TIM & ERIC’S BILLION DOLLAR RUMOR

Best of luck if they actually make this happen. The stench of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie is thick and impenetrable.

 

Personally, though, I wish they'd stick to making commercials. The ones they did for Old Spice made me gut laugh in a way Awesome Show never has.

I really, really hope this happens. Also I want that cover art on my wall.

I love these guys but man, who on earth would fund a feature of theirs?

How much could it cost?

 

I'm no fan of Tim and Eric (performance artists, ok, what do I know about performance art, but as comedians they are hacks) but their aesthetic seems to thrive in the realm of the cheap. A feature, with their many alt-comedy celebrity friends surely being willing to work for next to nothing, wouldn't have to cost anything extravagant and they surely have a rabid enough fan-base to make it worthwhile. I wouldn't expect a wide release, but a small indie release seems like a no-brainer.

Adding nothing to the convo, but you're spot fucking on about The Universe being one of their best episodes.

 

Reserve "hacks" for pandering bullshit like Dane Cook. It may not make you laugh, but it works for a lot people, and it's not the easy mainstream garbage that assholes like that trade in. They won't cop to it of course, but it takes as much or more effort to make the low-rent aesthetic and awkwardness work rhythmically, which is what ultimately elevates their comedy into a place that is consistently funny, if you dig it at all.

There's not a single Tim and Eric sketch that I would believe took them more than 5 minutes to write. They fill in those gaps with their funny famous friends and the same tired editing tricks, sound effects, and stilted dialogue readings over and over again. The same way Dane Cook barely writes his jokes, knowing he can fill the gaps in later with yelling and over-animated stage antics. 

Do you think it took Andy Kaufman more than five minutes to come up with his mighty mouse bit? Do you even know what you're talking about?

I really hope the flick happens. It would at least fill some of the void left after Awesome Show ended. Ill have to disagree with you about the Chrimbus special though, I think it might be the most brilliant thing they've done.

Maybe so, I'm sure it varies from sketch to sketch. But the execution of it undoubtedly takes a lot of time. Although, time spent on an idea really has no bearing on the quality of the product.

 

Tim and Eric, though I love them, definitely fall into that category where I could never, ever fault someone for not enjoying it. It IS fucking weird and doesn't have mass appeal in the slightest. I do think your assessment of their "worth" vs. someone like Dane Cook is way, way off though.

 

If we're just describing a show's style with negative adjectives in front of each characteristic, then I could pull the same trick with Mr. Show, Arrested Development, Monty Python or any other comedy show that has a distinct aesthetic. Again, it's totally cool if you don't like it, and I get that the style is so aggressive that if it doesn't click it can almost be infuriating. Painting these guys as cynical retards is bullshit though. Cook is a mainstream product who makes millions and has the clout to make major projects happen- dude deserves scorn. T&E are fringe comedians making niche comedy that's different than most everything out there.

I guess. But comedy is like sex, it either made you cum or it didn't. No amount of critical discourse can make a nice set of tits less arousing. I can't tell you Tim and Eric isn't funny, because even though it didn't make me laugh, it made you (and a lot of other people) laugh. As comedians, they are undoubtedly doing their job.

 

But in that same regard, Dane Cook makes even more people laugh. All I can do is observe their approach to the material, which strikes me as repetitive and juvenile. Their sketches rarely have any arc and they have even less range as performers, so their characters tend to all be the same, no matter what. They don't really deal in concepts (there's little satire in Tim and Eric that hasn't been in SCTV, The Simpsons, etc) but a specific aesthetic. The problem is, it's the same aesthetic in every episode, which means that every sketch is more or less a variation of the same thing. Which, if you like it, is great, but doesn't speak to their talent as writers or comedians.

 

They're unique, but so was Gallagher. Who also made more people laugh. There was one comedian in the 80's, I can't remember his name, who would end all his shows by eating a lightbulb. It was because he couldn't tell a joke to save his life.

 

I've seen maybe 12 complete episodes of Tim and Eric. It's possible that isn't enough for me to really "get" them, or whatever. I don't care to watch any more though. I certainly don't fault anyone for liking it, but I certainly don't see them as being quite as daring and "out there" some people. 

Patrick, in case you felt alone, I despise them, watching them makes me physically angry. I've tried again and again and again to like them (it took me some time to like ATHF or Squidbillies), but I mostly just want them to die horribly.

Haha. Yeesh. Well, that's a reaction alright. 

I let them live because I do 'get it' even though I hate it. I've got my eye on them though. And frankly anything that makes Adult Swim money in my book is a good thing because I know that Venture Bros and Boondocks aren't cheap.

Well, if only for me, please continue to let them do their thing, Gabe.

 

Funny, my wife feels the same way. I have to watch the show like a kid sneaking a cookie, or an OJ killing his wife.
 

 

GREAT JOB! 

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