Savor the Last Days of Summer With the Guys of 'Park Bench'

I see that from these boys shall men of nothing
Stature by seedy shifting,
Or lame the air with leaping from its hearts;
There from their hearts the dogdayed pulse
Of love and light bursts in their throats.
O see the pulse of summer in the ice.
– I See The Boys Of Summer, Dylan Thomas

Just a little high art to spice up your day, folks! And a little overture to a great comedy series about two lusty yet oblivious dudes whiling away the summer on a Central Park bench.

From social networking upstart Moli, Park Bench is an award–winning series that takes the form of three minute slices of buddy comedy.  The sheer professionalism and quality of the writing, acting, and cinematography is what sets it apart from the endless parade of sketch comedy videos available online.

The boys on the bench are Adam and Matt, who on the surface seem to be something of an odd couple. Adam is an excitable and awkward hipster-nerd and Matt is a slightly Bro-ish ladies man who has a new girlfriend he “really likes” in almost every episode.

What’s refreshing is there are no cool/uncool stereotypes in the show, and the disparity in demeanor is barely even mentioned. Instead we see how much these guys have in common, such as their mutual appreciation and pursuit of Central Park hotties and their willingness to indulge in debates over matters of zero importance. We believe they’d be friends.

What really glues the two together is a shared sense of good-natured cluelessness, best exemplified in the first and most acclaimed short, Tested. Here, the duo shock an STD awareness volunteer with their inventd method of protection, which involves a checklist and the assumption that if they slept with a girl who had a disease, “they’d totally call you, cause they’re sensitive”.

Didn’t these guys ever see those The More You Know commercials?!

Tertiary produces the series and the actors who play Adam and Matt (Nick Ross and Tom Murphy) are responsible for the wonderful writing.  Their comfort with the characters makes the humor seem natural and quick. The editing and camerawork are so good I was barely aware of them, which is a big compliment.

It’s a professional piece of work in every way, and quality is still the rarest virtue when it comes to mass entertainment. Park Bench is one to watch.