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Blu-ray Review: “Vice Principals: The Complete First Season” Is Laugh Out Loud Hilarious

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An overprotective father is obsessed with becoming a principal and competes against the popular vice principal. However, something happens that makes them work together to save the day.

I have a very particular sense of humor and I honestly cannot remember the last time I truly laughed out loud, at either a movie or a TV show. When I saw the trailer for “Vice Principals,” I laughed so hard that I had to watch it several more times. Very rarely does that happen and I think trailers today, in general, give away too much of the story, whether it be for a film or TV show but with “Vice Principals,” while HBO showed some hilarious moments in their preview, there were even funnier scenes throughout the entire season that didn’t warrant a mention in the trailer and that made the show even more worthwhile.

Neal Gamby (Danny McBride) and Lee Russell (Walton Goggins) are the two vice principals at North Jackson High School. When the school’s principal, Mr. Welles (Bill Murray), tenders his resignation so that he can care for his wife, who is dying of cancer, both Gamby and Russell each assume that they will be appointed the much sought-after position. Already filled with hate for each other, when they are called into the office for a big announcement, they both think their day has arrived but when it is divulged that neither one of them will inherit the post, and that the position has been outsourced to a newcomer, college professor Dr. Belinda Brown (Kimberly Herbert Gregory), Gamby and Russell begin to plot her scholarly demise. Instead of trying to individually take her down, they call a truce between themselves, and agree to partner together, utilizing the old addage, two heads are better than one. But even though they are working side by side, their previous animosity towards each other, although mainly subdued, still raises its ugly head, sometimes resulting in disastrous but hilarious results. They both pretend to like Brown, trying to get on her good side and luring her into false sense of security but over time, she gradually begins to see through their deception and as the school year comes to an end, they must try and extricate her once and for all, both agreeing that whoever takes her place, will make the other their right hand man.

Danny McBride is absolutely perfect as Neal Gamby. He is a straight shooter, tells it like it is, and takes no crap from anybody. He treats everyone as inferiors, fellow staff members, students, his ex-wife, but he has one weakness, his teenage daughter Janelle (Maya G. Love). He worships the ground she walks on but even she occasionally gets on the wrong side of him, especially that she considers her stepdad Ray (Shea Whigham), the coolest stepdad ever. For years, Neal has paid for horse-riding lessons for Janelle but when she informs him that she is quitting because she wants to take up Motocross racing, just like Ray, Neal finally snaps and the result is hilarious. Walton Goggins oozes charm and magnetism but underneath, he is the slickest, most manipulative person you will ever meet. His smile seems genuine and sincere, but once you turn your back, he transforms into Satan, complete with enough ammunition to send you straight to hell. “Vice Principals” takes these two unsavory and very unlikable characters and puts them together in what initially appears to be an explosive situation, but as the show progresses, both men, sometimes through gritted teeth, actually find some common ground and by the end of the season, have mutual respect for each other. You would think as much as these two men despise each other from the very beginning, that the very thought of them becoming friends by the end, would be totally unbelievable but even despicable characters can sometimes find the light, thankfully without resorting to an over-abundance of saccharine-filled schmaltz.

The end of the season is left on somewhat of a cliffhanger but I think it’s safe to assume, both Mr. Gamby and Mr. Russell will be back in class when the new season begins.

Available on Blu-ray & DVD Tuesday, February 7th

 

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James McDonald

Originally from Dublin, Ireland, James is a Movie Critic with 40 years of experience in the film industry as an Award-Winning Filmmaker. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association.