The Ruff and Reddy Show follows the
revived careers of a comedy team who barely tolerated one another at the height
of their popularity. Since their professional break-up, those feelings have
matured into poorly masked mutual hatred. Yet both have put aside their
feelings in the interest of personal gain, in whatever form that may take.
Writer
Howard Chaykin knows a thing or two about Hollywood, having worked in
television for more than a decade. He knows the fickle nature of fame, and
never needs reminding that in show biz, BIZ is the operative word. It’s not
about art, nor is it even about entertainment. It’s commerce, plain and simple.
And this philosophy runs rampant throughout the entire series. Some may mistake
it for cynicism, or disdain. But the truth is, he’s peeling back the thin
veneer of celebrity-dom to display its ugly internal mechanism, and using two
almost-forgotten cartoon characters to do it.
Chaykin
has made no secret that his political leanings are firmly to the left. Mine are
on the opposite side, yet on the aisle. When he chooses to wax political in his
work, I appreciate how rather than stand on a soap box and shout the party
message, he instead chooses to hold up a mirror to his own left-leaning frères, that they may see how ridiculous
they sometimes sound. Case in point, the hipster scene depicted above, and a
later moment when Reddy tells his partner in a moment of scripted dialogue,
“And that kind of attitude is why you won’t survive into the 21st
century – feelings are facts!”
He
pokes fun at the millenials who believe they’re leading a revolution because
they sit and re-tweet pleas of assistance from GoFundMe. He reminds us that
there is no correcting injustices that happened generations ago. He demonstrates
that however unthinkable a tragedy may be, there are still those who will
collude in their own enslavement.
And
using two almost-forgotten cartoon characters to do it.
Rating:
10/10