Rob & Big: Complete Seasons 1 & 2
January 16, 2008
Director:
Mark Jacobs,
Starring:
Rob Dyrdek, Christopher Boykin,
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J.D. Lafrance+Rob and Big is a reality show that tweaks The Odd Couple set-up with pro-skate boarder Rob Dyrdek, a scrawny white guy, and his best friend and bodyguard Christopher “Big Black” Boykin, a 300+lb black man, who share a house in the Hollywood Hills. In the first episode of season one, Rob and Big decide to adopt a bulldog puppy who they name Meaty and celebrate by hosting a house party with the Three 6 Mafia performing. One memorable moment has Rob shaving Big’s hairy back in anticipation of the party.
In “Go Skate Day,” Rob tries to get Big and Meaty on their own skateboards in observance of National Skateboarding Day. This gives Rob the opportunity to show-off his mad skating skills. During the course of the day, Rob and Big discover a full-grown bulldog that can skate – an amazing feat to behold. Big takes on a quarter pipe with predictably disastrous results.
Despite wildly contrasting physical attributes and backgrounds, Rob and Big’s personalities compliment each other well: Rob is chatty and full of goofy energy while Big is more laid back and plays it cool. The show focuses on their adventures as Rob and Big visit each other’s parents in Ohio and Mississippi, respectively; try to get Big to lose weight; and dabble in the dating scene. Along the way, there are plenty of scenes of Rob shredding various skate parks and in competitions. It is endearing how they look out for each other and their friendship seems genuine.
With Season 2, the boys buy a miniature horse and we see how they have to adapt their lives for this new addition but it just doesn’t have the cuteness factor of Meaty. One of the odder episodes is “Time Travel” as Rob is unable to get his “hyper-dimensional resonator” to work. The creator won’t give him the time of day so he and Big go to Montreal and meet with a “time travel expert” known as Dr. Z who seems to know as much about the resonator as Rob.
“Mississippi” marks the first appearance of Big’s beloved Uncle Jerry as the boys attend Big’s family reunion deep in the “Dirty South.” How does one begin to describe Uncle Jerry? He looks to be in his 60s and is barely intelligible but is funny as hell. He lets Rob borrow one of his suits for church and shows genuine compassion for the boys that is endearing as he is funny.
In “Tampa,” Rob returns to pro skate competition after five years facing off against his old rival and friend Steve Berra. They bet each other $5,000 that one can beat the other at the competition in Florida. A lot of fun is derived from the one-upmanship between Rob and Berra.
Hands down and without a doubt, the best episode of either season is “Bobby Light” where Rob tries his hand at music by creating a persona known as Bobby Light, a one-hit wonder R&B sensation. He records a song called, “Dirty Girl” along with filming an accompanying music video. He enlists the help of Big, his buddy Bam Bam and Uncle Jerry returns to play a prominent role. How does one do justice to Uncle Jerry and his unique take on life? Highlights include a Rob and Uncle Jerry dance-off, Rob assembling his Bobby Light outfit (including wig!) and the shooting of the “Dirty Girl” video.
Special Features:
Every episode features an audio commentary by Rob, Big, executive producers Jeff Tremaine and Ruben Fleischer. They have a lot of fun reliving these moments from their lives, laughing at some of their exploits. Your enjoyment of these commentaries really depends on the episode and which ones you like the most.
Disc Two features extras for the first season, including “Special Meaty Puppy Footage,” 15 additional scenes of Meaty as an adorable puppy back when Rob and Big first got him.
“Rob & Big – ‘The Real Deal’” takes a behind the scenes look at Rob & Big. They talk about how they met, their relationship and how they became roommates. Of course, they talk about Meaty and what he means to them. Rob & Big also talk about some of the highlights of Season 1 with clips.
Also included are 23 deleted scenes including the installation of an ATM machine in their house. We also see Meaty and Big learning how to swim. The Chunky Boys perform live and Rob goes shopping for jewelry in order to go for that “’80s football star” look. We also see Rob and Big face off in a hot dog eating contest. Also included is Drama learning how to drive only to get in an accident.
“Skate Tutorials” features Rob teaching the fundamentals of skateboarding in these brief tutorials. He really makes it look easy but as anyone quickly realizes, to pull these moves off well you have to practice them a helluva lot.
“Interviews” are the extended versions of the soundbites in “The Real Deal” extra.
Disc Four contains all of the extras for Season 2. The “Dirty Girl” music video that was shown being made during the “Bobby Light” episode is included in all of its cheesy glory. It has to be seen to be truly believed.
Arguably the best extra in the entire set is the “Special Uncle Jerry Footage” featuring more hilarious scenes of Uncle Jerry in action: drinking beer, yelling “Dirty Girl” randomly and just being his usual awesome, original self.
“MTV Cribs Appearance” features Rob and Big giving us the tour of their pad and, of course, their vehicles. They even have their own ATM machine.
Also included are 12 deleted scenes from the various episodes from Season 2.
“The Best of Season 2” is a highlight reel of the best moments from this season.
Finally, there is “Special Mini Footage” of the miniature horse in action doing its thing.
J.D. is a freelance writer who is currently doing research for a book on the films of Michael Mann. He likes reading anything written by Jack Kerouac, James Ellroy, J.D. Salinger, Harlan Ellison or Thomas Pynchon. J.D. is currently addicted to the T.V. series 24 and enjoys drinking a lot of Sprite. This is not a blatant plug for the beverage but if they ever decided to give him a lifetime supply he certainly wouldn’t turn them down.
view all DVD reviews by JD Lafrance
Rating: 82%
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