Created by: Armando Iannucci
Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Anna Chlumsky, Matt Walsh, Tony Hale, Sufe Bradshaw, Reid Scott, Tim Simons
Extras: Deleted Scenes, Making VEEP, Governor Chung retraction & outtake, Anti-Obesity Public Service Announcement & outtake, 12 audio commentaries.
VEEP means V-P, which in turn stands for the Vice President of the United States of America. In the role of VEEP is Selina Meyer played by the excellent Julia Louis-Dreyfus who many know from the likes of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Personally, I never got into Seinfeld like many others and although I enjoyed snippets of Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, in the UK we had Ricky Gervais in Extras and The Office doing a slightly more impressive job or, if you wish, a series that a British audience could relate to.
However, behind the intelligent and clever VEEP is another Brit and it’s none other than the exceedingly inventive Armando Iannucci. He’s the great man who also wrote and created The Thick Of It, the film version of that series IN THE LOOP plus he co-created Alan Partridge and helped surreal comedian Chris Morris with the launch and writing on the spoof news show The Day Today.
Originally, super satirist Iannucci delved into the world of American politics for that aforementioned film IN THE LOOP and now he has taken some of that cast, and relocated completely into the wild US world of politics. VEEP is another unique insight from Iannucci with his trademark mix of parody and a ‘verging of reality’ façade of politics. This deliberately dramatized version is so close to the bone that you’ll end up thinking of it more as a fly-on-the-wall documentary. If you also know the likes of Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, you’ll appreciate that politicians appear to make it up as they go along. VEEP also states the alleged fact that only one or two people know what’s going on and those specific characters inadvertently end up giving US politics look particularly intelligent look, which of course is the point of it all.
What’s impressive about this collective of actors is they mix up a little improv with scripting, and every single person involved is on the beat with comebacks, nippy jibes and sarcasm beyond the standard. That’s not the only thing that keeps it ticking over, as individual character development is highly evident as well. It would be easy to get dragged down in quick quips and lose the focus, but VEEP manages to merge not only the real-life feel to proceedings but firmly focus on the irony of it all.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer has an un-erring brilliance to kill every single good idea as a political figure is, of course, the perfect caricature of those lead politicians that we mock so freely in modern culture. Her VP always seems to say the wrong thing at the perfect time, and you watch as a second of real thought slips out unintentionally from her political persona.
Her assistant is Amy Brookheimer played by MY GIRL alumni Anna Chlumsky, her wide-eyed character is switched on but also perfectly able to get things so very wrong. There’s Matt Walsh as Mike (Meyer’s press assistant) who has a fake-dog just so he can get out of things from time-to-time. There’s Tony Hale as Meyer’s valiant assistant Gary Walsh, who feels like a bit of a lap dog but in truth knows everything that Selina doesn’t. Then, throw into the mix Timothy Simons’ Jonah Ryan who’s a White House wannabe and Dan Egan (Reid Scott), who is probably the only man who knows how the modern media works and you’ve got one hell of an ensemble cast.
In these days where politicians aren’t exactly revered, this is an alternative to the likes of the West Wing with added stupidity and, well, honesty. There’s a constant undoubted cringe-factor and you’ll watch them try to ‘normalize’ but all along, you’ll also learn to love their faltering and misguided ways. In a world of hard-hitting political dramas, VEEP is a fresh and smart look in the ridiculousness of it all and it’s done absolutely terrifically.
VEEP is out today on DVD and Blu-ray and can be purchased here: Veep – Complete HBO Season 1 [DVD]
