April 21, 2014

Bored to Death: Season 3


With higher stakes in several episodes and much broader Hangover-like comedy from Zach Galifianakis, Bored to Death's final season felt a lot more like a "noir spy comedy" than either of the first two. I think that's a good thing. This ended up being the show's final season, and while it isn't clear to me whether or not everyone involved knew that it would be when they made it, it feels like this season benefited from letting loose a little more, from going bigger at times, from being sillier at times. We kick things off with Jonathan being framed for an actual murder and end things with a gunfight on a baseball diamond. Sillier, goofier, and less realistic all around, but at the same more open to different types of comedy and humor. One episode spent half its time with Zach Galifianakis struggling to take care of a baby, which is literally exactly what he does in The Hangover. On most shows, that would feel like a winking reference; on this one, it just feels like someone watched The Hangover and said, "hey, let's do this on our show!"

HBO has said recently that they'll revive and conclude the Bored to Death series in the form of a TV movie. I'm looking forward to it, but I can't even say it feels necessary.

1 comment:

  1. I've seen one episode of this show, and it sounds like it was the series finale because I remember it being at an empty baseball stadium. Still though I'm surprised this show didn't generate a lot of buzz- Zack Galifianakis was such a huge star after the first Hangover movie came out, you'd think people would have been really hyped for this even if his popularity died down in a hurry.

    ReplyDelete