Eastbound & Down is foul mouthed, sex driven and definitely straying over to the low brow but I can’t really criticise the show too much as, above all else, it’s very, very funny.
Eastbound & Down is a relatively small venture for HBO, and rather fresh ground for them to be treading. It's a sports-themed a sports-themed dramedy (thats drama/comedy), but despite the genre's air of the high-brow, Eastbound & Down treats its audience to as much foul-mouthed, booze and sex soaked imagery as youd care to shake a semi-erect stick at. Written by and starring the potty-mouthed Danny McBride (Pineapple Express) and co-written and directed by Observe & Report helmer Jody Hill (straight out of the Judd Apatow school of comedy), you should know going in that Eastbound & Down is not for the easily offended- but usually neither is any T.V thats worth watching. Season two picks up as youd expect after the events at the end of season one; attempting to escape his failure in America, Kenny Powers (McBride) has fled to Mexico, after abandoning his girlfriend April (Katy Mixon) at a gas station. Its obviously been a dark road for Kenny and at the start of the season he makes his living as a professional Cockfighter under the alias of Steve Janowski. Youre right, thats Stevie (Steve Little), Kennys infatuated best friend from the first season and its his stolen credit card that the broke burnout is using to fund his stay in Mexico. Its not long before his presence over-the-fence as noticed by aging baseball coach Roger Hernandez (Marco Rodriguez) and hes called back onto the mound, with characteristically hilarious consequences. Danny McBride isnt always great in the roles he gets, in fact his performances can often feel false and un-organic, but he excels at Kenny Powers and he has a tough role to play too. Hes arrogant, narcissistic and otherwise completely ignorant to everyone elses needs, wants and beliefs - yet McBride is counting on us to root for him. Ive thrown about phrases like effortlessly likeable and instantly relatable in my previous work on WhatCulture! but this is the first time that Ive explored a main character whos quite instantly dis-likeable. Hes almost as bad as a grown-up Cartman from South Park. We love to hate him, but that grows throughout the on-going story into an awkward feeling of kinship towards a guy who gets dealt nothing but shitty hands. We grow to flat out relate to him, because we see where his personality lands him; sure, hes loaded with faults but its hard to see a dude suffer so continuously without feeling toward him some sense of empathy. Joining Kenny in Mexico is a whole host of new characters ready to have his special brand of ignorance spurted onto them, along with some familiar faces throughout the series. Living next door to him while across the border is Catuey (played by Efren Ramirez Pedro from Napolean Dynamite) and he and his family form an important part of Kennys road to self-discovery. Stevie returns shortly into series' run and actor Steve Little has obvious tongue-in-cheek fun with the material, delivering a great rendition of the developmentally challenged badass. Of course Miss Grande Tits (the writers words, not mine) herself April Buchanon makes a story-changing appearance in the final episode setting up a definite season three that promises to present Kenny with a whole new set of challenges outside of baseball. Season Two of Eastbound & Down explores a more personal side of Kenny Powers. It elaborates further on his lifelong sense of abandonment and the root causes of why he is the way he is. Its definitely darker, edgier and in every way much more like a second act; another reason that a third and final series is a must. Hes certainly changed from when we met him in season one, but he still retains most of his fundamental character flaws, despite his yearning to change and find inner happiness. The first season focused on Kennys desperation get his pitch back in order to re-join major league baseball, and looked at the damning nature of celebrity but season two, while passing through much darker tones, emerges to a positively charged ending. Throughout both currently existing seasons, we can see him attempting to fix himself, albeit in his own abrasive, self-destructive way and no doubt the third will round him out into someone who we can really get behind. Despite his surface penchant for douche-baggery, Kenny is often right on the money with his Dog The Bounty Hunter-like pearls of working class wisdom, even if that core of truth is buried somewhere underneath his sub-par treatment of those around him; Eastbound & Down isnt going to do it for everyone thanks to that fact. Its ludicrously offensive in places and Kenny himself is often detestable. Yeah, hes a major asshole alright, but you know what? In comedy, assholes are funny.
