Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Veep: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 15, 2016

Shouldn’t Veep be considering a title change by now, what with the “promotion” of Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)? While Meyer is more or less firmly ensconced as the President now (at least as firmly as Meyer has ever been ensconced in any job, that is), the hilariously roiling dynamics of Veep are still pretty much the same and firmly intact. Veep is a series that delights in small moments of razor sharp humor, though it tends not to go for the jugular, delivering a steady stream of amusement in lieu of nonstop raucous guffaws (though there are occasional opportunities for those as well). While House of Cards’ devious and machinating Vice President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) schemed and plotted his way into the Presidency, Selina has had the job more or less handed to her, further elevating her already generally addled demeanor. This fourth season of Veep continues to admirably skew the silly gamesmanship that seems to be part and parcel of the Washington, D.C. experience, perhaps ironically delivering a more realistic feeling depiction of the labyrinthine ways of the federal government than many dramatic enterprises. The show is served extremely well by some whip smart writing and pitch perfect performances, though occasionally the series can tip over into the too self-aware “winking” proclivities that tended to inform the series that really put Louis-Dreyfus solidly on the pop cultural landscape, Seinfeld. There are also a couple of tonally askew moments where the show seems to be aiming for actual, honest to goodness human emotion, something that is distinctly at odds with its otherwise pretty Seinfeld-ian cynicism which often seems aimed directly at the intelligentsia, with an often wry take on the minutiae of life (in the White House or elsewhere).

For those wanting a reminder of what Selina and company have been through thus far in the life of the series, my colleague Ken Brown's reviews of the series' previous seasons can be found by clicking on the following links:

Veep: The Complete First Season Blu- ray review

Veep: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray review

Veep: The Complete Third Season Blu-ray review

Veep kind of plays in the same sandbox as The Office did, offering a gaggle of often eccentric characters whose careers force them to intersect with each other. The “exoticism” of working in or at least near the White House is brilliantly put down here as just another cubicle riddled workplace, with the same petty jealousies, ruthless ambition and general incompetence that often seems to be the case with most people’s jobs. The fact that there’s a kind of bifurcated situation going on, with Selina both assuming the duties of the Presidency while also campaigning to keep the job, only adds to the generally chaotic, haphazard humor.

Also as with The Office, it’s the interchanges between the various employees that deliver the most consistent humor throughout Veep’s fourth season. The cast is so comfortable in these roles by this time, that there’s an almost subliminal connection between performer and character, and that helps elevate what is occasionally some less inspired writing on occasion this season. Selina’s self absorption (another Seinfeld-ian aspect to his show) is still front and center, though it’s tempered by a kind of almost—almost —sweet demeanor that Louis-Dreyfus can adopt at times. She has some wonderful scenes with Tony Hale as her put upon assistant Gary Walsh, though one of this season’s attempts at generating heartfelt content in a “showdown” between the two comes off as mawkish and more than a little awkward. Perhaps even stranger is an arc given to Selina’s hapless daughter Catherine (Sarah Sutherland). A potentially hilarious bit involving Catherine’s “Q rating” (i.e., likability factor) tanking with the American populace also has a tonally weird moment where the character actually cries when she finds out about it. This particular side of Veep is almost antithetical to the disdain Seinfeld often seemed to feel for its own characters. Here, frankly a little weirdly, we’re suddenly supposed to feel sympathy for someone we’ve been mercilessly mocking for some time now.

There’s more felicitous comedic fodder found elsewhere, though, including some fantastic little bits between the superb Anna Chlumsky as Amy Brookheimer, supposedly in charge of Selina’s run for office, and Diedrich Bader as Bill Ericsson, a kind of smarmy operative who comes aboard Selina’s team and who is an obvious threat to Amy’s dominance. Another really funny recurring bit involves a hilariously disturbing Patton Oswalt as Teddy Sykes, the machinating Chief of Staff to (new) Vice President Doyle (Phil Reeves). Sykes’ manifestly sexually harassing behavior toward Jonah Ryan (Timothy Simons) is squirm inducing (see screenshot 5 for but one example) but one of the more consistently funny bits the series exploits this season.

Veep: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Veep: The Complete Fourth Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of HBO with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As Ken Brown has mentioned in his reviews of the three previous seasons of Veep, this is a workmanlike video presentation that gets the job done perfectly well but which rarely rises to any overwhelmingly impressive heights. There are some nice pops of color this season, including some lustrous red apparel that Selina wears (Louis-Dreyfus looks fantastic throughout the series, certainly the most "stylish" President in recent memory). Some interpolated elements, like the faux State of the Union footage which looks culled from an actual broadcast feed, can appear a bit more ragged and "video" like than the bulk of the series. Sharpness and clarity are typically excellent and despite the regular use of jiggly cam which can obscure such things, fine detail is also generally quite commendable, especially in close-ups. The show's settings which often include hideously fluorescent lit offices don't do the palette any favors, but things look reasonably attractive here, with no real problems of any kind to report.

Veep: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much as with Veep's video presentation, the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix is perfectly competent but rarely the sort of thing that will make devoted audiophiles perk up their ears and say "wow". Dialogue is very cleanly presented, and the cacophony of the crowded halls of various government offices offers some good placement of crowd noises and other elements that nicely establish a lifelike ambience. There may not be "in your face" (and/or ears) surround activity here, but immersion is consistent, if subtle, and fidelity is always fine, with no problems of any kind to warrant concern.

Veep: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Deleted Scenes (1080i; 8:17)

Disc Two

• Deleted Scenes (1080i; 7;34)

Veep: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Veep continues to pay significant comedic dividends, even if things may have taken a very slight downturn this season in terms of consistent tone and laugh out loud punchlines. The cast continues to offer absolutely superb accountings of their wacky characters, and some (relative) newcomers this season add to the fun. There's a wonderful symbiosis that has developed between the actors that gives Veep a very lived in quality, despite its tendency to exploit decidedly whimsical plotlines and character development. Technical merits continue to be strong, and even though the supplemental package is pretty light this time, Veep: The Complete Fourth Season comes Highly recommended.