Let me first preface this review by stating that I am a big fan of the Trailer Park Boys TV show. I have all the seasons on DVD, as well as the blu-rays of their feature movies, as well as their direct-to-video movie. And as a fan, I must warn every and all TPD fans to avoid this "special" at all costs. Unless, of course, you'd like to have your memories of the classic show tainted by this garbage.
The special starts off well enough, with a montage filmed in the Sunnyvale trailer park, which sets up the overall premise behind the show - Bubbles has won an all-expenses paid trip to Dublin, Ireland, to see Rush live in concert. Somehow thinking that a private plane means the passengers are exempt from customs inspections, Ricky quickly gets arrested for trafficking narcotics into Ireland, and the rest of the boys (and Randy) get hauled off to court.
The judge happens to be a fan of the show, and agrees to drop the charges if the boys will do a live show in Dublin, explaining the dangers and risks of alcohol and narcotics. All this is just a framing device for the live show, which follows immediately after this setup.
I honestly don't know how much those Irish fans paid to attend the show, but they must be incredibly upset. The boys do the show in character, meaning that there are no carefully-rehearsed skits and lots of lots of them trying to ad-lib stuff in character, but it all falls incredibly flat. It's like a poorly thought out high school play, with actors who have barely had time to read their lines once. While drunk.
There are times where one or another character is on stage, just looking around, yelling backstage for the others to come out and help entertain. These moments actually feel genuine, as you can kind of feel that the boys realize the mistake behind a live show almost immediately after it begins. They look uncomfortable and at a loss as to what to do, and the crowd rarely, if ever laughs.
Honestly, I couldn't even get through this travesty in one sitting. I'd be constantly wincing and invariably switch to a different movie or show just to cleanse my palate. In total, it took me 6 sessions to get through this 90-minute torture session, and I really had to force myself to power through. I dare any TPB fan to make it up to Ricky's hypnotist act in one sitting...
If you're a TPB fan and you intend to watch this show despite all the warnings against it, all I can recommend is to watch the filmed framing devices shown before and after the live show and fast forward through the rest. Those parts are the only redeeming element of the show, and why I decided to give the special a 2 instead of a 1.
Ricky, Julian, Bubbles...you guys are geniuses when it comes to scripted comedy, but stand-up comedians you definitely are not. Stick to the small screen.
