Eastbound & Down Season 4 (2013)
Studio: HBOBlu Ray Release: May 13, 2014Not RatedReview by James Klein
Kenny Powers is back. The fourth and supposedly final season of HBO's brilliant comedy series Eastbound & Down is hitting the stores this spring and what better way to celebrate the baseball season than with baseball legend Kenny Powers.
I know that if one is unfamiliar with the series it won't matter what I say about how good or bad season four is. But I highly recommend to those who don't get easily offended to take a look at this series. Eastbound & Down continues to remain funny, smart, and highly entertaining from seasons one all the way to four. The story of a former baseball player who has left baseball because of his love for drugs, booze, hookers, and fame while trying to reconcile with his family and long lost love April (Katy Mixon) is side-splitting comedy brilliance. Danny McBride who plays the anti-hero Kenny Powers was born to play this part and while McBride has been in several films such as This is the End, Your Highness, and Up in the Air, he may be forever known as Kenny Powers.
After faking his own death and giving up his dream of returning to the majors just so he can be with April, Kenny is a changed man. No longer swearing, doing drugs, and jumping from job to job, Kenny has settled down as a family man, working for a car rental agency. As his wife starts to move up in her career, Kenny is stuck watching the kids most of the time, feeling more and more like his life is over. When he runs into an old former team mate Guy Young (Ken Marino, best known for co-starring in one of my all-time favorite comedies, Wet Hot American Summer) who now is the host of a SportsCenter type show, Guy gives him the opportunity to come on as a guest host, thus bringing him back in the spotlight. As fame and popularity start to grow, Kenny resorts to his old ways.
Dragging along his poor, inept buddy Stevie (Steve Little, who practically steals the series) as his manager, the two go about building a restaurant called T&A and creating a charity called Little Black Kids while April slowly starts to become disgusted with Kenny's mismanagement of money as well as not being the father he should be.
While I must say season four was my least favorite season due mostly to the more dramatic episodes (which caused this season to tone down on the nudity and racy humor) I still think the final season is a winner. Having Ken Marino be apart of the series is a huge plus and while I would have liked to have seen Don Johnson return as Kenny's father, Marino was an excellent choice to play the smug sports host who is afraid to let anyone take away his spotlight. If I had any major complaints it would be the bizarre cameo appearances by Marilyn Manson and Lindsay Lohan as well as the usually funny Sacha Baron Cohen starring in the final episode but given very little to do. But with moments like Kenny going off on Christmas, Stevie getting a chin enlargement, Kenny's pet robot named Yul Brynner, Stevie's foul mouthed Hispanic children, and the very strange WTF finale, Eastbound & Down's final season is a must for any fans of the series.
The blu ray that HBO has put out looks great as expected since all the episodes were shot in HD. The sound is perfectly clear and in fact a bit too loud in certain parts (mostly during the sports show introductions) which is presented in 5.1 surround. Each episode is presented with an audio commentary track that has either Steve Little, Danny McBride, Ken Marino, Jillian Bell, Tim Heidecker, and show co-creators Jody Hill and Ben Best. I specifically enjoyed the first episode's commentary track where McBride explains that the series was over after season three but HBO begged them to do one more final season (HBO, if you are listening, can we please bring back one more season of Deadwood?). Rounding out the special features are deleted scenes and some very funny outtakes and bloopers, indicating what a fun show this must have been making.
Maybe it's a good thing Eastbound & Down is ending. The show will be remembered as nothing short of greatness.
Season 4 [Rating: 4]
Blu Ray [Rating: 4.5]
Kenny Powers is back. The fourth and supposedly final season of HBO's brilliant comedy series Eastbound & Down is hitting the stores this spring and what better way to celebrate the baseball season than with baseball legend Kenny Powers.
I know that if one is unfamiliar with the series it won't matter what I say about how good or bad season four is. But I highly recommend to those who don't get easily offended to take a look at this series. Eastbound & Down continues to remain funny, smart, and highly entertaining from seasons one all the way to four. The story of a former baseball player who has left baseball because of his love for drugs, booze, hookers, and fame while trying to reconcile with his family and long lost love April (Katy Mixon) is side-splitting comedy brilliance. Danny McBride who plays the anti-hero Kenny Powers was born to play this part and while McBride has been in several films such as This is the End, Your Highness, and Up in the Air, he may be forever known as Kenny Powers.
After faking his own death and giving up his dream of returning to the majors just so he can be with April, Kenny is a changed man. No longer swearing, doing drugs, and jumping from job to job, Kenny has settled down as a family man, working for a car rental agency. As his wife starts to move up in her career, Kenny is stuck watching the kids most of the time, feeling more and more like his life is over. When he runs into an old former team mate Guy Young (Ken Marino, best known for co-starring in one of my all-time favorite comedies, Wet Hot American Summer) who now is the host of a SportsCenter type show, Guy gives him the opportunity to come on as a guest host, thus bringing him back in the spotlight. As fame and popularity start to grow, Kenny resorts to his old ways.
Dragging along his poor, inept buddy Stevie (Steve Little, who practically steals the series) as his manager, the two go about building a restaurant called T&A and creating a charity called Little Black Kids while April slowly starts to become disgusted with Kenny's mismanagement of money as well as not being the father he should be.
While I must say season four was my least favorite season due mostly to the more dramatic episodes (which caused this season to tone down on the nudity and racy humor) I still think the final season is a winner. Having Ken Marino be apart of the series is a huge plus and while I would have liked to have seen Don Johnson return as Kenny's father, Marino was an excellent choice to play the smug sports host who is afraid to let anyone take away his spotlight. If I had any major complaints it would be the bizarre cameo appearances by Marilyn Manson and Lindsay Lohan as well as the usually funny Sacha Baron Cohen starring in the final episode but given very little to do. But with moments like Kenny going off on Christmas, Stevie getting a chin enlargement, Kenny's pet robot named Yul Brynner, Stevie's foul mouthed Hispanic children, and the very strange WTF finale, Eastbound & Down's final season is a must for any fans of the series.
The blu ray that HBO has put out looks great as expected since all the episodes were shot in HD. The sound is perfectly clear and in fact a bit too loud in certain parts (mostly during the sports show introductions) which is presented in 5.1 surround. Each episode is presented with an audio commentary track that has either Steve Little, Danny McBride, Ken Marino, Jillian Bell, Tim Heidecker, and show co-creators Jody Hill and Ben Best. I specifically enjoyed the first episode's commentary track where McBride explains that the series was over after season three but HBO begged them to do one more final season (HBO, if you are listening, can we please bring back one more season of Deadwood?). Rounding out the special features are deleted scenes and some very funny outtakes and bloopers, indicating what a fun show this must have been making.
Maybe it's a good thing Eastbound & Down is ending. The show will be remembered as nothing short of greatness.
Season 4 [Rating: 4]
Blu Ray [Rating: 4.5]
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