The Ben Stiller Show

The Ben Stiller Show
by John Fortenberry, Troy Miller

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DVD details

• The funniest show you never saw - starring Ben Stiller - is now available as a fully-loaded 2-disc DVD set, featuring all 12 regular season episodes plus an originally unaired episode. This cutting-edge Emmy-award winning sketch comedy show aired on Fox in the 1992-93 season and in syndication on Comedy Central.Running Time: 299 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION Rating: NR

DVD Reviews of The Ben Stiller Show

DVD Review: Narcissistic nepotism all the way to the bank
Summary: 2 Stars

In just about every sketch, the joke falls flat after a few seconds. Thereafter, it is possible to find humour only by focusing on the individual performances. Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick, and Janeane Garofalo are brilliant in the 'Amish Dating Game' sketch but the sketch itself is lame. Again, Dick and Odenkirk are hilarious in the 'Melrose Heights' sketch but the sketch is criminally loathsome. With the exception of Bobcat and Colin Quinn, the guest host thing is mind-numbingly awful. The Skank sketch is a terrible idea repeated half a dozen times over the course of the show. And Stiller makes a horrifically bland Bono and a simply unfathomable Springsteen. And, oh yeah, his Oliver Stone is excrementitious and annoying.

The only truly brilliant sketch is the Manson Lassie bit. That is funny primarily because Bob Odenkirk is simply inspired as Manson. He nails the Charlie we all have in our heads. It is by far the most sophisticated impersonation of the series. Stiller's Anthony Robbins is almost good but relies on sight gags that are funny for about 5 seconds. Also, the premise of that sketch is unappealing and obvious. It doesn't seem to satirize Robbins as much as attempt to ridicule him. That sketch is typical of most of Stiller's work in front of the camera during this series. Once the novelty wears off of Stiller doing Bono or any of the others, it becomes painful to continue watching him desecrate the persona of the individual being satirized/skewered. He just isn't nuanced enough to make them memorable (not to mention, funny).

I would love to see a sketch comedy show with Andy Dick and Bob Odenkirk. I've been a big fan of Dick's for quite some time and I am just now waking up to the god-like genius of Odenkirk. I have always felt that Janeane Garofalo has the potential to be a fine serious actor.

I know that Bob Odenkirk wrote for this show along with his "Mr. Show" accomplice, David Cross. If Cross had replaced Stiller, this damn show would still be on. But, as it is, it got yanked after one season. Perhaps the show could have gained some legs and turned into something consistenly brilliant. We'll never know. Instead, we get Ben Stiller's ugly mug to look at in some cretinous comedy every three months. Thank the Lord for small mercies.

The "Kill Doug Szathkey" sketch features Dick anad Odenkirk without Stiller and is excellent. Well, at least the performances of Dick and Odenkirk are great. The sketch is basically dismal. As is the "Pig Latin Lover" travesty. Buckwheat sang love songs on SNL years back and that was funny. This is vile. God, Stiller's impersonations leave no room for anything but Stiller. Certainly, not comedy. He was blessed to have such an inspired cast. Otherwise, there would be nothing of interest here. Nothing except for things like "Jake Steel, Marionette Cop"--that is short, provocative and doesn't feature Ben Stiller.

The bottom line is that Stiller is massive and the rest of the talent associated with this show are not. If there was any Justice in this world, Stiller would be making grade z flicks with monkeys and children while the rest of the cast would all be top box office draws fully capable of carrying major films with their name alone. I believe that Stiller is so big primarily because the universe is a very unfair and cold place that rewards plastic simplicity and moronic narcissism over talent and quality.

Description of The Ben Stiller Show