Horst_In_Translation Publish time 12-4-2021 05:12:03

Only fun if you were there

"Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl" is an American half hour short film from 2006, so this one had its 10th anniversary last year already and you can read the name of the protagonist in the title. This HBO production can basically be seen as a comedy performance overall I would say, even if the location was a somewhat different stage and the audience is by definition also different in here as Wuhl, an Emmy winner, involves them in his stand-up routine permanently. It does look as if everybody there had a pretty great time and good for them I can only say. However, this does not mean you also have a good time checking this one out. It's mildly funny and the best about it is probably random snippets of information like the one about the Guinness Book of World Records. But there are also some parts that didn't work out and there is really nothing more cringeworthy than watching student laugh and their only purpose is to suck up to the professor. This is an occurrence here from start to finish and it is embarrassing really. As for Mr. Wuhl I think he did an okay job overall, sometimes a bit over the top, but he managed to make all his scripted stuff look spontaneous and that is a bit of an achievement I suppose. The one thing I won't appreciate though were the ways in which he repeatedly mocked Ben Affleck. Sure there was no Argo yet, but still I found it very disrespectful and this is one of the crucial reasons why I give this one a thumbs-down. Another would be that all scenes outside the classroom (even if it weren't many) were really weak. Not recommended. Now lets see if the sequel is any better.

score 4/10

Horst_In_Translation 31 August 2017

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3794294/35859
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