Home Movies: Season Two DVD Review:

The key to a successful cartoon for adults seems to lie in the characters. The more unique and strange the characters are, the more likely it seems that the show will succeed. Home Movies took me an episode to adjust to the style of humor, and then I was immediately hooked by all of the great characters. Playing with word meanings in quick witted humor that is somewhat of a mix of sarcastic, intelligent, and juvenile, Home Movies may not be better humor than The Simpsons or South Park, but it is simply a different kind of humor and one that I find to be hilarious.

Third grader Brendon Small is already aspiring to be a filmmaker and has made countless home movies with his friends Melissa and Jason. Home Movies follows the journey of their filmmaking journey as well as the every day life Brendon lives. Brendon lives with his unemployed Mom, visiting occasionally with his lawyer Dad and girlfriend. He is also on a soccer team led by Coach McGuirk, a man with many issues which include loneliness, drinking, intelligence, and stand up comedy. The only other interest Brendon has is in pursuing Cynthia, a young girl that follows a garage band around.

These main characters as well as even stranger ones are what make the show great. The animation is minimal, but serves its purpose wonderfully. The greatest part about the show is just listening to the characters banter back and forth with each other with comedic timing that no other animated show can match. Often great comedians had guest spots on the show as well, adding even more to the writing of Bill Braudis and Brendon Small.

All thirteen episodes from season two are on three discs, with some of the special features spread out onto each disc. The first season of Home Movies was in Squigglevision, a strange style of animation that was rather difficult to watch. Season two is in regular animation, which is very easy on the eyes. The three discs are in slim disc cases, each with great artwork included. On the inside of each case is a mock movie poster design as well.

The special features are just as funny as the episodes in many cases as well. There are commentaries and interviews with Brendon Small, Melissa Galsky, Loren Bouchard, and other members of the team. All of the interviews and much of the commentary is as funny as the show, which tells you that they are putting a lot of themselves into the comedy. There are also a few great featurettes about the show, with comments by many of the people involved including the guest stars. Only a few of the features seem to be a bit tedious, such as the features showing the animation in different stages.

There really couldn’t be more features jammed onto these DVDs. The show is absolutely hilarious, and although it is unfortunate that it did not do well enough to last, the good thing is that they are now available to watch at any time. The subtlety of the show may make it difficult to grasp the humor at first, but give it a chance and you may find that you love it as much as I did.



Jamie Kelwick
Ryan Izay