Napoleon Dynamite

But this isn’t 2004.  The mere mention of a liger isn’t quite enough to get us chuckling anymore.  Eight years after the independent (sort of) film thrilled us with the non-story of Napoleon and his friends, we need something more from the follow-up.  Judging by the first three episodes, we’re not going to get it.

The good news for Fox is that the ratings for the premier were strong, largely thanks to a solid lead-in from the Giants-Packers game that ran long.  With 9.5 million viewers for the 8:30 premier and 7.2 million sticking around for the 9:30 follow-up, plenty of people had the chance to at least check out Fox’s newest animated offering.  Time will tell how many will continue to tune in for the show’s regular time slot, which is immediately after The Simpsons, also a pretty good lead-in.

The new Napoleon Dynamite animated series isn’t a bad adaptation.  Not really.  It’s true to the feel of the movie.  The voices are spot on, as they should be because they come from the original cast.  Although it does provide a more structured begining-middle-end narrative than the film, the cartoon does flow freely with several seeming non-sequiturs per episode.

But it isn’t the same.  Maybe it couldn’t be.  Not after eight full years to pine for more.   Maybe it isn’t fair to hope for the same level of stupid-funny that the movie offered.  Whatever the reason, fair or unfair, the payoff just wasn’t worth the wait.

Take the relationship between Cam and Mitchell for example. They are a married, gay couple that has an adorable adopted daughter, Lilly. They often run into comedic situations, as Cam is an amateur clown and stay at home dad, and Mitchell is a high-powered, uptight attorney. However, looking past their outward appearance, there is so much conflict hidden in their relationship, it would fit perfectly into any other television drama program. Cam and Mitchell’s marriage is portrayed as anything but happy. Even others I discuss the show with see that the characters do nothing but fight. They fight about how their daughter should be raised, how to keep the house, even their life goals. When one looks past the comedy, therein lies a very troubled and turbulent relationship.

Mitchell and his sister Claire, a loving and quirky housewife, also have issues with their parents that would send any person in the real world into intensive therapy. Their father, Jay, and their mother are long-divorced after what is portrayed as a mentally abusive and unhappy marriage. On top of this, Jay is remarried to Gloria, a woman who looks like a supermodel and is younger than her stepdaughter. On top of this, it is often explained that when Mitchell was a child, he was severely harassed by his father for being obviously gay, and often wanted to run away because he was treated so terribly. Although many of the story lines poke fun at this issue, there are still moments when the viewer can sense that Mitchell is still devastated inside.

Claire has transferred many of her father’s demeaning ways onto her own three children. The oldest is often ostracized for being pretty, and her parents look down on her intelligence level. The middle child is a certified genius, but again, is constantly put down by her mother for liking books rather than makeup. The youngest child is an energetic kid who is portrayed as clearly having some sort of mental handicap, as it is impossible for him to complete any task without extreme difficulty. Again, this is buried under flawless humor.

I understand that Modern Family is supposed to be a comedy that is true to real life, but sometimes the underlying drama is just too blatant not to notice. My advice, take it at face value and laugh, but do not ignore the important underlying messages. What do you think?

Whole Day Down

Whole Day Down follows how Willie Garson and Patrick Breen, two unsuccessful and middle-aged actors, pursue their passion for art by opening an art gallery. Or at least occupy a space belonging to Patrick’s domineering father-in-law, for one Monday a month. And on top of that, they’ve got to deal with vengeful art critic, a satanic receptionist and a whole slew of difficult artists.

Whole Day Down stars Patrick Breen as Patrick, Willie Garson as Willie, Elisa Donovan as Nadine, Patrick’s wife,  and Francesca Fauci as Franny, the receptionist.

About the Creators

Patrick Breen (Creator and Director) has appeared in occasional films including Galaxy Quest, Men In Black, and Just A Kiss and the occasional TV shows including Nurse Jackie, Sex and The City, The Good Wife and Will & Grace. He owns and operates an art gallery with co-star, Willie Garson.

Tai Fauci (Creator, Producer and Editor) has been working behind the scenes in the industry since she was 14, when she worked as an Intern on the TV show, Maggie. Since then, she has worked in numerous TV shows, films, film festivals (as programming director and screenplay competition director of FirstGlance Film Festival). She has always been busy producing, writing and editing new media projects, short films and web series. Her latest project includes the film adaptation of The Highest Tide, a novel by Jim Lynch, which Fisher Stevens will be directing.

Catch episodes of Whole Day Down on http://blip.tv/wholedaydown or http://wholedaydown.tv/. Find out more on their Facebook page.

Lately, though, watching Glee has been a bit of a chore for me. I didn’t even watch last week’s episode, the return after a winter hiatus. Maybe it was the Christmas episode that did me in. My favorite part was Kurt’s comment about Blaine being his “winter roommate” (mostly because I agree and also wish he were mine) but other than that I actually spent the whole time rolling my eyes. It’s just too over-the-top now. I appreciate what Glee has done to bring a lot of social issues into the spotlight, especially bullying and homosexuality, but now it seems like every episode has some kind of lesson that needs to be taught. Every once in a while is fine, but more than that and you’re lecturing your audience.

