Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Vice Principals: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 8, 2017

One of the more horrifying memories I have of my generally horrifying teen years came courtesy of my high school vice principal (my school only had one), who for whatever reason took a shine to me and demonstrated his fondness by sitting with me on several occasions in the lunchroom to have little chats. You can probably imagine my embarrassment at having a hulking adult, one tasked with keeping the students in line, single me out for this odd display of affection, and it certainly didn’t help with my already faltering popularity in certain quarters (in other words, girls). In terms of his temperament, this particular vice principal was probably much more in line with Vice Principals’ resident martinet Neal Gamby (Danny McBride) than his seemingly friendlier but perhaps even more machinating co-vice principal Lee Russell (Walton Goggins). Vice Principals has a pretty simple set up, beginning with the retirement of longtime principal Welles (Bill Murray), leaving Gamby and Russell seemingly at each other’s throats as they vie to be named his replacement. When it turns out a respected administrator from outside of the district named Dr. Belinda Brown (Kimberly Hebert Gregory) has actually been named to the position, Gamby and Russell end up forging an unlikely alliance to take her down, with an understanding that they can then duke it out for the job once Brown has been taken care of. Vice Principals often plays like a darkly comic, suburban version of Game of Thrones in terms of various desperate people grasping for power that seems to repeatedly elude them, and how much the series resonates with each particular viewer will probably depend on how much tolerance they have for some rather mean spirited, scabrous (and often obscenity laden) humor. There’s also an undeniably melancholic aspect to much of the series that may give it some actual real emotional impact, but which resides a bit uneasily with the more raucous comedic elements.

Initially at least that melancholic content seems to be aimed squarely at Gamby, who it turns out is pretty unhappily divorced and evidently deeply in debt, at least as evidenced by collection calls he keeps listening to (but never responding to) on his answering machine, and also an awkward conversation he has at the boarding stables that houses a horse belonging to his daughter Janelle (Maya G. Love). Gamby’s ex-wife Gale (Busy Philipps) has remarried a seemingly very nice and decent guy named Ray Liptrapp (Shea Whigham). Ray’s inherent “nice guy”-ness of course only pushes Gamby’s buttons all the more, and there are several outrageous interchanges between the characters where Gamby just lets loose with a string of expletives while Ray continues to be, well, a nice guy.

The early part of this season competently documents the roiling dysfunctions of North Jackson High School, with Gamby’s take no prisoners approach offending many of the other teachers at the school, notably newcomer Amanda Snodgrass (Georgia King), a pretty, idealistic blonde whom Gamby ultimately starts to want to romance. While Russell is better at managing social relationships, it turns out he’s also pretty much of a mess, though his initial kissing up to Dr. Brown seems to be paying dividends. That (perhaps appropriately named) brown nosing turns out to be a complete ruse, and he ultimately confesses to Gamby that he wants Brown gone as much as Gamby does.

A number of perhaps needless sidebars starts intruding as later episodes unfold. Gamby’s relationships with his daughter and ex-wife (not to mention nice guy Ray) are explored, while more time is given to various schemes hatched by Russell in an attempt to bring Brown down. There’s a certain repetitiveness to the whole “let’s get rid of Brown” scenario, with a number of plots devolving perilously, leaving the conspirators more or less twisting in the wind (again, kind of like a comedic Game of Thrones).

Things begin to become at least a little more complex in the endgame of the first season when Gamby has to choose a path forward. Brown turns out to be as machinating as either Gamby or Russell, and in fact some of the squirm inducing humor throughout this season comes courtesy of her deliberate provocations of both vice principals as she quite capably proves that she’s the boss. This whole aspect of Vice Principals relies pretty heavily on a feeling of schadenfreude, with much of the humor springing from watching bad things happen to already kind of unlikable characters.

Vice Principals has already received its marching orders, so to speak, with a reported order for eighteen more episodes which will evidently be split up into two more seasons. The show ends its first season at a kind of crossroads, and where it decides to go with Gamby, Russell and Brown will probably determine how successful the remaining episodes are. The performances here are all uniformly excellent, even when the writing can tend to be hit or miss. One way or the other, those who ever suffered under their vice principal may at least get a bit of a kick out of seeing these supposed icons of power getting a little comeuppance themselves.

