by Luke Nihlen
Daily Lobo
Kenny can stay awake longer, but Spenny makes a more convincing woman.
"Kenny Vs. Spenny," a new show premiering on GSN Thursday, pits two lifelong best friends, Kenny Hotz and Spencer "Spenny" Rice, against one another in head-to-head competitions in events of their choosing. The competitions are inventive and varied, each one taking the majority of a half-hour show to complete.
A large part of the show's fun comes from the obvious camaraderie felt between the stars. The intimacy they exhibit is relaxed and feels as though it could only have come from a lifelong friendship. The constant teasing and banter is amusing and reminiscent of "Wayne's World." The bathroom humor, boy's-club feeling and reality television camera work should also remind viewers of "Jackass."
In one episode, the duo decides to duel in fatigue - the first to sleep will lose the competition. Kenny is obnoxious and has a reputation for cheating, so Spenny spends much of this challenge following Kenny around and trying vainly to curb his partner's inappropriate and dishonest behavior.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Kenny has devised a number of funny strategies to prevent his sleep. In one odd scene, he visits a Chinese medicine practitioner who advises him to gain energy by tightening his anus. He also tries chewing coffee grounds and wears artificial sunlight headgear and a device on his ear that buzzes loudly whenever he nods his head.
At the end of each competition, the loser has to endure a humiliating episode devised by the victor. These scenes are sadistic fun due to the obvious torment felt by the loser and the pleasure taken by the winner.
In another episode, the two compete to see who can be a more convincing woman, as judged by a cadre of women drawn from their circle of friends. The humor quickly wears thin on this episode as each man tries to assemble a female identity from their personal collection of stereotypes about women.
Kenny is obviously threatened by this challenge and spends most of his preparation time behaving in a rude and suggestive manner toward the women who have been hired to help him.
He kisses several women on the lips without their permission and asks two women if he can feel their breasts. These scenes are awkward on camera and uncomfortable to watch.
Spenny does little to alter his physical appearance outside of wearing a dress, makeup, and a wig. Instead, he spends his time with an image consultant who helps him devise a female persona.
The sole detail made clear about Kenny's female character is that she is prone to drunken sexual abandon. Spenny goes for the married, career-oriented female stereotype. In the bickering interaction of these two characters, however, it quickly becomes clear that both are paper-thin constructions of clich.
This childish behavior, while decadent fun among the boys of "Jackass," often seems an odd fit on the obviously older Kenny and Spenny. Although their actual ages are not available, it is clear both are near 30, if not past it.
The age difference makes their antics feel closer to an uncomfortable display of childhood neuroses than bored-suburban playmaking. Furthermore, the sexist attitudes and behaviors exhibited by Kenny are unacceptable in any boy or man, regardless of age.
The design of the challenges is creative, and the buddy-movie style antics between the stars are fun. However, the remaining material in the show may not be enough to make it a regular part of the average viewers' television regimen.
