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Ah,
if only this were a remake of Hans Conried's
cult classic "The Twonky." Alas, there is nothing
that inspired going on here. Rearrange the letters
of the word "inspired" and you can almost make
the word "insipid" and that's just about all
you are going to get here.
David Duchovny (someone please make another
"X-Files" movie so that we can watch him die
on screen with some dignity) stars as a pretentious
and lame screenwriter who gets a TV pilot green-lighted.
The film is scripted and directed by Jake Kasdan,
son of the stately (if the state is California)
scripter/director Lawrence. Kasdan knows TV
from his work on critically acclaimed but ultimately
failed shows like "Freaks and Geeks," "Undeclared,"
and "Grosse Point." With shows like that on
his resume, you can bet Kasdan has an ax to
grind. Unfortunately, here, he is grinding it
against his dull wit. Duchovny is equally dim
here (the wattage on his star power is at about
40), but the real problem with the movie is
the script.
Of course, the rest of the cast does nothing
to help. Sigourney Weaver is so far over the
top she seems in danger of crashing to the ground
at any moment and landing, just like this film,
with a dull thud. Fran Kranz only succeeds because
he has a cute smile and can play dull wittiness.
And Justine Bateman's big acting choice here
seems to be to appear pregnant - even if it
is part of the script.
There is nothing to like here, nothing original
at all. To work in a medium like film, even
digital video, on a project about TV seems a
doomed idea. It's pretty damn hard to be timely
when doing this and Kasdan fails miserably.
Kasdan's big laugh here is from choosing the
latest weekly ratings winner to be something
called "Slut Wars." It's hard to laugh at something
that actually seems like a pretty good idea
for a TV show ratings winner. I'm not saying
I would watch it. I'm just saying that if I
had that idea, I'd be on a plane to L.A. right
now and taking meetings.
If you want to see something timely and wise
about television, watch "Studio 60 on Sunset
Strip." "The TV Set" was dated when I saw it
as the opening film of the 2006 Austin Film
Festival. It will be even more dated when it
debuts six months from now on Starz II.
Notes:
Also with Willie Garson, Ioan Gruffudd, Andrea
Martin, and Phillip Baker Hall.
Judd Apatow is a producer.
Thinkfilm has picked this up and are thinking
of an April 2007 release. Perhaps they should
"think" again.
Viewed in Austin in October of 2006 at The Paramount
Theater as part of the Austin Film Festival
with Kasdan in attendance. I didn't stay for
the Q&A.
Report
Card
Script: D-
Acting:
D-
Cinematography\Lighting:
F
Special
Effects\Make Up: D
Music:
C
Final
Grade: D-
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