National Lampoon was still around? I didn’t think so. But sure enough, there is a staff, they still produce movies occasionally (the cinematic tour de force Van Wilder being among their recent contributions to cinema), and in order to satirize some of the absolute sheet on TV nowadays, came up with the Lost Reality series of discs.
With introduction from (who I’m assuming are) members of the Lampoon staff, the clips are a bit hit or miss. Some of the funnier bits are OK, and could have turned …nto decent sketches with some polishing. For instance, “Scare Me” is basically a few kids that scare the crap out of people in various locations. The concept is OK, but using actors that see it coming takes the fun out of it. “Payback” is set up a la Punk’d, and at first seeing two parents that terrorize their 8 year old is funny, then it just goes downhill from there. Even some of the bits that you would think be funny just aren’t. Using the American Gladiator TV show from the ‘80s and putting midgets in as Gladiators dragged.
Never mind any of this though, the larger question on hand should be how in the world was there a Lost Reality 1? And what about it deserved a sequel? Smarter guys than me can figure this out, and while the folks at Lampoon do what they can to hold a mirror up to the latest and “greatest” in reality TV, there’s so much more out there that more qualified satirizers (Matt and Trey from South Park are prime examples) have done better and funnier.
Audio
The Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack comes through pretty good and is even a little stronger and more powerful than some of the TV sets that sport it right now. Sure, there’s not too much that would have you re-watching this disc, but this is a good starting point.
Video
1.33:1 fullscreen video, mostly done with handheld cameras. The colors come out very well, and no video issues are worth complaining about. It’s agreeable.
Special Features
What’s the opposite of something? Well, that’s what this disc has – nothing, no trailers, no commentaries, zilch.
Closing Thoughts
While well-intended, Lost Reality 2 is somewhat misguided and very unfulfilling. The satire is there, but is on life support, and the humor is even less apparent. If the laughs were a lot funnier, I could deal with the sporadic humor, but it’s a bit sad to watch. Still, it’s worth a rent if you are simply tired with the current state of TV.
