Flight of the Conchords - Funny, Cute AND Charitable - A Timeline

PHOTO: KENT BLECHYNDEN/FAIRFAX NZ

April 2014: The FOTC guys played a rare show to raise money for the refurbishment of the Bats Theatre in Wellington. Early shows at this venue were instrumental (oh my, terrible pun) in launching their career.

TV3 Article and Video
RadioNZ Article
Dominion Post Article and Video 
Bats Theatre Fundraising Page
  

PHOTO: FAIRFAX NZ

September 2013: The New Zealand Ukulele Trust appoints Bret as Trust Ambassador. The NZ Ukulele Trust goals include raising money to supply ukuleles to schools in an effort to expose students to music at no cost to them and holding an annual free community music festival.

Scoop Article
New Zealand Herald Article
NZ Ukulele Trust - Mission Statement and Donation Info

PHOTO: Kelly Dare

August 2013: Bret McKenzie teamed up with Taika Waititi to promote and "drum up support" for the Big Bang Arts Festival.

Dominion Post Article and Video
Big Bang Festival Boosted Page
Big Bang Festival Website 

August 2012: The Flight of the Conchords released the song
"Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That)" to raise money for Cure Kids, and was part of Red Nose Day: Comedy for Cure Kids TV special.

The Press Article
Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That) on iTunes  
Feel Inside (And Stuff Like That) on Amplify
 
June 2012: Flight of the Conchords gig at the Christchurch CBS Arena concert. From the profits of this show, the FOTC gents donated $125,000.00 NZD to the restoration fund for the Christchurch’s Isaac Theatre Royal (which is scheduled to re-open in November 2014).

TV3 Article


Also March 2009: FOTC played a charity gig, raising approximately $70,000.00 NZD for Masterton's Makoura College.

NZPA Article 

PHOTO: CRAIG SIMCOX/The Dominion Post

March 2009: Bret and Jemaine play with balls for charity, at a tournament organized by the Rotary Club of Wellington to benefit Wellington City Mission and Wellington Tennis.

The Dominion Post - March 11, 2009
The Dominion Post - March 20, 2009

November 2008: The FOTC dudes don false 'staches to raise awareness about Movember, which raises money to benefit men's health charities.

Scoop Article

Bottom line: Not only are Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement handsome and quirkily charming, but they're also generous and care about giving back to their community, which of course makes them even more attractive.

Having Fun Making Miscellaneous Bret and Jemaine GIFs

"Temper Tantrum" featuring

Jemaine Clement as Dr. Ronald Chevalier in Gentlemen Broncos 

"Smackdown"
Jemaine Clement as Dr. Ronald Chevalier in Gentlemen Broncos 

"Awkward Kiss" featuring

Jemaine Clement as Jarrod in Eagle vs. Shark

"Eyebrow Raise" featuring
Bret McKenzie as Dr. Cruise in Diagnosis: Death

"Suppository/Pineapple Rape" featuring

Bret McKenzie as Dr. Cruise in Diagnosis: Death

Flight of the Conchords - Ladies of the World (SubPop Video)

Bret's Sugarlumps (Tabletop)
Flight of the Conchords - Sugarlumps 

The Party Prince's complimentary after dinner mints...
Flight of the Conchords - Sugarlumps 

I have been playing around with Make A Gif and the above are a few of my first...Enjoy

FOTC-Related Potpourri: What We Do In The Shadows/Austenland...

SWEARWOLVES!

DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY UPCOMING SCREENINGS OF 

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS SCHEDULED IN THE U.S.???? 

Wish I could've seen the free Utah showing in July :( 

click for random Jemaineness

Besides impatiently waiting to see What We Do In The Shadows...


I watched Austenland last night...All I can say is, Keri Russell is ridiculously fortunate to be cast in a love triangle situation with Bret McKenzie and JJ Feild!!!

Bret is rather fetching in a bonnet, eh?

