The Value of Teamwork (Rifftrax Shorts)

Rifftrax Year:  2016
Riffers:  Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, Bill Corbett

This wildly obnoxious short tells of a child who stands there and loudly barks his lines, both as a part of a school play and outside of it.  Speaking of barking, his talking dog isn't impressed by his teamwork and decides to give him a lesson in working together.

The Value of Teamwork has a valuable lesson, but just can't get it off the ground.  The examples of non-teamwork are so obviously staged that the short stunts its own lesson by making its main character look like a knob (painting a cow pink?).  But that becomes the fatal flaw in this short, I can't stand being around this kid.  He goes out of his way to be obnoxious, and even if he learns "the value of teamwork," I already hate him, so what's the point?  And then there is the talking dog teaching him the valuable lesson, an ill-advised attempt at being "cool," "cute," and "fun."  Believe me, he's none of those things.

"Ugh, the dog's doing freeform improv.  Get the shock collar."

Since the short is plenty weird, it gives the Mike, Kevin, and Bill a lot to work with.  What backfires for me is that the short itself is an unpleasant experience.  Even when a good line squeezes through the cracks of this mess the short thoroughly suffocates my laughter and rebounds me back into a state of daze.  It's not the fault of the riffers, because the commentary is fine and Mike, Kevin, and Bill know the value of teamwork well, but this is not one that I enjoy.

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