The Live Read of Space Jam with Blake Griffin (2014)

In some ways I am glad that I got my education back when I only had 4 channels to watch and no internet or online gaming; mainly because I am pretty sure I would never have been able to get away from access to so much media, so much of it free and so much of it good. The Funny or Die stable is an example of that; it produces a lot of material and, although not all of it works, it is easily consumed and generally short, so it has flow and has the freedom to try out things. This short film attracted me by virtue of the absurd title, and for those involved it is this absurdity that appears to be driving this.

The film suggests this is a series that they do, of live table reads; I am not sure about this but it does seem like a running joke. The comedians and current NBA players they get involved adds a sense of fun to it, and there are laughs to be had hearing silly dialogue delivered out of the context of the animated film. The problem is though, that it is not as funny to watch as it probably was to do. The actors are cracking up and taking the audience with them due to the silliness of it all, but really to me very little of it is actually funny. I think Seth Green's take on Bugs was probably the best, but otherwise it is just the silliness and absurdity of the whole thing that carries it – but is probably only doing so to a certain extent. An absurd novelty, but more fun to be involved than to watch.