{"id":15417,"date":"2023-03-03T23:03:17","date_gmt":"2023-03-04T04:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=15417"},"modified":"2023-03-03T23:03:17","modified_gmt":"2023-03-04T04:03:17","slug":"tv-review-hulus-history-of-the-world-part-ii-is-a-fun-venture-back-into-classic-mel-brooks-territory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemadailyus.com\/?p=15417","title":{"rendered":"TV Review – Hulu\u2019s \u2018History of the World, Part II\u2019 is a Fun Venture Back into Classic Mel Brooks Territory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fans of Mel Brooks have been eagerly waiting for more than forty years for the sequel to 1981\u2019s History of the World, Part I<\/em><\/strong>, a film whose title suggested more was coming. A series of sketches parodying formative events throughout history comprised the entertaining but absurd film, which included an upbeat song and dance number about the Spanish Inquisition. Now ninety-six years old, Brooks has still got it as the creator and executive producer of History of the World, Part II<\/em><\/strong>, an eight-episode sequel series that melds Brooks\u2019 dependable humor with a modern update.<\/p>\n

The series includes a handful of recurring segments, including \u201cThe Civil War\u201d and \u201cThe Russian Revolution,\u201d which follow General Ulysses Grant on his quest to get a drink and the catering adventures of one Schmuck Mudman, respectively. Wanda Sykes stars as presidential candidate Shirley Chisholm in a mock sitcom, and Jesus gets a new treatment in \u201cCurb Your Judaism\u201d and a subsequent set of gospel recording sessions. Other bits are quick flashes, like JackRasp, a version of the popular Jackass <\/em><\/strong>series featuring Rasputin, and Galileo trying his hand at Cameo.<\/p>\n

\"History
Fanny (Pamela Adlon) and Schmuck Mudman (Nick Kroll), shown. (Photo by: Greg Gayne\/Hulu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The timing of this long-awaited appendix to the original film is interesting since those who have been waiting longest belong to a generation that isn\u2019t very represented in the series, which instead features many performers who were only born shortly before the film was released. Many of the actors will be best known to audiences that may not even be aware of who Mel Brooks is, and this show serves as a productive fusion between the boundary-pushing comedy he often utilized in films like Blazing Saddles<\/em><\/strong> and a more current appreciation of political correctness and the way in which that\u2019s at least worth considering in broad send-ups of so much of what doesn\u2019t look nearly as good upon reflection throughout history.<\/p>\n

Brooks enlists a very competent core cast to lead many of the sketches and also serve as writers and executive producers. Nick Kroll, Ike Barinholtz, and Wanda Sykes make their mark with memorable turns as Mudman, Grant, and Harriet Tubman, among others, and are more than game for any over-the-top parody each sketch demands of them. The expansive cast includes many other standouts, including but hardly limited to Jay Ellis as Jesus, Zazie Beetz as Mary Magdalene, Josh Gad as Shakespeare, Seth Rogen as Noah, and Taika Waititi as Sigmund Freud.<\/p>\n

\"History
Robert Todd Lincoln (Nick Robinson), Fleetus (Scott MacArthur), and General Ulysses S Grant (Ike Barinholtz), shown. (Photo by: Greg Gayne\/Hulu)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Like with any sketch series, there are hits and misses throughout the eight half-hour installments that will premiere on Hulu two at a time over the course of four consecutive days. The longest recurring segments sometimes drag, but they\u2019re also highlighted by great guest stars, including Pamela Adlon, Zahn McClarnon, Tyler James Williams, Tim Baltz, and Timothy Simons. Fortunately, there are also those that are fleeting and short, indicative of how funny doesn\u2019t always mean drawn-out, and some of the sharpest humor can be conveyed simply without aiming for excess laughs (one caveman-era scene, for instance, learns its lesson from the miserable failure of ABC\u2019s commercial-inspired 2007 sitcom Cavemen<\/em><\/strong>).<\/p>\n

There are elements of much of Brooks\u2019 work that don\u2019t necessarily hold up under a present-day lens, like the overt racism portrayed in Blazing Saddles<\/em><\/strong>. But Brooks has always been intent on sending up as many groups of possible for their intolerance, and this show is hardly an apology for his past work. Instead, it smartly skewers a range of targets, including Christianity and white supremacy, while also parodying reality series and questionable movie marketing. Half-hour episodes made up of vignettes work well, and this series is just satisfying enough for exciting audiences to accept the reality that, given how long this sequel took, a part three probably isn\u2019t coming, at least not for a long time.<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n

Check out more of Abe Friedtanzer\u2019s articles<\/a>.<\/p>\n