MOVIE REVIEW: 'The TV Set'


Slightly longer version of a review in today's Oregonian ....




Have you ever fallen in love with a smart, funny TV show that was manhandled and quickly cancelled?

Did you discover "Freaks and Geeks," "Wonderfalls" or "Firefly" on DVD and wonder, "How could a television executive destroy this without giving it a chance -- indeed, without airing all the episodes in order?”

“The TV Set” provides an answer.

“Set” writer-director Jake Kasdan helmed several episodes of Judd Apatow’s “Freaks and Geeks.” And now, clearly burned by his experiences in television, Kasdan has created this savage, bleakly funny little morality tale -- about a writer (David Duchovny, aping Apatow down to the beard and back pain) who's tortured by compromise as he tries to get his autobiographical comedy-drama on the air.

Duchovny and his allies, distracted by family and health concerns, leave their show vulnerable to fiddling at the hands of a tasteless, forceful exec (Sigorney Weaver) who runs every idea past her teenage daughter.

Kasdan, barely exaggerating, reveals parts of the TV-production process we haven't quite seen onscreen before -- testing, the upfronts, final auditions in front of a dozen faceless executive toadies. And Weaver is hilarious and horrifying as the sort of corporate animal whose expert analysis includes statements like, “She doesn’t let her cuteness get in the way of her hotness” and "'Original' scares me a little."

(Be sure to stay for the end credits, when you’ll be treated to a clip from Weaver’s hit show, “Slut Wars.”)
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A-minus; 87 minutes; rated R for language; opens in Portland, OR today at Fox Tower Cinemas.

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The TV Set (The Oregonian, May 4, 2007)


Posted: Fri - May 4, 2007 at 08:06 AM        

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