Home Movies

Home Movies is the funniest show on TV. No show makes me laugh out loud so consistently. Everyone I've introduced to it has loved it. I don't watch a lot of animation, but I am addicted to this. It is truly brilliant and I hope more people catch on to it. Thank God it's on DVD now. I stumbled across it while watching Adult Swim several years ago and was instantly hooked. All of the characters are incredibly clear, original, full, and unique. Brendon Small is the product of a single mother who is trying to raise both her son and infant daughter. Brendon is an awkward fourth-grader whose passion is making movies with his friends (hence the title). His adult influences range from his jaded and slightly bitter mother to his alcoholic and poorly educated soccer coach/gym teacher. The quirky rhythm sucks you in and surprises you with bursts of hysterical, bright, spontaneous humor and an offbeat style. My only complaint is that it's not on enough and there aren't enough episodes. I've watched every episode more than once and I laugh just as hard every time. A genius show with a genius cast.

"Home Movies is destined to go down as an underrated show in TV history... Home Movies was a breath of fresh air in the smog filled lands of TV." - Weekly Wire

I have recently re-watched the entire series and enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first. The whole cast is great but John McGuirk by far is the most entertaining in the show. There are so many great quotes from his character it would be impossible to remember them all but here's one of my favorites.

Coach John McGuirk: Brendon, there's nothing wrong with lying to women... or the government... or your parents... or God. Alright? Brendon Small: Yeah, but what if they figure out you're a liar? Coach John McGuirk: What, women? Brendon Small: Sure. Coach John McGuirk: Then who needs 'em? Lie to men.

Praise the Lord one of the programming executives at Cartoon Network grew a brain. They decided to put defunct mature-themed shows and a few original short shows on Sunday Nights to attract a more adult audience ("Adult Swim" rules!!!). Even though the audience is probably teenage boys and college-aged males, that executive is a bonifide genius.

Anywoo, with that out of the way, my favorite show on "Adult Swim" is "Home Movies". With quick wit, distorted animation, hilarious voice-overs, and warped storylines, you have a classic on your hands. Even though this show never made it on primetime television, it was and still is laugh out loud funny. I love the premise of an eight-year old having a digital video camera so he can make crappy and/or strange films so he can cope with life around him. My two favorite characters are Brendan and Coach McGuirk and their relationship is the best aspect of the show. I also like the crazy plots that make this show great. Where else will you see an eight-year old kid make a really strange film and present it to his class when he should done a report on Susan B. Anthony? Anyway, this show is one of the ten best all time and it is one of the best shows currently on Sunday nights (if I said it was, I would be dragging the name of the greatest show all time through the mud). I give this show an A+.

PS: Other great Adult Swim shows are: Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Harvey Birdman, Sealab 2021, Mission Hill (if they ever replay it), Cowboy Bebop (also in my top ten) Avoid these: The Oblongs (too nasty), The Ripping Friends (sorry John K.), The Brak Show (too stupid), Space Ghost Coast to Coast (lame premise that needs to be retired)

One more thing: "Home Movies" is far superior to "South Park" because these eight-year old aren't as foul-mouthed, cocky or lame. Sorry Trey and Matt.

'Home Movies' has an interesting history. First given a brief run on UPN, it later found a new home on Cartoon Network's then-new "Adult Swim" block. The first season was animated in a jittery, amateurish style called "Squigglevision" (think "Dr. Katz"); subsequent seasons were rendered using Macromedia's popular Flash software. And yet it never gained much more than a small, loyal cult following. (Fortunately, the complete series has been released on DVD.)

Brendon Small (loosely based on the show's creator, also named Brendon Small) is a 4th-grade kid living with his divorced mom Paula and bespectacled baby sister Josie. And he has an interesting hobby: creating shoestring-budget home movies on his camcorder with his friends Melissa and Jason. These movies often run parallel to his day-to-day misadventures, including those involving school, rabid pets, bullies, road safety, and even little Josie's curious tendency to shove marbles into her nostrils.

Other acquaintances include angsty rocker kid Duane, Melissa's father Erik, the hyperactive pals Walter and Perry, a spoiled brat named Fenton, and the dorky cat-loving teacher Mr. Lynch. On top of that, Brendon has a rather unwanted mentor and adult figure in the form of his soccer coach, Jon McGuirk, a beer-bellied, obnoxious, loud, money-squandering oaf.

