Down to Clown.
By Matt Fowler
Co-Creators Louis C.K., Zach Galifianakis and Jonathan Krisel’s Baskets premieres Thursday night on FX – the downtrodden, quirky tale of a desperately poor, and fundamentally selfish, rodeo clown (played by Galifianakis) determined to live out his lofty clown-life dreams.
The tone of this new comedy feels like it might have played better a few years back. Not only when Galifianakis was more buzzed-about, and more in the throes of Hangover stardom, but when low-key misfit-fest movies like Napoleon Dynamite were striking certain oddball chords amongst the viewing public. Because that’s the blood underneath the skin here. A little Napoleon. A little Tim & Eric. There’s nothing too overtly funny, but it’s strange enough to cause a stir.
And Galifianakis rests, comfortably, at home in the obtuse a***hole persona he’s cultivated over the years. From his stand-up, movies, and Between Two Ferns. It’s a shtick that, perhaps, has seen better days, as everyone’s got an expiration date, but Baskets is still able to hover nicely in its own miserable world of funk and forlornness. And I did laugh out loud a few times toward the end (I won’t give it away, as this is an advance review) when some broader, more-physical comedy elements collided with the show’s ongoing madcap malaise.
A French clown academy washout (not speaking any French didn’t help), Galifianakis’ Chip Baskets, reluctant to use his clown-ready name as his actual clown name, heads back home to humdrum Bakersfield, CA where he struggles to make ends meet and financially provide for his bored French wife (singer Sabina Scuba). Dead set on providing the town with more of an artistic take on clowning, and going by the name “Renoir,” Chip gets a barely-paying gig at the local rodeo getting bowled over by bulls.
After a scooter mishap, Chip begins to get ushered about town by Martha (Martha Kelly), an overly-accommodating punching bag of an insurance agent who he gets to unleash all of his anti-social a***holery upon while she dotes on him as if secretly in love. It’s an okay dynamic, but one that, I feel, can’t maintain a series. Unless Chip begins to change and soften, which would then alter the entire tone. So it could be a problem down the line, but it works fine in this pilot.
Some Tim & Eric “cable access” surreal buffoonery creeps in on occasion. With things like – oh, Chip’s mom being played by comedian Louie Anderson in a wig, or someone drastically over-salting their single carrot, someone choking on their drink for no reason, or someone abruptly stopping their conversation and walking away. Dream-like “gaffe” elements that help the show stand out, but also prevent it from becoming a full-fledged “comedy.”
Baskets doesn’t have the DNA to truly soar, but it’s odd and off-putting enough to succeed for a few seasons perhaps, like FX’s other more jagged attempts at comedy (Wilfred, Legit, etc.). It all depends on how you feel about watching Galifianakis’ familiar shtick in 2016.
