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Jamie Kennedy's Blowin' Up (TV)
R1 - America - Paramount Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Jarrod Baker & Noor Razzak (1st January 2001). |
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The Film
 The faux-reality show in which "real" celebrities play caricatures of themselves in a thinly disguised mockumentary about their lives – is a relatively new television conceit. Since the first (and perhaps best) example of the genre, Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2000-Present), the faux-reality genre, several imitators have sprung up. "Jamie Kennedy's Blowin' Up" is one example, which builds on "Curb's" 'real celebrity goes about fake everyday life' gig by having a C-list (or maybe D-list) star as its protagonist and having him trying to undertake a career change. Yes, "Blowin' Up" follows Kennedy's fake attempts to become a rapper, accompanied by his best friend Stu Stone. Together, they make possibly the whitest rap duo ever. Of course, this is part of the joke compounded by the subject matter of their songs (in a meeting with Joe Simpson father of Jessica and Ashlee, Kennedy announces that their next song is about his ex-girlfriend's left breast, which was his favourite), and their choice of collaborators (Bob Saget drops by to add vocals to their track 'Rollin' with Saget'). The show essentially follows Kennedy and Stone across a series of attempts to 'make it' in the rap world from arranging meetings with hip-hop luminaries such as the RZA, Ice-T and others, to capers such as trying to get photographed with hot celebrities. These antics are interspersed with a great number of driving scenes – basically the duo cruising round in an enormous black Hummer, and occasionally dancing in their seats, breaking into song, or both and occasional scenes where Kennedy goes for an obviously fake audition, or makes an obviously fake guest appearance on a TV show. So far, somewhat funny. But the show's laugh-out-loud moments tend to be spread out among more tedious clips (Stone & Kennedy's in-car hip-hop dancing is maybe funny a couple of times, but after that starts to seem like filler) and the first show doesn't generate many laughs at all until about halfway through. "Blowin' Up's" best scenes are genuinely hilarious, and will surely become instant YouTube hits; on top of that there are plenty of surprises packed in there to make the show worthwhile. But a lot of it tends to drag, and you'll probably be glad that each episode is only about 20 minutes long, although the many celebrity cameos help to keep in interesting. "Blowin' Up" is light, entertaining, and may just have produced some novelty hip-hop songs that will stay funny for at least a few months. But it seems fairly clear that it was created for MTV, as while it attempts to parody both celebrity and hip-hop, the satire rarely has teeth.
Video
Presented in the show's original broadcast ratio of 1.33:1, this full screen transfer is taken from the original digital source (shot on DV) and is quite sharp, although different cameras are used and the results can be a bit mixed, some night shots appear grainy and soft, some interior vehicles shots also suffer from this. While many of the shows set-up shots inside Jamie's house and performing are all sharp and crisp. The colors are nice and vibrant as well as natural especially skin tones. Blacks aren't as deep as I would like and does exhibit noise. I could not spot any edge-enhancement or other serious problems, although I did spot some minor moire patterns (against stairs or striped shirts, etc.) otherwise we have an adequate transfer that maintains the show's style.
Audio
A single English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround track is included on these episodes, this is most likely the show's original broadcast sound track and it does a good job of presenting the dialogue and music. The track is clean and distortion free, while it does exhibit some depth it's not as broad as a 5.1 track for obvious reasons. The music is well mixed throughout the track. Overall it's a very good effort for a TV series. This DVD does not include any optional subtitles.
