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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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"In
Living Color" Season 1
|
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Comedy |
| Video: |
Full Screen
1.33:1 |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
2.0 |
| Languages |
English,
Spanish |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
299 minutes |
| Rating |
NR |
| Release Date |
4/6/04 |
| Studio |
20th Century
Fox Home Entertainment |
| Commentary:
|
None |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
"In Living Color: The
First Season", "Looking Back at the First Season", "Back in
Step with the Fly Girls" |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
"HBO Comedy
Fesvital 2001" |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Damon Wayans,
Keenan Ivory Wayans, Wayne Kline, Jim Carrey, David Allen Grier,
Kelly Coffield, Kim Coles |
| Written
By: |
Keenan Ivory
Wayans, Jim Carrey, Michael Anthony Snowden, Damon Wayans, Mary
Elizabeth Williams, Colin Quinn |
| Produced
By: |
Tamara Rawitt |
| Directed
By: |
Terry McCoy,
Keenan Ivory Wayans, Paul Miller |
| Music:
|
Tom Rizzo |
| The
Review: |
Recreating the wheel may seem like
a pointless exercise but when it comes to the comedy, it's
a necessary evil. Doing what everybody else already did may
be funny but it's like eating stale bread; it may fill the
spot but the taste sure can leave a lot to be desired. Keenan
Ivory Wayans' "In Living Color" took a format (the comedy
sketch show) that had slid into self parody with the decline
of "Saturday Night Live". Many other networks tried to duplicate
"SNL"'s successes (anybody remember the horrible "Fridays"
or the even worse "Mad TV"?) by cloning their format and approach.
Wayans took what worked best in the comedy sketch show format
and pushed the envelope of taste and managed to create a groundbreaking
hit that reinvigorated the format (and "SNL"). ***
The first 13 episodes of "In Living
Color" was the litmus test. Fox wasn't going to get the show
any more of a commitment after all the other failed series
left in the wake of SNL. Wayans show turned the format inside
out with off-beat and bizarre characters like Homey the Clown
a bitter, foul mouthed children's entertainer that showed
us what a performer could really be like behind the comic
mask; Fire Marshall Bill (Jim Carrey) whose ability to injury
himself in pursuit of safety seemed only surpassed by his
ability to endure pain and many other characters. The first
season hadn't found its groove yet but the first 13 episodes
worked more often than not because of the comic energy and
daring writing. ---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
Shot on videotape,
the transfer looks pretty good overall. The primary color costume
designs and lighting effects for "The Fly Girls" performances
comes across really well on both the small and big screen. The
sound doesn't spread to the 5.1 speaker system very well as
it was recorded in 2.0 (essentially stereo Surround). That's
fine though as this was never meant to have the depth or detail
of a feature film or even the average television series. Sound,
beyond hearing the dialogue and music, really isn't all that
important given the format of the show. --- |
| The
Extras: |
Luckily, the extras don't take themselves
too seriously. We get a couple of featurettes focusing on
the difficulty that Wayans had in selling the concept to Fox
and also how they shirted the issue of "taste" throughout
the first 13 episodes using innovative techniques to get around
the Fox censors. Pushing the envelope is never easy. Luckily,
with comedy suggestion can go a long way. ***
The look back at the first season
also touches on the challenges facing a series in the shadow
of SNL. Wayans talks about how he wanted to use a format that
had essentially been used to reach a primarily white audience
and broaden its reach without excluding anyone. Using the
basic elements that made SNL such a success and subverting
many others helped "In Living Color" reach an entirely new
audience that wasn't being served and even better it occurred
in prime time. ---
|
| Commentary:
|
No commentary
track but it would probably be distracting from the best comic
bits included here anyway. It might have been interesting to
touch on the various challenges in getting some of the edgier
sketches on the air. --- |
| Final
Words: |
"In Living
Color" still stands up pretty well. Although the more topical
segments related to what was happening on television and the
celebrities in 1990 are dated, the best comic bits continue
to have bite. Perhaps the best approach would be for Wayans
to go back and edit future editions focusing on the less dated
comic sketches and more on the material that doesn't reference
1990. Then again, that's part of the charm and the context of
the show. The performances even in these more topical sketches
are still quite funny. |
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