Vice Principals: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Vice Principals is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of HBO with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Some online sources (but not the IMDb, of course) list the Arri Alexa as the camera being used on this series, and this a competent if never really that impressive visual presentation. The palette is often quite cool, tending to cast flesh tones toward the bluish side, something that may have been done to reinforce the kind of ugly fluorescent ambience of many high schools. Some of the outdoor scenes are considerably warmer, and overall detail levels are very high. The kind of drab context of the series means that nothing ever pops with much immediacy, but there aren't any problems with instability or compression artifacts.

Vice Principals: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

SImilarly to its video presentation, Vice Principals' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is perfectly competent but never overly impressive. Surround channels get occasional workouts in scenes like the riding sequences with Janelle, and even some of the raucous group meetings (by both students and teachers) in the school setting, but otherwise dialogue is anchored front and center, though always delivered cleanly and clearly. There are no problems with damage, distortion or dropouts.

Vice Principals: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 14:58)


• Audio Commentaries

  Episode 1 The Principal with Danny McBride (Writer/Executive Producer/Actor), Jody Hill (Director/Writer/Executive Producer), Walton Goggins (Actor), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Actress), Georgia King (Actress), Busy Philipps (Actress)

  Episode 2 A Trusty Seed with Danny McBride (Writer/Executive Producer/Actor), John Carcieri (Writer/Co-Executive Producer), Jeff Seibeneck (Editor/Co-Producer), Sarah Trost (Costume Designer), Walton Goggins (Actor)

  Episode 3 The Field Trip with Danny McBride (Writer/Executive Producer/Actor), Joseph Stephens (Music Composer), Sarah Trost (Costume Designer), Georgia King (Actress), Edi Patterson (Actress), Mike O'Gorman (Actor)

  Episode 4 Run for the Money with Danny McBride (Writer/Executive Producer/Actor), Jody Hill (Director/Writer/Executive Producer), Jeff Fradley (Writer/Consulting Producer), Walton Goggins (Actor), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Actress), Ashley Spillers (Actress)

  Episode 5 Circles with Danny McBride (Writer/Executive Producer/Actor), Jody Hill (Director/Writer/Executive Producer), John Carcieri (Writer/Co-Executive Producer), Sarah Trost (Costume Designer), Walton Goggins (Actor), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Actress)

Disc Two

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 3:29)


• Blooper Reel (1080p; 4:58)


• Audio Commentaries

  Episode 6 The Foundation of Learning with Danny McBride (Writer/Executive Producer/Actor), Jody Hill (Director/Writer/Executive Producer), Walton Goggins (Actor), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Actress), Georgia King (Actress), Mike O'Gorman (Actor)

  Episode 7 The Good Book with Danny McBride (Writer/Executive Producer/Actor), Jody Hill (Director/Writer/Executive Producer), John Carcieri (Writer/Co-Executive Producer), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Actress), Georgia King (Actress), Edi Patterson (Actress)

  Episode 8 Gin with Danny McBride (Writer/Executive Producer/Actor), Jody Hill (Director/Writer/Executive Producer), John Carcieri (Writer/Co-Executive Producer), Walton Goggins (Actor), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Actress), Georgia King (Actress)

  Episode 9 End of the Line with Danny McBride (Writer/Executive Producer/Actor), Jody Hill (Director/Writer/Executive Producer), John Carcieri (Writer/Co-Executive Producer), Walton Goggins (Actor), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Actress), Georgia King (Actress)

Vice Principals: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I have a feeling if you have a snarky sense of humor like I do, you'll probably derive enough pleasure out of Vice Principals to merit checking it out. The bittersweet element running just beneath the surface of the series will also appeal to those who like a little tartness along with their schadenfreude. The irony with the two titular characters is that they of course are more juvenile than any of the kids they're purportedly supervising. Recommended.