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STUDIO: Warner Home Video
MSRP: $19.97
RATED: Not Rated
RUNNING TIME: 115 Minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Featurettes
Deleted Scenes
Promos
Extended Scenes
Commentaries
The Pitch
Two men make a show, John C. Reilly upstages them at every turn. Salame!
Those eyebrows are thin line between Felt and Scorsese’s sack.
The Humans
Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, John C. Reilly, Michael Cera, Al Yankovic, Paul Reubens, Maria Bamford and others!
The Nutshell
Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job began its first season shortly after the demise of Tom Goes to the Mayor. I wasn’t expecting much, as the graph paper antics of TGTTM wasn’t really my kind of comedy. That was until I met Steve Brule, The Gravy Robbers, Uncle Mussels and David Liebe Hart. It’s manufactured public-access charm shoe-horned into an ironic casing. But, is it funny?
The Lowdown
Tim and Eric spend most of their time trying to setup their pseudo-amateur aesthetic. Giant VHS tapes, bad Photoshop effects and misplaced Chroma Key imaging are some of their staples. If you wonder how they pull some of these things off, there’s a featurette that covers it in the special features. What throws me about is that when they hit on a funny bit or find a special character, it almost seems accidental. Let’s take a look at how two of the show’s main cast were introduced in this freshman season.
Steve Brule (John C. Reilly) comes in as an addition to the Channel 5 Married News Team. The Channel 5 team had been previously introduced in Tom Goes to the Mayor, so I’m not sure if the guys were going for continuity or a chance for Eric to wear lipstick again. Uncomfortable in his body, Dr. Brule slides onto screen to teach us about curdled milk and life’s other maladies. It’s always for our health, as Dr. Brule wants us to not be a dummy.
Then, there’s David Liebe Hart. Hart is a local celeb on the Los Angeles public access circuit. He’s spent years going on talk shows talking about how he’s met aliens, tried to marry one, discovered his love of puppets and tried to spread the message of Salame. Hart is a little black guy who’s non-threatening, but the approach taken with him harkens back to Brule. Hell, it shows off the entire approach of the show.
Carefully layered sequences of images beset by an ironical use of the lame and juvenile. A song about sitting down when you piss is then followed up by a graphic proclaiming it to be a political commercial for a local political Proposition. The show quickly loses its humorous sting when you start to guess what’s going to happen next. First, there’s a weird guy or situation. Second, he’s talking about something absurd. Third, there’s some sort of problem with the audio or visuals. Finally, there’s a quick sudden sting of Brechtian seriousness. The end.
I’m not saying that Tim and Eric haven’t found new ways to branch out of this. It’s just that it didn’t happen this season. For those of you, who’ve been following the show since…the guys have stepped it up. Hell, I think they got Alan Thicke to do a cameo at one point. That’s credibility, folks.
The Package
The DVD comes to you from Adult Swim/Williams Street/Turner Home Video/Warner Brothers/Sheinhardt Wig Company. The standard smothering of featurettes about everything from the special effects to attending Comic Convention is included. The best thing about the supplementals is the inclusion of episode specific commentaries. Running at 11-12 minutes, the duo runs off a wealth of information at clip. Unfortunately, it just backs up my previously stated acknowledgment of their tired humor.
There’s some deleted and extended scenes that carry out more of the same material. What’s weird about this stuff is that you see the footing for the next three seasons coming together. I always find fun to see creative talents finally put it all together and work it out. Still, it’s an acquired taste. I don’t expect every Chewer to want to hop onboard.
The best thing about this show.