Written by Aaron Sarnecky
WORLD’S FUNNIEST SUMMARY
Celebrity judges Josh Wolf, Natasha Leggero, and Ross Mathews join host Terry Crews in the search for the world’s funniest Internet video while also chiming in with humorous commentary.
This isn’t the kind of thing I typically review. I’ve written about non-scripted shows in the past, and actually said some positive things about a couple, but I generally tend to respect scripted shows more, given that they arguably take more time and effort to make. That being said, I give everything that I review a chance and this series is no different (this was the first time I watched it, to be clear). I could just mark it as an America’s Funniest Home Videos knockoff, but there’s a little more to it.
While it is true that it bares a big resemblance to AFV, it also reminds me of Comedy Central’s @Midnight and Tosh.0. If I had to pick, I’d say it’s closest to @Midnight, due to its game show-like set up. But if I were ranking all four, I’d put the shows as far apart as possible, with @Midnight at the top and World’s Funniest at the bottom. It’s hard to explain why, but I’ll try.
While World’s Funniest does include commentary, it focuses more on the content of the videos like AFV. These are the standard fare of people hurting themselves, among other things. The jokes that are thrown in are generally the ones you would expect, with an occasional jab or observation that hits the mark. Considering I can probably watch most of these videos myself, that’s kind of disappointing. Wolf and Leggero do have some good quips, one about fashion coming to mind. Mathews, on the other hand, is more obnoxious than funny. They seem to get wittier people on @Midnight.
There are three things that this show has going for it. The first one is Terry Crews (who I like, despite his mostly awful Old Spice commercials). He has a natural energy to him, even if his jokes are forced. I can’t help but feel a little happy seeing his grinning face. The second thing is that some of these videos are funny. There’s one with a deer that deservedly won the “world’s funniest” award. The third and final thing is that the judges are playing for charity.
However, do I have any desire to watch this show ever again? No, absolutely not. I had a really hard time keeping it on because I wanted to do other things. But I don’t see the harm in someone popping this show on while they surf the web. It’s not hilarious, but it generates a few laughs. It’s not a terrible choice if you’re feeling lazy and don’t want to look up Internet videos yourself.
RATING: 5.5 OUT OF 10 (PASSABLE ENTERTAINMENT)
