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[Cornballer]

- RogerEbert.com review

For the most part, “Vice Principals” is about men behaving badly. Yes, there are men in positions of power at schools all across this country who are likely just as immature and insecure as the teenagers whom they have power over. “Vice Principals” tries to milk as much as possible out of that idea—grown men acting like petulant children when they don’t get what they want—and your enjoyment will depend greatly on how patient you can be with McBride’s brand of humor. Hardcore fans of McBride and Hill (and even Goggins, who’s always great and the best thing about this show) will overlook the familiarity just to have their favorite comedian back. But “Vice Principals” is unlikely to win over anyone not already converted.

 

[Cornballer]

- Warming Glow review

The latest exercise in existential broad comedy from Eastbound & Down‘s Jody Hill and Danny McBride, Vice Principals concerns a three-way power struggle between rival administrators, Neal Gamby (McBride) and Lee Russell (Justified‘s Walton Goggins), and the school’s new principal, Dr. Belinda Brown (Kimberly Hébert Gregory). On the surface, Vice Principals resembles the man-children-run-amok absurdism of Step Brothers, with McBride and Goggins playing off each other like it’s the Olympics of guys who say “motherf*cker” more spectacularly than other humans. But as I watched the series’ (very funny) first five episodes, I began to see it as an allegory for the U.S.’s current political condition — here are two deeply insecure and resentful men who feel entitled to power but are denied it.

 

[Cornballer]

- Slant Magazine review

Vice Principals is the story of an unlikely partnership, and Goggins and McBride prove deliriously entertaining in evoking Neal and Lee's rocky relationship and oft-guarded passions. Even when they indulge their most risible and horrid instincts, there's a palpable melancholy to these characters that can't be easily dismissed—a realization that took Eastbound & Down a season or so to arrive at. In the case of Vice Principals, this impression is felt almost immediately, and this uneasy feeling lends a bruising nature to even the show's biggest laughs, like the proverbial wooden ruler slamming against your knuckles.

 

[Cornballer]

- YahooTV review

The stakes in this show are very low; so is the humor, sometimes delightfully so.

 

[Cornballer]

- Vanity Fair: TV’s Favorite Villain, Walton Goggins, On Braces, Pratfalls, and Vice Principals

You’ve always been hilarious on Justified, and Sons of Anarchy but would you consider this your first full-blown comedy?

I do, yeah, even though Danny, and Jody, and David Gordon Green would say that they only make dramas that happen to be funny. Once you look at this in the spring semester—because it really is a fall semester and a spring semester, and it’s one story, it’s one piece with different movements to it. It’s pretty fucking dark in a satiating way, and, hopefully, I think it’s funny.

Were you nervous at all to dive fully into the comedy genre?

I was studying Vice Principals while I was doing The Hateful Eight, and I got on a plane the day that we wrapped. After a 24-hour day I went straight to the airport and jumped on a plane, and landed in Charleston, and at ten o’clock at night went home and got my hair dyed. I got my tips done until one o’clock in the morning, and started work at six o’clock the next morning.

I was as intimidated as anything I’ve ever done, and in some ways probably more so because the idea of improv-ing with Danny McBride was—fuck, man—I just couldn’t sleep at night. He’s so smart, and their humor is so specific. I didn’t want to let him down; I didn’t want to let HBO down. It’s a lot to step into that ring with the roughhouse boys and how they do their things. Kenny Powers is an iconic character, and to play at that level I think would be intimidating for anybody.

How much improvising did you wind up doing?

Daily. All day long. That was the hardest part of this entire experience for me, I think for both of us, was containing the laughter. You just look at Bill Murray. It’s Meatballs! That’s my guy! That was really the hardest part. We would go on these tangents that would take us in places that were sublime, but then we would always come back to the text. Most of it is as it was scripted, as Danny wrote.

What about the physical comedy? Was that a new muscle that you had to learn?

I would be curious to hear what a comedian has to say about that, because I don’t look at it in those terms. If I thought about it as, “I need to be physically funny,” then I don’t think that I could have done it. I think I would have been too self-conscious. It’s no different than Boyd Crowder, or [The Hateful Eight’s] Chris Mannix, or [Sons of Anarchy’s] Venus Van Dam, or anybody else. It’s just, if you’re true to who this person is, and you understand who this person is, and they are an authentic human being in the world, a heightened, at times, person in the world, then the way that they walk, and the way that they talk, and they way that they interact, all of that is a part of it, is a part of the situation that lives in your imagination.

 

[Palmer_v1]

This is going to be a good TV season for me. The Night Of, Vice Principals, and Stranger Things all seem incredibly good.

Thanks for posting all the updates Cornballer!

 

[Cornballer]

- SFGate review

The first episode doesn’t begin to suggest how far “Vice Principals” will go and how funny it will become. However, you can readily appreciate the chemistry between McBride and Goggins. Who could have predicted these two would turn out to be a modern-day re-creation of Jackie Gleason and Art Carney?

- Boston Globe review

It’s not a knowing satire like “Veep” or a subcultural ensemble riff like “Silicon Valley.” It’s a more obvious comedy about ignorance, insensitivity, ambition, and delusion, like “Eastbound & Down,” and it’s enjoyable if you don’t expect too much from it.

 

[The Artful Dodger]

SOON

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

does this premiere tomorrow? i need something new in my life now that silicon valley and GoT are in hibernation for another year+

 

[Strangelove77]

I'm ready.

 

[Cornballer]

does this premiere tomorrow? i need something new in my life now that silicon valley and GoT are in hibernation for another year+

Yup. Starts tomorrow.

