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If you’re not familiar with the franchise, it’s about puppets providing visuals for real prank phone calls.
“Crank Yankers” has moved to MTV2, so gone is the “Sesame Street” opening. An elaborate new title sequence has been built around the puppet version of a rapper and hip hop producer named Lil Jon.
Seven segments follow, with Sarah Silverman and Jim Florentine ably compensating for weaker components:
1) Lil Jon (Lil Jon) tries to recruit a classical harpist to tour with him. This doesn’t work because a) Lil Jon isn’t a comedian and b) the harp lady, rather sensibly, has no problem with doing a few tour dates with a hip-hop artist.
2) Chip Douglas (Fred Armisen) calls a U-Haul place and offers the clerk a long, wholly unnecessary list of the things he wants to load into it. The U-Haul doesn’t seem much to care, and neither I suspect will the viewers.
3) Andy Milonokis (Andy Milonokis) sings and raps to local merchants. I wouldn’t find this funny if Andy were seven. IMDb tells us Andy turned 31 on Jan. 30.
4) Bobby Fletcher (Jim Florentine) gets a call from a salesman trying to talk Bobby into using his debt consolidation company, but Bobby’s (stoned?) roommate (Jim Florentine) keeps picking up and asking if Bobby is still using the phone. The best part is listening to the sales guy’s desperation as he tries to end the call.
5) Hadassah (Sarah Silverman) calls a mall security office about a missing cup of Jamba Juice. When her initial call is met with dismissive contempt, she disguises her voice and pretends to be other characters concerned about the juice. Hilarious.
6) Terrence Cathater (Jimmy Kimmel), claiming to be Jessica Simpson’s effeminate assistant, calls a waxing parlor to warn them about his boss’ "not-a-penis." Funny premise, but the waxing lady is too polite and professional and drains away all the fun.
7) Hadassah finds her Jamba Juice, but discovers a whole new angle with which she can mock the mall cops.
10 p.m. Friday. MTV2.
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