Review: Finance Family Bunker “The Hunt”

Overview:

Grandma and Father Finance are trying to relive the good ol’ days by going big game hunting. Unable to leave the bunker, they have brought the beasts inside. Convincing Aidan to join them, he soon finds himself well over his head. Meanwhile, as Howie tries to find a new haircut to fit his style, he befriends a random ostrich.

Our Take:

Comedy group Simple Town has delivered a fresh episode of Finance Family Bunker, and as this collection of shorts builds, we are finding more reasons to watch. The five-episode collection has been releasing every Friday on Comedy Central’s YouTube channel. The shorts feature one of Earth’s wealthiest families doing their best to entertain themselves after the apocalypse has destroyed most of the civilized planet.

Aside from Finance Family Bunker’s original concept, the series of shorts has already showcased its humour over the first two episodes. Shining the most is the unique dialogue that has each member of the Finance family squabbling and putting one another at risk. Front and centre in the program is Aidan Finance, who strives to prove himself to his father while being ridiculed by the rest of the family, especially the resident robot nurse.

The latest episode, “The Hunt”, gives Aidan another chance to get in his father’s good graces. As the patriarch and his even older mother relive their youth by hunting big game, Aidan is enlisted to prove himself. However, Aidan’s fear takes over as he is forced to kill clone versions of his father and the biggest bird in the animal kingdom.

While this series has been one of the funniest things on the internet over the past couple of weeks, this latest edition lacks the over-the-top ridiculousness of the first two episodes. Inarguably, the inaugural episode, which lacked much plot but delivered the best dialogue, is the best five minutes of the collection thus far. Meanwhile, the second instalment lacked the lustre of the original but provided a heavy twist ending. Unfortunately, the third episode continued the downward trend, but plenty of laughs are still squeezed in.

Not gifted with nearly enough airtime, one of the most entertaining members of the Finance family is the youngest child Howie. Gentle and good-looking, Howie has a sensitive approach to his relationships that makes him beloved by the rest of the family. However, the character’s lack of intelligence and soft side makes him the outlier in a group full of over-the-top entitled rich assholes. And something about that helps him stand out as the most laughable player in the bunch.

Hopefully, the last two episodes deliver the silly dialogue and mean jokes that have made this series one of the best animations to come out of Comedy Central’s YouTube feed. As mentioned in previous reviews, this series has the potential to bring something unique and refreshing to television, and it would be worth seeing what the creators could do with a full-length series.