  ♥ winking Bret from Austenland ♥

I've gathered a few Austenland gifs from the Austenland Movie Fans Tumblr - see the Bret ones I picked out here  

I'm trying to figure out  how I'm going to be able to watch Two Little Boys (2012) starring Bret since there are apparently no Region 1 DVDs out there and my old "multi region" DVD player ist Kaput...I'd like to write some sort of review for Austenland eventually...if that ends up happening, I'll post it in this silly little blog of mine... My Diagnosis: Death post probably doesn't make much sense, so if you'd like to read reviews with a more coherent format, check scaryminds or flickering myth

I'd like to check out Coming and Going (2011) because I'd like to see how Rhys Darby is in a romantic comedy...Also contemplating getting Gentlemen Broncos (2009) for more Jemaineness...

McBoing Boing Indeed...

If only we lived a bit closer to Wellington, New Zealand or at least had a gazillion dollars to visit...Would've been wonderful to take the little one to listen to Bret McKenzie narrate Dr. Seuss' Gerald McBoing Boing last month...

Hung Jury? - Diagnosis: Death (2009)

***this entire blog post contains spoilers***

 Try skimming over a bunch of online reviews of Diagnosis: Death (2009) and you may notice a mildly amusing trend of contradicting critiques---some reviewers claim it's a must-see for Flight of the Conchords fans simply because Bret McKenzie has a supporting role as the creepy "Doctor Cruise", Rhys Darby, has a small part, vaguely billed as "Specialist" (although "Quirky Harbinger of Unpleasant Diagnoses" is a more fitting description)and Jemaine Clement has a rather brief cameo as a concerned father with questionable ethics. Yet other reviewers indicate the paucity of collective screen time between Bret, Jemaine & Rhys is exactly the reason Flight of the Conchords fans are likely to be disappointed with the film. I've collected excerpts and links to a variety of reviews of both types, let's call them "Must-See" and "Skip this".

DISCLAIMER: Reviews featured were copied exactly as they appeared, so typographical errors are courtesy of the authors, not me!
 
Must-See

IMDB user agentosx writes:  

"It's basically a good ol' fashioned ghost story. Funny, a bit scary at times, occasionally suspenseful: pretty much all around well done. Good acting, good plot, good production, good direction. Nothing amazing, but well worth the watch (especially if you're a Flight of the Conchords fan)!"

Another IMDB user svartrhand supports what agentosx has written with: 

"I also watched it for FOTC but I'm going to keep an eye out for other stuff from this Director. I really enjoyed this movie. It is not perfect but was thoroughly enjoyable.

The humor here is a bit more subtle, less American hit you over the head with it.

Story was a basic ghost story but that isn't a bad thing when done right and IMHO they pulled it off here.

I'd also give it a solid 8/10 for a low budget genre pic." 

Skip This

IMDB user sleeping_pirate is clearly captain of the "Skip This" boat:

"This is honestly one of the worst films I have ever seen. It made me laugh for all the wrong reasons: stilted dialogue; awful camera-work; and terrible acting. It makes sense that the lead actor is one of the writers... he wouldn't have been cast otherwise. Naturally, like most people, I bought this because Bret, Jemaine, and Rhys from Flight of the Conchords are in it. The fact that Jemaine and Rhys are hardly seen didn't bother me at all, the film could've still been really good without them. But it was horrendous from start to finish.

I bought this for £6 in a sale, whereas really it should have been in a bargain bin somewhere for 50p.

I'll never watch it again!"  

Rotten Tomatoes user alex f gave it 1/2 a star:
"DO NOT WATCH IF YOU LIKE FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS!

what a slow paced, poorly shot, nothing about this movie is funny and jemaine clement makes a 20 second unfunny chameo... brett mckenzie isnt in a comedy role, or if he is they totally missed his comedic design.

i gave it a half star for the 30 seconds rhys darby is in it as the tactless doctor... just look up on youtube (if there) instead of wasting your time renting/buying this." 

