We were excited to interview Sam Reich and Vincent Peone from the hilarious sketch group, Dutch West. They make the amazingly inappropriate series of “Short Shorts” for Atom. (Now watch every single bizarre vingette individually on our spankin’ new microsite!) We decided to meet in a big, old abandoned house for our chat.

A: It’s awesome to meet you guys. How’d you all band together?

V: Do you believe in reincarnation?
S: Because we don’t. Josh and Vince grew up together and Josh met Matt in acting school. Then Josh, Elaine and I all met in acting camp. Then Josh, Elaine, Matt, and I were all in a play together. Then Josh, Vince, and I were in a movie together. It became abundantly clear that we were destined to start a commune in Southern California and feast on the earthly fruits of each other’s succulent flesh. But we formed a comedy group.

A: Is it a bummer when someone unfunny attempts to be funny?

V: Did you guys hear something?
S: Yeah, actually. It came from the staircase in the foyer.
V: Man, old houses can be creepy. It’s like they breathe or something….
S: Anyway, I think everyone’s funny.  Some people mean to be funny, and other people are funny unintentionally, or funny because they’re trying to be funny and end up being funny for a totally different reason.
V: The reason is that they’re pathetic.
S: For instance, we have an older actor we sometimes work with who’s always talking about creepy things happening in foreign countries.  And once we discovered that pattern, we now all find him hilarious.
V: The formula is simple: you take a foreign event, like a bull run, and mix it with something creepy, like a “mean” blowjob.
S: He’ll say something like, “I once got a mean blowjob beneath the rafters at a bull run.”
V: A BJ at a bull run. Tada!

A: Who’s the funniest person alive?

S: Josh Ruben. I spent years being jealous of Josh’s talent before I was simply able to relax and let him be funny.
V: Josh and I grew up in front of the exact same television programming.  We share a vocabulary of ‘80s/’90s references that can sometimes be articulated without words. Or as obscure as a face someone made in a commercial that ran once, or the kitchy logo of the production company that made the show. He is a borderline genius. But with weird ticks. Like John Nash.
S: Jesus, there’s that sound again.
V: It feels ten degrees colder in here than a moment ago.

A: Is there a Yoko Ono lurking within your team? An unwelcome GF or BF?

V: Elaine has an Asian ex-girlfriend who’s always hanging around.
S: Elaine and I are dating, but that’s never gotten in the way of the group.
V: Except for script-approvals, casting, finances…
S: True. But it’s never gotten in the way of the catering.

A: What freedom does the format of your quick, intercut vignettes allow?

S: All the freedom in the world.  That’s what first attracted us to the concept.  We have very short attention spans.  The Short Shorts are very easy to write.  They’re bite-sized.
V: It’s also taken all the tiny ideas that wouldn’t normally have a home and allowed us to make them.  And because it’s so rapid-fire, it’s not the worst thing if they flop like a turd in a punchb….
S: OH MY GOD IT’S A GHOST!!
V: HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!
S: IT’S A GHOST!! A GHOST JUST MATERIALIZED THREE FEET FROM US!
V: (Heavy breathing)

A: What? There is? How did the Cajun Critic and his Jazz Gators come about?

S: HOW CAN YOU ASK THAT??  THERE’S A GHOST IN THE ROOM!!
V: A TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY FACTORY WORKER WITH A MACHINE PART THROUGH HIS HEAD!
S: AND A VACANT EXPRESSION!!
V: THAT’S THE SCARIEST PART!!  OH, THE VACANTNESS!!
S: Okay, he’s gone.
V: Josh and I think old Jazz musicians are funny, and often do the scratchy, burnt out voice in casual conversation.  One time I asked him to summarize Schindler’s List seconds before I was getting on the subway and about to lose reception.  He said, “Everybody’s dead, one girls red.” I think it all started there.
S: In our heads the Cajun Movie Critic is a fully fleshed-out character: We wrote him as a man living in an abandoned Blockbuster Video after Katrina hit. The idea was that he was reviewing movies for a public access show to occupy his time before a helicopter found him. But we finally decided that was too controversial for Atom.

A: Who does the Zodiac answering machine voice?

V: That was Sam using a Talkboy-
S: OH SHIT THE GHOST IS BACK!!
G: Don’t mind me guys, I’m just looking for my wife’s letters.
V: Oh….. You mean the ones on embroidered stationary in the old mahogany secretary desk?
G: Yes, but where is the key?
S: You’re a ghost. Can’t you just stick your hand through?
G: Oh man. I’m an asshole. My bad.

A: Would you show “Saving Private Ryan (with Cake)” to Spielberg?

V: Stevie and I talked about it and-
S: Stevie Wonder.
V: Yeah, Stevie Wonder and I talked about it, and he didn’t think Spielberg would be mad.
S: The group has always had an immense appreciation for cinema. It’s our dream to be making feature length films.
V: But for now we’re cool with just making fun of some of our favorites.

A: What’s the rule around making racial simplifications and lampooning tragic scenarios?

S: It usually comes to a vote.  We need to make sure that we’re just being silly and not making some kind of unintentional statement.  There are some issues that we won’t touch.
V: Such as adoption.
S: Vince-
V: Adoption is a very controversial issue. Personally, I’m against partial-birth adoptions.
S: We were shooting the KKK sketch in a remote barn in upstate New York, when someone abruptly barged in and said, “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I support it.”  That was totally creepy.  It made me wonder for a moment if we hadn’t crossed a line. But KKK members getting really quite sad after hitting their heads is exactly the ridiculous image that they should have.

A: Would you accept the job of being Obama’s official White House sketch group?

S: Sure, so long as they don’t mind my history as Cheney’s prop comic.
V: (Mimes shooting Sam in the face.)

A: What’s your dream gig?

S: Shooting features.
V: Dutch West has always had a very cinematic head.  Even when we were making videos before YouTube.
S: It’s true. We’ve been at it for a very long time now. We’re relics.
G: Speaking of relics, I found those letters, so I’m gonna go.
S: Okay, bye ghost.
V: Bye, Thomas.
S: Thomas? How’d you know his name was Thomas?
V: Because my grandmother never stopped loving him, Sam…

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