Canadian comedians and (ex) best friends revel in conflict
Kenny Hotz and Spencer Rice have mobilized and brought their hit show Kenny vs. Spenny to live performances in “Kenny vs. Spenny on the Road,” making a stop at the River Run Centre on Jan 21.
Instead of challenging each other as they do on the TV show, the pair instead performed a satirical act of their relationship as two bitter men wishing for a return to their glory days.
While Hotz and Rice appeared nostalgic for their past fame and fortune, the two nonetheless descended into typical bickering, mixed with audience interaction, clips intended to shock, and even a public humiliation for old time’s sake.
Hotz and Rice put on a performance that felt like a two-hour improv session, for better and for worse.Audience interaction was encouraged, which led to new material to throw at one another which could not have possibly been scripted. The duo even turned a heckler’s calls into a competition between the two stars on who could heckle better. Their stamina is to be applauded and the two never skipped a beat. Constant improvisation for that length of time in an audience of fans could not be easy and the two made it seem relatively seamless.
I personally have never seen the show Kenny vs. Spenny and went in with limited expectations. While die-hard fans enjoyed the constant back-and-forth between Hotz and Rice, those who were unfamiliar with the premise of the show were treated to two hours of two strange men arguing incessantly until the merciful interruption of the intermission.
While Rice’s serious, concerned citizen persona clashed well with Hotz’s no-care-in-the-world persona, it quickly grew stale. At first it seemed like a gag to introduce the show, but it dragged on until the intermission hit.
While there was occasional wit in the banter between the two comedians, the improvisation prevented complex or detailed jokes, and instead the humour relied on shock value and prominent “fuck yous.”
The show began with a clip of an extreme fetish pornographic film and ended with a live prostate exam of a member of the audience. Shocking moments and dialogue occurred with little set-up beyond “this character is shocking” and “this character is appalled.” It felt like two comedians with strong characters and very little structure, so they had to make it up as they went along. This led to half-baked set-ups and cheap laughs from the audience.
Despite my misgivings about the show, it was not totally unenjoyable. The appeal is clear to fans of the show, however the effort to appeal to non-fans was minimal. This exclusivity may be a plus for the fans, but it greatly weakened the performance for the whole audience. The kernels of something great were there, but the effort to achieve it was not enough to make the event a total success.
Photo by Adrian Harder.