Clark Duke (Greek, Superbad) and Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Superbad) have taken over my brain for the past six to eleven days, or so, since I first watched their new series. Clark and Michael is a CBS Internet television series created by and starring Clark Duke and Michael Cera. The first episode was directed by Clark Duke as his film school thesis and after charming his way up to the executive suite at CBS, he a Cera got the greenlight to shoot ten ten-ish minute episodes. The series takes the form of a mockumentary following Duke and Cera’s ambitions to write and sell a pilot for a television series. Hilarity ensues.
The humor in this series is SO deadpan and under the radar, that I actually find each episode to be more entertaining each subsequent time I watch it (20+). There are so many subtleties, that multiple views of every single episode is recommended. Drawing from some of the humor Arrested Development became famous for (or never became famous for?), Clark and Michael are constantly falling into awkward silence paired with the slightest glances into the camera. Comedic gold, anyone?
Via Wikipedia:
Duke and Cera play fictionalized versions of themselves, Cera describing the characters as “more idiotic and more deluded”. The series is a low-budget affair, filmed on handheld cameras by friends of the duo. The cameras are acknowledged by Clark, Michael and others, who will sometimes address them or those operating them; in one scene, an upset Michael shouts a cameraman out of the bathroom, after which Clark angrily points out to the crew that their contract states “no bathroom stuff”. Boom mics are often visible, and the crew have also intervened in fights between Clark and Michael.
While I love Michael Cera, I think Clark Duke has some of the greatest one liners in the series and when he reveals his secret show, D.A. Dad, to the camera crew, I almost shot purple soda out my nose! So, in the words of Clark Duke, “If you only watch one show on the internet today that was written/directed/produced/edited/scored by Clark Duke and Michael Cera, please let that show be Clark and Michael. Invite us into your homes. Offer us a glass of water and let us talk to your kids for a while.”
For an added bonus, watch this video to see what life is like for Clark and Michael after the show.
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