'History of the World, Part II' review: Entertaining, but indulgent

WHAT IT'S ABOUT Produced by Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes and Ike Barinholtz — they also star — with an assist from Mel Brooks (who narrates), at long last comes the series sequel to Brooks' 1981 "History of the World, Part 1." A huge cast fills out dozens of sketches about the Civil War, Marco Polo, the Russian Revolution, Rep. Shirley Chisholm and much (much) more. 

MY SAY About a thousand years ago — that would be in pop culture years, by the way — Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks came up with one of the more durable routines in comedy history. "The 2000 Year Old Man" began as a party trick, then a bit at "Your Show of Shows" (where both worked), followed by comedy albums, appearances on "The Ed Sullivan Show," all finally culminating in the 1981 movie, "The History of the World, Part 1." In the routine, the 2000-year-old man (Brooks) was asked questions by Reiner about life in the distant past while answers yielded an above-average number of belly laughs. "History of the World" (which starred Brooks) did not have the 2000-year-old man, but did embrace the exact same gimmick — revisionist history, pureed by a unique comic sensibility, with lots of puns, slapstick and sight gags.

Same with "Part 2" and then some. At eight episodes, it's also an extravagantly overstuffed turkey that spent about two hours too long in the oven — not just smoking hot but burned to a crisp, with flames still shooting out of every orifice. "Part 2" can be indulgent in ways that beggar the meaning of "indulgent," also outrageous, obnoxious, boorish and yet … so wildly funny in parts that the best rivals some of the best of "1." 

This includes the second episode's "Curb Your Judaism," with Kroll as Judas and J.B. Smoove as Luke, in a "Curb Your Enthusiasm"-style re-enactment of the betrayal of Jesus ("Insecure's" Jay Ellis). It's both brilliant and truly offensive — quite a feat. There's a sitcom mashup of "Good Times"/"The Jeffersons," called "Shirley" with Sykes as Chisholm, where George Wallace (the comedian) plays George Wallace (the segregationist governor). 

 Over-indulgence, in fact, is often what's best and worst about "History of the World, Part 2," which pretty much summed up "Part 1" too. The movie had one of the most inspired comedy musical sequences in cinematic history — "The Spanish Inquisition" — alongside plenty of homophobic jokes and double-entendres about the female anatomy that must've been DOA even back then. For Brooks, there was no such thing as "too soon" or "too much." Demolishing matters of taste was the whole point, and that's the whole point here. 

But Brooks had just 90 or so minutes to do damage. The producers of "Part 2" have eight episodes — which become increasingly stretched by around the fourth. The best material is loaded up in the early ones, including a terrific sketch with Josh Gad as William Shakespeare — think abusive idea hog who "runs" the writers' table for his new play "Hamlet." Then there's Dove Cameron as Princess Anastasia, re-imagined as a Romanoff social media influencer ("Hashtag! War And Peace!")

And if not on the scale of "Inquisition," "Part 2" also has some rousing (and funny) musical arrangements, similar to those that once memorably filled Brooks' movies and stage hits. 

So do come to be entertained (you will be), and offended (that too). Just don't be surprised when the torpor sets in. 

BOTTOM LINE Some very funny stuff, ultimately overwhelmed by the very indulgent stuff.