Any guess that Comedy Central's new animated series "Ugly Americans" is about a typical New Yorker, in typical New York City, will be off by quite a bit; rather, this strangely comedic TV show tells the story of a man too normal to fit into the phantasmagorical society surrounding him. With an actual demon for an ex-girlfriend, young Mark Lilly (voiced by Matt Oberg) seems to be the only normal person in a fantasy-netherworld version of New York City. As a social worker at the city's Department of Integration, Mark is saddled with the duty of helping two-headed monsters and giant chickens become functional members of an already psychotic society.
The show takes the viewer to a Manhattan inhabited by such strange creatures as werewolves, zombies and land-whales (whales with legs). The protagonist Mark, however, seems to be quite normal despite his ridiculous living conditions, which include rooming with a recently undead zombie named Randall (Kurt Metzger) bent on eating his brains. If one had to guess, the title is based on the appearance of zombies (they're usually ugly).
Cartoon-savvy viewers may recognize this wicked style of humor as heavily influenced by the previous work of the show's co-creator, cartoonist and animator Devin Clark. "Ugly Americans" heavily draws on the comedic style and artistry of Clark's animated online shorts "5 On" (2010), in which demonic creatures on the street are asked all types of questions ranging from immigration policy to elections. In the world of Devin Clark, it seems that the stranger a concept is, the better it is.
Ironically, Clark's oddball comedic interests seem a bit less weird when seen in context with recent American pop culture trends that have cast the fodder of horror films into the limelight. Over the past several years, the American viewer has once again developed a new taste for the monster classics, and "Ugly Americans" could be viewed as an attempt to capitalize on recent entertainment appetites. The wildly popular "Twilight" films (2008-2009) and the HBO Original Series "True Blood" represent extremely successful adaptations of the classic vampire genre, but tailored more toward a demographic that devours romantic themes. "The Wolfman" (2010) made a similar attempt to resuscitate the monster genre, although the film stayed closer to the horror themes of its original inspirations. Set against this cultural backdrop, "Ugly Americans" is merely the logical continuation: a barefaced spoof of nightmarish, monster-themed entertainment that effectively mocks the resurgence of the genre in contemporary books, television and cinema.
With two episodes already produced and screened — the series premiere aired last night — the show seems to have a lot of promise. It may never reach the status held by animated stalwarts such as "The Simpsons," "South Park" or "Family Guy," however, as the bizarre nature of the show may have limited its range of appeal.
For the college-age demographic though, the show will find a sizeable following. In that respect, "Ugly Americans" seems like it would be better suited for Adult Swim, a partner network of Cartoon Network where more adult-themed cartoons, such as "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and "Robot Chicken," have earned it a reputation as the home for more peculiar animated series.
