Documentary Now! Review: Any Given Saturday Afternoon (Season 3 Episode 7)
On Documentary Now! Season 3 Episode 7, “Any Given Saturday Afternoon,” the world of bowling is revitalized and repackaged for the modern era, on one of its best episodes.
The finale dives into a classic David versus Goliath story, where the best bowling champion runs up against his old rival for one last tournament to solve who’s best. This sounds exciting, but in Documentary Now! fashion, this simply means two people who never really moved on are back to win a trophy and cash prize.
The immediate feeling of “Any Given Saturday Afternoon” is how exciting the episode feels. This is bolstered by the hilarious commentary of Kevin Dunn throughout, whose dismissive and barbed observations and asides really bolster the comedy.
There’s been episodes of general enthusiasm, but the way the episode is told drives an electricity to the proceedings, where the silliness on display has worlds of impact and meaning for its small heroes and villain.
The energy primarily comes from the big personalities embodying these people. Tim Robinson is a holy terror as Rick Kenmore, eating scenery left and right, and making the character appear larger than life and a complete joy to watch in all of his crassness.
There is a quiet genius in Michael C. Hall’s performance as Billy May, with his thousand-yard stare, his kind passive-aggressiveness, and mild dislike of Alf. His strangeness comes in the form of abuse suffered as a child, which sobers up the laughs real fast. His awkwardness throughout, though, makes it a great character for him to play.
Bobby Moynihan’s Larry Hawburger is a fun character, even if briefly present. His general spirited demeanor despite the world tearing him down when there’s any sign of hope is endearing, and Moynihan makes Hawburger the comeback kid of the episode, if not in the story.
There are hints of Kingpin and King of Kong in the way the documentary episode unfolds and the bizarre lifestyles lived by relics of past fame. But its largest influence comes from A League of Ordinary Gentlemen, where it turns the sport of bowling into a look at niche turned spectacle.
The niche turned spectacle is a larger form Documentary Now! comments on with its total larger theme, as a season of television. Each episode is a reaction to that in some form, of something specific being a monumental topic to reflect back on through characters to whom it is actually monumentally important.
Here, bringing back bowling as a modern good-guy-versus-bad-guy mentality is nothing revolutionary, but it is taking a concept and selling it to a bigger audience. The episode does this very same thing, and takes it down an avenue of people perhaps clinging to their past, but using it to better their future.
Documentary Now! Season 3 Episode 7, “Any Given Saturday Afternoon,” is a fantastic closer to the season. It’s one of its safer episodes in the eccentricities on display, but the over-the-top performances and small-scale stakes of the tournament craft a fascinating and hilarious half-hour.
It’s my favorite episode of the season, and makes bowling a chance for redemption. While no one really finds that redemption, it’s all about the journey.
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.