Extras
Paramount have included a ton of extras on this 2-disc release, they include episode audio commentaries, a video introduction, a prequel episode, a music video, many deleted and extended scenes, extra clips from the show, interviews, an infomercial, original podcasts and some bonus trailers. Below is a closer look at these supplements broken down per disc. DISC ONE: First up are episode audio commentaries, these tracks are on every episode and are by creators/actors Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone and executive producer George Verschoor. Jamie and Stu give fans some background on how they met and the decision to develop this show and their dream of being rappers. They discuss the genesis of the project and how MTV originally wanted to do a rap school show where the two learn to rap instead of the journey that eventually became this show. Some of the funny moments of this track occur when Jamie and Stu go off track and discuss their past career moves and talk about some of the stupid jobs they've done, executive producer Verschoor is mainly around to ask the two questions keeping this track moving although does chime in with some insight into the show and its production. They track is fairly screen-specific but the participants do veer off course occasionally. These commentaries are a highlight of this DVD set and are genuinely fun to listen to, fans of the show will find a lot of cool information here. Following that is a video introduction by Jamie Kennedy and Stu Stone which runs for 1 minute 57 seconds, the boy welcome viewers to the DVD and tell us what we can expect to find on these DVDs. Next up is "Lighting the Fuse" a prequel episode that runs for 10 minutes 50 seconds, in this short episode MTV news correspondent Gideon Yago drops by to spend the day with the boys and interviews them. Rounding out the extras on this disc is the original music video that is featured in the series "Rollin' With Saget" which runs for 3 minutes 11 seconds. This Video features the bad language censored out, which is a bit of a cop out. DISC TWO: The second disc starts up with a collection of 28 deleted and extended scenes, these scenes include some unused plot points and encounters as well as many moments with Jamie and Stu cruising in the Hummer, some of these scenes are quite funny, while others were understandably cut, and there's enough footage here to create another episode out of. These can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option, they include: - "Meeting With Mr. Boyd" runs for 3 minutes 38 seconds, the boys get advice from a USC professor of Hip Hop. - "Meeting With Chris Stokes" which runs for 2 minutes 48 seconds, the boys meet up with the CEO of The Ultimate Group as they demo a few songs for him, but the meeting goes terribly wrong. - "Full Fight Outside Office" runs for 46 seconds and features the two boys fighting about always getting 'No' answers from record producers. - "Jamie And Stu Discuss Rap Name" runs for 2 minutes 32 seconds, when talking with Producer Ronnie Warner as they try to work out their rap names. - "Hood Love" runs for 5 minutes 4 seconds, Jamie proves to Stu that people in the 'hood' know and love him. - "Mike Jones" runs for 1 minute 56 seconds, the boys hang out with the rapper at a club. - "Meeting Three 6 Mafia" runs for 1 minute 29 seconds, the boy meet up with the Oscar winning rap group at a club. - "Burt Explains Upping Your #@&!" runs for 2 minutes 49 seconds, Burt tells Jamie that he needs to date a hot actress to up his game in Hollywood. - "Picking Up Molly" runs for 3 minutes 32 seconds, Jamie's parents help him and Stu find girls for their music video. - "Bob Saget Trailer Apology" runs for 1 minute 38 seconds, Saget apologizes to Jamie for making him appear like a chump on the set of the video and for also hitting on his mother. - "Tara Reid Cameo" runs for 1 minutes 31 seconds, Reid drops in to play a cameo role in the music video. - "Breakdancers" runs for 2 minutes 33 seconds, the breakdancers show off their moves in this clip. - "French Fry Fight" runs for 41 seconds, Stu gets possessive over some fries that Jamie actually bought. - "Interview With Lipnicki" runs for 1 minute 56 seconds, Jonathan Lipnicki is interviewed after the altercation with Stu. - "Jamie Cleans