Decades later, this comedy troupe hasn’t missed a beat
The 1990’s were an interesting time for TV sketch comedy. NBC’s Saturday Night Live was going strong. Fox had both the Wayans brothers’ exceptional In Living Color and later MadTV. Then, there was this very funny, very Canadian comedy troupe called The Kids in the Hall.
Troupe members Bruce McColloch, Mark McKinney, Scott Thompson, Kevin McDonald, and Dave Foley were open to anything and everything they thought funny. All the cast members played men, women, old men, ole women, gay men, children, and oddball personalities. The five performers have slid right back into some of those roles and plenty of new ones in the 2022 revival brought to viewers by Amazon Prime.
The season opens with a dig at the most obvious target, the troupe’s failed movie, Brain Candy. That was the end of the road for the kids back in 1996. Each of them went on to various TV, musical and live venues. They would occasionally regroup, but never for something as well written and produced as this new season. In the first sketch, Brain Candy finally makes back the money it lost at the box office, just 28 years later than expected. This lifts the curse, and the Kids are back!
Each episode runs the length of a network sitcom, right around 22 minutes. It doesn’t take long for familiar characters from the original run to show their faces, starting with both Kathy and Cathy. Others include the Head Crusher, Gavin the story telling kid, and The Eradicator. Also returning is a character who was polarizing back in the 90’s. Thompson’s Buddy Cole was flamboyantly gay, but still was never reviled or championed to any real extent by gays and allies or homophobes. Alas, it was the time before social media.
Highlight sketches include one about the drop rate of newborns, a bloodbath scene featuring a Shakespeare bust, and the ongoing Friends of Kids in the Hall. Perhaps the breakout skit of the entire series is Foley’s Doomsday DJ, who is broadcasting in the post-apocalypse. He only has one record, Melanie’s 1971 hit, “Brand New Key.” It’s a saccharine sweet folk song and Foley’s facial expressions and body language are those of a guy who has been stuck in a bunker playing that same song without end.
Kevin McDonald has a sketch where he plays himself opposite Foley. Having seen the troupe live twice in the 90’s, this is a clear call back to those shows. Foley could never get through a live sketch with McDonald. Anyone who saw them live will recognize this as the subtext to the scene.
The season also features some deep cuts. When McColloch is downing shots as the masked hero, Super Drunk, he sings the refrain from “The Daves I know.” This was the opening song off of his first solo album. There are a couple sketches that miss or go too long, but overall, the vibe and style of the kids is welcome back. Fans of the original series will love the revival, and there will be plenty of new fans. Those lucky viewers have years of back catalog to enjoy, and they will.
Amazon released a companion movie called The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks which showcases the careers of the troupe.