Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
There have been a lot of remarkable animated comedies on television, and Amazon is hoping to enter that game with its first attempt at this tricky genre. Created by Steve Dildarian (The Life & Times of Tim), The New V.I.P.s follows a group of unhappy employees who accidentally murder their boss and take control of a major company. The series features the voice acting talents of Matt Braunger, Ben Schwartz, Missi Pyle and Jonathan Adams.
A Guide to Our Rating System
Opening Shot: The opening of a pilot can set a mood for the entire show (think Six Feet Under); thus, we examine the first shot of each pilot.
The Gist: The “who, what, where, when, why?” of the pilot.
*Animation Style: The animation of a show can completely set the tone of the series (think BoJack Horseman vs. South Park). Obviously only applies to animated shows.
Our Take: What did we think? Are we desperate for more or desperate to get that hour back?
Sex and Skin: That’s all you care about anyway, right? We let you know how quickly the show gets down and dirty.
Parting Shot: Where does the pilot leave us? Hanging off a cliff, or running for the hills?
Sleeper Star: Basically, someone in the cast who is not the top-billed star who shows great promise.
Most Pilot-y Line: Pilots have a lot of work to do: world building, character establishing, and stakes raising. Sometimes that results in some pretty clunky dialogue.
Our Call: We’ll let you know if you should, ahem, Stream It or Skip It.
THE NEW V.I.P.S
Opening Shot: An establishing shot in front of a metropolitan office building. A truck drives by with the phrase “Dildarian Rugs — ‘The House That Rugs Built’” painted on it, which is a funny to imagine as well as a nod to creator Steve Dildarian and Yankee Stadium. Immediately, the pilot cuts to an angry Fran (Kerri Kenney) reprimanding her staff while the phrase “Happy Friday!” is posted behind her.
The Gist: After accidentally killing their CEO, an office slacker, his grounded but anxious desk mate, a ditzy secretary, and an office security guard go to extremes to cover up their crime and take over their company.
Animation Style: The New V.I.P.s uses the same sort of intentionally clumsy 2D style that several Adult Swim shows have used in the past. The best comparison is if a non-squiggly Home Movies met Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Sadly, all the characters are human.
Our Take: Pilots are always hard, but that’s especially the case when it comes to animated comedies. When adult animation is good, you get The Simpsons or Rick and Morty, but when it’s bad, it’s really, really bad. The New V.I.P.s is neither great nor terrible. There are a few laugh out loud moments and some solid lines, almost all of which are delivered by Ben Schwartz’s Lenny. However, the show never finds a cohesive tone in its first episode. It’s an angry complaint letter to corporate culture that seems unable to extend past the observation that bosses suck and cursing and showing dongs can be fun.
Speaking of, there are a lot of animated penises in this first episode, whether they be in crude drawings or in the hand of a dead man. I love a well-executed dick joke as much as the next person, but The New V.I.P.s works on these a lot with very little payoff (heh). You get the sense this was a sight gag that slayed in the writer’s room but on screen all of the penis shots seem juvenile. Weirdly, these punchlines, which hinge on just pointing to penises rather than making an actual joke, speak to the show’s central problem. Underneath all of its wacky antics and constant quips, the central plot of The New V.I.P.s never feels like it has any stakes. Conversely, the show’s banter is also too stiff to make it a fun hangout comedy. The resulting series feels flat, which is a shame because the voice acting talent in this series is its greatest strength. The pilot features characters voiced by Ben Schwartz, Missi Pyle, and Jason Mantzoukas, all of which do a great job. However, this pilot never clicks.
Sex and Skin: A lot more than you would think. There’s some low-key sexism, which always seems to be a staple for mid-range animated comedies. There are also two drawings of penises in the pilot as well as an extended sequence where a man pees on two other characters then dies, penis in hand. However, this moment leads to one of the episode’s best lines, delivered by Bud (Matt Braunger): “Lenny’s fingerprints are up and down the shaft of the guy’s penis.” Seriously, there are so many dick jokes.
Parting Shot: Ray Liotta, dripping wet and decidedly not dead, is demanding to see the company’s CEO, who is actually security officer Conrad in disguise. It’s a long story and a semi-satisfying callback that indicates more antics are on the way if this show gets picked up for a full season. Also, William Salyers does a pretty solid Liotta.
Sleeper Star: Probably because this pilot is packed with so many off-the-charts insane characters, it’s the comedically straight characters that shine. For me, the Sleeper Star was a tie between John Levenstein’s (Portlandia) level-headed but weirdly involved Postmaster General and Dinora Walcott’s take on Clarence’s wife.
In Walcott’s one scene, Clarence the security guard confesses to his wife that he was planning to transform himself into his late CEO, Conrad. (This confession comes after Clarence has already had a face and penis-altering surgery, by the way.) In the middle of saying he was wrong to change himself for $10 million, Walcott’s character reminds him that he’s a security guard who spends his weekends drinking vodka and eating Cool Ranch Doritos. “That loses to 10 mill every time, baby.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Most Pilot-y Line: “Hey Doug.” Doug then snorts a line of cocaine. Yep, execs certainly are overpaid and irresponsible. This is more like a pilot-y sight gag, but it’s a moment I’ve seen so many times on so many other animated comedies, I feel like it counts.
Our Call: Unless you’re a diehard adult animation fan, skip it. There’s some potential in this comedy about soul-sucking corporate culture and office antics, but it’s too early for it to be something worth watching.
