REVIEW: A spin-off of the now long-running, critically-acclaimed coming-of-age adult animated comedy Big Mouth, Netflix’s Human Resources is back on Friday for its second – and allegedly final – series.
Essentially a workplace sitcom, it revolves around the lives, loves and often lewd behaviour of the hormone monsters and other creatures that help Homo sapiens on their journey from puberty to pushing up the daisies. It also boasts a vocal cast that would put many a Dreamworks or Pixar production to shame.
Yes, if you’ve ever wanted to hear Hugh Jackman swear, Florence Pugh playing a character mounting a urinal or Miley Cyrus utter the line, “I’ve crunched the numbers on love and the stats are pure ass”, then Human Resources for you. What this R-Rated version of Herman’s Head or Inside Out is not – is for the faint-hearted, prudish, or easily offended.
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It’s anarchic sensibilities are perhaps best summed up by the second season’s opening episode, which in true fourth-wall-breaking style begins with Nick Kroll’s Maury and Maya Rudolph’s Connie leafing through photos of their sole offspring Montel (Cole Escola).
“I think it’s the perfect way to catch people up from last season,” Connie coos, before Maury reveals he’s worried about the preparations for Montel’s traditional end-of-childhood celebration. “I still have to lock down the dick-pic photo booth and I haven’t even confirmed the sculpture depicting Montel’s conception,” he wails, before we’re “treated” to the trauma of what took place at his own “Jizz Mitzvah”.
Yep, it’s that kind of American comedy, where the sweet mixes with the salty – with sometimes sensational, but often tasteless results.
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Florence Pugh’s the human Sarah and Miley Cyrus voices her “logic rock” Van on the second season of Human Resources.
Maury’s stresses though are about to get way worse. Turns out, Montel is having doubts about being a hormone monster at all, preferring the dark arts – as perfected by Maury’s nemesis Lionel St. Swithens (David Thewlis) – of shame wizardry.
“You’ll face prejudice,” screams Maury, “I’m so cruel to everyone who is not like me.”
But while he contemplates a “Weekend at Bernie’s-style” way of ensuring Montel’s appearance, Lovebug Emmy (Aidy Bryant) is facing one of her toughest challenges yet – Sarah (Pugh).
“What are you loving these days? Boys? Girls? Cold, hard cash?” Emmy asks her new client, dismayed to hear that while she’s “big on life, love is complicated and messy”. And while an agreement is reached with Sarah’s logic rock Van (Cyrus) for a hook-up, after an unlikely “meet cute” in a men’s bathroom, Emmy is appalled when Sarah “skedaddles” from the bed in the middle of the night.
But Van is just so dreamy and persuasive… Emmy finds she just can’t put up much of a protest.
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Essentially a workplace sitcom, Human Resources revolves around the lives, loves and often lewd behaviour of the hormone monsters and other creatures that help Homo sapiens on their journey from puberty to pushing up the daisies.
With episode titles like Total RePaul, A League of Their Hormone and Paul Me By Your Name, you get a sense of what to expect during this 10-part run – specific pop-culture references mixed in with crude jokes and humour best described as edgy (and that occasionally feels a little too forced here).
It’s the model that has served Family Guy so well since 1999, even if it doesn’t tickle everyone’s funny bone.
However, any show that persuade Helen Mirren to play a Shame Wizard matriarch, Rosie Perez an Ambition Gremlin and Henry Winkler an anthropomorphic sweater must have something going for it (or creators who know where the bodies are buried).
Season 2 of Human Resources debuts on Netflix on June 9.
