The Not Inappropriate Show With Bob Odenkirk

By Jake Guidry in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 21, 2010 7:00PM

Bob Odenkirk is a well-traveled man in the world of show business. He’s written for Saturday Night Live and Mr. Show, produced the now-defunct Tom Goes to the Mayor (Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim’s original Adult Swim show) and has had numerous roles on television, including Seinfeld and the AMC drama about meth, Breaking Bad. So when Odenkirk was slated to perform in two separate productions for TBS’s Just For Laughs Festival, we were none surprised. One of these productions was The Not Inappropriate Show, a series of comedy sketches written by Odenkirk and his wife that for whatever reason happened to be family-friendly. The show was indeed family-friendly (not inappropriate) and, more importantly, very funny.

The Not Inappropriate Show had all sorts of performers, including several from comedy groups The Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. Even the Progressive commercial lady was in it. The sketches ranged from satiric to silly to both, with our personal favorites being a parody of sleezy lawyer personalities and what happens when a planetarium exhibit's equipment goes down. The show had a short run-time of just under one hour, but this gave the sketches a very SNL-feel, something Odenkirk is obviously familiar with doing. In fact, many of the sketches reminded us of something we'd see on SNL, notably one involving two women on the phone talking about their concussions, forgetting the discussion, and then breaking into song about it (perfect for a Kristen Wiig or a Molly Shannon). Overall, we had a great time and were exposed to what has made Odenkirk so successful in his long but somewhat under-the-radar career.