Cynical Cinema

The first episode of Lil’ Bush: Resident of the United States begins with a spoof of the Sarah Silverman “I’m f***ing Matt Damon” bit from the Jimmy Kimmel show. Only in this case, Lil’ Bush is f***ing John McCain. Because McCain was in the news at the time. It’s a painful, unfunny spoof to kick off the second season of a show that is, in itself, painful and rarely funny. Paramount Home Entertainment releases Season Two of Lil’ Bush on October 14th, and although it is slightly better in the second season than it was in the first, it is not exactly great. It’s mostly better because of the addition of a few more recognizable characters. Lil’ Al Gore becomes a prominent character, as Lil’ Bush and his cronies (Lil’ Rumsfeld, Lil’ Condoleeza Rice and Lil’ Cheney) give Gore a swirly in the toilet, and are caught on tape by Lil’ Wolf Blitzer. Why Wolf Blitzer? Who knows. It strikes me that if they wanted to bring in some new figures worth mocking, they could have done better. Like a Lil’ Keith Olberman or a Lil’ Bill O’Reilly. But then, I wondered why, in the first season, there was no Lil’ Karl Rove.  I’m getting pretty tired of typing the word “Lil’”.  But here goes more.

There is now a Lil’ Dennis Kucinich, a Lil’ Mitt Romney, a Lil’ Rudy Giuliani, and a Lil’ Fred Thompson. All of which make very brief appearances. You can tell when the episodes are being made simply by the characters that appear. The St. Patty’s Day episode was clearly made during the Democratic primaries, what with the Lil’ Obama - Lil’ Hillary fights. The problem is, it’s tough to tell when this series was made, because of the cultural references from different eras. It appears to be set during a time when George Bush, Sr. is president, because it makes references to He-Man. But then, moments later, the show makes reference to last night’s episode of House. It’s a little disconcerting.

The best part of season two, however, is the addition of a character who ought to have been added early on in the series. And, in fact, he should be as much a part of Lil’ Bush’s inner circle of cronies as is Lil’ Rumsfeld or Lil’ Condoleeza Rice. Lil’ Karl Rove makes a big splash when he is introduced, as a solitary, demented, anti-Democratic maniac. The bit with Lil’ Rove is pretty smart, certainly better than the average fare you get from this series. But although the Lil’ Rove episode is very good, the rest of the series is not. It’s OK, but the satire is not nearly as biting as it ought to be with this subject material. It feels lazy. Like, Lil’ Al Gore wants to save the environment. And Lil’ Barack Obama keeps saying “yes we can”. And Lil’ John Edwards shows up to chase skirts. It isn’t exactly brilliant, it’s merely an obvious reflection of the stories that are in the news at the time. And it feels like just about anybody could do that. And why would you want to buy the box set of a TV show that you could have produced yourself?

Lil’ Bush: Resident of the United States is an interesting concept. It takes George Bush, as a small child, fills him with delusions of grandeur, pairs him with playmates such as Lil’ Rummy and Lil’ Condie and Lil’ Cheney…no clever nicknames for Cheney, I suppose. He lives with his president father and his ugly mother, and he sows the seeds of a future disastrous presidency as he makes his way through school. There is a Lil’ Hillary Clinton, a Lil’ Bill Clinton, a Lil’ Barack Obama, pretty much a “Lil’” every major political figure in the U.S. and the world, up to and including Lil’ Kim Jong Il. No attempt is really made to have any kind of continuity, and I suppose that’s rather unimportant when it comes to a show like this one. Things take place that are occurring today, and then things that occurred during the presidency of Bush senior take place, and that’s about it.

Which is the real, irritating part about Lil’ Bush. There are some good lines and good jokes, like Haliburtonland in Iraq, and Lil’ Cheney bites the heads off chickens, Lil’ Condoleeza Rice is in love with Lil’ Bush, Lil’ Tony Blair is effeminate…but so what?Three good lines per episode is not enough to make this show good. Simply referencing George Bush and mocking his attitude could sustain you for one half-hour episode. Making Lil’ Jeb Bush a neanderthal with the IQ of a toad and talking about Lil’ Rumsfeld’s father beating him could, if done right, sustain you for a second episode. But it does not a whole show make. At some point, you want the show to be what it ostensibly is - political. In the end, it feels far more like a show that merely takes the name of the current U.S. president and then makes him look stupid. That, any comedian can do. That, is easy. George W. Bush is the most easily-mocked public figure of the past fifty years, outside maybe OJ, and yet this show is content to do simply that. Make the easy Cheney-is-corrupt jokes, and the Bush-is-stupid jokes, and the Clinton-is-a-horndog jokes, and that’s it.

Please. Haven’t Clinton-likes-breasts-and-interns jokes left the realm of topicality eight years ago? There is so much the Bush administration, and the Bush cronies, do every day that is worth skewering, that it’s very disappointing when you don’t see that happen. And by the way - where is Lil’ Karl Rove? Shouldn’t HE be the one biting the heads off chickens while Lil’ Cheney shoots people in the face? I see why this show was picked up - the idea has tremendous potential. But none of that potential is fulfilled here.