Wrestling Team - The Complete Failure (DVD)
Sketch comedy is an unforgiving mistress. Unlike with stand-up, a sketch must be able to withstand the scrutiny of repeated viewings, and it’s not as easy to float something mediocre past the viewer. Wrestling Team, who hail from opposite ends of the Keystone state, tackle both performance venues with a stilted gusto, and while their brand of funny may not completely jolt the senses of a more seasoned fan of contemporary comedy, to the average ear, these guys may seem just a wee bit off their proverbial rockers. The Complete Failure documents the unaired first episode of the Wrestling Team television show, as well as short films, live bits, and more commentary and extras than one might shake a stick-like implement at.
Andy Beckerman and Mark Bisi engage in an absurdist manner not too far removed from the style of a trio of their comedic predecessors, those Comedy Central (not quite) darlings, Stella. And, like Stella, Wresting Team seem to encourage rather polarized reactions. Their linguistic cartwheels, often akin to Escher in their subtle impossibility, make for both humor and confusion, and, it seems, this is a hallmark of the duo’s work. Laughing, of course, is encouraged, but there’s very little that Bisi and Beckerman do that makes for smooth swallowing, and that’s a good thing. Long-winded, slowly dissolving, oratories abut quick transitions and rapid-fire inanities, but, throughout it all, the form doesn’t usually get in the way of the funny.
The Complete Failure isn’t a big-money production, and Wrestling Team make no attempts to hide their rough edges. Bisi and Beckerman handle the vast majority of the roles, and while their portrayals aren’t always a study in acting versatility, the duo embrace their limitations as further facets of the comedy rather than hindrances. The lads have made the proverbial lemonade, and they aren’t concerned that it’s sometimes a touch sour. After all, with Wrestling Team, it’s the pitch that matters as much as the sale.
