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Anyone who’s spent time in a cubicle farm knows that they’re not too far removed from the inner circles of the underworld, but few take the idea as literally as Casper Kelly and Dave Willis. Both veterans of the Adult Swim network, their live-action series, Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell, sets up the realm of eternal punishment as one built more on petty office politics, inept associates, and the world’s worst break room.
Always trying to prove his worth, or least his basic competency, low-level demon Gary (Henry Zebrowski) just cannot catch a break. His new intern, Claude (Craig Rowin), not only wants to replace him, but he’s also undeniably better at the job. His boss, Satan (Matt Servitto), basically keeps him around just to torture (not that he’s the only one—the Devil is nothing if not egalitarian in his torments). Even the poor schmucks he’s assigned to corrupt or punish don’t take him seriously. When the highlight of your day is literally acting as Satan’s urinal, you’ve got nowhere to go but up—or down, considering it is Hell.
At six episodes of roughly 11 minutes long, Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell doesn’t linger too long on any one idea. Even for a well-trod genre like the workplace comedy, it organizes around some extremely familiar tropes. In a way, though, such a simple structure frees the series to go as big as it can in terms of character humor and visual gags.
Gary’s a completely prototypical TV loser, and he could get tiresome quickly without Zebrowski’s surprisingly likeable performance. For all of his posturing and stupidity, Gary’s got a big heart and an unending supply of enthusiasm—neither of which makes him a particularly effective demon. On the other hand, Servitto makes Satan the literal boss from Hell, every bit as cruel and vindictive as he is bored by it all. Much like their characters, Zebrowski does most of the work, but Servitto gets the best lines and steals every scene he gets.
Also hard at work are the visual effects guys. Mixing up green screen with props and practical effects, Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell takes what likely isn’t a huge budget and runs with it, often staying visually interesting even when limited in locations and setups. The executive washroom where the demons take turns as plumbing fixtures stands out, as does a fleshy home PC made out of the remains of some poor soul.
With a style that comes in somewhere between absurd cartoon and prosaic office comedy, there’s a lot here to like, even if it does leave something to be desired. It’s clear from elements of both this and the creators’ previous work that these guys know how to push a joke. The constraints of workplace formulas don’t help them with that here, but if they can get past those limits going forward, we’ll all be in for a hell of a good time.
DVD Review:
Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell’s first season set comes in with all six episodes plus the somewhat unrelated short film that got the whole thing rolling. Each comes with deleted scenes, as well as commentaries that range from inside info to the performers just enjoying another chance to riff off one another. One of the more interesting additions comes from the actors’ screen tests, and it’s fascinating to watch them hone their approach as they go.
