Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Workaholics: Season Five Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 18, 2015

Workaholics began life as a decent little time killer but has improved over the years, maturing into a rock-solid Comedy that's found its stride and, now after five seasons, has settled into a top spot as one of the best shows on Comedy Central. The show hasn't so much evolved as it has just gotten better, more confident, and at the same time more outrageous. The comedy trio of Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Blake Anderson has grown into the parts remarkably well, building off the foundations formed in previous seasons and at the same time displaying a more intimate understanding of what they do well, what the audience wants, and how to present it in a way that's memorably funny, not just throwaway humorous. Season five is the most complete yet, a binge-worthy collection of 13 episodes that are all quite good in the show's outrageous, boundary-pushing style. The guys keep the antics fresh and the individual story lines tight and approachable, finding ways to make them feel larger than either a show of this size's technical scope or limited runtime would generally allow.

Tac in the day...

Season five fine-tunes the formula, daring to go places that would make many a risqué modern program blush, but it's that brashness, that unflinching command of the comedy, that unquenchable thirst to go all the way that makes the show great, and makes season five in particular a winner. It breaks down politically correct barriers, toying with various sexually charged extremes, get-"rich"-quick schemes, drugs, and other shenanigans that see them go out on a limb for a laugh, and the payoff is almost always worth their risk. The show finds an expert balance between ridiculously over-the-top drama and broad stroke humor while also playing a bit of fan service in places, whether by way of small intimate hints or playing on a theme to humorous excess. The writing is consistently sharp, the story lines are endlessly humorous, and the performances are spot-on (if not almost always variations of the same basic caricatures, which, in this case, isn't a bad thing; it allows the actors to exploit their strengths rather than degrade the show by attempting to branch out further than they should). Season five enjoys plenty of great supporting performances from now-recognizeable Workaholics faces as well as several A-list guest stars, including Ben Stiller, Jerry O'Connell, Jack Black, and Tom Arnold.

Season Five highlight episodes include:

• Dorm Daze: Adam, Anders, and Blake settle in to watch the adult movie awards program, and Adam nails every pick. He has a "pornographic memory" and can recall every detail from any adult films he's seen, which is practically all of them. The guys are sent to a local college campus to recruit potential TelAmeriCorp employees, and Adam suddenly realizes that the campus is home to one of his favorite porn series. He becomes obsessed with finding the dorm room where his favorite scene was filmed, but a diversion might make him reconsider his stance on porn. Meanwhile, Anders finds himself in a tussle with a group of Coast Guard recruits while Blake is thrust into a porn shoot.
• Front Yard Wrestling: The rent is due, and the guys can't pay it. Anders has the idea of creating a public access wrestling program, and his twist to ensure that people watch is to shoot in the front yard rather than the more traditional backyard. "Adam" wrestles "Eskimofo" while Anders plays the part of Vince McMahon and Jillian the role of Stephanie McMahon. But when they take over the time slot previously held by one of their co-workers, he takes it upon himself to sink them. Ben Stiller guest stars as the angry landlord.
• Gayborhood: The boys learn that there's a "Pride" party happening down the street. They believe that to mean it's involving Mixed Martial Arts (Pride Fighting) but it is in fact a get-together for local homosexuals. When they learn the truth, they aren't deterred. Blinded by the allure of booze and good times, they decide to go with the flow. They awaken the next morning to learn that, in their drunken stupor, they slept with one another. Now, they must deal with the aftermath while at a company team building retreat.
• Ditch Day: Karl leaves the guys with a box marked "do not open." He offers them $2,000 to hold the package and deliver it on schedule. But they need a day off from work to do so, and their request is flatly rejected. In fact, the entire office is punished and disallowed from taking a day. They come up with an ingenious solution: stage a "ditch day" in which nobody shows up, which will take all the pressure off of them and allow the package to be delivered. Their co-workers spend at day at their pad and various shenanigans involving the box, and other things, go down.
• Blood Drive: It usually takes something big to get the guys involved at work. When it's announced that Dolph Lundgren will appear if their branch donates the most blood, the guys get to work, or better said get to scheming a way to ensure victory. They need 30 pints to win, but they're five short. Medical staff won't allow them to donate multiple times. Adam, who wants Dolph to appear in his workout video, hatches an identity scheme to add more pints to the pile but lands them even shorter than before. Meanwhile, Jillian falls in love with the Action superstar and Blake investigates the real reason behind the blood drive.
• Trivia Pursuits: The guys enter an 80s movie trivia contest and Anders dominates a seasoned team that's used to taking home the top prize. The losing team challenges the guys to a rematch, and the guys offer up a nonexistent prize: a life-size statue of The Predator. But just before it starts, Anders announces he's needed at work. Blake and Adam desperately attempt to brush up on their 80s movie factoids, but they're clobbered by the better team. Their only hope of salvaging the day, and getting away without giving away a prize they don't have, is to transfer the festivities to TelAmeriCorp and pray that Anders can save the day.
• Tac in the Day: When an employee becomes injured and traumatized when she finds drugs in the guys' cubicle, they're fired. The guys pull the only card they have, looking back at how they helped Alice get her job back in 2008.

