Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Eastbound & Down: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

A home-brewed comedy with a Major League ego, just as it should be.

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown March 7, 2012

You won't like Kenny Powers. Brash, cocky, insensitive... you wouldn't want to run into him at a bar, ask him for an autograph, or have dinner with the guy, much less count him amongst your friends. So how is it that Eastbound & Down works? Simple. Danny McBride. You may not like Kenny Powers, the flailing egomaniac and former Major League Baseball pitcher he plays, but it's hard not to like McBride. The HBO series' manchild comedy and cast of eccentric losers might get under your skin, its spittle slinging jabs and deadpan barbs might leave you cold, and the first season may very well wear out of its welcome long before its six episodes run their course. But McBride? The hair. The slack jaw. The scowl. The timing. The sweet, chewy nougat at the center of all that rage. Come for Kenny Powers, have a good laugh at his expense even. But stay for Danny McBride, and laugh at the impossibly likable unlikability he hurls across the plate, pitch after pitch after pitch.

So, as I was saying, the amount of money I'm gonna be making would hurt your parents' feelings. You remember the class where I taught you all how to make it rain? That’s what I’m gonna be doin' every single night. Dolla, dolla bills, y'all.

After burning every bridge he built in North Carolina years ago, disgraced professional baseball player Kenny Powers (McBride) returns to his home town and takes a job as a gym teacher at his old school. But Kenny isn't about to lie down and accept his fate. Desperate to get back into the game, he begins a training regiment and mounts a campaign he's convinced will put him back in the MLB's good graces. Not that he's up to the league's standards anymore. Powers still thinks he's baseball's brightest star but his pitches barely top 60mph. He threw away his millions but still acts as if he's the richest man on the planet. He's out of shape but thinks losing four or five pounds will keep him in his prime. He tossed aside everyone who ever meant anything to him yet acts as if everyone should be thanking him. His only allies? Stevie Janowski (Steve Little), Kenny's friend and assistant, and Dustin (John Hawkes), his brother. His latest regret? Old high-school flame April (Katy Mixon), the one who got away. And his newly sworn enemies? Ashley Schaeffer of Ashley Schaeffer BMW (Will Ferrell) and Principal Cutler (Andrew Daly), his boss and April's fiancé.

Eastbound and Down tries. Hard. (Too hard sometimes.) But there's a spark-stamped gleam in McBride's eye and a firm crook in his raised eyebrows -- together, a cocksure certainty that heralds every word that comes out of his goatee-wreathed mouth -- that combines every bad decision and every self-destructive shot at fame and fortune into a wince-inducing comedy of errors. Powers isn't an honorable scrapper (or a very bright bulb, for that matter), but there's something to be said for an overstuffed hasbeen beating his fists against the ground while slowly, oh so slowly, coming to terms with his flaws. Thankfully, McBride pumps just enough fleeting humanity into his performance to earn Powers a modicum of sympathy. As much as he was responsible for digging his own MLB grave, his is actually a sad case, really, and watching Kenny figure that out, step by step, beat by beat, is part of what makes Eastbound and Down as watchable as it is. Little's doe-eyed diligence deserves credit as well (sweetly but strangely enamored as Stevie may be), as does the series' lineup of second-stringers, Hawkes chief among them. Ferrell is the same Ferrellian monster as ever, but he scores laughs, especially when Craig Robinson steps in to pinch hit. As much as the supporting cast clicks, though, it's still McBride's show to win or lose. And when Powers finally begins to take a few steps forward, the series' lurches ahead and makes it easy to drink down each passing episode.

