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Released by: Adult Swim/Warner Brothers
Released on: October 16, 2012.
Director: Various
Cast: John C. Reilly, Eric Wareheim, Tim Heidecker
Year: 2010-2012
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The Movie:
Check It Out! With Doctor Steve Brule debuted in 2010 as a spin off from Adult Swim's Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job! where John C. Reilly first appeared as the mysteriously inept public access television show host who popped up here and there to offer bizarre health tips. Brule describes the show in his introductions to each episode as 'the show where we check things out.' Apparently the character was popular enough to warrant his own series of fifteen minute escapes of which two seasons have aired so far.
Done as a strange sort of mix of public interest, news and the aforementioned health and wellness tips, each episode lets Brule interact with different people, some of whom may or may not actually be in on the jokes. Reilly, quite the chameleon of an actor, really works well as the lead character here. More often than not clad in a plain brown suit with his mop of freakishly curly hair flopping around seemingly with a mind of its own, he stumbles and fumbles his way through interviews, monologues and travelogues with unpredictably bizarre results.
The first episode, Food, sees Brule head to a restaurant to eat different kinds of food. Here he falls head over heels in love with an obese and unattractive waitress named Sunshine. He flirts with her and brings her back to his studio for an interview, only to find out her real name, at which point he realizes that they're cousins. The second episode, Relationships, sees Brule bring in Channel 5's Married News Team, Jan and Wayne Skyler (Heidecker and Wareheim reprising the roles from their earlier show), so that he can feel Jan's breasts which he describes as feeling like roast beef.
Most episodes have a 'Doctor To Doctor' segment in which Brule interviews a fellow expert on whatever particular topic the episode is themed around. The Relationships episode sees him interview Dr. Don Davis about sexual intercourse, with Brule cracking up like a little kid anytime the topic gets too graphic. Other episodes introduce us to Brule's mother, Dorris Pringle-Brule, his 'cool older brother' and a bunch of male strippers in one extra strange bit in which Brule heads out onto the streets to make some friends. Other guest starts on the series include David Liebe Hart, Maria Bramford and a large black porn star named Ms. Deja but for the most part this is Reilly's show all the way.
Other topics covered throughout the set include Family, Health, Fear (in which Brule confronts his fear of puppets… sort of), Friendship, Boats (where Brule gets lost at sea… sort of), Pleasure, Money, Space, Animals (in which Brule gets involved with a couple of 'furries') and finally, last but not least, Life.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Check It Out! looks like it's supposed to look. This show is done fast and cheap by a small cast and crew and it's intentionally made to look like a public access show. So, if you keep that in mind, you'll have no real problems with the video quality here, ropey and tape sourced looking as it is. The 1.78.1 widescreen picture presents the material in its original broadcast aspect ratio.
The English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix sounds very good on this DVD. An optional 2.0 Stereo Surround Sound mix is included in English as is a closed captioning feature. There are a few bits that are meant to sound intentionally abrasive and so the levels bounce around here and there to accommodate that but otherwise the audio on this disc is fine. Dialogue stays clean and clear and whatever distortion is in the mix is intentional.
Extras include a lengthy collection of deleted and extended scenes, menus and episode selection (with a play all option included). It probably would have been cool to get a commentary from Reilly here, but that didn't happen.
The Final Word:
Consistently funny, very often absurd and periodically pretty disgusting, Check It Out! With Doctor Steve Brule Seasons 1 And 2 is pretty great stuff if you're in the right frame of mind for it. It's not mainstream humor for all tastes and it probably stands that it'll appeal more to seasoned Adult Swim/Tim & Eric fans but if you fall into that crowd… check it out.
