Colin and Brad: Two Man Group

For many years (a long, long time ago), I was obsessed with the delightful British improv show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" I forced almost anyone who came into my home to partake in the madcap hilarity. While I certainly appreciated Drew Carey's Americanized edition, Carey was easily the weakest link and made the obvious point that improv isn't easy. But with such talented regular performers, it was permissible to forgive Carey for his less experienced and less successful experimentation. Now, in the aftermath of that show--two of its most appealing actors take their brand of rogue improvisation to the masses. In a filmed theater piece, "Colin & Brad: Two Man Group" brings Brad Sherwood and Colin Mochrie into the limelight for a hysterical evening of familiar concepts and new inspirations. The intimate stage show involves plenty of audience participation and, in a word, is simply funny!

You've got some stunts you've seen before such as people manipulating their body movements and providing sound effects. Both of these come of quite well and set the stage for some new moves. I particularly loved a sideways theater bit where the two lie on the ground and are filmed from above. So simple, but genius. And the grand finale provides the World's Most Dangerous Improv involving blindfolds and hundreds of mouse traps. So silly, but genius. As with much improv, some of the skits are limited by the audience participation and this can result in hilarious ineptitude (such as the movement opener) or derail a great bit (I talking about you--mall cop!). Occasionally a bit will go on a beat too long--but this is near perfection and will surely delight everyone. If you were a fan of "Line" than I can't recommend this highly enough!

The performance itself lasts little over an hour--and unfortunately the DVD extras are sparse. I wanted more. The DOs and DON'Ts of Improv is a terrific five minute bit with Sherwood and Mochrie having at one another, and Interviews with Colin & Brad is a five minute spoof of a James Lipton type interview. Brief and lively, I just wanted more, more, more. These segments were seemingly filmed as an afterthought after a night's performance--and they are slight and amusing. But let's face it--I think both Brad and Colin are hysterical and their show is a winner. If you like this type of comedy, you won't want to miss this! KGHarris, 3/11.

I have seen Colin and Brad perform live on their tours and they are hysterical! I am a huge fan of Whose Line Is it Anyway - so when I saw that Colin and Brad were touring I just had to get tickets!
They do a really great two man show - and get the audience involved as much as possible.
I have seen them at the Just for Laughs in Toronto - as well as road tripped 6 hours through New York state to Schenectady NY to see them as well. They were worth it - and i hung around long enough after the show to catch them as they were leaving to say hello and to sign my Whose Line DVD's. They were super friendly and made the trip well worth while!!
I am very excited for this DVD to add to my collection. Way to go Colin and Brad! I was hoping you would put out a DVD and you did. :)
I will recommend this to anyone who is a Whose Line fan, and give it 5 stars because you never fail to crack me up and put me in a good mood.

When WHO'S LINE IS IT ANYWAY? premiered on television I thought it was one of the best shows around. I've always loved improve comedy. It started when I saw SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE the first time only to learn that most of the cast began at Second City in Chicago. In college I got my first taste of Second City and fell in love with it, making it a point to visit each time I go there now.

But WHOSE LINE brought weekly improv to the small screen and made me laugh. Not once in a while but every single episode I watched. And while they had a number of talented individuals on the show, my favorite was Colin Mochrie. Mochrie was teased about his baldness and being Canadian each week but he dished back with a terrific sense of humor and comedic timing. So imagine my delight to hear that he was touring with Brad Sherwood across the county. While I didn't get to their show, I can now enjoy watching them whenever I want with the release of COLIN MOCHRIE & BRAD SHERWOOD: TWO MAN GROUP.

This is a taped concert film basically of the dynamic duo of quick wits displaying their comic talents. The pieces they do are not scripted and haven't been set up in advance. They're doing improv where they come out, take a few suggestions such as an event and then apply the event to different improv games that have been used for years.

They begin with a game that features the two of them unable to move without the assistance of a couple they bring up from the audience. Each movement they make is done by these two ordinary people moving their various body parts which often leads to both embarrassing and funny pieces.

They do a sequence called sideways sketch where they take a suggestion from the audience of a situation (in this case a man upset with his neighbor because his dog poops in his yard) and make comedy of it. The thing is that they're actually lying on the floor with a prop stage featuring a camera overhead making it look like by rolling across the floor they're moving across the set.

There are a number of other items they perform here, ending with what Sherwood describes as the most dangerous piece to perform. The stage is set with 225 every day mousetraps placed several inches apart. Brad and Colin then remove their shoes and socks and place blindfolds on. When Colin suggests that this isn't really dangerous, another 25 mousetraps hanging by threads are lowered, some about chest level, others nearer definitely sensitive areas. They then do an alphabet game where they perform a suggested event (a man upset that his next door neighbor takes his mail) in operatic format, each using the next letter of the alphabet to start their line. The ensuing snapping of the traps and gags is the result.

This show was quite enjoyable and funny, making me laugh so hard a few times that I had to back up or pause the disc. Then again I've always found these two men to be two of the funniest guys on the planet, even more so when doing improv.

The DVD release also features two special items that include interviews with the stars in set pieces. These are funny to an extent, but the true laughs are when they're on stage together.

I did find one thing that truly upset me with this DVD release though. That's the fact that it only lasted 67 minutes. Once it finishes you find yourself wanting more. If you weren't a fan of WHOSE LINE you might find this mildly amusing. If you were a fan you will want this in your collection. There are a few items that might not be child friendly, but for the most part if you have children you should be safe. Even they'll get a laugh out of this one.

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