Out The Guest House" runs for 1 minute 41 seconds, Jamie cleans out the mess left behind by Stu. - "Jamie Misses Stu" runs for 1 minute 12 seconds, in this extended clip Jamie calls Stu and then mopes over his absence. - "Barry Gordon Interview" runs for 4 minutes 5 seconds, Gordon tells the boys what Indie records can offer them. - "Heather B Interview" runs for 1 minute 30 seconds, Jamie and Heather quiz each other on Hip Hop trivia. - "Jamie And Stu Discuss Indie Vs Major" runs for 2 minutes 10 seconds, Stu has his heart set on signing with a major record company. - "Stu Calls Grandparents" runs for 1 minute 30 seconds, Stu tells his grandparents that they got a record deal. - "Stu Calls Parents" runs for 43 seconds, Stu tells his parents that they got a record deal. - "Interview With Stu's Mom And Sister" runs for 3 minutes 2 seconds, before Stu is surprised by their presence, they are interviewed about Stu and his rapping. - "Meeting Young Guru" runs for 2 minutes 49 seconds, the boys demo their songs to the producer. - "Am I A Good Actor?" runs for 43 seconds, Jamie asks Stu if he thinks he's a good actor. - "Jamie's Theory About Fire Fighters" runs for 20 seconds, Jamie thinks that Fire Fighter abuse the siren to get places quicker. - "Pinky Ball" runs for 2 minutes 5 seconds, Stu invents a game where the object is to hit the opponents pinky with a cue ball. - "Road Rage Montage" runs for 22 seconds, Jamie freaks out behind the wheel in this montage sequence. - "Jewelry Guy" runs for 1 minute 31 seconds, Jamie and Stu buy some cheap jewelry from a street vendor. Next are 4 Rappin' With Jamie And Stu clips, these are rap performances of several songs featured on the show and also the CD, these can be viewed individually or with the option of a 'play all' function, the clips included are: - "Kabob Kabob" which runs for 2 minutes 35 seconds, the boys sing a rap with their chauffeur. - "Circle Circle Dot Dot" runs for 1 minute 8 seconds and sees the boys perform this track live. - "Mattress Mack" runs for 1 minute 14 second and is another clip from their concert featured in the final episode. - "Bar Mitzvah Party" runs for 1 minute 23 seconds, the boy perform at a Bar Mitzvah in hope of getting discovered. Next is a section entitled "MTV Overdrive" which includes additional extras: In this section of the disc we have 22 deleted and extended scenes, these scenes can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option and they include: - "Geisha House" which runs for 1 minute 53 seconds, the boys party at Geisha House and try to hook up with some Russian girls. - "Meeting With B-Real" which runs for 2 minutes 3 seconds, while out for food, they spot B-Real and talk about f*****g the system. - "Stu And Coco In Dressing Room" runs for 2 minutes 9 seconds, this is an extended scene of Stu and Coco having lunch in the dressing room as she explains to Stu what she does. - "Stu And Coco In French Roast" runs for 2 minutes 4 seconds, while Ice-T gives the boys advice, Coco appears to be giving Stu the 'eye'. - "Rapper's Montage" runs for 1 minute 5 seconds and features a montage clip of the rappers they met plugging Jamie and Stu. - "Mattress Mack Behind The Scenes" runs for 2 minutes 12 seconds, this is a look at the shooting of the commercial. - "Rapping Bologna With Taxi Jackie" runs for 2 minutes 2 seconds, the boys rap the Bologna song to Taxi Jackie. - "Meeting Lil' Flip" runs for 56 seconds, the rapper shows off his bling to Jamie and Stu. - "Marble Bag" runs for 2 minutes 9 seconds, Jamie runs in the streets in his tight white underwear for a publicity shot. - "Sex Tape" runs for 1 minute 21 seconds, Stu tapes Jamie and two girls in bed. - "Saget Explains Upping Your #@&!" runs for 2 minutes 39 seconds, while recording voice over for a movie, Saget explains how Jamie should date a hot female star to up his standing in Hollywood. - "Interview With Jamie's Parents" runs for 1 minute 56 seconds, they talk about the show and about his Saget is great. - "Strip Club Dummy' With Booty Girls" runs for 1 minute 5 seconds, Jamie and his mother audition girls for the music video in this extended clip. - "Stu Pitches Music Video Ideas" runs for 3 minutes 1 seconds, Stu tries to get his ideas for the video out there but the producer and director seem to have