A succinct declaration of derision by Rotten Tomatoes user wretch a:

"I love bret jermaine and murry but they couldnt even save this crapfest. boooooooring" 

Verdict: I honestly am still unsure as to how I feel about this movie. I'm most likely going to end up re-watching it at some point, so it was entertaining enough for a DVD that cost me less than $7. 

Interpretations &/or Observations

- the brief scene with Jemaine Clement as 1/2 of a pair of sketchy, overzealous parents in the beginning may seem entirely unrelated to the plot of the movie, but it actually serves to tell the audience a bit about Andre's ethics (or lack thereof). We learn that Andre has been a teacher for 15 years, so presumably this is not the first time parents have offered him bribes in exchange for giving  their children better grades. (True, the role Jemaine plays did not necessarily need to be him specifically, but I liked seeing him anyway.)

- there's a good gal vs. bad guy dynamic between Andre (morally ambiguous teacher who enjoys doing the wrong thing) and Juliet (barely legal, virginal school girl who tries to play by the rules)

- weird what-if theory about Dr. Cruise: what if he really wasn't a doctor at all, but was a mental patient pretending to be a doctor from back when the existing cancer treatment facility had been an insane asylum and Nurse Bates just kept him around for company? for example, why is it that when Juliet fakes having a seizure, Dr. Cruise seems unsure what to do at first, then tells the nurse to give her adrenaline but Nurse Bates tells him that adrenaline would interfere with the drug trial and he follows her lead? also, Dr. Cruise stares at Nurse Bates in an inquisitive way when she is with patients as if he's trying to learn basic medical procedures. They both seem like incredibly lonely people, and Bates actually characterizes her profession as a "lonely" one.   


- I don't know about you, but if I saw a nurse drinking Scotch out of flask while on the clock, "professional" is not how I would describe her


Notable Scenes

- Tickle Me Elmo!!! (also shows Juliet has been curious about unconventional behavior)

- Scene by Nurse Bates' coffin, Dr. Cruise responds to Andre's murder accusation by casually affirming that Bates had "tried to kill a lot of people." also mutters about her eyebrows and describes her as "professional".

- Rhys Darby as "Specialist" being hilariously blunt while discussing a terminal diagnosis with Andre

- When Juliet & Andre are doing the horizontal mambo on the hospital bed, why are there spirits (presumably theirs?) floating above them basically showing the audience spectral porn?

- Dr. Cruise scene after the end credits...

- Andre calling out Juliet for her assuming he was a math, computer science or accounting teacher...And also clarifying that he doesn't know martial arts...(for people who do not have noticeable "foreign" physical characteristics this part may seem harsh...but trust me, I've had so many people assume that I spoke [insert any Asian language here] and some of these folks didn't bother to hide their disappointment that I couldn't be their handy translator...) 

- Dr. Cruise tells Andre that it's time to change his nappies in front of Juliet, and Andre self-consciously defends his masculinity by saying "Astronauts wear nappies, and they're cool!" as he walks away.

- suppository camera shot

- Nurse Bates giving Juliet an awkward massage

Not-so-Fun Trivia Quiz Rejection and an unlikely attraction to Miss Piggy...

Not-So-Fun Trivia Quiz Rejection
I sincerely doubt I have any readers, but if I do, you may recall that I had mentioned that I would post my FOTC quiz once it was accepted on Fun Trivia...Well, I was assigned to a hypercritical quiz "editor" and his/her trivia fascism & unreasonable grammatical critiques were far too much for me to handle...Maybe if formulating quizzes was my full time job I would stick with it, but since it's not, I opted to post my quiz using PlayBuzz & it can be found here. 

Miss Piggy, the Glenn Close a la "Fatal Attraction" of the Muppet Universe

Miss Piggy
As many FOTC fans who are also Muppets fans know, Bret McKenzie was the music supervisor for both the Muppets (2011) and the Muppets Most Wanted (2014). As such, he wrote all the original music for Muppets Most Wanted and so on the soundtrack, there is a demo version of the song "Something So Right" that is sung by Bret and I remember when I first listened to it, I instantly felt a mild and quite strange attraction to Miss Piggy. Yes, that's right somehow I see the Muppet pig version of Glenn Close a la Fatal Attraction (1987) in a slightly more favorable light thanks to Bret...

