Roush Review: ‘History of the World, Part II’ Is a

Matt’s Rating:

His face is only seen in CGI jokes atop various buff bodies, but the legendary clown Mel Brooks (now 96) is the shameless guiding spirit of History of the World, Part II, a rollicking eight-part sequel to his 1981 sketch-comedy romp through world history.

Like Brooks, who narrates and is an executive producer along with series stars Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, and Ike Barinholtz, the Hulu series (two episodes a night) will do anything and roast any sacred cow for a laugh. Best to tone up your (running) gag reflex, because it’s going to get a workout.

The grin-to-groan ratio varies from scene to scene, but the pace is so fast and the punchlines so frequent it hardly matters. At its best, and worst, it’s like a Mad Magazine parody come to life.

Hulu

Contemporary comics Kroll, Barinholtz, and Sykes lead viewers through recurring segments on the Civil War, the Russian Revolution (with variations on Fiddler on the Roof and Anastasia), and Shirley Chisholm’s groundbreaking presidential run, the latter shot like a 1970s sitcom, with accompanying deafening laugh track from a Black studio audience. Having a high tolerance for body and bathroom humor may help get you through a vomit-spewing recreation of D-Day and a bit on the fall of the Berlin Wall, among other hit-and-miss blackout sketches.

Tyler Golden/Hulu

The series is especially inspired in its multi-genre treatment of the story of Jesus, spoofing Larry David (“Curb Your Judaism”) with Kroll as a squeamish and nebbishy Judas (“All that feet washing, it’s unsanitary”), then in another episode sending up romance writer Nicholas Sparks, and reaching its peak with a mock Beatles documentary in the style of Let It Be. In “The Last Supper Sessions,” Mary Magdalene (Atlanta’s Zazie Beetz) is the Yoko who comes between the Messiah (Insecure’s Jay Ellis) and the Fab 12.

Whether you choose to be amused is a matter of taste — or, perhaps, tastelessness.

History of the World, Part II, Monday–Thursday, March 6–9, Hulu

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