Just for Laughs Chicago 2009: "Bob and David and Friends" - Review

June 19, 2009/Lakeshore Theater

I've long been an obsessive fan of the HBO sketch comedy Mr. Show with Bob and David, so when I learned that its creators/stars Bob Odenkirk and David Cross would be bringing a live show -- called "Bob and David and Friends" -- to the 2009 Just for Laughs Chicago Festival, my mind raced with possibilities: would they be performing old Mr. Show sketches? New sketches? Would each perform stand-up separately? Who are the "friends" of "Bob and David and Friends?"

Ultimately, "Bob and David and Friends" felt a lot like a lost Mr. Show episode with just a few twists. The bulk of the performance consisted of sketches featuring Bob and David, with two brief stand-up acts thrown in to break things up a little. After a brilliant, ad-libbed opening in which Cross and Odenkirk ripped the festival for running commercials and took a few shots at sponsor TBS, the show was underway. The first sketch found the pair in a "one man show" battle, with Odenkirk doing a great impression of pretentious, too-personal drama and Cross pandering to the city with a silly Blues Brothers routine. Bob and David were back. God, how I've missed them.

Here are a few of the other brand-new sketches the boys performed in "Bob and David and Friends":

• A game show parody called "Cash or Check," in which Odenkirk has to decide in what form would he like his million dollar prize with assistance from any of four "helper angels": a phone call, a Magic 8 Ball, the ghost of Bishop Desmond Tutu or a scientologist.
• A gay couple argues over the redundancy on their "L.G.B.T.B.B.Q. Barbecue" banner.
• The family of a murder victim confronts the killer with some rather tame language.
• A short film by Odenkirk, called "Bob Pitches a Movie."
• A hearing on torture in which a senator reveals some photos that are a bit too graphic.

In addition to the sketches, there were two short stand-up sets: the first by John Mulaney (who I'm on record as being a big fan of), performing material off his album The Top Part, and the second by Nick Thune, whose set started with several brilliant one-liners before dissolving into a second half that didn't work.

Was "Bob and David and Friends" as good as an episode of Mr. Show? Definitely not. By Odenkirk's own admission, the show consisted of "sketches without endings and little rehearsal." Still, I appreciate the fact that Bob and David came to the festival with a show prepared (unlike, say, Robert Smigel's "Unaired Bozo Circus Parody"), and the resulting performance was a cool combination of scripted material and loose improvisation. Just the thrill of seeing Odenkirk and Cross performing with each other again made the show worth it for me, reminding me that I can't think of much that's funnier than the two of them together. Let's hope they find another project to collaborate on soon.

Grade: B+