Does anyone do mundane 9-5 work day comedy better than Mike Judge? To be fair, I’m just basing it off of Office Space. But let’s be honest, Office Space is a god damn classic. Anyone who has worked a crappy office job immediately relates to that movie. And now Judge (and HBO) are giving us “Silicon Valley”. It’s “Office Space” meets “Entourage”.
Richard and his friends are a bunch of young tech types who are trying to strike gold by making their own apps. They also work at a knockoff Google called Hooli. Admittedly most of us don’t work at Google. But we’ve all had those jobs with corny inspirational posters everywhere. I loathed having to pretend to be enthusiastic to my bosses. We can relate to mocking our work the same way that most of the jokes here are at the expense of Hooli.
When Richards app is found to be worth quite the amount of money, the bidding war begins. Does he go with his boss (who is hilarious but if this was real life I would hate him) or the hip entrepreneur (okay not really hip but he seems like the good guy in this scenario). And let me tell you, my friends and I have asked ourselves this question over and over again. Take the large amount of money up front or a smaller amount but you get royalties, or in this case are in charge of your baby (and could possibly make BILLIONS). Almost every time we bring it up we choose the opposite of what Richard did. I’m glad he made the decision because it has me unbelievably excited for this show.
Silicon Valley is the show that The Big Bang Theory should be. True, they are both sitcoms. But this show just feels different. It’s for us nerds (and I personally think a broader audience than that) without a god awful laugh track. The scene at the end with Richard confessing to Erlich that he’s made the decision to take the $200,000 is heartwarming. It gives this show weight that I wasn’t expecting. Mike Judge, perfect cast, right time, HBO. I’m pumped.
Other thoughts:
Familiar Faces
There are quite a few of our favorites in this show. I noticed a few right off the bat. Obviously T.J. Miller has to be brought up first. The man is a star waiting to blow up. I’ll always remember him for making “She’s Out Of Your League” a funny movie. Really funny. Next we have Martin Starr playing the exact same character from “Party Down”. And I have absolutely no problem with that. He’s also been seen in various Apatow projects (Knocked Up, Freaks and Geeks, etc.). Gabe from The Office seems to play a big role on this show. I don’t know his name and don’t care. Lastly, Kumail Nanjiani is part of Richards entourage. I suspect this to be a fan favorite for those that are watching. Kumail is one of the brightest up and comers in the stand up comedy world. Highly suggest watching/listening to some of his stuff. Also, Andy Daly makes a hilarious cameo as a doctor in this episode. I’m praying he has a larger role (if you haven’t checked it out yet, Review with Forrest MacNeil is on Comedy Central and laugh out loud funny. Please watch).
Funniest Line
I probably should just pick any line that came out of T.J. Millers mouth but I’ll go in a different direction. It’s not actually a line, but the little monologue that Gavin Belson went on about how nerds form their group of five had me holding my stomach. Is “holding my stomach” a phrase? I don’t know. But his observation was great none the less.
Random Thought From Episode
Peter Gregory’s assistant Monica vaulted into my Top 3 celebrity crushes. She’s going on Instagram the next WCW (Woman Crush Wednesday for those unaware. Oh, everyone is aware). She’s been on my radar since “Sex Drive” but you put her as a love interest for a not so good looking dude? She vaults to the top. Plus she has those big teeth which make her less physically attractive, but makes her seem more attainable which in turn makes her even more attractive. I’m tiring myself out by thinking about it. Glad to have her in my life though.
I think we can all agree that this was a promising first episode. And if you don’t agree, you’re either a jock or not a Kid Rock fan. Lose, lose situation. This show however, is in a great situation. Thank you HBO (please,please,please,please, PLEASE don’t cancel this)!!!!!
My Mijo 