Featured DVD Review: Colin and Brad: Two Man Group

March 31, 2011

Colin and Brad: Two Man Group - Buy from Amazon

I'm not a fan of reviewing stand-up concert DVDs. That's not to say I'm not a fan of these DVDs, but reviewing them is always hard, as I struggle to write something that is both informative and avoids spoilers. Additionally, while I like good improve, I don't think there's anything out there that is physically more painful to watch than bad improve. With that, I agreed to review the Colin and Brad: Two Man Group DVD with a little trepidation. But there were a couple of reasons to be optimistic.

The Set

Those two reasons are Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood, who are two of the mainstays of Whose Line is it Anyway?, an improve show that ran for ten season, both here and in the United Kingdom where it originated. That show is arguably the best improve show around, and Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood were two of the best performers during the show's run. (I would include Ryan Stiles and Greg Proops in the four best, although Greg Proops was always funniest when riffing with Clive Anderson, the host.) If you've seen that show, there is a little deja vu here, as many of the skits are borrowed from that show (although to be fair, I certainly doubt they originated there).

The good news is, I can describe the set up to these skits without getting into spoilers. The set opens with something familiar, Moving People, where two audience members get on stage and physically move the pair as they act out a scene. Sound Effects is another audience participation skit, with Colin and Brad acting out a scene and one audience member providing the sound effects for Colin, and an entire section of the audience providing the sound effects for Brad. Sideways takes advantage of a camera trick as Colin and Brad lie on the ground on a wallpapered section of floor with the camera above them so it looks like they are standing up. They then act out a scene while trying to move around like that. The absurdity of the scene adds a lot to the humor here. Colin and Brad pretend to be the Love Doctor in One Word Expert and answer questions from the audience. However, note the singular there. They only say one word at a time, so they have to go back and forth to complete a sentence. In Jeopardy, Colin is the host of the game show and Brad and two audience members are the contestants, but Colin and Brad have to provide all of the voices, including for the two audience members. Interpreter has Brad interviewing an audience member about their job while Colin acts as the interpreter for the hearing impaired. The Torture Game has three mini-games: Questions Only, If You Know What I Mean, and Letter Substitution. The set ends with Mousetraps, which sounds like something that would be on Jackass. Colin and Brad play the Alphabet Game to an opera while blindfolded, barefooted and surrounded by 250 mousetraps. Oh yeah, there are also dozens of mousetraps hanging from the ceiling.

Outside of a couple of slow spots, this set is loaded with incredibly funny bits and it is clear these two enjoy working together very much. For fans of Whose Line is it Anyway? or of improve in general, it is absolutely worth checking out.

The Extras

There are two extras, a Dos and Don'ts of Improv and a faux interview between Brad and Colin. Since the set isn't very long, the extras add to the overall entertainment value.

The Verdict

Colin and Brad: Two Man Group should please fans of stand-up in general and improve in particular, especially those who miss Whose Line is it Anyway? The DVD doesn't have a huge amount of extras, but it is on par with most similar releases. It's also hard to beat $11 as a price.


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