There are only so many hours in a day, which is why you can't waste your time at work watching just ANYTHING on Netflix Instant. That's why I swim through the krill that is online streaming content and filter out only the choicest, juiciest plankton for your enjoyment. Or something. Anyway, it's called WootFlix.
This week's show: Another British sitcom, "The Inbetweeners"
What's the pitch?
Four social outcasts find solace in each other in high school while desperately trying to work their way up the pecking order and get laid.
Who's in it?
Simon Bird, Joe Thomas, Blake Harrison, and James Buckley. Recognize them? Me either.
So how is it?
Juvenile, but in a good way. I won't try to fancy it up and say it's a fresh take on the age old teen comedy or anything; it could very easily be called "American Pie: British Accent Version," but for some reason I still find it charming. I swear I'm not some weird, obsessive Anglophile or anything, but I find a lot of British sitcoms much more entertaining than American. I feel like the writing is crisper, and the fact that they have far fewer episodes in a season means there's much less time wasted before they get to the point.
So if you're not into comedies about the foibles of adolescence and you might get asked uncomfortable questions about why you're watching some (20-something actors portraying) teenagers making out, maybe skip it. Otherwise, the banter is sufficiently amusing, the scrapes the boys get into are sometimes cringe-inducing on a level only "Peep Show" has ever demonstrated for me before (and I mean that as a compliment - I love "awkward situation" humor), and the characters are charming enough, even if they're a bit one note (The smart one, the lovesick one, the dumb one, and the blustery braggart).
There are three seasons, although only two are available online right now, and at six episodes a piece it won't take you long to burn through them. At which point if you're hooked, you'll have to wait for the movie due out in August. My only real disappointment was the underuse of Greg Davies as Mr. Gilbert. He's set up as a potential antagonist for the group but shows up only occasionally to insult the boys and exit stage left.
Give the show a shot if you're into teen comedy, and I swear next time I'll make myself review something that's not British.
Got a recommendation for Randall to review? What did you think of "The Inbetweeners?" Let us know in the comments!"