HBO premiered their newest comedy series, Vice Principals, last night. I was sold on the show mainly on the strength of its two leads — Eastbound & Down‘s Danny McBride, and The Shield‘s Walton Goggins — but was pleasantly surprised by the content as well…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=58XtN9ECoPg
When a no-nonsense principal (What About Bob‘s Bill Murray) retires to take care of his cancer-stricken wife in her last days, vice principals Lee Russell (Goggins) and Neal Gamby (McBride) square off to replace him. Instead, a successful inner-city principal (played by White Alligator‘s Kimberly Hebert Gregory) is brought in to head off the school, and the two agree to squash their beef with each other to kick her out.
McBride is his characteristic biting, unhinged self here, but there is a pathos that shows his depth and range as an actor. His scenes playing off Cougartown‘s Busy Phillips (who, I swear, doesn’t age) as his estranged ex-wife, while visiting his daughter showed a quiet humility that is unbecoming of him. But, following that, his moments of unhinged rage made a lot more sense for his character. Hopefully he gets more scenes showing that range.
Goggins felt a bit short-changed by the premiere, as he didn’t have too much to do, but was perfectly playing an ass-kisser. He is as far from his character in Hateful Eight as could possibly be. There is some great pathos with these characters, and it is very deliberately paced.
There’s nothing too outstanding with Vice Principals, and this does show off a side of McBride that is very different from his normal persona. Whether that’s good or bad is too early to determine. But, for now, it’ll do.
