Angry Boys - Episode 1

Chris Lilley of Summer Heights High has another show and it’s airing in the U.S. for the first time on HBO. We checked out the first episode, but internet-savvy readers will be able to find the whole first season on the web. This show features Lilley in playing multiple parts while spoofing the “culture” of modern young men. It’s pretty weird and not as funny as Summer Heights High yet. Nothing can really beat Mr. G, can it?

Lilly plays Nathan and Daniel Sims, 17-year-old twin brothers who aspire to run their dead father’s farm. Nathan is 90% deaf…and getting deafer every day. Daniel spends most of his time mocking Nathan. Nathan flips birds most of the time in response to everything.

The accents help this show be funny, and so does the profanity and the characters’ generally terrible attitudes. In Daniel, we have potential for another Jonah Takaluah. There is a lot of potential in the nearly silent Nathan as well. A lot of the humor feels forced at this point though, but it's good for a 28-minute pilot. It's crass, politically incorrect, and irreverent (all of which we love). 

Nathan and Daniel have a grandmother, also played by Lilley. “Gran” is an officer at the local Juvenile Justice Center. She is pretty racist but “gets results” for the justice center by being both mind-bogglingly mean and weirdly kind to the inmates. She makes them pajamas and does karaoke for them. Gran also has 23 guinea pigs. Later in the show, the boys’ favorite rapper will appear (also Lilley).

Overall, this isn’t something that we are going to follow weekly. On a rainy day, we will watch the full first season. If you liked Summer Heights High or are a fan of that kind of humor, this is a good pick. It’s not as good as SHH yet (if you haven't seen THAT show, we recommend it), but we can see Angry Boys getting funnier as the characters are fleshed out more. We like Lilley and we will definitely watch this one summer when we have more time.

Episode grade: B