The Weird Comedy Genius of the Kids in the Hall

 


"Nonetheless, it’s clear there was something more to their work than just the jokes. The Kids had that essential kernel of artistry: an actual point of view. It was never explicit but clearest in the way they acted their broad range of characters, from Simon the hapless Satanist to Gavin, the curious boy who never knows when he’s overstayed his welcome. Often, the more outlandish the character, the more committed and lived-in the performances. Conversely, the more a character resembled a type one might actually encounter in the real world, the more arch and stylized the performance. Take McKinney’s most notorious creation, the Chicken Lady, a sex-crazed circus freak: In his hands, it was hard to tell whether she was most unsettling for her half-poultry appearance or her wild nymphomania. McKinney truly inhabited her, and gave her a deep backstory — a repeat viewer could be forgiven for imagining that somewhere, the Chicken Lady was really out there, desperately trying to get laid. Yet the scenes with the Geralds, for instance — two businessmen who supersaturated every interaction with business-negotiating jargon (“Perhaps we can accommodate the obvious interests of your client: How about this? A six-date schedule with possible sexual intercourse on date six”) — the harder it became to fathom the true existence of people who actually went out and got MBAs. Their freaks were real, and normalcy became the ultimate drag."

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The Weird Comedy Genius of the Kids in the Hall -- Vulture: