Their enemy is the status quo. Their only friend is chaos. They're the four sketch comedians of the Upright Citizens Brigade. In their second season on Comedy Central, Colby (Amy Poehler), Antoine (Ian Roberts), Trotter (Matt Walsh), and Adair (Matt Besser) aim their comedic throwing stars at all manner of pseudo-realistic targets, like suburban baby fighting and that sweet, powdery addiction known as Super Cool. (Sometimes they hit, sometimes they miss.) Viewers craving subtlety and nuance may want to look elsewhere. The acting ranges from broad to broader, but the situations are consistently inventive--if not brain-twistingly bizarre.
Standout installments include "Infested with Friars," a spoof of Eisenhower-era humor, and "Mogomra vs. the Fart Monster," a goof on Japanese pop culture, from noise rock to creature features (Mogomra is a giant lobster). Every episode also incorporates hidden camera encounters with the real world. "Didn't I once sell you crack?" for instance, doesn't garner any takers when directed at a gaggle of lawyers. Among the guest stars are the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA ("Bomb Squad") and Poehler's former SNL cast mates Tina Fey ("Mogomra") and Horatio Sanz ("Spaghetti Jesus," an episode bursting with excretory functions). Further, Upright Citizens Brigade served as a training ground for future movie directors, like "Bring It On"'s Peyton Reed and "Junebug"'s Phil Morrison.
The plentiful extras on this two-disc set include deleted scenes, early stage routines, an audience Q&A, and uncensored commentary on all 10 episodes (the commentary for "Spaghetti Jesus" and "Super Cool" was recorded live at the UCB Theater). Despite the parental advisory regarding "explicit content," most episode profanity has been bleeped, though the material still easily qualifies as "adult" (sexual situations, drug references, etc.). "-- Kathleen C. Fennessy"