Eastbound & Down: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

When Eastbound & Down isn't baking in the Shelby summer sun, its 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation delivers. When the clouds part, though, and the sun comes out to play, the image takes a turn for the problematic. Crush flourishes, noise erupts, skintones drift off course, and contrast ratchets up to eleven. It's all part of the chosen Eastbound aesthetic, mind you, but it isn't without its shortcomings. That said, the series holds its own, with warm colors, passable primaries, stark black levels, and decent saturation. Detail fluctuates from shot to shot and scene to scene, and isn't always as well-resolved as some might prefer, but HBO's encode isn't to blame. Closeups exhibit an array of fine textures, and only wider, more hotly contrasted shots suffer. It helps that artifacting, banding and smearing sit the bench, and edge halos and ringing are really the only troublemakers to contend with. Does The Complete First Season look like a winner? Not exactly. Nevertheless, it represents a significant upgrade from its DVD counterpart and will continue to satisfy newcomers and fans of the show alike.

Eastbound & Down: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

I didn't expect much from Eastbound & Down's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, but like its second-season brother in sonic arms, The Complete First Season's lossless mix doesn't disappoint. The crack of a bat, the roar of a crowd, the drunken slurs of a steroid-fueled pro baseballer, the stale echo of a luxury car dealership, the hollow ring of shattered dreams... all present and accounted for. The rear speakers rarely slack off, rallying solid support for every environment and directional effect (if only to adequate ends at times). The LFE channel throws its weight around as well -- more than expected actually -- and dynamics are quite good, despite the fact that the series flaunts a down and dirty sound design that's more man-on-the-street than man-in-the-suite. And dialogue remains clean and clear throughout, without too many lines falling by the wayside. All in all, HBO's lossless mix delivers a fit and faithful experience, even when the source shrugs its shoulders and drops the ball every now and then.

Eastbound & Down: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 2-disc Blu-ray release of Eastbound & Down: The Complete First Season recycles the 2009 DVD extras, among them three audio commentaries, an HBO featurette, deleted scenes and a series of outtakes. Thankfully, all of the video content is presented in high definition.

• Audio Commentaries: Director David Gordon Green, writer Ben T. Best, Danny McBride and writer/director Jody L. Hill focus on three episodes ("Chapter 1," "Chapter 4" and "Chapter 6"), delivering a trio of serviceable but increasingly dry and aimless commentaries. The best track is easily the first, as the Eastbound boys have more to discuss, but after they've rehashed the genesis of the series and its early struggles and successes, they aren't left with much ground to cover. Diehards will no doubt be entertained. Most everyone else will probably just listen for a half-hour or so and move on.
• Making Eastbound and Down (HD, 12 minutes): More an extended HBO promo than a full-fledged trip behind-the-scenes, this Making Of special is a decent, albeit shallow, production featurette best suited to those who haven't already watched the series.
• Kenny Powers: Greatest Hits (HD, 3 minutes): An in-character demo reel in which Powers does his best reclaim his former glory. It's worth a watch for the cheesy home-brewed visual effects alone.
• Schaeffer Motors Commercials (HD, 3 minutes): Will Ferrell stars in two commercials as Schaeffer Motors' Ashley Schaeffer. "Automobiles sold during this commercial: two."
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 9 minutes): If you love the show, you'll love these cuts. Simple as that.
• Outtakes (HD, 13 minutes): "Listen to me! I'm gonna be reeeeal honest with you right now." You'll laugh. I don't even like gag reels and I laughed just watching McBride, Ferrell and crew try to crack each other up.
• Stevie's Dark Secret (HD, 8 minutes): Stevie Janowski reveals his darkest secret.

Eastbound & Down: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Eastbound & Down isn't for everyone, but if you warm up to McBride's punch-drunk ex-pro, if his cocky man-child fractures your funny bone without fail, the HBO series' first six-episode stretch will break a few bones itself. If McBride's shtick grows tiresome, though, brace yourself. The Complete First Season does well on Blu-ray, even if its video presentation isn't anything special. That said, it still holds the line along with a dependable DTS-HD Master Audio mix and a nice selection of extras. Is Eastbound & Down worth a purchase? If you enjoy the series, absolutely. As a blind buy? You might want to take things a bit slow until you know what you're getting into.