Quality
Eastbound & Down is far from the most visually pleasing transfer youre going to see; ambient grain flares up often throughout and definition sometimes suffers slightly from soft edges. However nor is it the prettiest show around and this constant grimy aesthetic does wonders to convey the tone of the show with a faithfully cinematic edge much like the H.D T.V broadcasts did. Colour palettes are purposely hot giving everything a constantly dirty, sweaty feeling how I imagine Kenny Powers to feel most days. Everything is lain out for us in a customary AVC-encoded 1080p and when everything is working with it, the level of detail is as sharp as youll see on any Blu. Sound-wise, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is much more satisfying aurally than its transfer is visually. Everything is nicely mixed, making great use of the back speakers where necessary (usually in the more action oriented scenes like the opening episodes cockfights). Dialogue is nicely centred and effects are mixed in with a satisfying clarity. In all its a decent enough audio experience; certainly slicker than the visuals, and it does its job commendably. Special Features Audio Commentaries : on episodes 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 by various members of the cast and crew (including Danny McBride, Jody Hill and Joseph Gordon-Green among others). These deliver a decent level of insight, but mainly more foul-mouthed humour from the team behind the show. Invitation to the Set (HD): A series of interviews and behind the scenes footage, that gives some insight in to the process behind the show. There are no major revelations to be found here, and its over before you know it. (Run time approx. 9 minutes). Big Red Cockfighting (HD): A featurette on the Cockfighting scenes in Eastbound & Down Season Two (run time approx. 4 minutes) This repeats itself in a few instances, using some of the same clips from the first feature. Cockfighting makes up such a tiny portion of the show that it feels like this should be part of a longer, more in-depth featurette, as opposed to hanging out there on its own. Deleted Scenes: Im not much one for deleted scenes. I mean they were deleted right? Doesnt that mean theyre irrelevant? There isnt much under this menu and what is there is all pretty pointless when viewed out of context. Out-takes: Surprisingly unfunny for the most part; at least Eastbound & Down doesnt suffer from bad comedy syndrome, where out-takes are funnier than the show itself. In a nutshell Show 4 Eastbound & Down is foul mouthed, sex driven and definitely straying over to the low brow, but this is far from a criticism. Above all else, its very, very funny. Sure it maybe wont win over the more culturally discerning viewer, but if you like your humour thickly layered with filth of every variety, then youll get a guaranteed kick here. Quality 3 The visual transfer can often be left wanting, with some particularly loud grain in the darker palettes and some issues of lacking picture quality. The sound mix is nicely rich though, with a decent level of attention paid to the placing of the music and audio cues, ensuring a deeply satisfying audio experience. Its not winning any Blu-Ray awards, but its definitely less than half bad. Presentation 3.5 Its box art is immediately funny, with Kenny Powers posing with his hair in Cornrows in front of a blue background that blends nicely with the box itself. The disc plays out a surprisingly long montage of key moments, along with a punchy looped track that takes a while to get old. I did hold some issue with loading times as I navigated the menu systems; to counter that point though, pressing one of your Blu-ray menu buttons will bring up an intuitive in-episode menu, meaning you can peruse the contents without interrupting the show. Features 2 The extra features themselves are largely useless, although the episode specific commentaries (discussed above) are packed with extra laughs, evoked mainly from McBride himself. Other than that though, its all sub-standard fare; short exposes on not much in particular, with a few deleted scenes and out-takes in the mix as filler. Youd get more insight on the series by simply surfing the web for ten minutes. Value 3 For fans of the show, thisll be a worthwhile purchase no doubt but for those looking for a new sitcom to fill the void then you might want to give the DVD release a whirl first, possibly as a rental. Sure its a great show, in equal measure offensive and perversely poignant when it wants to be, but Im just not completely sold on the worth of this Blu-ray release. Overall 3 Despite being a fan of the show itself, I wasnt massively impressed with Eastbound & Downs Blu-ray release. There are aspects of the visual transfer that I personally couldnt ignore and the extras are decidedly banal. In spite of that though, its the show itself thats piqued your interest enough to read this review and rightly so; if Eastbound & Down is the diamond then this just-above mediocre Blu-ray release is most certainly the rough. Eastbound & Down is out now on Blu-ray.