Garfunkel & Oates on IFC
If you're looking forward to the Garfunkel & Oates premiere on August 7th, watch the free episode "Speechless"...That should tide you over until then...PS the IFC short promos they do are great...especially when they sing the IFC slogan "Always on, slightly off"

 

Eagle vs. Shark, BBC Radio Show etc. & Trivia

Eagle vs. Shark

Over the weekend, I watched the rather amusing movie, Eagle vs. Shark (2007), directed by Taika Waititi and starring Jemaine Clement. A succinct way to sum up the movie: a romantic comedy with odd humor similar to Napoleon Dynamite (2004) (but Eagle vs. Shark is WAY funnier in my opinion). My favorite part was probably the make out session between Jarrod (Eagle) and Lily (Shark) in animal costumes...

BBC Radio Show 

I was lucky enough to find a gently used copy of the Flight of the Conchords BBC Radio Show (2006) 3-CD set and started listening to it this morning. It's been fun comparing the radio show storyline to the subsequent HBO TV show plot, making mental notes about the subtle differences etc. For example, while Brian Nesbitt (FOTC Manager on the radio show) and Murray Hewitt (FOTC Manager on the HBO show)are both played by Rhys Darby, I keep having to remind myself of who Brian is when a character (other than Brian) mentions his name...Then I remember Brian = Murray = Rhys Darby. 

FOTC Quiz (Pending on FunTrivia)

I wrote a 10-question FOTC quiz (topics drawn from various episodes of the HBO show) and am patiently waiting for its acceptance. When it is posted to the site, I will provide a link...

Phones 4u....

Thanks to the wonderful people at the What the Folk forum
for recently posting a version of this ad. Love it!

underpants with punctuality issues...

Haha, get it? Underpants with punctuality issues = Late Bloomers. Yes, that was cheesy, but as they say in Monty Python's Flying Circus, "But it's my only line!" 

Anyway, thanks to the recent deal between HBO and Amazon, Prime subscribers have access to past, original HBO content including Flight of the Conchords (FOTC for short), starring Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement as the 2-man, Kiwi novelty band of the same name. 

Back when the show initially aired on HBO from 2007 through 2009, I not only did not have an HBO subscription, I was pregnant from September 2007 to May 2008, then from May 2008 until the end of FOTC's run on HBO in 2009, I had my hands full with an adorable yet colicky, mischief-seeking baby so I was oblivious to many pop culture phenomena of the time. (As a semi-related aside, Jemaine got married to his wife, Miranda and their son, Sophocles was born in 2008, and in 2009, Bret married Hannah and their daughter, Vita was born. I haven't seen it explicitly explained as the reason for not doing a third season of the show, but the fact that their families were growing must have had something to do with it.)

Fast-forward Selecta (if you're thinking, "WTF? Selecta?!" refer to FOTC song "Boom") to a few months ago, my husband recently convinced me I should watch this show that I knew almost nothing about except for that Kristen Schaal had a recurring role in it. Anyway, I watched FOTC, loved it and became increasingly more ticked off that I had discovered their awesomeness, to use a lame sports metaphor, "so late in the game". So I re-purposed this old blog of mine, and decided to share random Bret &/or Jemaine related stuff, both pertaining to FOTC and their non-FOTC individual projects i.e. "Muppets Most Wanted" and "What We Do In The Shadows". 

While both Jemaine and Bret have had plenty of solo success, I personally am hoping that there will be new FOTC songs and possibly more tours in the future...

(still upset that I missed them last year when they were headliners of the 2013 Oddball Comedy Festival but I digress...)

In other 2-person novelty band news, I'm looking forward to watching the Garfunkel and Oates TV show which will be premiering Thursday, August 7th on IFC. Garfunkel and Oates have been described via Nerdist as a "weirder, dirtier Flight of the Conchords, without the folk influence."