[9.3/10] Ahhh I'm a sucker for format benders, and doing an entire episode where the Veep staff is delivering testimony made for some superb opportunities for individual comedy.
My favorite parts were the cuts to Ben. They write him with such a dry wit, and his poetic, fatalistic takes on the drudgery and casual backstabbing of Washington D.C. are magnificent every time. I also, naturally, loved Gary out there. He's such a sad sack puppy dog, and the comic rhythm of him answering questions that puff himself up and then immediately walking his statements back on the advice of counsel was especially funny. His brief mention of mistaking people who don't like him for friends was that sort of sad sweetness that the show wrings out of Gary. Tom James laughing and describing him as a "twelve-year-old boy in the body of a twelve-year-old girl" was amazing writing and amazing delivery.
I was less enamored with Selina and Catherine's part of the episode. Julia Louis-Dreyfus did a nice job of showing the annoyance behind the smile, but the whole "Jason as a lobbyist" idea didn't really go anywhere.
The rest of the material was pretty great though. Mike fumbling over himself trying to explain the voice memo thing was absolute gold. The committee reading out a list of Jonah's derogatory nicknames was a little cheesy, but fun. Amy taking umbrage at sexist characterizations of her, and Dan trying to offer transparent faux-nobility made for good bits. Jonah not wanting to talk about his molestation (with Richard as his ever-bumbling counterpart) worked great. Erickson ferreting out the difference between being scapegoated and snowballed and trying to turn the blame on Kent (who had amusing inappropriate interjections) was nice. And Lee returning to be a "mouse that roars" with her revelations about the data breach was good stuff too.
Overall, very few weak links and a lot of nice comic moments that made use of the format change.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-05-19T17:06:51Z
[9.3/10] Ahhh I'm a sucker for format benders, and doing an entire episode where the Veep staff is delivering testimony made for some superb opportunities for individual comedy.
My favorite parts were the cuts to Ben. They write him with such a dry wit, and his poetic, fatalistic takes on the drudgery and casual backstabbing of Washington D.C. are magnificent every time. I also, naturally, loved Gary out there. He's such a sad sack puppy dog, and the comic rhythm of him answering questions that puff himself up and then immediately walking his statements back on the advice of counsel was especially funny. His brief mention of mistaking people who don't like him for friends was that sort of sad sweetness that the show wrings out of Gary. Tom James laughing and describing him as a "twelve-year-old boy in the body of a twelve-year-old girl" was amazing writing and amazing delivery.
I was less enamored with Selina and Catherine's part of the episode. Julia Louis-Dreyfus did a nice job of showing the annoyance behind the smile, but the whole "Jason as a lobbyist" idea didn't really go anywhere.
The rest of the material was pretty great though. Mike fumbling over himself trying to explain the voice memo thing was absolute gold. The committee reading out a list of Jonah's derogatory nicknames was a little cheesy, but fun. Amy taking umbrage at sexist characterizations of her, and Dan trying to offer transparent faux-nobility made for good bits. Jonah not wanting to talk about his molestation (with Richard as his ever-bumbling counterpart) worked great. Erickson ferreting out the difference between being scapegoated and snowballed and trying to turn the blame on Kent (who had amusing inappropriate interjections) was nice. And Lee returning to be a "mouse that roars" with her revelations about the data breach was good stuff too.
Overall, very few weak links and a lot of nice comic moments that made use of the format change.