Summary
Hardcore, honest and hilarious stories which warm the heart and soul. This trip down memory lane is a long-lasting one.
Amazon Prime documentary The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks was released on May 20, 2022.
Earlier this month Amazon released the rebooted comedy show The Kids in the Hall, after 27 years the comedy troupe blessed us all with new material. Now we’re being gifted more with a documentary based on the troupe called The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks. With a running time of 1 hour 34 mins, across two episodes, this makes for an entertaining, insightful watch. For those of you who are new to this, The Kids in the Hall was a sketch comedy show that ran from 1989 to 1994, starring Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson, these five Canadian men in drag were comedic, energetic, and enlightening to watch.
All sitting comfortably, this is very easy to follow, we go through the linear life of the comedy troupe. We learn about their history and I’m confident it will answer many questions fans may have had. Clips bring a serious, strong sense of nostalgia, both for them and for us audiences.
This documentary includes never before seen archival footage, interviews with the troupe, their prouder, and with celebrities which include the famous Mike Myers, Lauren Ash, and Eddie Izzard, all sharing their opinions and experiences of The Kids in The Hall.
Fans will love this as you get a full insight into what it took to make the shows, how and why they became such a hit, and how they dealt with that. We watch shows like this and wish we had that set of friends and colleagues, so it’s also nice to hear and see the struggles they had. It makes them more relatable and human. Knowing that they had major knock-backs, and a lot of their comedy stems from traumas, such as abusive and alcoholic fathers, really helps in showing us who they really are. Hearing how they hated the name, originally, which comedy sketches they didn’t like, and how they grew as a troupe is so interesting to watch.
I really enjoyed the sections with Scott, and what levels he brought to the group. Being gay at the time was the ultimate act of rebellion, and the troupe used Scott (a gay man) and comedy as a weapon. This is such a powerful example of how we can use comedy. Comedy is meant to upset and please people and this is what modern audiences forget. Comedy is meant to shock, stun, and can outrage you, but it will be/should be funny for someone else. This is what The Kids in the Hall did and still does.
What makes this troupe special is that they were and continue to be a troupe not scared to tackle major issues, and mask them in comedy so well that they can be overlooked as being political. Groundbreaking and genius. They were multi-gender, multi-sexual, multi-everything and fresh, fun, smart and something SNL hadn’t seen before.
My favorite line from the documentary was “failing to find your lane” — showing us that we have to fail in order to succeed. This inspiring troupe was a voice for Gen X, Millennials, and maybe even Gen Z and future generations. Overall, whether you’re an old fan or a new fan, this documentary is a great watch, an insight into a spectacular troupe who have entertained all. I highly recommend this if you’re a fan of comedy sketches and if you’ve liked shows such as Monty Python’, The Katherine Tate Show, Oliver and Hardy, and Little Britain. I also recommend it if you’re an actor, writer, and budding comedian.
What did you think of the Amazon Prime documentary The Kids in the Hall: Comedy Punks? Comment below.
You can watch this documentary with a subscription to Prime.
