By Curt Schleier
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that members of the Young Republicans won’t be the prime audience for LIL’ BUSH. Each half-hour episode of this new Comedy Central show (airs Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m.) is comprised of two animated shorts featuring the adventures of Lil’ Bush and his friends, Lil’ Condi, Lil’ Rummy and, of course, Lil’ Cheney. So, you probably get the idea that the producers won’t be advancing a conservative agenda.
Therefore, let me address the people who will watch: tree-hugging, welfare-giving, immigrant-loving, war-hating commies. You folks will love it.
The show is funny under the most difficult of circumstances. Spoofing Bush isn’t easy. For example, in the first animation, Lil’ Bush and buddies go to Baghdad to find a Father’s Day gift. There, they find a young wounded Iraqi, and Lil’ Bush assigns him a nickname, Lamey. Then he says, “Let’s take Lamey to the greatest country in America — the U.S.A.”
It’s a funny line, but you almost have to stop mid-laugh and try to recall if that malapropism was created by the show’s writers or the president himself. Because the real Bush is already a caricature of a president, it becomes difficult to be funny and original. How do you create a cartoon of a cartoon?
The folks at LIL’ BUSH swing a wide swath from the obvious to the profane.
Obvious: At one point Lil’ Bush’s mom, Barbara, urges her son to stop hitting Lil’ Jeb with a crowbar. “Be nice to your brother. You may need him to fix an election some day.”
Profane: Barbara Bush plays Mrs. Robinson to Lil’ Cheney.
And there’s a lot in between. To get to Iraq, the Lil’ Ones decide to join the army. That’s pretty simple, since the slogan at the recruiting stations is “U.S. Army. Our standards have never been lower.”
When they get there, Iraq is a dangerous place. However, they find solace at an amusement park, Halliburton Land — The Wealthiest Place on Earth.
You get the idea.There are far more hits than misses. If the idea is tickle the funny bone — well, then, mission accomplished.