Left to right: Hannibal Buress and Eric Andre |
It is impossible to properly dissect a 15 minute program, specifically one that airs at 12:30 AM on Adult Swim, a programming block known for appealing to lowbrow humor and off the wall antics. It is even harder to understand how a concept so far fetched has managed to make their own empire of content, including two theatrical releases based off of their more beloved series. The strange, often repulsive content has the highs and lows of any block, and while it has progressively moved further and further away from cartoon programming, it hasn't moved away from comedy.
One of the perks of Adult Swim is that it is the only place where this off the wall, unadulterated nonsense will probably ever happen. Even Fox's attempt to make ADHD only shows why this Cartoon Network mainstay is sort of genius. The shows barely meet their welcome by the time they end and there's little time to really complain as a result. While the better shows, like NTSF: SD: SUV:: and Eagleheart, are genre satires at their most bleak, the real joy is that these feel like rejected concepts from some of alternative comedy's upcoming best. It isn't all pretty, but if one channel deserves the highest shows-to-cult ratio, it is Adult Swim.
Then comes the Eric Andre Show, which recently entered its second season. While by no means one of the immediately better shows, it reflects something that feels almost like the creator's will to live. The show is a compilation of poorly built interviews and conversation with co-star Hannibal Buress that lead to clips reminiscent of the Tom Green era of physical public stupidity. It is gross, and often foul. In fact, Eric Andre at one point in this episode drops his pants and shows a picture of "Hannibal's mother" on his naked crotch. Along with vomiting and spitting on windshields, this show goes for surreal, and he doesn't care at all what you think.
The reason that I chose to cover this particular episode is simple. As a big fan of Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23, the news that Krysten Ritter was guest starring made me immediately giddy. In fact, Andre's involvement with the show is why I gave this a shot in the first place. It would be the reunion that we didn't know we wanted. Of course, in the time of 11 minutes, that would be more of a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reunion, but it was still one with unlimited potential. If they managed to squeeze in Dreama Walker off of her part-time New Girl gig, it would have been perfection.
Dominic Monaghan |
Of course, perfection is not how the Eric Andre Show operates. It doesn't even try to pretend that it has a big enough budget to look good. Every episode starts with Andre destroying the set in different ways and a new desk and couch sliding out in order for the show to start. It is very minimalist, save for a studio band that manages to be in on the joke well enough to perform bits. Of course, often the bits are just trying to warm up or kill time. In an 11 minute show, to kill time seems preposterous. However, they do just that. At one point, they even had Brian McKnight perform one note. Why? Because that was all that they could afford.
The episode itself is impossible to properly dissect because it is just a series of gags and offensive content. At one point Andre is on the streets as a parking officer who spits on windshields. At another, his desk has become a whack-a-mole game. It doesn't make sense and while the satire of the public access/late night talk show is done to its most extreme, it all depends on what your tolerance level is for most of these antics. Andre himself is a funny and interesting guy, but given his own control, and it may not always work. That may be the charm as well as the curse.
While there shouldn't be expectations set too high for a Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23 reunion going greatly, it did feel secondary. In fact, Ritter was introduced as being from Breaking Bad. After the interview goes south, things become awkward with laughter and soon the show digresses into another segment. There isn't too much there to dissect or call great. It is more of an idea to fill 60 seconds than to actually reflect Andre's interviewing skills. Even other guest Dominic Monaghan didn't seem to get what was going on.
I do not really care for the Eric Andre Show, as it does often go too extreme with the stupidity and gross-out gags. However, there are small moments where the lack of control plays to its advantage and it is funny. In fact, I can probably understand why this is on Adult Swim because it is just so out there and bizarre. At 12:30 AM, if you're looking for quality programming, just watch a real talk show or clear out your DVR.
This isn't the reunion that Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23 fans are necessarily going to love, though to see the two in the same room is a big enough treat. While the unpredictable nature is a draw to coming back week after week, be warned that it will be full of set-destroying, pranks, vomit-inducing oddities. Nothing is serious enough to even be taken at half-assed. It may work to the show's advantage, but it limits its appeal. Even if Andre himself is an interesting, weird comic, I sort of wish that he wasn't so reliant on bad physical comedy.
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