Reviews WebVideo / Red Letter Media

Red Letter Media: Half in the Bag and Other Works

Half in the Bag is basically your bog standard movie-reviewing webseries. What makes it great is the high production values and the calm but jaded discussions between the cynical, deadpan Mike Stoklasa and the far more forgiving Jay Bauman. They are occasionally joined by guest reviewers, such as when real life “superhero” the Watchman visited during the review of Super and a stand-up comedienne with a “turn off your brain and enjoy the junk food movie” attitude showed up during the What's Your Number?/Black Ninja two-parter.

The frame story of the series is that Stoklasa and Bauman are VCR repairmen bilking Plinkett out of his money, wasting time in his house while drinking tons of beer and watching movies (old people are stupid, you see, and it's hard to find good customers in the DVD/Blue Ray era). This version of Plinkett is played by Rich Evans, a far more affable, pathetic, and whiny figure than Stoklasa's.

You can start these reviews from the beginning – there is something of a story arc- but since it's fairly insubstantial I'd recommend starting with a review of a movie that you've seen before jumping around a bit with what looks interesting to you.

The Grabowskis

A five-”season” long absurdist parody of shitty sitcoms (complete with bad line delivers and a laugh track) starring Mike Stoklasa as Cliff Grabowski and Dixie Jacobs as the wife Honey Grabowski, the Grabowskis is what would happen if Plinkett and John Waters collaborated, the tale of a unbelievably shitty family saying and doing stupid and horrid things. The episodes vary in length from a few seconds to the standard TV sitcom length. Try the first “season” compilation video to see if you like it or not. It's ultimately forgettable shit, though.

The site also hosts a collection of hit-and-miss videos and skits that are too numerous to cover individually. The most important are the three films: Oranges: Revenge of the Eggplant, the Recovered, and Feeding Frenzy. You'll have to be a fan of deliberate horror-schlock to appreciate them, but Feeding Frenzy's probably the best. But nothing here is really essential. The 35-minute long, 2001 video “the Long Walk Home” is the standout. It looks terrible, but it undergoes a hilarious genre shift in the last third, and ends with a great punchline.

It's a great webzone with a truckload of good material.