Two comic legends come together for Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life, a variety special that has its shining moments … but gets by on the general good feeling of seeing the two sharing a stage.
It’s not remarkably funny. Actually, it really isn’t that funny at all; a lot of the attempts at humor fall flat. It does have a couple of gigglers, including Short’s nasty talk-show-host Jiminy Glick transformed into a puppet that Martin works; the two also enjoy making fun of each other. But a musical number by Short that winds up with him in a very low-grade naked suit is lame.
The show really shines when Martin simply sits down and plays his banjo. Honestly, I could’ve watched an hour of Martin playing his banjo by himself on the stage. I didn’t even need the moment when his backing band, The Steep Canyon Rangers, showed up to finish the song. Martin playing a banjo, by himself, is one of my favorite things the entertainment industry has to offer.
While Short keeps chugging as an actor, Martin has put that part of his life aside to tour as a musician, sometimes with Edie Brickell. So if anything, this special is nice in that we get to see Martin doing some comedy again. Still, I’m one of those folks who is perfectly content to watch him pick those strings.
Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life is now streaming on Netflix.