HBO’s Eastbound and Down

HBO’s comedy series, Eastbound and Down, is quickly wrapping up production on new episodes. The series seemed to have a lot of potential at first, but fell flat towards the end of season one. The question remains will it be able to keep viewer’s attention during its sophomore season?
Eastbound and Down tells the story of Kenny Powers, who was once a well loved and famous star pitcher whose catchphrase was “You’re fucking out.” Power’s amazing arm ended up failing him and he turned to steroids. His self-destructive behavior ultimately got him kicked out of Major League Baseball. In the pilot episode, Powers returns home to North Carolina where he lives off of his big brother’s family. Not willing to accept his failure, he is furious at himself when he begins teaching physical education at the middle school he used to attend. Towards the end of the sixth episode, he eventually scores another job offer from a major league team.
Produced by the famous comedian Will Ferrell, Eastbound and Down falls into the category of many of Ferrell’s character movies. The series seems to be a fouler version of “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” Danny McBride (“Tropic Thunder”) plays the role of the self-obsessed Kenny Powers. McBride portrays his character with a mullet, beer belly, and has the manners of a classic southern hick.
At first, McBride’s character is easy to hate. He makes Powers seem somewhat pathetic so the viewers may feel sympathy for him. That quickly changes as the series progresses. Powers becomes more annoying and unbearable. In many scenes, McBride over acts and comes across as an ignorant redneck. It is really difficult to watch some episodes because Powers doesn’t change or better himself.
The writing of Eastbound and Down is equally as bad as the acting. McBride and his writing/directing partner, Jody Hill, create hilarious and crude lines that overtime become repetitive and old. In each episode, there are many “fuck”, “pussy”, and “dick” jokes. Most of the dialogue delivered seems to come from the mind of a twelve year old boy. His character has no room for growth or change, which is a disadvantage for the writers. This could provide challenges for season two and they might lose many viewers.
The story line between Powers and his high school sweet heart, April Buchanan, is insulting to watch. April is also a teacher at the middle school, where Powers degrades her by delivering many sexist comments. As a woman it is tough to watch the show without having the desire to punch McBride in the face. Powers refers to April as “Big Cannons Buchanan”. In the real world he would have been sued for sexual harassment immediately. It is a wonder how anyone could ever be romantically interested in Powers. Then again it is Hollywood.
The show is not realistic by any means, and is extremely over the top. McBride is more believable as a jack ass (pardon my French) than as a former major league baseball player. The main focus is that Power’s will make a big come back and return to the major leagues which seems highly unlikely.
Eastbound and Down faces the challenge of overcoming the fact that the acting and writing is mostly stupid, unoriginal, and repetitive. The script features far too many similarities to Will Ferrell’s past work. The show is missing many comedic layers, covering it up with yelling and swearing to make McBride’s character appear funny.
East Bound and Down was enjoyable at first, but the premise is too limited and would’ve made a better film. Overall the once promising series has proven to be a giant disappointment. The show does have a loyal audience, but with only six episodes under its belt it’s hard to determine how long HBO will be able to milk season two.