The episode which introduced me to 'Home Movies' was, in fact, the one in which Josie is sticking marbles in her nose; Brendon makes a film instructing kids about the dangers of doing such and also has Duane's band perform a metal-rock song about not putting marbles in your nose. (As it turns out, Brendon's production unintentionally encourages children to do just that.) It's situations like these and the show's brand of sarcastic, off-the-wall humor that made me fall in love with it.

On the other hand, the first season was the most enjoyable to me because, behind the scenes, the show was somewhat improvised in that the actors were given the general idea for a scene and basically just ad-libbed it from there. The spontaneity of it all made the show funny, while the squiggling animation gave it the look of something a child such as Brendon would make. That said, while the show remained funny (the gross-out humor was largely phased out, thankfully) and the transition to Flash made the animation easier on the eyes, the later seasons lost some of the first season's humanity, so to speak.

In the end, although Brendon and his pals give the impression that they act like miniature adults, this is a goofy look at childhood that aims more toward high-brow humor than 'South Park', and I think it's worth it to check out at least the first season.

I came late to "Home Movies" - I never saw the UPN season because I don't pay any attention to network television. And I knew (somehow) that it was in "Squigglevision", which was one aspect of "Dr Katz" which I really didn't care for. However, I happened to catch a couple of episodes on the "Adult Swim" segment of the Cartoon Network a year ago and was instantly charmed by the quirky humor, whimsical plotting, and brilliant voice work by an (obviously) skeleton cast and crew and have spent the last few months catching up on the backlog via reruns on Cartoon Network and the collected DVD reissues of Seasons 1 and 2.

Folks, this is brilliant stuff which will sink right into your cortex if you give it half a chance. Saying that it's about an eight year old who make movies with his friends in his basement just doesn't do it justice. "Home Movies" is an elusive blend of Oscar Wilde style "comedy of manners", deadpan pop culture lampoon, childhood memoir, character study and multi-part acapella choir. It almost always manages to sustain a certain wistful, tender attitude towards its characters even in the middle of some truly hilarious dialog exchanges and slapstick physical comedy. That's not an easy thing to do.

About the actual animation: Season 1 is indeed cursed with "Squigglevision", a truly annoying design choice, but the eye eventually accepts it and gets on with enjoying the proceedings. And fortunately, by Season 2 the creators decided just to go with straightforward "Flash" style animation, and the remaining episodes are much easier to watch. The animation never rises above the level of "barebones minimalism", but it is effectively harnessed in service to the story and voice work. In fact, if you pay attention you soon realize that the artwork is quite sophisticated in terms of storyboards and layouts - the "camera" zooms and pans and sets establishing shots and even manages some moments of delicate mood and beauty. For comparison think of the old cheaply made "Hanna Barbera" cartoons from the 70's, 80's and 90's ("Yogi Bear", "Flintstones" after the first season, cookie cutter crap like "Wacky Races" and "Josie and the Pussycats"). In terms of storytelling sophistication and care, this animation style compared to that is like London Broil compared to a Big Mac.

My favorite episodes (that I've seen) are probably "Bye Bye Greasy" and "The Art Of The Sucker Punch", and "Marbles and Mortgages", which contain a mix of parody, slapstick, and character study which many full blown feature comedy movie releases can't match. Watch these episodes carefully (especially the parts where H. Jon Benjamin's "Coach McGuirk" is involved), and you will see an awesome mastery of comedic timing and superb delivery that Woody Allen might envy. It's not so much that the writing is tight (though it is inspired) - rather, the whole thing has a loose, improvised, inspired feel, where even the dead ends and misfires are used as a springboard for further hijinks and blandishments.

I don't know how well Small and his group of creators would have done with furthur episodes if "Home Movies" had gone past the fourth season. This kind of inspired inanity can have a very short "shelf life" as the pressure of constantly coming up with fresh scripts and performances weigh upon the creators. But man, while these guys were in the groove, they were GOOD. I plan to get the Season 3 collection as soon as it comes out, and will relish completing the viewing of every episode there-in. My thanks to Small and his co-creators for a wonderful series that has given me many hours of pure delight.