Sunday saw the premiere of the new brainchild of the Ben Best, Jody Hill, Danny McBride team--best known previously for last year's release The Foot-Fist Way--"Eastbound & Down". The new HBO series is clearly inspired by the life of John Rocker, and its tone is akin to the British comedic stylings of Steve Coogan--taking the heel and making him its protagonist.
Kenny Powers's introduction is fucking brilliant. His tirades interspersed with his eroding skills and steroid allegations make for a greating establishing sequence. Tossing him into a school setting, where he has complete disregard for the decorum of the public school environment, sets the scene for countless opportunities for his language to shock and amuse.
Kenny Powers also marks yet another great comedic turn for Danny McBride who is on quite the roll as of late. While The Foot-Fist Way was only intermittently funny, McBride was outstanding as Fred Simmons. He was also hilarious in supporting turns in Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, and even in the otherwise lackluster remake of The Heartbreak Kid. While there may not be a lot of range required in playing these roles, he owns them, and Kenny Powers goes into a realm of such extreme insensitive dickishness that these other roles shy in comparison.
Regardless, it would seem that "Eastbound & Down" should thrive on HBO, where Powers can sit in his car listening to his own audiotape, curse over the intercom at his new job, circle violently around the topless herpetic he just dumped off the back of his jet-ski, and scare his nephew shitless from across the hall at night.
And Will Ferrell looking like Ric Flair in next week's episode certainly won't hurt things.
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