Kate Walsh just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights blurting out story fragments amidst a meteor shower of "ums" and "uhs" that would cause even a politician to doze off.
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I wasn't very familiar with the comedy troupe known as the Upright Citizens Brigade before I sat down to view "ASSSSCAT" for this review. I've heard about them, and I've seen commercials advertising their series when it aired a while ago on Comedy Central, but that was my only prior experience with the group. Now that I've seen them in action, I have come to the conclusion that their unique style of comedy must be an acquired taste.
For those unfamiliar with "ASSSSCAT," it's the outlandish name given to the improvisational comedy show created by Upright Citizens Brigade alumni Matt Besser, Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live), Ian Roberts, and Matt Walsh. The spectacle has built up quite the cult following since it's debut in 1996, and the word is comedians come from all over to take part in these live shows. Comics Chad Carter, Sean Conroy, Andrew Daly, and Horatio Sanz are the reinforcements called upon for this particular DVD release.
The premise of "ASSSSCAT" begins with the suggestion of a topic supplied by a member from the audience that can be just about anything. From there, a guest comedian or actor designated as a monologist takes this suggestion and uses it as the basis to tell a funny anecdote or short story right on the spot. Afterwards, the rest of the comics on stage furiously try to come up with a bunch of humorous sketches loosely themed around the story.
The first half hour features Thomas Lennon (Reno 911!) filling the shoes as the guest monologist. His dry wit is great in the role of Lieutenant Jim Dangle on "Reno 911!" but here as a comic storyteller it really just didn't float my boat. The suggestion that he plucked from the audience was the topic of medical marijuana, and his first story centered on a plot of how smoking pot is like owning a personal MRI machine. The tale only lasted a few minutes, and once finished the other comics activated themselves to act out a series of sketches. Approximately fifteen minutes later, Lennon retakes the spotlight to tell a second story continuing with the pot theme, this time focusing on being high while on a tour of an Aztec pyramid. This story was a little bit more interesting than the first as Lennon already had his feet wet and started to get a feel for the crowd, but it still seemed like he was put on the spot and couldn't really come up with anything mildly entertaining.
If you think the first half was pretty awful, wait until you get to the second act featuring guest monologist Kate Walsh -- star of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice." I sincerely hope she isn't considering quitting her day job as Dr. Addison Montgomery to become a comedienne, because her stories were even more lackluster than Lennon's. In fact, they were so painfully awkward to watch that an uncomfortable wave of heat came over me like I was watching a friend or relative trying their standup comedy routine for the first time and totally bomb. To put it mildly if there were crickets they'd be deafening, as Kate Walsh just stood there like a deer caught in the headlights blurting out story fragments amidst a meteor shower of "ums" and "uhs" that would cause even a politician to doze off.
The skits are the real meat of the show taking up most of the timeslot. I'll give the troupe credit for being able to feed off each other and pick up on what one another is thinking to keep the ball rolling at a decent pace, but even then these sketches were only sparsely populated with humor and I really expected a lot more with eight comics running amok onstage. Don't get me wrong, sometimes they did fire out a piece of pure comedy gold, but to me it was like giving a chimpanzee a typewriter to play with. Most of what comes out will be complete rubbish, but the chimp will eventually hit the jackpot and type a legitimate word from the English language sooner or later.
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[release]23602[/release]