Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection

 

 

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Jermaine and Bret are a pair of New Zealand musicians, living in New York City and hoping to hit it big. Yeah, "Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection" sounds like a terrible generic sitcom, but instead this series is one of the most hilarious comedies of the last decade -- a quirky, weird, tongue-in-cheek little show with hilarious dialogue. Think a musical version of "The Office."

Folk-pop group Flight of the Conchords is Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie (played by themselves), who came all the way from New Zealand to New York. They are being managed by the ineffectual New Zealand Consulate official Murray (Rhys Darby), and they have exactly one fan/stalker, Mel (Kristen Schaal). They don't have many gigs, and even fewer successful ones.

As they chase elusive fame'n'fortune, the guys have to deal with girlfriend woes (dating the same girl, a "Yoko", a girl who just wants to use Bret for sex), financial difficulties (Bret bought a cup!), jobs, muggings, anti-Kiwi racism, a problematic rock'n'roll tour, two new fans with impure intentions, a semi-professional actor/compulsive liar who makes Murray think they've got a multimillion-dollar deal, the Crazy Doggz, Australians, epileptic terriers, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, hair gel, and a stage musical based on their misadventures.

If I had to come up with a description for "Flight of the Conchords," it would be that they're the folky New Zealand love child of Spinal Tap and "The Office." No laugh track, rambling dialogue, and the main characters tend to spontaneously break into song-and-dance at pivotal parts of the plot. And it's brilliant.

The writing is brimming over with effortless weirdness, as the guys encounter everyday problems (threesomes, girlfriend woes, weird dreams) which soon turn into hilariously surreal situations (the disturbing children's show, "Albi the Racist Dragon"). The dialogue is amazing ("When I first met you you tried to have me deported from New Zealand because you thought I was an Australian"), and full of rambling conversations that just get stranger with every line ("Have you ever had a threesome?" "Nearly." "What do you mean, nearly?" "I've had a twosome").

The songs are gutsplitting as well, since they're all about homicidal robots, mermaids, toothpaste, hip-hop spoofs, hermaphrodites ("Oh you sexy hermaphrodite lady-man-ladies"), rappers, cannibalism, and the hiphop-potamus. Not to mention "Frodo, Don't Wear the Ring" and its accompanying music video, which are a nod to McKenzie's role as the elf Figwit.

But none of this would be even half as funny if it weren't for the actors -- Clement's self-named chatacter is stoic and kind of weird (he writes a song about putting a wig on Bret), while McKenzie's is more childlike, naive and likes to sit in a cardboard box. Darby rounds out the cast as their harried, rather pathetic manager (who isn't even supposed to be managing a band), and Schaal is also quite funny as a woman who has a creepy sexual fixation on the guys.

"Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Series" is one of the rarest kind of comedy out there -- steady, hysterical, and only gets better with repeated viewings. And boy, are you sorry when it's over.

I never take the time to write reviews, although I appreciate that many others do. However, I had to write this one. I agree with absolutely every word of the review written by "ea solinas". Every word. I watched this when it was on TV and still purchased each season when it came out on DVD, so I don't have the need for ths collection. However, I strongly recommend this series. It's quirky - this is not a sitcom. But it IS brilliant. I loved it. Do yourself a favour and purchase this, then sit down with a BIG bowl of popcorn because you won't want to stop watching.

Flight of the Conchords is a smartly-written, fantastically-performed, and incredibly innovative show from the minds of Jemaine Clement and Bret Mackenzie. Inspired by their hilarious folk duo music/comedy performance, the show is a fresh and creative masterpiece that has garnered immense critical praise. As in all great shows, it possesses a great ensemble cast that do a phenomenal job at making the characters likable, unique, quirky, and most of all, a lot of fun to watch. The fact that each episode is interspersed with catchy, satirical, and visually-captivating musical numbers only deepens my love for this relatively short yet immensely satisfying series that shouldn't be missed.

This DVD collection includes all 22 episodes of the show along with a bonus DVD of one of their live performances, which was a treat to watch. Besides that, there are only a handful of special features which was somewhat disappointing. Instead of director/cast commentary, there's a short behind-the-scenes documentary of how some of the show was made. You can also find an outtake reel and some deleted scenes from both seasons. Lastly there some specially-produced commercials for Dave's store and some lost scenes between Murray and Greg at the New Zealand consulate. I was honestly expecting a bit more, at the very least some more in-depth interviews with the cast and director commentary.
The Show: 5/5
The Features: 3.5/5

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5.0 out of 5 stars Great New Zealand Fun!
Discovered them recently when a friend did a parody of one of their songs for her wedding. Witty and hilarious, the wife and I both love the songs and the goofy yet... Read more

Published 1 month ago by A. Tung

5.0 out of 5 stars You cannot overthink in this job
Jermaine and Bret are a pair of New Zealand musicians, living in New York City and hoping to hit it big. Read more

Published on May 17 2010 by E. A Solinas

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