Review: Indolent Allen “Dorm Raiders”

Overview:

After catching her boyfriend cheating, Nora enlists Allen to help her destroy his dorm room. However, while attempting to defecate on a pillow, Nora and Allen are caught on a local influencer’s livestream. Unfortunately, the jig is up as Nora’s ex-boyfriend interrupts the destruction. Although, after discovering scantron answer sheets in his room, Nora’s ex may be in for a bigger punishment than a rampaging scorned lover.

Our Take:

If you have yet to hear about Indolent Allen, then you are in luck. The three-part collection of shorts is now all available on the Adult Swim Smalls YouTube channel. Meaning, you can go binge the entire mini-series right now in under ten minutes. And compared to other collections of shorts, this one may be worth the time.

Indolent Allen is the brainchild of up-and-coming animator/comedian Cliff Benfield. Hoping to break it into the industry, this is the first significant project from Benfield. Although, the young producer has reason to be hopeful, as adult animation is wide open for new talent to break in and give voice to a rising generation.

And that is just what Benfield hopes to accomplish with Indolent Allen.

The series centres around Allen, a lazy halfwit that somehow managed to make it into college. Despite the best efforts of those around him, Allen’s apathy is unbreakable as the lazy young adult continues about life in whatever way he deems worthy of his effort.

If that sounds familiar, it is likely because we all know somebody akin to Allen. College campuses are ripe with students putting in half an effort and would rather be getting high, drinking, and whatever else kids get up to at parties nowadays. Nevertheless, while Indolent Allen does carry the vibe of generation Z, there is a timelessness of a lazy college student that is approachable for all audiences.

It is evident from the first couple of episodes that Indolent Allen knows how to approach humour from the perspective of a lazy 20-something. Whether that be trying to skim through class doing the bare minimum or heading into a college party only set on pleasing themselves with no attempt to make friends.

However, as much as indolent young adults may try, they are surrounded by the beaming energetic life that is a college campus. As showcased in the third and final episode, Allen finds himself at the centre of a scorned lover, a college cheating scandal, and a semi-popular social media channel. This final edition may have lacked the subtle humour of the first pair of episodes, but it added plot and depth, indicating what a full series would feel like.

Hopefully, this is not the last we see of Allen and his college friends. It would be great for Benfield to get the chance to develop this world further while keeping Allen as indolent as possible. The series carries the feel of premium adult animation sitcoms like Family Guy but with a fresh voice. It would not be a shame for Adult Swim to give this series a real chance.