Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

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

Nobody puts Kenny in a corner!

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown May 16, 2014

Kenny f@#$ing Powers is back and... better than ever? In a season sure to surprise, well, everyone, diehard fan and casual onlookers alike, Eastbound & Down knocks it outta the park in its fourth and final season; a season no one, Danny McBride included, thought would ever make it to production. HBO originally opted to shutter the series in 2011, announcing the series' 2012 season would be its last. McBride and co-creators Ben Best and Jody Hill even brought the saga of Kenny Powers to a close. But then HBO pulled a CW and handed the showrunners eight more episodes. Normally such a move would be cause for groans and shaking heads, and for a time, that's exactly what most of us did. Groan and shake our heads. Eastbound & Down had steadily gone downhill. How could a fourth season be anything but a lapse in original programming judgment? Yet Season Four is anything but a lapse. Sharper, funnier, cruder and, strangely, more heartfelt, the series' final hurrah is arguably its finest, and easily superior to the previously penned "final" 8-episode stretch. Even those who've drifted from Powers' side will want to return to see what trouble McBride's f-bombing ex-pro baseballer can get himself into when offered a completely different kind of comeback, this time as a sports commentator.

Life has thrown a lot of curve balls at Kenny Powers (McBride). After a disgraceful return to his hometown, a failed attempt at coaching, a soul-searching season in Mexico, a successful return to the minor leagues and a not-so-successful attempt at single fatherhood, Kenny finally hung up his cap to become a full-time family man. But can he ever truly say goodbye to the fame and fortune afforded by his baseball career? The final season of the hit HBO series finds Kenny struggling with his identity after fleeing his successful comeback to the minors by faking his own death and returning home to the love of his life, April (Katy Mixon), and their son Toby. Years later, Kenny is settled quietly into family life in North Carolina, working as an assistant manager at a car rental outlet, trying to piece together a screenplay about his life story and numbing the yearning to return to the vices of his glory days with boring couples' nights and bland dinner parties. But when a former teammate turns up with an opportunity for Kenny to get back in the game as a celebrity commentator, Kenny begins to wonder whether the time is right to step out of the shadows.

Rather than devise new, more ludicrous misadventures for Powers (out of the country or in), McBride and company reign in the obvious hilarity for a more nuanced tightrope walk between happiness and career opportunity. Ironically, the more grounded Kenny's life is, the more hilarious everything that transpires becomes. The E&B crew tried to make a similar move in Season Three, but didn't seem to have a good idea of where to take the story. Here, though, the creative team finds biting inspiration and runs with it. Dropping McBride onto a sports-cast set is genius move number one, followed closely by the decision to increase Mixon's screentime and elevate her role in Kenny's personal life. No longer an object of doomed desire or an inverse-antagonist, April is suddenly promoted to Kenny's balancing force, and it works wonders, providing much needed breaks from the brash ego and crass chip ever-gnawing at Powers' shoulder. (Even as his infamous temper and newfound celebrity begins threatening their rekindled relationship.)

Going smaller and smarter also affords McBride and his co-stars the opportunity to shine. No longer dwarfed by heightened circumstance, the cast's razor-wire jokes and serrated one-liners are the stars of the show again, with whatever wild, weird hijinks that slide in taking a back seat to whatever character arc is at the wheel. It's so good I almost wish another season was on the horizon. But when a show goes out on as high a note as this -- particularly after hitting rock bottom in seasons past -- it's better to savor the slick sendoff than hope for what might be a mediocre extension. It's clear HBO saw the potential in McBride, Hill and Best's final season and the gamble pays off, for the network, the creators and, most of all, the Eastbound & Down faithful.

The Complete Fourth and Final Season features eight episodes:

