Kids in the Hall: Same Guys, New Dresses

I saw this as part of the USA film festival, and it was the only theater showing in the US. It was awesome. All of the on-stage skits they showed were gut-burstingly funny and the behind the scenes action was even better. Some of the highlights were Conan O'Brian telling a few secrets, Scott ruining an expensive couch, and Scott's new child (his robot dog.) Dave Foley was supposed to appear at the showing, but he didn't show. I wish he could have come! I give it a 10!

What makes it unbalanced is the fact that the off stage footage seems to focus on Dave and Scott. Kevin even gets a lot of play, and we get to see parts of his comforting personailty that we like, but this is mostly around Scott and Dave. Why haven't the cameras followed Mark an Bruce around as much. Truth is they probably have but there was just so much to edit that when Dave Foley got stuck fixing it together (he wasn't assigned director before all this, but it was his idea to have the cameras anyway) he kept in what he thought was the funniest part (him and Kevin on Conan O'brian after Scott's breakdown), the weirdest (Scott and the dog), and what represents their most typical behaviour (the Laser eye surgery arguement). Although he did keep in a lot of Mark talking about the troupe and his thoughts on what they should do (these conversations seem to focus on him) Bruce remains a mystery. The bonus footage of him and "his fan" keeps this mystery but seems to make up for it. As usual, the sneak peaks of them live are great, though they always leave you wanting to see more. But that's why they released Tour of Duty right after this one.

I really love the Kids in the Hall, but this movie bugged me for a few reasons.

First, it was very disjointed. I really had a tough time getting a sense of where they were at any moment. For instance, they're a good 20 minutes in, and then they go back to the first day of rehearsals to tell the Scott/robot dog story. If that was going to be a central storyline, why wasn't it introduced at the beginning?

Second, speaking of Scott, I thought the movie focused a tad too much on Scott's temper tantrums and such. I really wanted to get a sense of how all of the members of the troupe interacted. I found a lot out about Scott, but the other members, particularly Bruce, seemed to get short shrift.

Third, I really wanted to see some more of the live shows. Aside from the opening and closing sketch, what was presented was usually cut off midway through. Maybe if there was less of, say, moments like the street performer's endless version of "Tainted Love," we could have had it. (Another note about the performances: The camera switching was very disconcerting. I know they want to make it visually interesting, but this ain't rock and roll. The viewer needs to be able to concentrate on the characters, and the changing camera angles really interfere with that.)

Those are my complaints. Overall, though, I enjoyed the movie. But then again, I'm a fan.

Serious bonus points for the DVD commentary. It's pretty much funny throughout, with Mark poking fun at his weight, and all of the Kids making fun of each other. There's also a slew of celebrity cameos on the commentary, which are occasionally very funny. Mike Myers gives a phoned-in effort, and South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker hover somewhere between funny and irritating, but Andy Richter and Jason Priestly are very entertaining.

I really wish I could've seen this tour. The guys are back: older, wiser, and still entertaining and zany as ever. The skits performed are classics from the series show the chemistry the five have. Highlights include a lot of backstage moments, conversations, and so on. The scene with Conan and Andy is hilarious especially how they play off each other! Don't forget about Scott and his tribulations with his new "pet".

The DVD bonus features are great as well with typical KITH laced humor (Will somebody get laser eye surgery??). Also, this can be watched with audio commentary from the Kids and others: it's like watching a whole new movie!! Hey, this is the closest I'll get to seeing them live... until they perform again in New York City!!

Where is Paul Bellini???