Change Your Image
thisidisnotavailable19
Reviews
The Ben Stiller Show (1992)
Gene Garafuello
Seems like everyone who was a part of this show is better than this show. I don't think it lives up to it's reputation, though it had funny moments(the Manson sketch is good enough it could have been on Mr. Show) but it was surprisingly bad for how talented every person working on it was.
But all my favorites from this show (Odenkirk, Cross, Stamatopoulos, Garofalo, though only as an extra, sometimes, unfortunately)were later on Mr. Show which I think is a much better example of an unfair cancellation than this.
Sometimes feels like Garofalo and Odenkirk didn't get as much of a chance to shine as Stiller and Dick, though that could be completely imagined on my part just cause I like them best. In all the in between sketches with Ben and Janeane he seemed to sorta push her into a lady roll that she didn't really fit like you know, "You look pretty, Janeane." "The fans wanna see you in a bikini, Janeane." And she isn't really at her funniest like that. Bob seemed almost invisible and he hasn't anywhere else I've seen him.
It feels like people maybe kind of know somewhere deep down that it isn't as good as they're saying it is. I can't begin to understand how anyone could say it's the best comedy show of all time.
I also can't bring myself to agree with anyone that hates it, though I get where they're coming from. It's fun to watch this show but that might only be because of how happy it makes me to see all their faces.
Even though this doesn't matter, I feel like mentioning it, the beginning credits are some of my favorite beginning credits ever. I really love them.
The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997)
I Mention Two David Cross Thingies In A Review For A Movie That Has Nothing To Do With David Cross! Mr. Show!
To clear up any misconceptions, it's based on the Cherry Mary letter to Kerouac(not Ginsberg) and the Reeves character isn't supposed to be Kerouac, he's supposed to be one of Cassady's old Denver pool hall buddies. If you recall the beginning of the movie, Cassady is writing this story to Kerouac(it's the letter, get it?) why would he be telling Kerouac a story that Kerouac was such a big part of? Plus, Kerouac, though he liked to drink, wasn't like that at all.
Although I do believe that Benjamin is based on Ginsberg. Even though the nameless guy from the letter that he represents wasn't Ginsberg, I think Kay took the opportunity of a blank-slate character to make a Ginsberg character(I base this on the attitude of the character, the obvious crush he has on Cassady, and the race car story that Cassady tells him which is a story Cassady told Ginsberg orally in reality that Ginsberg jotted down and that you can find in Cassady's book, The First Third), which is a great idea. Except that Adrian Brody stands firmly as my least favorite Allen Ginsberg portrayal of all time. He did not capture Ginsberg's brand of warmth and sweetness even slightly. The writing cannot be blamed for how annoying Brody played him. See the Ginsberg portrayals in Naked Lunch and I'm Not There for very good Ginsbergs by Michael Zelniker and David Cross.
What makes up for Adrian Brody's Ginsberg is Tom Jane's Cassady which is spot on. The way he spoke and moved was perfect. Just short of watching Cassady himself. It was strange to see such good acting and such bad acting right next to each other.
Unlike Naked Lunch(Which I think anybody who likes a good movie can easily enjoy) I understand how anyone who doesn't know and like the Beats wouldn't really dig this movie. However it was a lot of fun for me to watch and it will be the next time I watch it too.
I don't know if anyone noticed, but in addition to all the lines taken from the letter it's based on, there was lines taken from other stuff Cassady wrote too! Like I said, the race car story he tells Benjamin is a story he told Allen and there is the best line from one of my favorite Cassady/Ginsberg letters: "I see no greatness in myself--I even have no conception of what is greatness. I am a simple-minded, child-like, insipid sort of moronic kind of awkward-feeling adolescent." which is not quoted directly in the movie, as it is in this here review, but it's in there! And I believe the Adventures in Auto Eroticism story is in there too? Probably other stuff I'm forgetting. Anyway, Stephen Kay clearly knows his stuff when it comes to these guys and I don't think the script lacked wit at all, I thought it was natural, especially considering how many of the lines were quotes, I think he mixed them pretty well into his own writing(Although I wouldn't say quite as well a Cronenberg did in Naked Lunch). Also check out Tom Jane in Arrested Development!
This Week in Comedy: David Cross (2010)
Crasnick interviews David Cross and a band plays
This Week in Comedy is cool and I always enjoy the people being interviewed and I usually enjoy Crasnick, but he did something that really bothered me in this interview. First of all, he had complimented David Cross's honest attitude. He said he always liked that David wouldn't change himself for an audience which would also seemingly imply that he appreciates David's unwillingness to lie to be nice, that David always says exactly what he thinks of any given person and directly to that person's face. David made fun of the band that Ed had on and it didn't seem like a big deal for anyone since they all laughed and then moved on with the interview. When it came to the point where the band was going to play another song, the technical difficulties were suddenly too much for Crasnick and he cheerfully asked Cross to disconnect so they could be fixed. And as soon as David was gone, he and the band started talking bad about him. They played another song and David was reconnected. The way David was so sweet, friendly and oblivious to the mean little thing they had just done made watching it very uncomfortable at the end, especially when he got a little nostalgic with Ed about when they met long ago and how it had felt like finding a group of friends on the first day of school, and the way Crasnick smiled at him then like a two faced asshole. If he really did appreciate that David didn't talk phony to any audience, he would have also appreciated that David didn't talk phony to him. At least enough to say, "Yeah, well I like them." back at David, which is what David Cross would say to anyone who was knocking a band he liked. That small part of the interview sort of ruined it for me, but otherwise it was funny and interesting.
This Week in Comedy: Jonathan Katz/Bill Odenkirk/Mike Rowe (2010)
Ed Crasnick interviews Bill Odenkirk, Jonathan Katz, and Mike Rowe about cartoon comedy.
It felt like Bill was being left out. They told inside jokes that everyone was in on but Bill which seemed a little rude. And pretty much every time Crasnick asked Bill a question, Mike Rowe would answer it before Bill got a chance. Also, whenever he made a joke it seemed like everybody would not laugh, no matter how funny he was being, although they all seemed to be laughing at everyone else's jokes, maybe I imagined it. Crasnick asked him about his favorite ideas for Simpsons or Futurama that didn't get done and after Mike Rowe answered for him, Bill made a joke like, "I usually pitch ideas with a gun to my head." Which was met with silence except on the other side of the monitor where I was laughing at a joke just as good as any of the ones Katz was making. That aside, it was cool especially because of Jon Katz and Bill Odenkirk and Peter Lemongello.