up to a third of people who develop cancer at a younger age have a genetic condition that puts them at high risk.
  
• Don’t exercise very often. Staying active can lower your risk.
• Eat a diet that’s high in meat. Regularly eating red meats like burgers and steaks, and processed meats such as hot dogs and bacon might put you at higher risk.  Eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains instead might lower your risk.
• Are overweight or obese. Having too much weight increases your risk of both getting colon cancer, and of dying from it.
• Drink a lot of alcohol.  Limiting alcohol to one drink a day for women and two drinks daily for men could help lower your risk.
• Use tobacco. Long-term smokers are more likely to get this cancer than are nonsmokers. Risk factors such as smoking and obesity are important in the development of colon cancer before age 50.
• Environmental factors may also contribute to younger people developing colon cancer.

For all of these reasons, it is important for people of all ages to pay attention to changes in their body or bowel habits.

Learning About Colon Cancer Symptoms

One of the most common signs of colon cancer is a change in bowel habits.

This ranges from constipation or diarrhea to changes in the size or shape of bowel movements. A change in stool color, particularly black or tarry stools, can indicate bleeding from a tumor that lies deep in the colon.

RELATED: 5 Possible Signs of Colon Cancer: Don’t Be Afraid to Look in the Toilet!

Dr. Paul Oberstein, a gastrointestinal oncologist from NYU’s Perlmutter Cancer Center previously spoke with SurvivorNet about what types of things to look out for.

“Imagine a wound on the surface of the skin. It can bleed a little bit and ooze blood. And if that happens, a person might see what’s called black tarry stools. So they might see darkness in their bowel movements,” said Dr. Oberstein.

Other symptoms can be harder to pinpoint, such as abdominal pain and unintentional weight loss. Some tumors bleed a small amount over a long period of time, resulting in anemia (low red blood cell count) that is picked up on blood work.

Colon Cancer: Easier to Cure When Found Early

“One of the most important facts about colon cancer is that the earlier and smaller it’s detected, the easier the treatment is and the more likely it is to be cured,” explained Dr. Oberstein.

Gastrointestinal oncologist, Dr. Paul Oberstein, tells SurvivorNet the most common symptoms of colon cancer

Since colon cancers grow in the lining of the colon, “they sometimes can cause problems with digestion,” he added. “So someone may have constipation or diarrhea or problems going to the bathroom.”

“Sometimes, they’ll cause pain if they’re growing large. Rarely, they can grow large enough to be felt as sort of a firm growth in the abdomen. But that’s uncommon,” Dr. Oberstein noted.

“We often recommend to patients that if they see a change in their bowel movements and they feel more fatigued than usual, or they have new issues, it’s something to be concerned about and to be pursued with their physician.”

 

Many people can feel uncomfortable or anxious discussing problems related to their gastrointestinal (GI) tract, says Dr. Heather Yeo, a colorectal surgeon at Weill Cornell and medical advisor for SurvivorNet.

‘Don’t Blame Yourself’ for Getting Cancer

“It is shocking to me how many patients blame themselves,” Dr. Yeo told SurvivorNet. “‘Oh, well, I had some symptoms, but I didn’t think that I should ask someone. Or ‘I was too embarrassed.’ Or ‘I should’ve gotten that colonoscopy. I knew I should’ve had the colonoscopy three years ago.”

RELATED: Anxiety Around a Colon Cancer Diagnosis

“You can’t blame yourself,” Dr. Yeo urged. “We are where we are. Let’s now get the diagnosis. Let’s make sure that any of your family members who are at risk get screened.”

In honor of André Ricciardi, don’t delay your colonoscopy. André Is an Idiot, released by A24, Sandbox Films and Safehouse Pictures, is out in theatres on March 6, 2026. 

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