What I liked
There are a few things in life more pleasant than a massive uppercut to the nuts, and that is what “Shitty Awful Everything” provides. It’s not a show that needs to make a lick of sense, nor does it care to. What this show provides is a live action dark comedy wrapped in the style of a Looney Tune on acid and adderall. It’s bloody, it’s dirty, it’s wrecking it like Ralph and it’s an absolute comedic gem.
I remember seeing a video plea by John Cleese recently where he, in a very dry and british way, attacked the sensitive and politically correct new World. A world where we take ourselves so seriously, so careful to not cross any lines and to politely tip toe on egg shells about what we can say and what we can do in the name of comedy. He simply called it the death of humor. “Shitty Awful Everything” takes nothing seriously, offends everyone, and is hysterical because it pulls no punches… It just lands them. Cleese would have an orgasm.
The script by Kevin Swanstrom is fiercely all over the place. Narrators battle over their protagonist. The lead character is not only diagnosed with cancer, he is riddled with it, and then shit gets real crazy. The dialogue is fast and furious, aware of itself, and so pumped up on pop culture and current events that you almost need the rewind button present to catch all of it.
The cast is having a ball, and because of that, so does a willing audience. To draw focus to one performance or one role would be an insult to the entire piece. They share these crazy characters with each other, and the blend is the kind of Mexican Mule that comes with a kick. Like a Road Warrior Crazy Dentist Hippie Jesus kick.
Kyle Cooper stages all of this without a set. The man is given a curtain and some chairs and some props and a lot of blood. Like a lot of blood. Like the kind of blood that goes flying into the audience because if Tarantino can do it in a film, why the fuck can’t Kyle Cooper do it on stage. It’s like 3D blood but better because the first three rows left the theater looking like they had risen from a crime scene.
What is “Shitty Awful Everything?” Yeah, I don’t know. What is it trying to say? Anything and everything and nothing.
Is it a whiplash of a good time? Fuck yeah.
What I didn't like
There was no Jake Busey as Gary Busey and that was bull shit. I wept tears of blood.
My overall impression
The right kind of fucked up, and super funny. It’s like better than sex cake because it is. But oddly enough, you’ll still want some better than sex cake.
