Funny or Die’s 2014 miniseriesThe Spoils of Babyloniseverything that 2010s eraSNLwished it could have captured in a bottle. Hosted byWill Ferrell’sjaded fictional author and filmmaker Eric Jonrosh, this epic tale about two romantically attracted siblings, Cynthia (Kristen Wiig) and Devon (Tobey Maguire), and the rise and fall of their family business, is simply too good to be true. Joined byHaley Joel Osmentas their son Winston and the critically-esteemedTim Robbinsas father Jonas Morehouse, these are actors who have proven themselves both dramatically and comedically, and they bring that expertise to the table in this spoof of the popular “televised event” of the early 2010s. With about as much production quality as Comedy Central’sDrunk Historyand with premises hitherto that of IFC’sDocumentary Now!,The Spoils of Babylonhits the nail on the head with a perfect balance of noirish melodrama, hilarious visual comedy, and a plot too compelling to turn away.
The Spoils of Babylon
Cynthia and Devon are two siblings whose intense love drives everything and everyone around them to ruin.
‘The Spoils of Babylon’ Is Hilarious On Multiple Levels
The most memorable bits in the miniseries arethose imbued with an underlying childishness. Moments like the performance of Jonas Morehouse’s death (similar to that of the king inShrek The Third), the action-packed slap fight between Cynthia and Dixie Melonworth (Jessica Alba), and Cynthia’s messy response to Lady Anne York’s (Carey Mulligan) self-assertion at breakfast make the most of the ridiculousness that comes from such a melodramatic premise. The frequency with which beats are either cut off or extended into oblivion is nothing short of the show’s finest highlight. An appreciation can be found in allowing the indiscretion of some joke setups to play out, such as when Jonas has to repeatedly tell Devon to “keep reading, there’s more” when he gifts his son an overly-inscribed compass. Of course, Devon would be able to see that there is more to be read, but for the sake of drawing out the bit for as long as humanly possible, some stopping and starting was necessary. The run-on bit is even boosted when Jonas starts to recite the inscription as though it were biblical scripture, just one testament to the show’s common denominator in thatevery beat meant to be taken seriously makes the show one notch sillier.
Without question,the name of the game inThe Spoils of Babylonis melodramatics.Performative comedy blossoms in this series as characters habitually lose their composure for extended periods of time, no matter the pettiness of the reason for their upset. For the sake of drama, the characters behave haphazardly and contrary to what is obviously the main priority at any given moment. A prime example is when an injured Devon manages to stop bleeding out long enough to tell his entire life story, and no sooner than he catches up to the present does he immediately keel over and give up the ghost. Sometimesyou can almost see the actors themselves stifling their laughterat the absurdity of their own performance – look closely at Kristen Wiig while Tobey Maguire delivers his character’s emotionally volatile eulogy to his recently-buried daughter. But above all, this teleplay will remind you to never underestimate the secret weapon that is throwing up both fists and screaming “NOOO!” into the air.
Just as well,comedic momentum is upheld by other complementary jokes. Random and unprecedented breaks in accents across actors throw the focus of entire scenes. Props (and characters, for that matter) are occasionally blessed with comedic obviousness that goes unaddressed, like the giant banner that reads “Welcome Home Darin” when Devon returns home from war, Devon’s mannequin wife Lady Anne York and their literal doll baby, or the comically large wine glasses that Devon and Cynthia sip from on the beach, which could only stem from Eric Jonrosh’s affinity for wine. Each episode of the miniseries is bookended by the cranky and tangential babblings of Jonrosh – a character who wasbased on a latter-years “Orson Welles who had kind of fallen from grace”– as he stubbornly refuses to comply with his script, inappropriately flirts with his waitress, and branches off into personal factoids about himself and his fictional cast.
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‘The Spoils of Babylon’s Cheap Production Quality Is the Only Kind That Would Have Worked
Low-budget sets and props, use of miniatures and dioramas, and ostensible practical effects giveThe Spoils of Babylona laughable production quality, resembling that of community theater or a home video. Cheap wigs, fake birds, and car scenes with green screens parade through six episodesthe way a fifth-grader with a dream commands a living room full of appeasing adults. The presentation could be improved, but no one’s going to actually say something about it. However, thisamateur production value lends itselfto supporting a focus on a narrative racked with greed, vanity, murder, and powerlust.
