Our only friend is chaos.

Upright Citizens Brigade: Season One DVD

Cast (L -R):

Matt Besser (Adair)

Amy Poehler (Colby)

Matt Walsh (Trotter)

Ian Roberts (Antoine)

Distributed by Comedy Central



You might not recognize any of the names above. Except Comedy Central, jerk. I mean the people's names.

You'd know Amy Poehler, though, since she's appeared on Saturday Night Live for, I don't know, like three years. Matt Walsh followed UCB with a couple years on the Daily Show as a reporter.

Okay, I admit Roberts and Besser have disappeared.

But I submit to you: these four no-names are, ten times out of ten, funnier than fucking Will Farrell and Vince Vaughn. Jimmy Kimmell in his wildest dreams has nothing on these people.

The idea behind UCB is pretty simple. Like Monty Python and Kids in the Hall before them, they pretty much create insane characters in insane situations and make asses of themselves.

Like these shows--and the infinitely inferior SNL and MadTV--UCB episodes are composed of several brief sketches, usually involving all four actors. More than any of these, UCB sketches are somewhat related, each revolving to some degree around the title of the episode.

Also unlike the rest, UCB has a vague sort of plot to the entire show, summarized at the start of every episode:

The Upright Citizens Brigade is a super-secret organization, not affiliated with any government, that aims to promote chaos and disrupt order throughout the world.

This is probably the least important part of every UCB episode. The UCB characters appear briefly in every episode between skits. During the skits, the same actors portray the craziest characters imaginable. It doesn't matter what the backstory is. Just get to the comedy.

And they do. It's often said in reviews that the first season is the best, so you're in luck.

But before we get to the good stuff, let me open with the negatives.

UCB is not for everyone. At all. It can be pretty offensive (ass pennies), it can be pretty absurd, and, sometimes, it can be simply not funny. The interactions between UCB characters when they are in UCB character, especially, just don't work sometimes.

Even with only ten episodes to work with, I started to get a little tired of some of the acting. Each actor is very good at a few characters, but after a while they begin to grate a little. Ian Roberts' Antoine is pissed at everybody. I get it.

Let me get specific about the problems for a minute. I loved the episode "Lady of the Lake." It was hilarious. Chumbawumba.

But the episode took an absolute nosedive about two-thirds of the way through. The assassination sequence--during which Amy Poehler's wonderful "I ain't no girl!" character tries to kill frat boy Blaine by throwing her knife--was, quite frankly, boring. It nearly sank the episode. Such is sketch comedy, I guess, and all comedy generally.

Now, the positives. As I said, each performer can pretty much nail a couple of characters wonderfully, and you'll see a typical Poehler or typical Walsh appear at some point in each episode. Matt Besser's poo stick salesman in the second episode is a perfect example. I think Ian Roberts is at his best as a self-important CEO in a "Cyborgs" skit.

It's also great to watch the DVD version of the season because you can easily see the running jokes throughout the episodes. The Titte Brothers band is a perfect example. I think this facet alone puts UCB head and shoulders above the random silliness of SNL and displays the writing talent of the members of the group.

I believe at this point in the review I would mention something about the special features found on the DVD. Okay. Truth time. I didn't view any of these. I just watched the episodes.

Whatever.

Grade: B+

Summary:Probably in the top five sketch comedy shows available on DVD. Its absurdity, brilliant characters, hilarious delivery, and in-episode and across-episode references put it way beyond SNL. It's a cult hit--not for everyone, but absolutely hilarious to some and the best example of absurd sketch comedy America has produced. I would recommend it to anyone who finds the following things funny: Robot Chicken, Stella, Dave Chappelle's Show, Kids in the Hall, the Daily Show.

Episode list:

1. Bucket of Truth
2. Poo Stick
3. Saigon Suicide Show
4. Power Marketing
5. Children's Revolution
6. Story of the Toad
7. Lady of the Lake
8. Time Machine
9. Cyborgs
10. The Little Donny Foundation

UCB Homepage

Buy Season 1 here