The TV Set (2006) March 8, 2008
Posted by gproject in : Recently Viewed , trackbackDirected by: Jake Kasdan
With the Judd Apatow train currently taking Hollywood by storm and the numerous films of which he is a producer being bolstered by marketing campaigns baring his name and résumé - here’s one that slipped through the net. A 2006 release that pre-empted his Talladega Nights [review], Knocked Up [review] and Superbad [review] success, this comic satire has Apatow as exec-producer while his former collaborator and Freaks and Geeks director Jake Kasdan takes the helm. It could be described as a feature with a limited audience - probably explaining the narrow two-market theatrical release - but that’s a shame, because this movie holds bite to match its bark and a dose of entertainment industry reality that would do modern audiences a service to see.
Set during the competitive turmoil of the television pilot season, the film follows the fate of Mike Klein’s new comedy drama, The Wexler Chronicles. Starting at the final casting stage, we see the numerous pressures put on the show by single-minded network executives, awkward production crew, multitasking agents, and below-par actors. Slowly, Mike’s vision of the programme is eroded, but with his own financial pressures to worry about, he is forced to play along. Integrity battles ambition - only one can survive.
It is notable that this movie comes from a script by its director, Jake Kasdan, and that, as already mentioned, he worked on Judd Apatow’s now cult-ish TV series Freaks and Geeks - a show that was cancelled after one season. So the natural question to ask is whether the film is based on truth and personal experience with the television industry? Such a scathing satire almost certainly must have some roots in truth, although whether all of the issues - namely the question of compromise - were experienced quite so extremely by Kasdan himself is unclear. I would hazard a guess that the script is an idea born out of experience and enhanced by the horror-stories of friends and colleagues that have been picked up along the road.
Either way, it’s a great tale, and told in such a linear straightforward manner that it’s probably fair to call it a non-standard narrative. Certainly the way the story progresses isn’t typical of traditional storytelling, with a conclusion that feels more like the ending of a cautionary tale than the wrapping up of a movie. If you are willing to accept this simple A to B recounting however, then there’s so much more to enjoy. Firstly, you get the biting nature of the comedy, pitching itself somewhere between character parody (the TV executives) and intelligent social commentary (Mike Klein’s feelings about current television), which makes for some fantastic dialogue exchanges and characters who, if not entirely grounded, are painted in a believable manner.
Secondly, there’s the casting. Getting David Duchovny for the lead role is inspired and even though I’ve admitted to liking his performance even in weak movies, he is right on the money here, giving the heartfelt interpretation of a man trapped between his artistic integrity and his financial commitments. The slow grinding down of his creative vision is the centre of the movie, but he lets that come through slowly, each jump forward in time making way for a slightly more compromised man. Meanwhile we have Judy Greer as Mike’s peacekeeping agent (a relationship only briefly examined), Ioan Gruffudd as a new network executive who’s learning the price of American scheduling, and Sigourney Weaver as the programming head who has long since sold her soul to the overlords of audience ratings - maybe the most typical parody role. All are great, and that’s without mentioning Lindsay Sloane and Fran Kranz who play the actors cast in the ill-faited Wexler Chronicles - especially Kranz, in fact, who captures his character’s overly ‘big’ performances perfectly.
It’s hard not to praise a movie that dares to be different and does it well, mainly because, as the film shows, ‘originality’ is often a word that can scare people. The only difficulty is that without a standard story, or any traditional character arcs, the film is likely to be dismissed by many. Yet it does everything else right, including assured direction from Kasdan and a script that doesn’t hold back from displaying the harsh reality of broad-audience pandering by revenue-obsessed television networks. If you can tune into its way of thinking (pun entirely intended) then I highly recommend hunting down a copy on DVD, because not even its Apatow connections are going to push this hidden gem into the mainstream consciousness.
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