Chad White
Loves: Two jerks making jokes to other jerks.
Likes: Andy Daly. But who doesn’t?
Dislikes: That definitely wasn’t Aziz Ansari.
Hates: Weirdos.
No jokes about Speed please
I love experimental comedy. Without experiments there would be no harnessed electricity or the world would be run by rampant lab mice. Paul Scheer and Rob Huebelare two important people in the ever growing world of alternative comedy. They strive in the medium as they do things many others aren’t doing. Scheer made a spoof of cop shows and Huebel acts on a parody of hospital shows. Both are masters of improvisation, an important skill to harness in the expanding world of comedy. Now they’ve taken their bimonthly live show on the road with Crash Test, a comedy special that takes place on a bus. Not just any bus, mind you, a glass bus with seats for an audience. Huebel and Scheer host a once in a lifetime event that includes guest appearances from friends Aziz Ansari, Rob Corddry and Natasha Leggero. Oh and Andy Daly voices their bus companion Busey.
The short albeit tight special pits the hosts’ wits against a city populace, their friends and a gathering crowd on Hollywood Boulevard. Cameras are everywhere, too, in order to grab every possible shot. Direction is key here. They could’ve gotten away with a simple set up but the team went all out. A mix of GoPros, handhelds and bus cameras all capture the look of a comedic tour around Los Angeles. But you’re here for the comedy. How did if fare against the style?
Pretty well. Scheer and Huebel mentioned in interviews that the shooting process took hours due to traffic but they kept the fun moving. The special shines when it comes to the guest stars and even the banter behind Daly’s Busey is fun. A particular deviance from the tour has the group interacting with a familiar set of cops that admittedly caught me by surprise. The audience is fun too as they get their chance to live down comedy history. Although it seems as though some of them didn’t expect to appear on camera or be a part of the buffoonery -- an apparent issue I noticed when a camera caught a stray shot of someone or one of the cops touched a viewer (some people are just…weird). As for the length, as mentioned before, the run time is a little short. I gladly would’ve paid more for a meatier chunk of laughs. But, again as talked about in interviews, the hosts decided this was the best product. They left a few scenes on the cutting room floor because they didn’t fit right in the context of the rest of the special. Even though I’d like more to see, I’m glad this is the best possible special they could produce.
Should you watch Crash Test?
As a person that lives on the east coast, the south no less, and is unable to see shows like this, I say go for it. It’s a good buy for lovers of the genre let alone the cast. Huebel and Scheer are great hosts taking us on a unique journey around the city. Who knows? Maybe they’ll even do a second one that’s more outlandish than its predecessor.