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Hard to believe, but Rob Riggle has been on our screens for 15 years at this point; we can remember him and buddies like Paul Scheer and Billy Merritt during their days at the Upright Citizens Brigade in New York. But Riggle is usually a supporting player; this time, he not only stars in a new comedy on Sony Crackle, his name’s in the title. Is it worth sitting through the service’s commercials?
ROB RIGGLE’S SKI MASTER ACADEMY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: Helicopters hover over a beach, and in cheesy greenscreen shots, we see Dermot Mulroney on a jet ski going “I can’t lose them!” Then we see Rob Riggle on a jet ski aim his pistol at those same helicopters.
The Gist: Rob Riggle (Rob Riggle) was an action star in a show called Ski Master. Years after the show was cancelled, he created a Ski Master Academy, where people learn to kick ass on jet skis. But apparently some suspicious deaths have been happening at the academy, so his coke-stealing agent-manager-brother-in-law Gary (Paul Scheer) has him get in front of it with a press conference.
We flash back eight weeks to the beginning of camp; Rob’s stunt double Dirk (Billy Merritt) is in charge, and Riggle has hired Mulrooney to teach a class about kick-ass stunts. Also working there is Dirk’s daughter Britt Britt (Britt Baron), who wants to teach the stunt class but Dirk would rather she teach safety. Another counselor, Preggers (Eliza Coupe) — named after her mother — teaches “lake and ski culture”, which is less safe than it sounds.
There’s a ghost stalking the lake, apparently the result of an “accident” 30 years ago caused by the camp’s strange groundskeeper Gil (Dave Allen). Oh, and Rob has to contend with sharing the lake with a canoe camp (“They’re just big floaty logs with a dipshit-sized hole cut in the middle,” Rob says about them) run by his arch-enemy, Hall of Fame Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher (Brian Urlacher).
Our Take: Just like most of the shows coming from Abominable Pictures, Rob Riggle’s Ski Master Academy is a loopy combination of self-awareness, improv craziness, and meta metaness. Does it work all the time? No. But there’s a reason why shows of this ilk, starring Riggle, Scheer, or any combination of their early-’00s UCB alumni buddies is usually good for a guffaw or two: these folks have been doing improv together for 20 years, and the chemistry and ease is always apparent when they perform together.
And this show plays up Riggle’s tough guy persona pretty well; Riggle only retired from the Marine Reserves recently, and mostly any role he’s been in has taken advantage of his ability to tap into the jerk-off-with-a-gun guy that most people would describe as a “douchebag.” Here, he’s not only a d-bag, but he’s a clueless one who puts people in danger just by thinking (maybe it’s a statement on our current president). In fact, Riggle doesn’t do a ton of the heavy comedic lifting, leaving it to pros like Merritt, Coupe, Baron, Tim Meadows (who plays the “lake commissioner”), Allen, Samm Levine (a reluctant but eager recruit) and Rizwan Manji (another more enthusiastic camper) to get the big laughs.
It seems like the pattern is that one guest star per week enters the camp — either playing themselves, like Mulroney, or other characters, like Christopher McDonald does in episode 2 — but doesn’t leave. Sounds like it will be a fun eight episodes.
Sex and Skin: Mulrooney has some under-the-covers nookie with the ghost at the end of episode 1. We’ll let you figure out how.
Parting Shot: See “Sex and Skin.” It’s a goofy comedy; of course the credit tag is going to be a gag, not something that advances the story.
Sleeper Star: Britt Baron (who we loved as Justine in GLOW) is adorable as Britt Britt, who just wants to shred on the lake but is chafing under her dad’s overprotective nature.
Most Pilot-y Line: Let’s just say that Brian Urlacher is a much better linebacker than actor. But his stiffness is likely part of the joke.
Our Call: Stream It. If you can put up with Sony Crackle’s ads (hey, it’s free!), then the show is a fun diversion that entertains without much thought involved.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Company’s Co.Create and elsewhere.
