Wednesday , March 27 2024
HBO's snarky sitcom about an incompetent vice president played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus is moderately funny.

Blu-ray Review: Veep: The Complete First Season

We live in the age of snark. It’s everywhere—in print, online, and in many modern sitcoms. It seems that the public’s appetite for sarcasm and smugness is insatiable. HBO’s Veep epitomizes this approach, as the entire focus of the series is snark. Ostensibly a political satire centered on Selina Meyer (Selina Meyer), the Vice President of the United States, the central joke is that everyone in her office—including her—is incompetent and self-centered. The President is an oft-discussed but never-seen presence. Veep is often quite funny, thanks largely to the skilled ensemble cast, but the eight-episode first season (available on Blu-ray March 26) ultimately only hints at greater potential.

The good news for anyone who might normally shy away from political humor is that Veep has so far remained wisely non-partisan. We don’t know which party these folks represent, only that they are supremely shallow and only have their own best interests at heart. The running theme of Selina’s big project—a “clean jobs” bill—is entirely secondary to watching the in-fighting amongst her staff. This works both ways. Viewers don’t need to know anything about politics to enjoy the show, but that also means the satire is always only skin deep.

Highlights of the first season include “Frozen Yoghurt” in which a Selina’s appearance at a family-owned frozen dessert eatery goes horribly wrong. Veep isn’t above low-brow humor and this episode definitely delves into that territory. In “Baseball,” Selina tries to push healthy options to a congregation of overweight fast food execs, not that she even cares about improving their products’ nutritional content. The loose plotlines for each episode aren’t especially interesting in and of themselves, but the one-liners—usually delivered with just the right level of off-the cuff believability—are the source of the biggest laughs.

Louis-Dreyfus is fine as the title character, but some of her cohorts wind up getting more laughs. Despite a characterization arguably too close to Buster from Arrested Development, Tony Hale steals his share of scenes as Gary, Selina’s devoted aide. Anna Chlumsky (My Girl) plays Amy, Selina’s chief of staff who finds herself increasingly compromising her own integrity as the series progresses. They work well together, even if their various witticisms seem a little unnaturally at-the-ready. Seemingly everyone in the cast speaks like an observational stand-up comedian, always ready with a zinger for any situation.

Hopefully in the next season Veep’s creative team considers investing just a tad bit more depth. We meet Selina’s teenage daughter in one scene and never hear from her again. It would be interesting to see more about their strained relationship. What does Amy really want out of her political career? I’d like to find out more about her backstory. As for Gary, he’s at least fleshed out a bit more than the others as we find out about his father’s longstanding disappointment in him.

The series looks sharp on Blu-ray. There isn’t much pizzazz in the single-camera, documentary-style visual approach. Detail is strong. While the color scheme is rather drab, it accurately captures the feel of offices and boardrooms. Not much to say about the DTS-HD Master Audio 5. 1 soundtrack, except that it is also completely acceptable. Dialogue is king in Veep, and it’s always well-balanced and intelligible.

Supplemental features include a ton of commentaries from a variety of participants, 12 in all (a minimum of one for each episode, while a few have two). Several dozen deleted scenes, mostly short bits and pieces, are included. They’re nothing special and will likely disappoint even those who just can’t get enough Veep. “The Making of Veep” is the only other substantial extra, a 13-minute featurette that gives us a reasonably interesting look at the production.

About The Other Chad

An old co-worker of mine thought my name was Chad. Since we had two Chads working there at the time, I was "The Other Chad."

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