RiffTrax: Shorts To-Go and RiffTrax: Old Tyme Shorts Roundup DVD Reviews
“Shorts To-Go” is worth purchasing.
“Old Tyme Shorts Roundup” is a mixed bag.
As I’ve done with past reviews of RiffTrax discs, I’m going to summarize my thoughts on all of the shorts on each disc. “And here we go…”:
RiffTrax: Shorts To-Go
“Watch Out For My Plant” is a “riveting” story of a young boy learning to take care of a single plant. As you can imagine, this is perfect RiffTrax material. Whether the gang is cracking jokes about the weird character Papa Nicholai or bashing “Lost,” this is hands down one of the best shorts on this disc.
“Whatever The Weather” is a goofy rhyming short about, you guessed it, the weather (wind, rain, snow, and sun to be exact). Despite its short length, Mike, Bill, and Kevin manage to whip out some great jokes about the rhyming and the narrator pointing out the obvious. Also, look for a great “Whyyyy?” gag too.
“More Dangerous Than Dynamite”- Previously released on the fantastic “RiffTrax Live: Reefer Madness” DVD, this short proves to be nowhere near as funny when recorded in the studio. My main issue with this version is that the hilarious jokes from the live show are noticeably missing from this studio version. Disappointing, to say the least.
“Are All People The Same?” is a short about race, size, skin color, and the differences between people. Aside from a few jokes about the images on screen, there weren’t too many memorable jokes from this short.
“Things Are Different Now” is an overlong, dull short about a young boy adjusting to his parents divorce. Highlights here include jokes about “It’s Pat!,” “Keenan And Kel,” and yes, even “Mystery Science Theater 3000.”
“Family Teamwork” is a short about what families can accomplish when they work together. Since this is a narrated/dialogue-free short, Mike, Bill, and Kevin opt to add their own dialogue for the characters on screen which turns out to be quite hilarious. There are also several good pop culture references (as per usual).
“Seat Belts: The Livesaving Habit” is a safety film that explores the reasons why people don’t and should wear seat belts. Much of the humor comes from the “actors” and their excuses for not wearing the seatbelts. There are also a few funny crash test dummy jokes as well.
“William’s Doll”- I saved the best for last here. ‘Doll’ is a slightly disturbing and creepy short about a young boy (William) who wants to express his love, emotions, and feminine side to a baby doll. The strange and serious tone of the short proves to be great fodder for the RiffTrax crew and they do a bang up job busting out some truly funny jokes. I was especially fond of the jokes about Jeff Dunham, the manly father character, and the odd grandpa character.
RiffTrax: Old Tyme Shorts Roundup
“Reading: Who Needs It?”- Despite a great title, this dopey short about 3 teens realizing that not being able to read will harm their career goals isn’t as amusing as I had hoped. Sure, there are a few great jokes about bad makeup, the NBA, and Jeff Dunham (again), but that’s not enough to make this short a winner.
“Mealtime Manners And Health”- A short about manners, mealtime etiquette, and eating with others may sound like comedic gold, but I’m afraid the actual short doesn’t offer up enough material for the RiffTrax gang to mock. Yes, there’s some laughs to be had about Italians and the doofy Phil character, but you’re left wanting more after it’s over and done with.
“Decisions, Decisions” is an open-ended short about a boy named Tommy who moves to a new country town and befriends a nerdy loner named Joey. The short is mainly about the “decisions” one has to make and the consequences (or affects) they may have. The fact that this short has an “I like turtles” joke is enough to win me over. The riffs about the monotone acting, Joey, and Salt Lake City are an added bonus.
“Building Better Paragraphs” is an instructional video about students being taught to construct a paragraph about a certain topic. As you can imagine, the short isn’t exactly thrilling, but the comedic trio we know and love provide some great riffs about an odd looking child and a dog.
“Seven Little Ducks” is about a young child (Caroll) and her family of ducks. This is far and away the best short on this disc. Everything from the “Alien” reference to the jokes about the frightening looking father duck had me laughing long and hard.
“Values: The Right Thing To Do” is another abrupt, open-ended short about the “right thing to do” when encountering a person in need of help. My guess is that this short was designed for a classroom discussion. Regardless of its purpose, this is one goofy short filled with some great riffs about the old man Mr. Carson character, trash rummaging, and pop culture references.
“Pearl Of The Orient” is a short about the people and culture of the Philippine islands. Despite a few chuckles (namely the Sulu and Gollum jokes), this short was actually more interesting than riff worthy.
“Individual Differences” is a short about the right way and the wrong to teach a student based on his or her skills. Like “Pearl Of The Orient,” this short actually has some merit to it. Still, the RiffTrax crew manages to find the humor in it with some nice cracks about the monotone teacher and the shy student Roy.
Video/Audio:
By now, I think viewers have come to expect that the picture and audio quality is hit-and-miss as the age of the shorts differs from short to short. Most of the shorts are plagued with grain, lines and scratches while others such as “Seat Belts: The Lifesaving Habit” and “Values The Right Thing To Do” looks fairly decent.
As for the audio, some shorts have low audio that requires adjusting (like “William’s Doll”), some shorts have poor quality audio (such as “Whatever The Weather”), some shorts have rough audio (namely “Building A Better Paragraph”) and others sound fine such as “Decisions, Decisions.”
No extras have been included on these two discs.
“Shorts To-Go” and “Old Tyme Sorts Roundup” are available to purchase on Amazon.com and Rifftrax.com
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