2 out of 5

Creator: Tim Heidecker, Eric Warheim

Much funnier conceptually than it is in execution, the T & E Chrimbus special is essentially a DVD capture of a live act that totally has its moments and a good core gag – that the point of the special is to push the DVD of the special – but also suffers a bit from feeling like a retread of moments from the show and never truly clicking as its own thing.

Two stars may not be fair, but then again, I didn’t laugh out loud during the gags here, whereas even the average Awesome Show episode will generally elicit at least a WTF chuckle from me.  I’m also assuming this was probably a live act based on the nature of it – it takes the format of their stage shows, with the boys talking directly to an audience and hosting an ‘event’, which in this case is a weird-ass version of Tim and Eric (high foreheads, high waisted sparkle suits, white teeth caps, extra tan) celebrating ‘Chrimbus Day’ and wondering what to get each other for Chrimbus.  There is actually a group of people watching our principles dance and sing about ‘What Am I Gonna Get for Chrimbus,’ but they get to be part of the act, edited in typically choppy T & E fashion to either not react or over-react whenever it makes it silly or uncomfortably funny.  There’s also a framing story of a dying man telling the story of Chrimbus, which is the story of the DVD special.  See?  Fun and meta.

And, like their live shows (which admittedly the Awesome Show follows the template of as well, but the structure there allows for more experimentation via editing and set design than they could ever do live), things are split by filmed acts, which here are revisits of ‘classic’ characters from the show, like Carol and Mr. Henderson and Steve Bruel, generally pitched as commercial breaks in the special.  These are funny, and, uh, nostalgic, but again, it just lacks the zip of a new joke.

Chrimbus is never really explained (not that we’d expect it to be), but the opening dance number and Chrimbus Bushes and preparing for ‘Winter Man’ are all silly Tim and Eric ideas that make for a good base for the special.  It’s a fun addition to your DVD shelf since this was limited, but actually watching it, mind you, is not nearly as entertaining as any of the Awesome Show seasons, and you probably paid more for this than you did for those.  Plus, the lack of any notable extras (just some cut bits which are on the same level of ‘yeah I guess that’s funny’ as the rest of it) doesn’t help remove the feeling that there wasn’t really a need for this to happen.  I get that T & E have been doing the live thing for longer than the show (or I think they have), but I guess I prefer the more liberal use of their humor that’s allowed when it’s not rooted to a stage.