FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS 1.11 – "The Actor"

Writers: Iain Morris & Damon Beesley
Director: Michael Patrick Jann

Cast: Jemaine Clement (Jemaine), Arj Barker (Dave), Bret McKenzie (Bret), Kristen Schaal (Mel), Rhys Darby (Murray), Eugene Mirman (Eugene), Frank Wood (Greg), Dan Bakkedahl (Waiter) & Will Forte (Ben)

After a disappointing gig, Jemaine and Bret decide to cheer up Murray by asking an actor to fake being a record mogul and sing his praises...

The penultimate episode, despite a storyline that shows freshness and inherent humour, is unfortunately a huge comedown from last week's anomalous upswing in quality. I really thought Flight Of The Conchords would hit a run of decent episodes and "finds its groove" (for lack of a better term), but it seems happy to just coast along, and I can't muster much enthusiasm now.

Mind you, at least we've established Jemaine and Bret are awful musicians. I spent most of this season unsure if the joke was they were very talented, but crippled by an incompetent manager and zero enthusiasm. I was only half right...

The Actor does have a funny premise; as Jemaine and Bret are saddened to see Murray (Rhys Darby) so maudlin after another disastrous gig, so they ask a semi-professional actor (dry cleaner Ben, played by Will Forte) to cheer him up, by pretending to be an ego-stroking record industry mogul.

Unfortunately, nutty Ben takes the acting job to heart and, in the guise of high-flier "Stephan Gucci", can't resist giving Murray a record deal when he breaks down in tears on the phone. Things quickly escalate, with Ben bitten by the acting bug and giving the Conchords a fake mega-bucks during a dinner meeting. A deliriously happy Murray then begins pre-spending their fortune on a Lord Of The Rings-style music video and expensive wrap party...

Despite a central comedy idea that works well, The Actor is just too humdrum in its execution to excite and pretty low on laughs. Rhys Darby handles the material well, and Will Forte is a good guest star as deluded Ben, but by the time the episode panders to a Rings spoof (Murray at Gandalph, super-fan Mel as Arwen, Jemaine and Bret as Hobbits), it's clear The Actor is beginning to clutch at straws.

There are some nice moments (Murray's belief a "code" exists that gets rich people free expenses), and the basic idea of the Conchords misleading their manager to such extremes is good for a giggle, but that's about it.

For me, The Actor was just another tired outing; nice idea, poor execution. It's bearable only because it doesn't fall back on a band break-up or girlfriends to fuel its comedy, but it's just not particularly well-written or memorable.

The finale is next, so we'll at least see if Flight Of The Conchords manages to draw to some kind of conclusion/cliffhanger that excites me about the greenlit second season...


4 December 2007
BBC Four, 9.30 pm