YOUR PRETTY FACE IS GOING TO HELL is faster and funnier than your average comedy show. It’s whipsmart, which is a good thing considering this show’s setting. There’s whips, there’s chains, all manner of fire and brimstone but, when you really come down to it, isn’t it always about the characters? That’s what I came away with after a brief chat with the cast from this hilarious new show on Adult Swim, Thursdays, at midnight.
Matt Servitto, as Satan
First up, is Matt Servitto, who is a seasoned actor with an impressive resume. He is known for his work on THE SOPRANOS as well as a variety of other shows. He was recently in PRICE CHECK, with Parker Posey, and that is a must-see and available now on DVD. In YOUR PRETTY FACE IS GOING TO HELL, Matt plays a high profile character, the big guy himself, Satan. For inspiration, Matt turned to Ed Asner’s character, Lou Grant, on THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW. You might wonder about that. There are a number of impressions of Lou you can come away with but, at his core, he was always short tempered, a bit erratic, and not someone you wanted to displease. “If you think back, that guy could be crazy. You felt sorry for Mary whenever she was called into his office.”
Henry Zebrowski, as Gary
Next, we have Henry Zebrowski, who plays Gary on the show. He’s shuffling along as a good worker demon but his heart isn’t in it. Henry likens the sharp-witted humor on PRETTY FACE to sharking around a pizza at a party and grabbing a slice before they’re all gone. His quick reflexes landed him a role in the upcoming Martin Scorsese film, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET. Henry let us in on a different aspect to the movie that audiences may not be expecting. “This one is going to be bloody. It’s going to be the next SCARFACE.” Well, that’s Henry’s interpretation so take it with a full grain of salt.
Craig Rowin, as Claude
Craig Rowin rounds out the cast as the conniving intern who is adapting quite well to literally working in corporate hell. Being in hell doesn’t seem to phase him and he looks like he’s going to thrive while his supervisor, Gary, is only going to flounder. Both Craig and Henry come from working on the sketch comedy show, COLLEGE HUMOR ORIGINALS, and, as the title implies, they have both earned their stripes. When I asked Craig if he could define comedy for us, he had a very good answer related to what makes PRETTY FACE work. “You’re working off a baseline of insanity. It’s absurd humor playing off reality.”
Henry jumped in to agree with his fellow comedian. “It’s all about that 9 to 5 office job. You might be working with some of the saddest cases. It’s about that unreal office world.” And that’s good comedy for you, keeping it real in the unreal. Even though this show is set in hell, don’t these office workers bleed if they are papercut? You bet they do. They cry sometimes too. And, since it’s that kind of show, they even explode into tiny little bits. It’s all possible coming from the creators of the show, Dave Willis and Chris Kelly, both steeped in Cartoon Network writing experience, including AQUA TEAM HUNGER FORCE. As Craig points out, it’s that background that gives the show its animated zip even though it’s a live action show.
It was at this point in the interview that things took a sudden ugly turn. Henry got a little too excited and called Craig, “A tiny-eyed rat-faced boy.” While a seemingly random swipe at Craig, he took it well and considered it a compliment of sorts. All three actors agreed that this moment of potential danger was all in good fun. Just the right note to end this interview on.
Catch YOUR PRETTY FACE IS GOING TO HELL, Thursdays at midnight, on Adult Swim.