• Chapter 22: Bored with his dead-end job and suburban lifestyle, Kenny Powers, now married to April (Katy Mixon) and a father of two, ponders a career move after partying with Guy Young (Ken Marino), a one-time teammate and current host of a raucous TV talk show.
• Chapter 23: Looking to reclaim the spoils of celebrity, Kenny pays a visit to Guy Young to discuss a career change. Kenny tries to convince Stevie (Steve Little) to rejoin the Powers team.
• Chapter 24: Kenny treats his family and friends to an overnight trip to the local waterpark. A day of good, clean, wholesome fun, though, gives way to an evening of debauchery.
• Chapter 25: Kenny follows through on a threat to Gene (Tim Heidecker). Stevie gets Kenny a charity to promote during Guy's goodwill dragon boat race. Taking the lead from his dad, Kenny's son Toby tries to find the courage to feed his new pet.
• Chapter 26: With Kenny getting more and more attention on "Sports Sesh," Guy asks him to dial it down a notch. April gets Kenny to agree to undergo couples therapy. Kenny and Stevie map out a new business venture designed to capitalize on Kenny's soaring stock.
• Chapter 27: Kenny gets rattled when Guy introduces a wild card to the show. Stevie recruits Maria (Elizabeth De Razzo) to help promote Kenny's side business. April reaches the end of her rope with "Famous Kenny."
• Chapter 28: Kenny finds his personal travails taking a toll at work. Stevie keeps up appearances in the face of adversity. Dustin and Cassie (John Hawkes and Jennifer Irwin) help Kenny learn a valuable Christmas lesson.
• Chapter 29: Kenny returns a favor, at his boss's insistence. Stevie offers revisions to Kenny's life story. April weighs a big decision.

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

Like previous season releases, Eastbound & Down: The Complete Fourth and Final Season features a 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation that's true to its source and showrunners' intentions. However, contrast has been dialed down a notch and made more consistent, leading to a (subjectively) more pleasing image, complete with more natural primaries and more evenly saturated skintones. (Some pink hues and flushing still affect faces from time to time, but it's hardly a distraction.) Detail remains excellent too, despite semi-frequent spikes in noise. Edges are crisp, fine textures are well-resolved, halos and ringing aren't as prevalent as in the past, and delineation is commendable. Moreover, macroblocking and banding are kept to a minimum, and there really aren't any other issues of note. All told, the series' Blu-ray run hits a solid high with its final outing. Fans of the show will be satisfied.

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

The Complete Fourth and Final Season offers a strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. As was the case with Season Three's Blu-ray release, dialogue is clear, carefully prioritized and rarely subject to clarity issues. LFE output is hearty and hefty as well, and rear speaker activity is assertive and pleasantly involving. Directionality pitches a good game, pans are slick and dynamics deliver. Add to that a soundtrack that fills the soundfield, all without detracting from a scene's ambience or atmosphere, and you have another Eastbound & Down lossless track that impresses.

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

• Audio Commentaries: Each episode features an audio commentary with Danny McBride and Jody Hill, along with a revolving door of actors and key showmakers. The participants tend to take shots at one another, ramble and wander down side streets, but fans of the series will have a blast tagging along for the ride. Available tracks:
  
  
  • Chapter 22: McBride, Hill, producer John Carcieri, and actors Steve Little, Jillian Bell and Tim Heidecker
  • Chapter 23: McBride, Hill, Carcieri, Little, editor Jeff Seibenick and Elizabeth de Razzo
  • Chapter 24: McBride, Hill, Carcieri, Little and Bell
  • Chapter 25: McBride, Hill, Bell, Heidecker and Ken Marino
  • Chapter 26: McBride, Hill, Carcieri and Little
  • Chapter 27: McBride, Hill, Marino, Bell and Heidecker
  • Chapter 28: McBride, Hill, Carcieri, Seibenick, Little, de Razzo and Jennifer Irwin
  • Chapter 29: McBride, Hill, Carcieri and Little
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 23 minutes): A lengthy collection of admittedly hit or miss deleted scenes. But the hits... oh, the hits. Brace for the laughs, Kenny Powers fans. Brace for the laughs.
• Outtakes (HD, 11 minutes): Aka "Every Time Someone F'd Up Our Show."
• Season 3 Recap (HD, 1 minute)

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

Eastbound & Down: The Complete Fourth and Final Season is a far better sendoff than Season Three, and a much funnier, sharper eight-episode stretch than the show has delivered to date. Who knew? HBO and McBride apparently. A fourth season was a move no one saw coming, and yet one that pays off incredibly well. HBO Home Entertainment's Blu-ray release is a great one too, with a strong AV presentation and a solid complement of special features. If you've stuck with Kenny Powers from the beginning, The Complete Fourth and Final Season is a no-brainer. If you drifted away in the middle of Season Two or Three, though, consider reuniting with Powers for his latest comeback. You might be as pleasantly surprised as I was.