Wednesday, June 22, 2011
TV

Jon Benjamin Has a Van

The voice from Archer and Bob's Burgers steps into the sketch-comedy spotlight.

Lisa Fairbanks-Rossi
Jon Benjamin likes to prank mobsters and guys in bathroom stalls. Think he’ll get his ass kicked?
Jon Benjamin likes to prank mobsters and guys in bathroom stalls. Think he’ll get his ass kicked?
Jon Benjamin likes to prank mobsters and guys in bathroom stalls. Think he’ll get his ass kicked?

If you expected the guy behind your cartoon crush, Secret Agent Sterling Archer, to be handsome and charismatic, you may be disappointed with Jon Benjamin Has a Van.

You see, H. Jon Benjamin, the Emmy-nominated, captivating voice behind the hilariously scathing men of Archer (FX) and Bob Belcher (Bob’s Burgers, Fox) sounds more debonair than he is. The 45-year-old comic with the receding hairline on Comedy Central’s new sketch show is funny — but not cartoon funny.

This isn’t Benjamin’s first TV role in human form. On Important Things with Demetri Martin back in 2009, Benjamin revealed comedic range by playing dozens of characters. (His Benjamin Franklin spoof was the best.)

In Jon Benjamin Has a Van (he’s dropped the “H”), Benjamin plays an investigative reporter, weaving short, unscripted bits between longer, scripted mockumentary pieces.

In one, he pulls a prank on show producer Rob Shutterman (Matt Walsh, Outsourced, Children’s Hospital) by shoving him across the Mexican border and waiting a full year to go check on him. There are some guffawworthy moments, but the mean joke stretches thin.

“Area 54” was a more successful use of time than the border prank. It involves investigating the existence of the 1970s “top-secret discothque” inside Area 51.

Benjamin also gets beat up by mobsters for his involvement in a turf war between Little Italy and Little Little Italy, a miniature brownstone neighborhood with eight-inch-tall New Yorkers.

In an interview with “Private” Nathan Glaser, Benjamin uncovers “Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder” interviewing a whispering almost-veteran who lost his voice during basic training screaming about “what war might be like.”

But the most laugh-out-loud skit is “Ca$h Stall” (a fusion of Candid Camera and Cash Cab), in which Benjamin nearly gets his ass kicked hassling the man in the next bathroom stall to play trivia for a $100 bill.

Benjamin’s a more solid actor than Demetri Martin and he’s surrounded himself with successful writers, like Bob’s Burgers co-star Dan Mintz. But like many quirky sketch shows, JBHV lacks mass-audience appeal. If fans of his other shows tune in and spread the word, the show may survive.

Still, Benjamin’s just so much stronger, funnier and handsome as a cartoon.

(Wednesdays, 10:30 pm, Comedy Central)


Love in the Wild
It appears NBC’s summer fling, Love in the Wild, hopes to create Lost-like chemistry among its contestants by bringing them to a tropical island and forcing them to share in manual labor. Throw a bunch of pretty people into canoes over crocodile-infested water and see what happens! (Premieres Wednesday, June 29, at 10 pm on NBC)

The Nine Lives of Chloe King
Chloe King wants a more exciting life than her two best friends and a supportive mom can provide. “I’m tired of being the good girl,” she whines. But then Chloe turns 16 and develops Catwoman-ish superpowers! Too bad she’s being hunted by assassins. (ABC Family, Tuesdays, 9 pm)

Expedition Impossible
The Amazing Race must be the only show that Survivor creator Mark Burnett envies. So he’s copied AR’s team concept, plopping 13 tribes of three into the Sahara Desert. You think you’ll root for the New York firemen, but the Latin chicks, the NFL players and gay dudes are also totally fun. Don’t forget Grandpa and the blind mountaineer! (ABC, Thursdays, 9 pm)

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At least give this show a first watch, you´ll laugh. And also look up ´Dog Bites Man´. It was another funny show on comedy central that was about a news team based out of Spokane. Unfortunately it only made it one season, but it was great. Matt Walsh (Outsourced, Children’s Hospital), and Zach Galifianakis(The Hangover) star. Jun 28, 2011 | Reply to this comment

 

The first episode of Love In The Wild was great! Excellent editing to keep up the drama, involvement with the characters, and some just fantastic lines that came out of the character’s themselves! Good job!

Cheers, Tee

Tee is senior editor of Love In the Wild Fans Magazine www.LoveInTheWildFansMag.com and Costa Rica Magazine www.CostaRicaCLOSEUP.com Jul 02, 2011 | Reply to this comment

 

 
 
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