Here are mine: Terrific show, probably their best one yet, and there was quite a bit going on.
First of all: how did this “three riffer” riff of HOHH stacks up against the previously released one? Simply put, it blasts it out of the water. I watched the previous “three riffer” version over the weekend, and what struck me most was that there was considerable room for new riffs and plenty of riffs that could be retooled or just abandoned and replaced. While nothing they do is ever not funny, the old riff was not among their best efforts, IMO.
To my delight, that’s exactly what they did. I would estimate there were roughly 25 percent MORE riffs than the previous version, and that about 50 percent of the total riffs were new. The result was easily as consistently funny as the tightly-packed “Plan 9” or “Reefer Madness” riffs they did in previous shows, maybe funnier.
The other thing I noticed when watching the old version over the weekend was, well, how LONG the movie seemed, perhaps because much of it consists of people standing around talking to each other and strolling down hallways.
(“Reefer Madness” is 10 minutes shorter and it seemed, when I saw that show, to be just about a perfect running length for a show like this. “Plan 9” is actually a few minutes longer than HOHH, but the zaniness of the movie and the finely tuned riffing makes it seem like a lot less. That 70-80 minute time range seems to be ideal for average viewers who are not hardcore riffing fans.)
Again I was delighted that the writing team had jammed the script with so many more riffs — and really funny ones, of course — that I didn’t look at my watch once. It seemed like every character got his or her own running gag, and the endless variations on them kept people laughing.
As for the shorts, well, what can I say? Between the fanciness-hating supermarket witch and Coily’s brown paper cousin (did the character have a name?) the guys had plenty to work with. Another pair of gems.
(Graphics courtesy of Sabrina, aka @introvertedwife)
I also want to commend Paul F. Tompkins, who did a great job in unfamiliar terrain. They let him do a few minutes of material and he picked a bit with just the right tone, that didn’t go on too long. The sign of a pro. It took him a little while to get into the rhythm of the riffing, but once he did, he blended right in with Mike, Kevin and Bill. And his cameo during the feature was a nice break in the movie, inserted at a strategic moment.
Riff from the previous version that didn’t make it to tonight’s version that I kind of liked: “Hey, I guess you CAN push a rope uphill!”
Updated riff: “Sen. Ted Stevens” became “Congressman Barney Frank.”
Oh, and my theater was, again, about two-thirds full (maybe it’s the same few hundred people?) and people seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.
Fave riff: “LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLadies?”
Your thoughts?