I’ve always been annoyed by Lea Michele’s character, the over-ambitious Rachel Berry, despite Michele’s role of Glee sweetheart. The producers keep saying Rachel isn’t coming back then changing their minds – I know they’re afraid losing Michele would kill the show, but at this point, I want to skip all of her scenes anyway. She has gone from annoying but lovable (hey, I have control issues of my own, so I have to give the girl a break) to just plain annoying. I want her to succeed and go to New York just so she’s out of McKinley – people can watch her on the inevitable spin-off, but I won’t.

Even my favorite, Sue Sylvester, has been a little too much as of late. She goes from typical, lovable-villain-Sue to I-have-a-heart-Sue to downright evil Sue in a three-episode arc. The touch of humanity is nice, but some consistency would be, too.

Once I get invested in a show, I wait it out until its bitter end – I have this weird phobia of not knowing how things end. Even with shows I don’t watch on a week-to-week basis anymore (House, MD for one), I still catch up on weekends when I get the chance. I’ll watch last week’s episode soon, because c’mon – Michael Jackson week is next. I have high hopes, and hopefully they’ll be met, because otherwise it’s to the back burner we go.

(White House photo)

Of the five shows nominated for Best Comedy or Musical, one was from HBO (Enlightened), one was from Showtime (Episodes), two were on Fox (Glee and New Girl), and one – the winner – was on ABC (Modern Family). Of the five nominees, two were on premium networks, which is two more than NBC and CBS combined.

In the category for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy, three of the five were on premium channels, including the winner, Matt LeBlanc for Showtime’s Episodes. In the Actress category, Laura Dern of HBO’s Enlightened beat out the competition from three network shows and one other premium network.

Adding all that up, two of the three winners and 7 of 15 nominees in the big three comedy categories were on channels that most of America don’t get to see. So what is it about these shows that is capturing the attention of the awards-givers? Is it the freedom to do and say things that wouldn’t fly on basic cable? Is it the money being poured into these programs by the cash-heavy premium channels? Or are they just making better shows right now?

At least NBC snuck in a few nominees in the best Actor and Actress categories. Only Johnny Galecki’s wonderful nerdiness on The Big Bang Theory allowed CBS to even get on the board. The Golden Globes don’t actually get to determine what people watch. The viewers will have their say in the end. But last night’s award show was just one more reminder to the once dominant NBC and CBS that the times, they are a’changing.

After four half-hour episodes (two last week and two this past Sunday), we’ve finally been introduced to all six of Chris Lilley‘s characters. As luck would have it (and perhaps deliberately to keep viewers watching), the character I was most looking forward to seeing was introduced last: Jen Okazaki, the mother and manager of “Big in Japan” skateboarder, Tim Okazaki. “Politically incorrect” might be Jen’s middle name, and I think it’s this aspect that makes it so hilarious. She has marketed her oldest born as a gay, Japanese teenager when he’s as straight and American as they come. I think Tim (Jordan Dang) is my favorite non-Lilley character on the show – his dead-pan reactions to his mother’s ridiculous behavior are fantastic.

As far as the other characters, I’m just beginning to get invested. I’ve noticed a lot of the focus is on the twin brothers, Daniel and Nathan, and the humor that surrounds their relationship is a lot of dirty, bathroom jokes. Not exactly my cup of tea, but then again, this is a show about boys. I’m excited to see their face-to-face reaction with their prison guard grandmother (a fourth Lilley character).

Lilley’s final characters are S.mouse, the LA rapper and Blake Oakfield, the Australian surfer. Both are “legends” to the Sims twins, and both are big into keeping up with their images. S.mouse is from a well-to-do suburban background and was spoiled rotten by his parents, but his rapper persona is straight from the streets and tough as nails – or so he thinks. Blake is a chill, laid back surfer who is suffering the repercussions of getting shot in a gang war over surfing territory.

With all these different characters from different backgrounds and supposedly representing boys as a whole, there are no social lines left uncrossed. Angry Boys will likely offend some people, with the language, context, and stereotypes that are unapologetically exploited. This is what makes it great though – most humor is offensive in some way, but as long as you can separate it from real life, why not have a laugh?

After the first week, I was unsure of how much I liked Angry Boys, but week two impressed me more – hopefully the upward trend continues! New episodes are on Sundays at 10 on HBO.

Disney

Jessie is essentially a platform for Disney to showcase its Next Big Thing, that thing being series star Debby Ryan – who just so happens to be an adorable and highly marketable pop singer. The titular character is a young woman from Texas moving to New York City and working as the nanny for the children of two self-obsessed, obnoxiously vain parents. Her charges include the couple’s one biological and three adopted children as well as an enormous lizard named Mr. Kipling.

The hilarity includes a much-too-young child relentlessly hitting on his nanny, a complete lack of parental involvement, and a butler who openly disdains the children left in his care. Oh, and fat jokes. Lots and lots of fat jokes at the butler’s expense.

