by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
Two aspiring musicians/comedy writers, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, have come to America to make their mark. Already big stars in New Zealand, McKenzie got an agent and did a series of funny commercials for Outback, which caught the interest of HBO producers Anna Dokoza and Christo Morse. The connected producers helped the pair develop a thirty-minute show for HBO called the Flight of The Conchords. The duo’s naïve, slacker characters are clueless about the American music biz. They bumble along in their own delusional world, which they reveal through funny songs that come out as comically sentimental without a hint of angst.
Think of them as Tenacious D on downers. The duo has one fanatical fan (Kirsten Schaal) who stalks them and a dolt of a manager who uses a cell phone to shoot their first video about two robots in ridiculous homemade costumes. Not surprisingly, the duo say inappropriate things to women with whom they are trying to connect, like, “You’re so beautiful...like a high-class prostitute...you could be a part-time model.”
The duo’s music is eclectic and funny while featuring their precise vocal harmonies and masterful guitar playing. Their quirky, wry humor is at first odd, but this pair of idiot savants waxes lovable, soon drawing the viewer into their world. Struggling musicians will see themselves in McKenzie and Clement as they face an apathetic American public. Remarkably, their innocence works out in their favor, making them fearless as they stumble into fertile situations that could either get them the recognition they crave or get them kicked out. Their behavior is almost like they came from another planet rather than New Zealand.
McKenzie and Clement present a staggering selection of musical genres at the oddest times. Suddenly, after making a call from a public phone, Bret bursts into song about some inane situation. The music could be reggae, rock, blues, or alt-rock, but the duo’s songs are funny and catchy. In a parallel universe, this pair could have written the music for Little Shop of Horrors. Their hipness is born out of their naïveté, leaving them oblivious to anxiety. Savvy viewers may find themselves wanting to protect the pair from the music biz predators.
Based on the pilot episode, we can expect more droll comedy from this talented duo. Like a delayed high, the show sneaks up and suddenly makes you laugh at the off-the-wall humor. It’s totally different in an appealing way.
Another oddball comedy debuting on CBS is Creature Comforts, from Nick Park and Peter Lord of Aardman Animation, the Oscar-winning British animators who created Wallace and Gromit and Chicken Run. Created in the time-consuming medium of stop motion claymation, Creature Comforts is an unseen reporter shooting a documentary on American’s opinions. Park and Lord actually went across America interviewing ordinary people on a variety of subjects such as animal magnetism and keeping a secret.
These real interviews are spoken through a gaggle of claymation pigs, hippos, cows, birds, dogs, owls, forest creatures and insects. Its wry humor is funny coming from the mouths of the animated animals. At first, viewers may not buy into the concept, but after a few minutes it’s completely endearing and addictive. It even sounds authentic, like the stop-motion clay animals are real.
Park and Lord have created typically British characters but with American accents. It’s whimsical with subtle humor, but it is engrossing. A tiger complains of his inability to get fresh meat. An opossum covered in babies tells the reporter she doesn’t get out much and koalas wear eyeglasses. In Park and Lord’s imaginative world, anything is possible and animals understand much more than we could have possibly imagined.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
