Rating: 
Summary: Ben Stiller Show !
Review: If you can even relate to the pig latin in the Three Stooges then you'll be amazed as Ben takes on such an impossible role as the Latin Lover. It's insane to watch him pull it off. Try a few words yourself let alone at the break neck speed that Ben pulls it off at!
It's worth it just for those two sketches alone.
Rating: 
Summary: Narcissistic nepotism all the way to the bank
Review: I finally understand why I consider this show so utterly underwhelming: Ben Stiller. I agree that he does quite a few decent impersonations--but he is pitifully incapable of doing anything but gag comedy. The funniest moments have little or nothing to do with Stiller. Since seeing him flounder in "Permanent Midnight", I have recognized how limited he is. Now that he's strung together a series of hits, I can only hope he does the only smart thing and gets himself hooked on pain medication so that he bloats up and can no longer work. In just about every sketch, the joke falls flat after a few seconds. Thereafter, it is possible to find humour only by focusing on the individual performances. Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick, and Janeane Garofalo are brilliant in the 'Amish Dating Game' sketch but the sketch itself is lame. Again, Dick and Odenkirk are hilarious in the 'Melrose Heights' sketch but the sketch is criminally loathsome. With the exception of Bobcat and Colin Quinn, the guest host thing is mind-numbingly awful. The Skank sketch is a terrible idea repeated half a dozen times over the course of the show. And Stiller makes a horrifically bland Bono and a simply unfathomable Springsteen. And, oh yeah, his Oliver Stone is excrementitious and annoying. The only truly brilliant sketch is the Manson Lassie bit. That is funny primarily because Bob Odenkirk is simply inspired as Manson. He nails the Charlie we all have in our heads. It is by far the most sophisticated impersonation of the series. Stiller's Anthony Robbins is almost good but relies on sight gags that are funny for about 5 seconds. Also, the premise of that sketch is unappealing and obvious. It doesn't seem to satirize Robbins as much as attempt to ridicule him. That sketch is typical of most of Stiller's work in front of the camera during this series. Once the novelty wears off of Stiller doing Bono or any of the others, it becomes painful to continue watching him desecrate the persona of the individual being satirized/skewered. He just isn't nuanced enough to make them memorable (not to mention, funny). I would love to see a sketch comedy show with Andy Dick and Bob Odenkirk. I've been a big fan of Dick's for quite some time and I am just now waking up to the god-like genius of Odenkirk. I have always felt that Janeane Garofalo has the potential to be a fine serious actor. I know that Bob Odenkirk wrote for this show along with his "Mr. Show" accomplice, David Cross. If Cross had replaced Stiller, this damn show would still be on. But, as it is, it got yanked after one season. Perhaps the show could have gained some legs and turned into something consistenly brilliant. We'll never know. Instead, we get Ben Stiller's ugly mug to look at in some cretinous comedy every three months. Thank the Lord for small mercies. The "Kill Doug Szathkey" sketch features Dick anad Odenkirk without Stiller and is excellent. Well, at least the performances of Dick and Odenkirk are great. The sketch is basically dismal. As is the "Pig Latin Lover" travesty. Buckwheat sang love songs on SNL years back and that was funny. This is vile. God, Stiller's impersonations leave no room for anything but Stiller. Certainly, not comedy. He was blessed to have such an inspired cast. Otherwise, there would be nothing of interest here. Nothing except for things like "Jake Steel, Marionette Cop"--that is short, provocative and doesn't feature Ben Stiller. The bottom line is that Stiller is massive and the rest of the talent associated with this show are not. If there was any Justice in this world, Stiller would be making grade z flicks with monkeys and children while the rest of the cast would all be top box office draws fully capable of carrying major films with their name alone. I believe that Stiller is so big primarily because the universe is a very unfair and cold place that rewards plastic simplicity and moronic narcissism over talent and quality.
Rating: 
Summary: awful sketch comedy
Review: Do yourself a favor and buy Kids In The Hall instead. This is some of the worst sketch comedy I've ever seen, even worse than new SNL and MadTV. I probably laughed once, very lightly, about every 10 minutes. Stiller is funnier in his worst movies than in this show.
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