 

[Matty77]

10:30 tonight. Seen a lot of good shows in the last couple of years but this is my most anticipated, I'll sacrifice binge watching for the latest from Mcbride and hill.

Might even watch some eastbound and down this afternoon as pre-game for my laughter muscles....

.....Bring it on.

 

[Dennis]

Going to watch this along with the new season of Ballers.

 

[Alpende]

Had no idea this was premiering today. Goggins + McBride should be good.

 

[JoeBoy101]

After the roller coaster of Stranger Things, I need some hearty laughs. Watching too-nite.

 

[Cornballer]

Series premiere tonight:

The Principal

Spoiler

When the principal of a high school retires, two vice principals go to extremes to land the vacant job.

 

[Cornballer]

- Variety: Danny McBride Talks HBO’s ‘Vice Principals,’ Bill Murray, and Telling a Complete Story

 

[Cornballer]

Starting up now.

 

[Sanjuro]

Eli!

 

[thoseAREmySHOES]

I'll be missing the premiere at it's regular airtime, but I can't wait to check this out. Goggins is awesome.

 

[VenomousCoffee]

Well this is a big disappointment, except for the black cafeteria guy.

 

[Coin Return]

I thought that was wonderful. Some hilariously dark moments and a great cast of characters.

 

[Cornballer]

- Onion A|V Club review

 

[demon]

^^
^

Well, any other opinions? Want something new (and funny) to watch after I'm done with homework tonight.

 

[vatstep]

I enjoyed it. Not as funny as EB&D but it's only one episode.

 

[the_firewithin]

Mcbride and goggins were great

 

[Cornballer]

- Promo for next week's episode (please spoiler tag any discussion)

 

[The Artful Dodger]

Just finished. It's a good start, and sets up a whole lot more.

All the actors were great.

Goggins doesn't disappoint.

ready for next week.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

It was ok but not great

 

[eloestmn]

I thought it was really funny.

 

[styl3s]

The bickering between them is probably the best thing about the show so far.

The don't think about my dick it's private property line had me laughing for a good 30 seconds.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

It was a decent start, but there's plenty of promise.

 

[User 479360]

I'm not a McBride or Goggins fan, but I still decided to give it a shot.

I laughed a couple times, but overall the pilot was dumb and bland, sporting a shit cast.

 

[Jonm1010]

I liked it.

The subject matter and story wasn't nearly as immediately fascinating as EB&D but I will trust anything Jody Hill puts out until he proves me wrong.

 

[Matticers]

I liked it quite a bit but I'm also a big fan of McBride and Eastbound & Down so I guess that's no big surprise. It has that same type of silly, kind of dark and crude humor. I can see why some people wouldn't be into it at all. But I laughed throughout the episode and I expect it to get better over time.

If you're expecting some amazing story or sophisticated humor, you obviously won't enjoy this. Ray was the underrated hero of the pilot. Loved the interactions with him.

 

[Hazmat]

I liked it as a big Walton Goggins fan and not a McBride fan. This episode didn't have a ton of laughs for me, but I'm hoping that it's the effect of having a lot of exposition to get through.

 

[Jonm1010]

I liked it quite a bit but I'm also a big fan of McBride and Eastbound & Down so I guess that's no big surprise. It has that same type of silly, kind of dark and crude humor. I can see why some people wouldn't be into it at all. But I laughed throughout the episode and I expect it to get better over time.

If you're expecting some amazing story or sophisticated humor, you obviously won't enjoy this. Ray was the underrated hero of the pilot. Loved the interactions with him.

Honestly, I kinda thought EB&D was surprisingly deep and thought provoking at times.

 

[demon]

Just watched it. Pretty good, I laughed out loud a few times. Hard to see this lasting a long time, but I honestly felt the same about Silicon Valley after the first episode.

 

[Jonm1010]

Just watched it. Pretty good, I laughed out loud a few times. Hard to see this lasting a long time, but I honestly felt the same about Silicon Valley after the first episode.

Its only a 10 episode series.

EDIT: 18 episodes. 2 seasons.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

I enjoyed this quite a bit. Goggins was obviously MVP but the rest of the cast did a great job and I laughed a bunch of times throughout the episode (especially when Neil threw tacks at Lee). Lookin' forward to episode 2!

 

[Matty77]

Pretty good. More level than east bound, Danny is my favorite but it's nice to see him not just dominating every scene. It may not be deeper on an intellectual level but on an emotional seems like they are trying to be nuanced in ways that previous Mcbride-Hill productions have not been.

It should ramp up though, previews for next week look pretty good.

 

[Zaph]

Solid start, can feel this going places.

Goggins was really channeling his Venus Van Dam in a few scenes - can't wait for more.

 

[Cornballer]

Clips from the premiere:

- Farewell Assembly
- Pledge of Allegiance

 

[shadow_shogun]

I liked it, it feels like the further adventures of Kenny Powers.

 

[alr1ght]

Seemed like Kenny Powers became a vice principal. I am 100% okay with that.

 

[Jonm1010]

I will say this on reflection, outside of Eli(not sure his name in the show) the supporting cast is definitely not as initially strong as Eastbound.

Which I guess is hard to do because of the setting and different characters but it's still early. A lot of great EBandD characters took a while to show up.

 

[alr1ght]

A reminder that Busy Philips (Kenny Powers' ex) has two kids, named Birdie and Cricket. 😃

 

[Dennis]

Pretty good, will keep watching.

That ex-girlfriend though.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

Pls god let Stevie be in this. Please!

 

[lastflowers]

First episode was great. Glad to see it is a closed series.

The premise and characters should make for some great scenes