DVD Review: Lil' Bush - Resident of United States - Season One
Both my wife and I were really looking forward to this show when Comedy Central first started advertising it, as those short promos featuring Lil' Bush were absolutely hilarious... unfortunately, it seems sustaining the laughs constantly throughout an entire 23 minute episode was just a bit too ambitious. There are laughs specked here and there throughout the show, but it's just not enough to make this series anything other than mildly amusing. I was actually surprised to find that it lasted to a second season.
The show stars cute-looking, super-deformed versions of real politically relevant individuals, such as George Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, and Donald Rumsfeld, though they all get "Lil'" tacked on the front of their names, so George Bush would be Lil' Bush. Each episode finds them in various situations, often relating to real events such as the Iraq War or illegal immigration, but then taken way over the top.
Lil' Bush is portrayed as having an unbreakable amount of confidence despite the fact that he has virtually no smarts at all. And his cronies don't ever seem to think twice about this, as they always just go along with whatever he says. Other characters like Lil' Bill Clinton and Lil' Mikey Moore also show up, which produces a couple chuckles when first introduced, but after that we return to waiting for something else funny to happen, and it just doesn't. Lil's bushes ignorance mixed with extreme confidence and Lil' Cheney's mumbling are really the only things here that are funny, and they happen so much that it just feels repetitive. So the show does offer some laughs, but just not enough to sustain an entire episode.
And actually, one 30-minute episode really consists of two separate 15-minute episodes, and each of those contains a musical number where the main characters play instruments over a montage of shots, similar to Josie and the Pussycats... does anyone remember that show, or is it too old of a reference? It's a tad before my time, but I did watch them later on in syndication. How about Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea, I think they did something similar too, though it's been a long time since I saw it so I could be getting it mixed up with something else. At any rate, they songs usually aren't very funny and seem to serve only the purpose of wasting time.
The DVD release is uncensored, contains an un-aired bonus episode titled "Walter Reed", has an audio commentary by Jerry Springer, Ralph Nader, and Tucker Carlson, plus a behind the scenes type deal with various interviews. So it's a descent enough release, just a bit disappointing that the actual show couldn't live up to the side-splitting promos.
The episodes included on this disc are:
- Iraq / First Kiss
- Nuked / Camp
- Gay Friend / Mexican
- Global Warming / Hall Monitor
- Evolution / Press Corps Dinner
- Hot Dog / Haunted House
- Bonus Episode: Walter Reed
Press Release: Lil' Bush - Resident of United States - Season One
During the inaugural season viewers got a chance to see Lil' Bush and Tony Blair become cheerleaders, the Lil' Gang unleash weapons of mass destruction and Lil' Bush make a statement with his Aquaman underpants while facing off against Lil' Kim Jong Il. The Gang also went on a panty raid against an Al Qaeda training camp and attempted to speed up global warming. The first season premiered June 13, 2007 and was the most watched premiere on COMEDY CENTRAL since 2004. Across the run of the first season "Lil' Bush" was the number one show in its timeslot (Wednesdays, 10:30-11:00 p.m.) among Men 18-24. Released by COMEDY CENTRAL Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment, "Lil Bush: Resident of The United States" - Season One (Uncensored) DVD arrives in stores nationwide on Tuesday, March 11 and also available at http://shop.comedycentral.com.
"Lil Bush: Resident of The United States" - Season One (Uncensored) DVD features the following bonus material: audio commentary with cast and creators and also by Jerry Springer, Ralph Nader, and Tucker Carlson; a never-before-seen bonus episode; Lil Georges White House Tour; behind-the-scenes footage featuring interviews and a table read with the cast and creators.
COMEDY CENTRAL's doing a heckuva job on the President. Whether he's squaring off against schoolyard rivals like Lil' Kim Jong Il, taking a field trip to Iraq, or torturing the lunch-ladies into serving all-American hot dogs everyday, Lil' Bush and the gang are just playing politics. Well watch with wonder as they grow up to be real deciders. If you're looking for laughs -- mission accomplished!
Iggy Pop, best known for his band Iggy & the Stooges, has joined the cast as the voice of Lil' Bush's confidant, "Lil' Rummy." Rummy is a classic schoolyard bully with a few charming psychopathic quirks. Iggy is joined in later episodes by guest voices from the music world including Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters, Frank Black from the Pixies, Jeff Tweedy from Wilco and the Red Hot Chili Peppers as themselves.
"Lil' Bush" comes from creator and executive producer Donick Cary, ("The Simpsons," "The Late Show with David Letterman") and co-executive producer Jay Karas. Zoe Friedman is the executive in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL. Animation is done by Sugarshack Animation. "Lil' Bush" is the first show to make the transition from mobisode to television series.
