Bret McKenzie makes musical comedy work by keeping his acting small and letting the songs grow absurdly large. His partnership with Jemaine Clement earns our affection, even when the writing leaves too much waiting between numbers.
Fi1m perspective
Bret McKenzie does not announce the moment when a scene becomes ridiculous. In Flight of the Conchords (2007), he and Jemaine Clement play struggling New Zealand musicians in New York, letting us notice quite how little progress either is making. Their dependence on each other gives the comedy a warmth that jokes about unsuccessful performers do not automatically earn. We liked spending time with them because neither actor treats his character’s lack of prospects as a reason to sneer. When they start singing, the change in scale is funny precisely because the acting has made so little fuss.
The duo’s route from a radio series in 2005 to television in 2007 makes sense of that emphasis on what we hear. McKenzie’s genre parodies draw on folk, hip-hop, rock and pop, with everyday awkwardness supplying the subject matter. The music has to be worth listening to once the joke is understood, and in Flight of the Conchords it usually is. Clement is the essential partner, sharing McKenzie’s willingness to leave a pause alone rather than force a laugh. As manager Murray Hewitt, Rhys Darby adds another comic presence without breaking their quiet rhythm.
As creators and writers with James Bobin, however, McKenzie and Clement sometimes give that restraint too little support. The ordinary plots can be thin, and a small idea does not always deserve the time allotted to it. Casey Brown’s editing is most effective when the programme breaks into song; away from the music, the pace sometimes slackens enough to test our affection. Between numbers, we occasionally wait for something more than another demonstration of who these men are.
The Muppets (2011), for which he worked as songwriter and music supervisor, took his music into family film-making. His songs there include ‘Man or Muppet’, a useful reminder that his screen work extends beyond his own performances. He also released the non-comedy solo album Songs Without Jokes (2022). That title would be less persuasive if the Conchords songs had depended entirely on their punchlines. Start with Flight of the Conchords; a little patience between songs is worth the trouble.
Biography
Bret McKenzie is a New Zealand actor, musician and comedian. He is one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords with Jemaine Clement. McKenzie appeared as Bret, and served as creator and writer, on the duo's self-titled HBO television series (2007–2009).
He studied film and theatre at Victoria University of Wellington. McKenzie had minor roles as an elf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). As a songwriter and music supervisor, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Man or Muppet" from The Muppets (2011). His debut solo album Songs Without Jokes was released in 2022.
