Comedy is a riddle that very few shows can successfully crack. If you name me one comedy you enjoyed and I name 10 that sucked, I guarantee you will run out of titles before I do. But every now and then a TV show breaks through. Something catches the attention of the audience dying for a good laugh. This time, it’s Flight of the Conchords, starring the duo whose live performances have made them cult heroes and YouTube superstars. Now they’re making their presence felt on local TV, exclusively on HBO Signature.
Flight of the Conchords stars the comedy-music duo of the same name composed of Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, who made a name for themselves in the live comedy circuit and most recently as YouTube favorites. Now, together with producer, writer and director James Bobin, one of the brains behind Da Ali G Show, Borat and Bruno, they co-created a new comedy that has everyone laughing.
The TV show is about the New Zealand duo’s struggle to make it big in the United States and the daily life of broke, immigrant musicians with a strange habit of striking out with women. “The characters they play on the show are quite like the characters they play on stage,” Bobin says of Bret and Jemaine, referring to their musical comedy act.
The duo, of course, is famous for on-stage performances of songs like The Most Beautiful Girl in the Room with lyrics that go, “You’re so beautiful, you could be a part-time model. But you probably still have to keep your normal job.” The show builds on these songs and creates an entire story around them. The goofy tandem was able to translate their stage performances into full-fledged narratives under the direction of Bobin. “As a director, you’re interested in trying to put forth new ways of making jokes,” he said. I’d say a comedy-musical with surreal song sequences is certainly something new.
Flight of the Conchords is unlike anything we’ve seen on television before. It incorporates a lot of music, subtle stupidity and non-American, Ricky Gervais-esque comedy that’s fresh and also somewhat strange. Each episode has a realistic premise as Bret and Jemaine deal with real-life problems. A great part of the humor in the show is that they constantly, spontaneously break into song. That’s when things get the most ridiculous, and most of the time surreal. For example, there was one scene in the second episode where Bret is talking to a girl who he suddenly realizes is his type. He then pulls out a 1983 Casio DG-20 Electric guitar, set to “electric mandolin,” and breaks into a song where he proclaims himself as the “Boom King.” It’s so crazy that you have to watch it again, which you probably will anyway.
The closest thing, musically, to the Flight of the Conchords is probably Jack Black’s band Tenacious D. But even there the difference is significant. Whereas Tenacious D’s music is rock-based, loud, boisterous and epic, Flight of the Conchords serenade with more folky, subtle, self-deprecating and irreverent tunes. Flight of the Conchords has a certain tone in their storytelling and manner of acting that makes the show a one-of-a-kind comedy.
Flight of the Conchords is one of those rare shows that offers something completely fresh to the comedy genre. Its irreverent humor and sidesplitting musical performances make it a must-watch for anyone who appreciates a good laugh. It’s going to be a while before something this cutting-edge shakes up the comedy scene again.
‘Flight of the Conchords’ premiered last Monday on HBO Signature and is showing all throughout June.
Schedule information is available at http://www.hboasia.com/signature/schedule.
For questions, comments or corrections, please email me at carlfrancisramirez@gmail.com.