The acting in Jessie is so poor that my dear mother thought it was intentional as part of the gag. If only that were the case. But sadly, it’s just bad acting.

Series creator Pamela Eells O’Connell previously worked on Charles In Charge, a show about a young man acting as a nanny, and The Nanny, whose title says it all. I guess it should be no surprise that she ran out of anything remotely like a fresh idea on the nanny premise by her third go-around. Maybe her next show could be about a robot nanny from outer space. Or maybe a regular nanny hired by a family of ghosts?

The absolute worst thing about Jessie – worse than the acting, the plot, the production values, and the occasional age-inappropriate content – is the fact that my kids love it. Mine, and four million others. The show premiered to a respectable 4.6 million viewers and appears, after 8 episodes, to have reached a plateau at about 4 million. From an adult’s perspective, this show is utterly unwatchable. But it’s not for us; it’s for the kids. And the kids – poor, uncultured souls that they are – just love it. So it looks like Jessie might be around for a while.

Luckily, HBO has redeemed itself. While we won’t be blessed with another season of Jonah, Ja’mie, and Mr. G., Chris Lilley is returning to TV and he’s outdoing himself: he’ll be starring as six different characters in the new comedy, Angry Boys. The same way Summer Heights is filmed mockumentary-style and explored (and parodied) life in high school, Angry Boys is setting out to showcase the lives of males in modern society. Lilley’s characters include an LA-based aspiring rapper, 17-year-old Australian twins, and — again crossing gender lines — an overbearing Japanese mother. Hilarity is sure to ensue.

Actors playing multiple roles is not something new (Adam Sandler is one of the more recent ones to do it), but there’s just something about Lilley’s approach that makes it truly spectacular. In Summer Heights, the three characters he plays don’t interact that much, so there are really three separate storylines going on at once. This will make Angry Boys really interesting — because of the relations between the characters (in addition to the twins, he is also playing their grandmother), he really will be acting opposite of himself.

Because of the multitude of characters, and the pure ridiculous nature of them, this is the type of show that can appeal to a large audience. My mother and I spend hours laughing out loud at the reruns of Summer Heights, and will definitely be tuning in to Angry Boys for some more laughs.

Angry Boys is already a hit in Australia, and will premiere in the US on January 1 at 10/9c. I’m stuck in a conundrum because one of my other favorite shows is in the same time block on a (rival) network, but you can be sure I’ll be praising the inventor of DVR, because this is something that cannot be missed!

Inside The Actor’s Studio Apartment

Inside the Actor’s Studio Apartment is the brainchild of Daniel Bowers. He is the producer and director of this hilarious new web series getting to know up-and-coming comedic actors. He produces the show along with writer Bill Sawalich  and videographer Jim Pusch. Inside the Actor’s Studio Apartment interviews real actors in their own homes. Past guests have included Tracee Chimo, Kristen Schaal, Kurt Braunohler, Grace Helbig and Justin Akin. New episodes come out every few weeks, so be sure to check their site regularly to catch the latest interview!

About the Creators

Daniel Bowers is a filmmaker and has produced several films including A. (anonymous), Gus and Roy. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and daughter.

Bill Sawalich, photographer and writer, lives in Missouri with his wife, daughter, and dogs. He was once on the verge of meeting Nicolas Cage in the flesh.

Jim Pusch is an “old school” videographer and worked on Star Wars Episode II.

http://insideact.com/?page_id=23; http://blip.tv/iasa

Freckle and Bean

Created by Heather McCallum and Elena Crevello, Freckle and Bean is about the adventures and misadventures of James (Elena Crevello) and Emma (Heather McCallum) as they live their lives in Los Angeles. They realize fate was what brought them together, and it’s the same reason they’re still together in LA, pursuing careers and dreams in Hollywood. The thirteen-episode series wrapped last summer and all their episodes are now available online on Blip.tv.

About the Creators

Heather and Elena both have undergraduate degrees in theatre, Elena from NYU and Heather of UNC at Wilmington. They’re both actors/writers trying to make it in LA.

http://freckleandbean.com/; http://blip.tv/freckleandbean

All we know for sure is that Community isn’t going to be a part of NBC’s Thursday night lineup when the rest of the shows return from their mid-season hiatus. When, or if, it will ever return is the subject of conflicting information. Although the ratings have been less-than-stellar, Community has stronger than average support from the viewers it does have. The result of this combination is a show that the network doesn’t like enough to keep but likes too much to cancel.

Based on the first two seasons of themed episodes, I’d say it is a show worth saving. Based on the shortened third season, in which the writers abandoned the genre-spoofing in favor of straight forward situational comedy, I’d say the show’s time has come. So by a 2-1 split decision, I’m hoping the show returns — maybe as a summertime fill-in. Stay tuned. And let the letter-writing begin.

At the same time that the Peacock sends Community off to TV limbo, another Thursday night comedy is shuffling off to a more well-defined future. Whitney, which has been an odd duck among the Thursday night flock, is moving to 8:00 on Wednesday nights. Which is a little bit like moving to batting ninth in baseball – you’re still on the team, but you’re one move away from being benched.