Documentary Now! Review: Original Cast Album: Co-Op (Season 3 Episode 3)
On Documentary Now! Season 3 Episode 3, “Original Cast Album: Co-Op,” something great occurs.
In its satire of its original topic, Original Cast Album: Company, the episode turns into something of its own magical gauntlet, pushing its actors into impressive musical numbers which, while parody, is strangely alluring and effective.
The main takeaway from “Original Cast Album: Co-Op” is its earnestness. There is so much attention to detail and effort put into creating this album, that it goes beyond simple parody.
It becomes its own thing, as ludicrous as its music numbers may be. The fact that it actually sounds real gives so much extra life to the episode, complemented by the incredible talent.
Some cast members, especially Renee Elise Goldsberry, give it their all, and it becomes as much about them as it does the comedy. Goldsberry is incredible, and making her sing about a co-op building and its colors is so bizarre, but she sells it with such dedication and power in her voice.
Richard Kind’s scene, playing a disgruntled doorman in the album, is a wonderful moment. The bad review he just read weighs on the scene, and Kind’s character pushes himself, in-kind making Kind’s performance so big and impressive in how much he puts into it.
Paula Pell (who is excellent on NBC’s A.P. Bio), too, in her showcase scene, is such a delight to watch as her exasperation grows. The following scene, where she belts it out perfectly with giant shielded eye surgery glasses, is a perfectly edited comedy beat.
The grueling work put into the many takes, as funny as it is at the time, digs deep into each character’s talent and dedication to both the show and the album, which is why this episode is rather poignant while it sinks its teeth into you with the comedy.
It has something to say about what it’s making fun of, about the immense amount of work put into something and the passion behind the scenes. For all the silliness, there’s something to be said of how passion drives these people.
John Mulaney’s smug and demanding Simon Sawyer is such a perfect character for him, his expressions of pure anguish and pushing Goldsberry’s Dee Dee to say “ruined” properly some of the episode’s funniest bits.
As co-writer of the episode, as well, this is a Mulaney showcase, its humor so specific in what it’s going for. But it completely works in its voice, much like Documentary Now! Season 3 Episodes 1-2, “Batsh*t Valley,” backed up by its immensely talented cast.
The Co-Op musical, for all of is ridiculousness, is a fantastic episode in giving each character a time to shine. It produces absurd lyrics, which are sung beautifully and with such great heart.
For how silly the lyrics are, I’d gladly listen to an actual album about this apartment building and its tenants.
Documentary Now! continues its streak of lovingly telling silly stories while growing into something bigger. This may be my favorite of the two so far.
What did you think of this episode of Documentary Now? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Documentary Now! airs Wednesdays at 11/10c on IFC.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.
One thought on “Documentary Now! Review: Original Cast Album: Co-Op (Season 3 Episode 3)”
Being familiar with the original documentary, as well as people in it, I found this parody to be sharp, funny and dead on the money. Thanks for the great time!
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