their own ideas. - "Jamie And Stu Meet Forbidden" which runs for 2 minutes 43 seconds, while getting a pedicure the boys run into [url=http://www.myscpace.com[/url]Myspace[/url] phenomenon Forbidden and Jamie gets her number. - "Biggs And Stu Poolside" runs for 2 minutes 31 seconds, Stu approaches Jason Biggs about teaming up. - "Rapper Auditions" runs for 2 minutes 2 seconds, Jamie auditions possible replacements for Stu in this extended clip. - "Jamie Raps Solo" which runs for 1 minute 43 seconds, Jamie is alone in the Hummer and misses his rapping partner Stu. - "Sushi With Heather B" which runs for 1 minute 21 seconds, the boys have dinner with Heather B and talk about getting a deal and getting hooked up with some producers. - "Funk Master Flex" runs for 3 minutes, the boys appear on a radio show and demo their song. - "DJ Premier" runs for 2 minutes 3 seconds, the boys demo their music to the rap producer. - "Jamie Hides From E-40" runs for 1 minute 21 seconds, afraid he's going to hit him, Jamie hides from the rapper. 6 celebrity interviews are also featured on this disc, the celebrities talk about Jamie and Stu's rapping as well as what they think about the boys and various other things, these aren't typical talking head interviews but rather stuff shot for the show but never used, so outtakes would be the right way to describe these. These interviews can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option and include: - Bob Saget which runs for 1 minute 57 seconds. - Ice-T whcih runs for 1 minute 29 seconds. - Joe Simpson which runs for 50 seconds. - George Lucas which runs for 46 seconds. - Ed McMahon which runs for 2 minutes 53 seconds. - E-40 which runs for 1 minute 21 seconds. Following that are 4 Rollin' With Jamie And Stu clips, these feature the boys cruising in their Hummer around L.A. singing along to their raps, these clips can be viewed individually or with a 'play all' option and include: - "Rollin' With Saget" which runs for 2 minutes 16 seconds. - "Crooked Stick" which runs for 1 minute 52 seconds. - "The Stalker Song" which runs for 1 minute 39 seconds. - "Where I'm From" which runs for 2 minutes 2 seconds. Also on the disc is "Blowin' Up" CD infomercial which runs for 28 minutes 43 seconds and is just as the title suggests, Jamie and Stu in a parody infomercial trying to sell the CD, T-shirts, ring tones and video tones for your mobile, see the guys informing you how their CD can help you loose weight, score girls, be popular and all that other stuff that suckers in people to buy stuff they probably don't need. The clips is quite funny at time\s but quickly gets monotonous and tiring to watch, so keep your finger on the fast forward button while watching this. Next up are 4 original podcasts, these appeared on the Internet and featured both Jamie and Stu providing background on the songs they released, in the last clip they also cover the genesis of the show from their [url=http://www.myspace.com[/url]Myspace[/url] page. These podcasts can be viewed individually or with the option of a 'play all' function and they include: - "Circle Circle Dot Dot" which runs for 3 minutes 30 seconds. - "Crooked Stick" which runs for 5 minutes 22 seconds. - "1984" which runs for 5 minutes 22 seconds. - "Rollin' With Saget" which runs for 9 minutes 47 seconds. Rounding out the extras are a series of bonus trailers for: - "The Hills" which runs for 2 minutes 5 seconds. - "Wildboys: Seasons 3 & 4 which runs for 1 minute 32 seconds. - "The Andy Milonakis Show: Season 2" which runs for 1 minute 14 seconds. - "The Adventures Of Chico And Guapo" which runs for 1 minute 18 seconds. - "So Notorious" which runs for 1 minute 44 seconds.
Packaging
This DVD set contains all 7 episodes that were produced for MTV, the 2-disc set is packaged in two slim-line amaray cases housed in a cardboard slip-case.
Overall
This is one of the most extensive TV series DVDs I've seen this year in terms of supplements and provides a wealth of content for fans of the series, I'm sure they'll be happy with the hours of extras. The only downside is that these episodes and extras are censored for bad language, for a show about rapper this is kind of disappointing that MTV and Paramount wouldn't release this DVD uncensored.
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