Vice Principals The Complete Series on DVD is available to own NOW. From HBO, creators Jody Hill/Danny McBride and starring McBride and Walton Goggins, the half hour comedy series has come to a close after two hilarious and shocking seasons. Here is my review of the complete series on DVD.
Season 1
Eastbound & Down was a comedic spectacle, never afraid to push the boundaries of good taste and in the process became a cult classic. So when Jody Hill and Danny McBride team up once again, we find ourselves paying attention. Vice Principals is a strange cauldron simmering with black comedy, bizarro humour and spectacular performances by a cast that all looked like they were having a great time being there. From Shea Whigham, who plays the cool step-dad and can absolutely do no wrong in any scene he’s a part of and yet still gets relentless hate thrown at him by McBride, to Edi Patterson’s awkward and undying attraction to our leading man even though he wants nothing to do with her. The world of Vice Principals is both familiar and insane all at once as Hill and McBride lead us down some unexpected and grim territory.
You will feel uncomfortable just as much as you will laugh your ass off and that is why Vice Principals succeeds. My god – that ending in the finale? Are you guys kidding me? Or how about when McBride and Goggins BURN DOWN THE NEW PRINCIPAL’S HOUSE to get back at her. The insane lengths that these characters go to is absolutely ridiculous but it’s also damn funny… So why the hell not go there? Most shows would be appalled to go the distance that Vice Principals reaches every single episode. Vulgar, gross (no — shitting in a fountain is not a genius prank dude) and did I mention hilarious? Yes it is and that’s what matters. Goggins and McBride have amazing chemistry as our two vice principals who both hate one another but team up to try and get the new principal canned so one of them can get promoted instead. (Full review HERE).
Season 2
Ending a show this damn good after only TWO seasons (and each season was also damn short mind you) feels like an incredible injustice, but not when you consider just how furious and manic this story really was. Could the series have continued? Sure. But with Jody Hill and Danny McBride deciding to conclude it now, I’m OK with where they ended everything. There was closure, there was happiness, there was a lot of messed up shit, like a tiger eating a dude in a school… Stuff like that. If you thought season one was full of grim black comedy, then nothing can prepare you for how fucked up Vice Principals season 2 can get… And it does… A lot. But it’s also funny as Hell – and dare I say the funniest TV series on air aside from Rick and Morty. It was that great and even better than Eastbound & Down, which was the creators’ previous masterwork.
After an INSANE cliffhanger ending in season one which saw one of our leads SHOT several times in the school parking lot, you will be UNsurprised to find that character very much alive as this final season kicks off with a little time-jump to boot. Much of this season deals with an investigation into who the attempted murderer is, while Goggins and McBride try to keep their friendship afloat despite the constant hurdles that are thrown at them, which include very pissed of teachers and severely dysfunctional home lives. Goggins and McBride deliver their finest acting work ever in this second season. Ever. Goggins is equal parts devilish and hilarious but this season sees him return home to see his siblings and family and we get to see yet another more grounded side to his character (as much of a prick as he is) and in the process we really start to like him more. It was a great and much needed move exploring more sides to that person and by the end of the series everything makes a lot more sense. Speaking of which, the ending is spot-on. They could not have done a more satisfying job.
If you enjoyed Edi Patterson’s sexed up psychotic attraction to McBride in season 1, be prepared to see her unleashed in this final season. Patterson did such an incredible job portraying someone so strange and unhinged that you can’t help but love every scene she takes over. As an added bonus – watch all of her blooper scenes on this DVD, because she makes the other actors crack up more than anyone else on set. Vice Principals was a rollercoaster of absurd black comedy that could have went on for more seasons, but as Silicon Valley starts to ware out its welcome, a series like Vice Principals was a fleeting ball of hilarious comedy fire that ripped through our funny bones and embedded itself into our hearts. It truly is one of the best things that HBO has ever done and I can’t recommend it enough.
Rating: [star rating=”5″]