Tim and Eric & Dr. Steve Brule Tour shits the bed and doesn’t give a fuck

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      At the Vogue Theatre on Sunday, September 7

      How do you re-create the magic of a cult-favourite TV show on a live stage without totally shitting the bed? If you’re Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, the answer is easy. You show up at the Vogue Theatre and promptly fuck up big-time, after which you apologize for totally shitting the bed.

      Smartly, the duo known as Tim and Eric bounded onto the Vogue stage Sunday and confessed that re-creating Adult Swim sketches from Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! was going to be a challenge.

      The solution was to “reinvent the game” by going the total-improv route. As Tim and Eric desperately groped for a comedic springboard for the night (“Chinese food!!”), you could see the flop sweat forming. Five minutes in, Wareheim grimly announced, “It’s not working out. I’m spraying brown in my pants—it’s like a chocolate fountain down there.” He then did the I-just-crapped-my-pants waddle off-stage as Heidecker announced the show was over and that folks would be receiving a Mr. Dang’s Chinese-food restaurant voucher in lieu of a refund. He then verbally abused the stooges who headed for the exits.

      It was a brilliant way of diffusing expectations. It was also unnecessary, given that the show—which started right up again two minutes later—was actually pretty fucking funny, especially for those who appreciate the humour of cannibalism, plane crashes, war, famine, and Susan Boyle.

      The night was roughly divided into two halves. The first had Tim and Eric bouncing from video segments to live bits as tasteless as they were rabidly received. Giving Slap Chop pimp Vince Offer a run for his money, Heidecker and Wareheim donned fake beards and baseball caps to hype the latest goods from Cinco, the imaginary corporation from their TV gig. Even if the bit went on a tad too long, it’s nice to know that the Cinco Cigarette Juice people are about to launch a children’s energy drink fortified with tar and jack cheese.

      Proving nothing’s taboo in the Funny or Die era, the best bit of a live Morning Prayer sketch had pastor Behr (Wareheim) begging forgiveness from his fellow man-of-the-cloth Skott (Heidecker). The offence? Drugging him and then orchestrating an anal gang rape. (The possible line of the night? Skott grimly announcing that, in the days afterward, “It looked like the top of a pickle jar back there.”)

      Just as awesomely disgusting were unaired Tim and Eric’s Bedtime Stories video clips where Bob Odenkirk played a doctor whose specialty was ridding folks of unsightly toes. Audience members didn’t know whether to puke or cry.

      Part 2 of the travelling road show showcased Dr. Steve Brule, the quite possibly brain-damaged public-television star who got his start with Tim and Eric and has since spun off into his own thing. Give veteran character actor John C. Reilly endless props for managing to get through an entire hour without once giggling at his own brilliant idiocy.

      His appearance started out with a panicked self-affirmation that was doubly funny if you’ve ever found yourself standing in front of a mirror stoned and paranoid, grimly trying to convince yourself everything’s going to be okay. From there, Brule—with his trademark shock-therapy hair and stroke-victim delivery—launched into a slide show that took all the guilt out of laughing at pictures of ugly babies, eye-popping trailer-park trash, and intolerant Middle Eastern immigrants who’ve arrived in North America to impregnate Brule’s mother.

      Brule screened videos that drove home how epically idiotic laugh tracks are, repeatedly referred to Vancouver as either Vancougar or Vankruger, and generally left fans wondering what the hell his speciality as a doctor is. That question was answered by an audience-participation segment that included a quick and furtive breast exam of a female fan, after which Tim and Eric appeared for a wedding sketch that worked as a seamless transition.

      Fans were more than jacked to see Jan and Wayne Skylar, and not just because Jan (Heidecker) proudly announced, “I’m like an old tree—my sap is running.” Normally, the only place fans get to see Channel 5’s only married news team is on the boob tube. By the time they took their final bow with Dr. Steve Brule, it was like they were born to be on-stage.

      Not that they cared. As Tim and Eric noted at the beginning of the show, they couldn’t give a fuck about reviews because “People have bought their tickets, they’re in their seats—it doesn’t matter.” Even, presumably, if you show up and shit the bed.

      Comments

      10 Comments

      out at night

      Sep 10, 2014 at 9:26am

      So, be honest Mr. U. they didn't in fact "shit the bed", now did they? Sounds like it was actually a good night out and the performers delivered a creditable, professional show that you quite enjoyed. Dr. Steve Brule obviously killed, and I'd guess that even the opening bit with the muffed improv was in fact a planned "fail". So...rethink headline for review? Oh, no that would require Mr. U to forgo using a tasty phrase like "shit the bed" and that would be horrible for Mr. U.

      Agreed

      Sep 10, 2014 at 12:23pm

      The show was funny, disgusting and awkward - much like shitting the bed. Praise Rang!

      Julian

      Sep 10, 2014 at 2:00pm

      Actually, the only part of the review that described anything accurately was the headline. They did shit the bed. The show was a mess and it stunk! It was the Vinyl Cafe of frat boy humour. In a word: TERRIBLE!

      out at night

      Sep 10, 2014 at 7:23pm

      @Julian

      I refuse to believe that my main man John C. Reilly was anything but amazing as Dr. Brule. Wish I'd been there so that my opinions had some actual weight. I really just commented to give Usinger a hard time for being so predictably Usingerian.

      Ruth

      Sep 10, 2014 at 9:59pm

      Before the show i posted on fb that i wAs going to this show.....afterwards i promptly took it down......fortunately it was 10-30 on a sunday so nobody knows i went to this farcical heap of shit!!

      Ruth

      Sep 10, 2014 at 9:59pm

      Before the show i posted on fb that i wAs going to this show.....afterwards i promptly took it down......fortunately it was 10-30 on a sunday so nobody knows i went to this farcical heap of shit!!

      Jared

      Sep 12, 2014 at 9:40am

      I've never laughed so hard in my life. If you didn't find it funny, you obviously aren't a Tim & Eric fan, and don't understand their comedy style. Why would you go? Idiots!

      Twisted

      Sep 15, 2014 at 12:04pm

      @outatnight John C. Reilly was something to behold--truly one of the most warped characterizations out there in the comedy world and worth every penny to see live. Love that he never cracked up once. The rest of you can just go see, I dunno, Russell Peters.

      Hazlit

      Sep 21, 2014 at 8:06pm

      I keep trying to tell all of you that comedy isn't art but nasty, stinky stuff that gets wiped all over the place, but you just won't listen.

      scott

      Sep 24, 2014 at 6:39pm

      I would have paid more if the show was only dr. Steve Brule. A big part of what makes Tim and Eric so funny is their editing... seeing them live just reinforced this for me.