Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Making Fun’ On Netflix, Where A Grumpy Master Builder Brings Kids’ Wacky Visions To Life — If He Feels Like It

Jimmy DiResta not only has 1.9 million subscribers to his YouTube channel, but Nick Offerman also follows him on Twitter. Suffice to say, the man knows how to make things. So why not have the grumpy New York State-based woodworker and his quirky crew build outlandish things suggested by young kids? That’s the idea behind the new Netflix series Making Fun.

MAKING FUN: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: “I’m Jimmy DiResta and I’m a maker. That’s a hip way of saying I make things, like this,” DiResta says as he polishes an electric guitar he made.

The Gist: DiResta is a master builder, and he talks in a begrudging way when he says Netflix had an idea that he and his crew get ideas for outlandishly fun builds from kids. In his upstate New York workshop, he and the crew take ideas via what looks like Zoom from various kids, and DiResta picks which one he feels like doing.

Oh, did we mention that DiResta has no kids and isn’t a fan of them? Not that he hates them, but he just doesn’t care about them. He talks to the kids like they’re operating a band saw in his workshop, and dismisses their ideas very quickly. But a brother and sister pair hit on one that’s doable: A giant T-rex that spits out tacos.

So we see DiResta and his crew — Jackman the engineer, Derek the best friend, Graz the bad joke teller and Canadian Pat the Canadian — planning and putting together the dinosaur using pretty much all the tools in the shop. Canadian Pat is especially good with a lathe, for instance. Wood is used for the structure, insulation for the body, foam for the head. A conveyor belt is built to deliver the tacos out of the dino’s mouth.

Then the kids call back for a “surprise request”. They want a toilet somewhere in the area. The crew decides to make an outhouse-style toilet, where someone will sit and catch the ejected tacos over their shoulder. Oh, did we also mention that the kids want some of the tacos to be candy tacos?

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Combine a building series like Tiny House Nation with something more whimsical like Lego Masters, and you’ll come close to Making Fun.

Our Take: Do you what makes Making Fun fun? Jimmy DiResta. We love that he’s not a fan of children but because Netflix is paying him a wheelbarrow-full of money to do this show, he begrudgingly has to listen to these kids and their silly ideas. His disdain as he talks to the kids is mild, and the kids seem to love the back and forth, but it also feels real. For some reason, his grumpy interactions with the kids are what makes us smile the most while watching each episode.

The builds are fascinating, of course. The myriad of materials the crew uses to complete the builds show how good they are at their jobs. Of course, they’re all being funny along the way — especially Canadian Pat, who’s strange in a good way. They’re not under a time limit because it’s not a contest. The only thing they’re competing against is their desire to do a great job, even if it’s building a dinosaur that shoots tacos while sitting on a toilet.

The final results are pretty fun to see revealed. The only question we have is: What do they do with these things once they’re done?

Parting Shot: The crew reveals the dinosaur. It indeed shoots tacos, and someone sits on the toilet to catch them. Then, the crew makes like it’s Jurassic Park  and recreates the scene where Wayne Knight gets eaten while sitting on the toilet.

Sleeper Star: Candadian Pat, of course. He’s oh so odd and oh so Canadian.

Most Pilot-y Line: Are there examples where some of the banter the guys have is a bit set up or scripted? Maybe. But it’s not as over the top as we see on shows like Pawn Stars or Duck Dynasty.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Making Fun is fun because Jimmy DiResta is such a lovable grump, but also because these guys know their way around a woodshop.

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, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.