Tim and Eric Live!

My girlfriend and I don't do much nightlife-wise here in NYC, so going to see Tim and Eric at the Knitting Factory last Monday was a momentous occasion. In cases like this, there's always the lingering danger of the "I Came All the Way in From Jersey for This, So Of Course It's Good"-effect which can be observed after just about any crappy Broadway matinee: people trying to convince themselves that the show was good because they had already put so much effort (not to mention spent so much money) to see it. Well, I think the show was genuinely good, but if you want to see for yourself, they're doing a live webcast tomorrow night at 9:30.

The show was a mix of live skits and videos from their new Adult Swim series Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job! As good as the live stuff was, I laughed the most (to the point of tears) at a scene from the show featuring John C. Reilly as Dr. Steve Brule, my current favorite sketch comedy character. (You can check out some Dr. Steve Brule clips here).

Most of the Adult Swim series (Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Sealab 2021) fit into what I call "stoner/slacker/nostalgia comedy" - slacker versions of Saturday morning cartoon characters engaged in wacky situations. Tim and Eric's work, on the other hand, owes more to sketch comedy like Mr. Show by way of film-school goofing around. Most of the bits on their show revolve in some way around cheesy, amateurish video effects: the visual style is right out of public access TV, locally produced TV commercials, employee training videos, and low-end business seminar presentations.

Here's their website and here's a page featuring lots of their shorts. I recommend "Humpers", which is a truly inspired (IMO) film-school film parody.