Added to the noir-centered performative comedy of the miniseries is a more esoteric running joke in the incorporation of experimental film practices as the story progresses through the ’50s and into the ’70s. Theavant-garde visual format is not as common in mainstream television and filmbut is guaranteed to give film students a chuckle. During the characters’ most cerebral and emotionally torrential moments (which, admittedly, are nearly indiscernible from the rest of the show), Eric Jonrosh chooses to employ surrealist editing techniques like stark superimposition of footage, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it title cards, prose poetry voiceover, and stylized dialogue recordings. The style is inherently random and haphazard, so it’s an appropriate choice for the scenes in which it’s used, but it makes processing the events more of an artsy-fartsy challenge to less familiarized eyes.
‘The Spoils of Babylon’ Is Designed To Test Audiences Patience
Art fans are especially bound to appreciate the display of artistic dedication in representing Devon Morehouse’s wayward and wandering years abroad. His unfortunate substance habit is reflected in a shift in musical tone throughthe use of jazz music, and his voiceover account is revitalized through ample samples of fluent spoken word poetry — with adjusted vocal inflection and emphasis, no less. Although the character’s objective situation is no laughing matter, the retelling of his profound exploration of the soul reels in the mockery of dramatics that call the 1950s their home. This chapter of the series ispacked with wordy, metaphorical narration, and a bombardment of overt references to jazz artistslikeMiles Davis,Charlie Parker,Sonny Rollins, andFreddie Hubbard. And in trueSpoilsfashion, Devon’s sudden passion for the written word isn’t just a one-off joke for the art world, but it continues to serve the story in combatting Cynthia’s added attacks.
Writer-director teamMatt PiedmontandAndrew Steele, both seasoned sketch comedy writers,usedThe Spoils of Babylonto explore pushing the limits of an audience’s patience. Instead of needing quicker and more rushed attempts for laughs,Piedmont and Steele could work superfluous bits and run-on jokes into the show. Since the plot ofSpoilsis thick and sensible, the floor is cracked open for increased nonsense. For example, between Devon’s flippancy toward his father’s news and Jonas’ reaction to his son’s news, the back-to-back excessiveness of Jonas Morehouse’s final moments is worth every bit of laughter. Such gratuitous instances of borderline wasteful writing are sprinkled across all six episodes.
You Are Right to Weep for the Characters in ‘The Spoils of Babylon’
With an abundance of goofiness going on for the whole of the miniseries, it’s easy to forget that there is a coherent storyline to be followed. The thread of Cynthia’s and Devon’sforbidden eternal yearning for each otherholds togetherthe myriad of nonsensical and downright foolish comedy inThe Spoils of Babylon. The longer they go on fighting their feelings, the more they end up hurting each other in the process. Shifting the role of antagonist from this intangible doomed attraction onto the destructive character of Winston adds a layer of conflict that amplifies the already-exceeding drama of the storyline from its midpoint to its explosive ending.
Cynthia Morehouse deserves some slack for the position she’s put in. Sure, she disregarded her father’s values, murdered Devon’s wife, sabotaged the progression of the auto industry, ripped Devon’s research institute from under him, and instilled in her son a horrible moral compass, but it was all in the name of love. Cynthia’s undying affection for Devon took hold of her life in a way that clouded her self-control. Her greedy and vengeful actions left Devon no choice but to retaliate in an attempt to bring her to a sense of remorse. In agreeing to return to the company Devon managed his own self-control in trying to “kick” Cynthia by setting a boundary between them. This finally saw Cynthia reacha change of heartand pursue positive changes for the company. But with Winston knee-deep in the company, it became too late to reverse the shame that was brought on the Morehouse name.
If the plot of the main characters isn’t entertaining enough, there’s plenty of story in the wings of the cast. The love story between Cynthia’s goon generals, Rod and Herman (Val KilmerandSteve Tomrespectively), is one worthy to be rooted for. As is the character of poor, peaceable Chet (Michael Sheen), Cynthia’s second husband, who did not deserve to be wedged into the chaos of this family’s story, nor to have his death go so brutally unnoticed. The fates of innocent sweetheart Seymore Luntz (Toby Huss) and beloved Marianne Morehouse (Jellybean Howie), despite some lackluster dramatization, remain a truly tragic sting. Rest assured, itisappropriate to think that Winston’s demise in particular is the least satisfying after the destruction he caused his family.
The Spoils of Babylonis available to stream on Pluto TV in the U.S.
