Despite the unreasonable amount of time I spend looking at illuminated rectangles of various sizes and types, I still ended up watching this House of Fools Christmas special in the middle of March. The plot sees Bob trying to make sure he gets a very specific bobble-hat for his son so that he doesn't have a repeat of last year – a quest which sees him interacting with Santa, swimming in oily water, discussing yoghurt flavors, and putting an egg-based food onto Phi Collins' head.
Although some festival specials do rather benefit from you being in the season yourself, House of Fools normally has such a tenuous connection to any form of reality that one would really not be surprised if they did such a special in the middle of the summer anyway; so it is here, since the plot is motivated by Christmas but really contains all the usual nonsense and crudity as the first season did. Broadly speaking it works because it is in on the joke itself, so it never takes itself too seriously at any point. The jokes vary but mostly we are at the crude end of the spectrum, with fart jokes, prat-falls and silliness – whether this works for you will very much depend on your experiences with Vic and Bob. Having the roots of my comedic tastes in Big Night Out and Shooting Stars, I find their brand of silliness to at least have a base of invention and wit to it; so for me this material just about works because I see this throughout the show.
Of course this is not to say it isn't still crude, because it is – although it is mostly limited to some testicular tickling, and a few moments where a famous drummer breaks wind into the faces of the cast; this aside there is nothing too excessive – which makes the nonsense a bit easier to enjoy. The cast are the main factor in selling it though, with their exaggerated performances and frequent breaking of the 4th wall. Vic and Bob are good, and the supporting cast play into it well, although some are better than others in terms of their characters, their material, and their performances.
All told, if you enjoy Vic & Bob then you will like this regardless of time of year. The crudity of it occasionally reduces the sense of fun that it has, but mostly it is silly in a good way – although it is one of those films that is very much a matter of personal taste, and those that never got Vic & Bob in the past almost certainly will not be won over here – no matter how festive you feel.