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I had thought
that the days of “Candid Camera”
were a thing of the past. There’s
nothing better than seeing someone caught
in the middle of an elaborate hoax. Over
the last couple of years, there have been
a slew of shows trying to recapture the
popularity of the practical joke. One of
the most promising was “Scare Tactics”,
which set up some really complex ways to
terrify people. Unfortunately, due to the
scattershot camera work and the extremely
vapid hostess work done by Shannon Doherty,
it ended up being a bore to watch.
On the other hand, “The Jamie Kennedy
Experiment” offered up clever practical
jokes that are filmed in such a way as to
make them easy to watch, and even easier
to enjoy. Host and mastermind Jamie Kennedy
is truly a ‘Master of Disguise’
and is involved in every joke. Often he
is recognizable to the viewer, but every
now and then the makeup work is so good
as to even fool us.
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I had missed the series during its first season,
but had caught a few later episodes. I was enough
of a fan of Kennedy’s to pique my interest
in what he was up to. Towards the end of last
year, I sat down to watch the Paramount DVD release
of the first season and ended up watching all
seven episodes on the first disc. I honestly couldn’t
stop laughing. My wife was working in another
part of the house and kept yelling at me to find
out what was so funny.
The series turned out to be quite a hit, so the
second season was expanded to offer up a full
slate of 23 episodes. So now that Paramount is
releasing the 2nd season, the size of the set
jumped from 3 discs to 4, and all of the episodes
are every bit as funny as before. Kennedy created
a slew of memorable ‘characters’ during
the few episodes of that first season. Many of
them carried over into this second season, including
my favorite, rapper Brad Gluckman. He really cuts
loose this season though and adds an unbelievable
amount of new characters to the fold. If you’ve
never seen him as the incompetent valet parker
or the ‘bubble boy’, you don’t
know what you’ve missed.
Since there were so few episodes last time around,
it was fairly easy to pick out a couple of favorite
gags, but this time it’s much more difficult.
But I feel I need to give you some kind of idea
what you are in for with this show. In one gag
in particular, Kennedy hired a hypnotist to put
a group of people under. When they come to, he
accuses one of the participants of attacking him
while they were under. In a couple of other hysterical
pranks, Kennedy joins some “Star Trek”
focus groups (yes, they actually have those) and
it becomes evident pretty fast that he knows nothing
about the subject. I also really got a kick out
of one of the bits he pulled in Las Vegas, where
he pretends to be the fiancé of a guy,
and meets his intended’s parents. Their
reaction, not having any idea that their son is
marrying a transsexual, is priceless. That same
episode also includes a classic bit where Kennedy
riffs on “Indecent Proposal.” In one
of those great switcheroo practical jokes, he
turns the tables on the guy setting up the joke.
Initially he wanted Kennedy to offer his fiancé
money to spend the night with him. But when the
guy leaves for a minute, Kennedy lets her in on
he joke and tells her to agree to it, no matter
how little money he offers.
Actor Jamie Kennedy’s first breakout role
was the jokester / nerd Randy Meeks in Wes Craven’s
“Scream.” Even in that first film,
it was evident Kennedy had a knack for voices
and characters. That talent lends itself perfectly
to this series. What shocks me though is that
neither Kennedy nor the series became recognizable
enough for people to catch on. Somehow, they kept
finding marks. This run of luck must have begun
to run out, though as the series was finally cancelled
at the end of the third season. I imagine this
had a little bit to do with ratings as the series
had some stiff competition, but I’ll be
it became harder and harder to fin marks.
The first season DVD set had a few more extras
than this one, but what it offers is still worthwhile.
This 4-disc DVD set of the second season includes
some alternate set-ups, where some of the practical
jokes were played on a second mark. There are
also two episodes that come with commentary. Kennedy
is a natural comedian and they are VERY funny
to listen to.
“The Jamie Kennedy Experiment” is
a hysterically funny series, so if you want a
good laugh I recommend picking up this set. It’s
more than worth it.
Starring: Jamie Kennedy
Extras: Commentary by Jamie Kennedy over Select
Episodes, 2nd Marks for JKX
Specifications: Full Screen, English Dolby Surround
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: 10/12/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give The Jamie Kennedy Experiment: Season
2 an A.
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