Stream It Or Skip It: ‘SmartLess: On The Road’ On Max, Where Jason Bateman, Will Arnett And Sean Hayes Take Their Hit Podcast On Tour

SmartLess: On The Road documents the tour that Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett took earlier this year, bringing their popular SmartLess podcast to live theater settings in Washington, DC, Boston, Brooklyn, Madison, Los Angeles and Chicago. But the podcast only takes up about a third of the 45-minute long episodes; the rest is just three close buddies on a road trip. And it’s pretty glorious.

SMARTLESS: ON THE ROAD: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes and Will Arnett are backstage at one of the shows on the SmartLess tour. They’re about to go on, and they realize the mics are hot when the crowd cheers hearing their voices.

The Gist: For the first stop in Washington, we see the three friends get on a private plane and immediately try to figure out what to order when they get to the hotel — which will be in about 5 hours. They all rag on each other about their choices, and Bateman knows that he’s going to have to order multiple dinner salads and a side of chicken to get the salad he wants, and he thinks room service will hate him. He then makes fun of how Arnett eats bananas. Bateman thinks that the three of them should talk to each other like it’s a regular podcast and not interact with the audience, which the other two think is silly.

On the way to the hotel, they spot some of the bigger monuments, and Hayes actually asks if this is where the “grassy knoll” is, generating jibes from Arnett and Bateman. In the suite the next morning, the table is strewn with snack foods, and Bateman makes fun of Arnett’s supposed tucking skills when he goes to take a shower. They also debate whether they should have a big dinner before or after the show, wondering if they’ll just be bloated on stage.

They decide to stop at the Lincoln Memorial on the way to the theater and decide to walk to the Washington Monument on the other side of the reflecting pool; Hayes asks a couple of passersby if they’ve seen Ozark. Backstage before the show, they all take some GasX and Advil. On stage, they completely engage with the audience. Then comes the surprise guest — this time Arnett knows who it is and the others don’t. It’s Will Ferrell, and he comes in wearing a ruffled tuxedo shirt and shades and laments that he’s overdressed. He also thought the name of the podcast was Smart List.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The last show we could think of that was a live stage version of a popular podcast was 2 Dope Queens.

Our Take: The reason why the SmartLess podcast, which began during the pandemic, is so popular is that Hayes, Arnett and Bateman are such good friends that they spend a lot of each episode simply busting each other’s balls, but in the good-natured way people who know each other well often do.

That’s the best part of SmartLess: On The Road, directed by Sam Jones and shot in black and white. We get to see Bateman discuss the concept of showering after pooping, Hayes admitting that he feels extravagant getting surf and turf for dinner, and Arnett checking himself out in the mirror and bemoaning his (supposedly) thinning hair. With all of these things come the requisite taunts and ball-busting, all of which can be uproariously funny.

It’s also fun to see the three veteran performers go out on stage and actually get charged up by being in front of an audience. Bateman used to do sitcoms in the ’80s, but it’s been a long time for him; Hayes has done a fair amount of recent stage work but being himself in front of an audience seems strange to him; Arnett hasn’t seen an audience since The Millers, and we don’t know how much they were laughing at that show.

Might things get repetitive over six episodes? Maybe. But just seeing these three A-listers act like three regular middle-aged guys going on a baseball trip (albeit in a much nicer room and with a private jet) is somehow very entertaining, as well as satisfying.

Sex and Skin: Besides the talk about showering after pooping, there’s nothing.

Parting Shot: The guys get into the car taking them back to their hotel; Bateman sees the camera and says, “Hello, friend.”

Sleeper Star: Will Ferrell, because he’s Will Ferrell. When he’s asked about his grey eyebrows, he talks about some horsebleep thing before he just tacks on, “and it’s the aging process.” There’s also the driver that gets some not-so-gentle ribbing from Bateman about his directional skills when Bateman asks to double back to the Lincoln Memorial.

Most Pilot-y Line: As the three of them zoom past the White House on e-scooters, Arnett just says, “Fuckin’ A.” We think that’s a compliment…

Our Call: STREAM IT. SmartLess: On The Road takes three well-known actors and shows them acting like three buddies on a long road trip, and we wouldn’t want the show to be anything other than that.

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.