Workaholics: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Workaholics: Season Five's 1080p transfer rarely misses a beat. There's some minor background banding visible in places, but it's otherwise good to go. Details are precise and consistently so. Fine dress shirt details, facial features, odds and ends around the guys' cubicle and pad, grasses, and even the various textures on the "Falkor" car look great. Image clarity is consistent, ditto sharpness, and even the slight digital flatness doesn't ever really get in the way. Colors are likewise very good, with the palette appearing naturally bright and balanced. Attire, nicknacks, grasses, everything enjoys a natural presentation that stays away from, on one end, garishness, and on the other, dullness. Black levels are impressively deep and flesh tones natural. This is a top-rate TV transfer from Paramount/Comedy Central.

Workaholics: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Workaholics: Season Five arrives on Blu-ray with a fine Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. It's technically sound if not a bit sonically unremarkable, but that's at the feet of the show rather than the Blu-ray release. The deep, throaty beats that accompany the title sequence and commercial break bookends is satisfyingly punchy and spacious. Various odds and ends sound effects help bring various environments to life, primarily the TelAmeriCorp offices, but there are some other specific sound details like a ringing bell or blaring alarm that add some well defined flavor to the mix. At the end of the day, however, the track is comprised primarily of dialogue. The spoken word plays cleanly and efficiently from the center with minor reverberation when necessary (mostly over a microphone) and it never lacks for consistent prioritization.

Workaholics: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

So, what's in the box? Workaholics: Season Five contains supplements on disc two and a voucher for a UV digital copy.

• Bloopers (1080p, 6:08).
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 6:08).
• Dolph Lundgren Tribute (1080p, 0:26): Jillian's Dolph montage as seen in the show.
• DeMamp Camp Vol. 2 (1080p, 1:06): A clip from Adam's workout video as seen in the show.
• #Freethebuttcheeks (1080p, 0:35): A butt scene montage.
• Season 5 Trailer (1080p, 2:06): An Action movie-style preview for the season, much of which plays as the Blu-ray main menu.
• Behind the Scenes of the Workaholics Season 5 Trailer (1080p, 3:19): A short look at making the trailer, including on-set footage and interviews with primary cast.
• Drugs on Season 5 (1080p, 0:43): The cast discusses what highs are left for them to try.
• Acting vs. Writing (1080p, 1:55): Adam, Blake, and Anders discuss the benefits and challenges of acting and writing.

Workaholics: Season Five Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Season five is easily the best yet. It's lean, endlessly funny, and shows a full command of the characters and material that was evident in seasons three and four but truly out in the open here. The episodes are gloriously funny, fully politically incorrect, and encompass a broad range of subjects while still staying true to the simple cores that define the main characters. Workaholics: Season Five's Blu-release features top-end video and audio. Supplements are satisfactory but not particularly noteworthy. Highly recommended.