Sketch Review 12/21

The current school semester has come to an end. Young men and women across this great nation are now removing their noses from the grindstone and finding comfort in a month of leisure (except of the working class! ). Yet this time of splendor is also one of remorse for the Reckless Gents. Over the next two fortnights, we will be divorced from that which we love: performance and tomfoolery. Ever the precocious bunch, we'd not let this weigh heavily on our spirits. We have decided to shower you, our adoring audience, with as much comedy as possible (and proper). Over the next month, the Reckless Gents will be reviewing a sketch every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Some will be a spectacle. Others, not so much. Either way, we entreat you to come and watch. You will not be disappointed.

Derrick Comedy's "Foreigner", a review by Jake Lucas

*Warning: Not for the easily offended*

Deciding on the first sketch to review was difficult, but I eventually settled on Derrick Comedy's "Foreigner". I'm a huge fan of Derrick Comedy and I admire them greatly. These guys started out a few years back as NYU students who began taking sketch and improv lessons at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Seeing as I'm trying to follow in their footsteps in a way, I thought this lesser known sketch by them would be appropriate. I'll wait to take a massive shit on MadTV during my next review.

Derrick Comedy often uses the theoretical framework of "game" to structure their sketches. In a nutshell, the "game" of a scene is the central pattern within a scene that is different from everyday life. This scene can be a solid textbook example of that structure, with the pattern being Don Glover (left guy) feigning not knowing English to proposition having sex with the other man's daughter. The sketch establishes what is going on right when it starts, and smoothly transitions into this pattern with the "first unusual thing". It's neat, clean, and theoretically sound. While some hate formula, this particular structure is very satisfying for me, and you'd be surprised how often you'll see it elsewhere.

But what really makes me love this scene is how well Don Glover commits and heightens. I go from empathizing with him as he has difficulty understanding English, to loathing him as he violently humps the air, mimicking his heinous act with beautiful specificity. This, coupled with Dominic Dierkes' solid role as the straight man, warms the cockles of my comedic heart.