Customer Reviews

Unscripted

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"Unscripted" was shot periodically throughout 2004 aired on HBO in early 2005, featuring snapshots of life-everything from the mundane to the comic relief-- life of its three actors (Krista Allen, Bryan Greenberg, and Jennifer Hall.

The first five episodes of "Unscripted" were directed by George Clooney, and this part of the series more closely mirrors reality, while the last five are directed by Grant Heslov and have more of a narrative flow. The last five episode feel aware of themselves; they make a conscious effort to tell a story from start to finish and not just follow around three separate individuals. However, instances here are created and therefore feel fictional and almost forced. HBO audiences, although thought of as smarter than your average sitcom audience, still had trouble figuring out which parts of "Unscripted" were real and which were fake. It feels like a reality show, but it is not one; the actors all play charicatures of themselves. Character actors like Jane Lynch even guest star in roles other than themselves. "Unscripted" blurs the line and does it efficiently...it's just a shame more people didn't understand that.

The problem audiences seem to have found with "Unscripted" is the fact that the show is not airbrushed by the glittery, glamorous Hollywood lens is where people will be surprised. Since it is a Section 8 endeavor, the shots are each highly stylized: the handheld camerawork and corner frame shots all scream with Soderbergh's influence. The dialogue is all unscripted but based on actual situations, so early comparisons to "Curb Your Enthusiasm" were made. And because of that, audiences will undoubtedly tune in and expect a half an hour over-the-top comedy about struggling actors. They will want overly dramatic situations and laughable one-liner responses by the heroes. And while there are some funnier moments (such as when Greenberg is caught by a Casting Director who cast a pilot he claims he was in), that is not what they are going to get. And that does not make it a boring show: such is life. This is a hard hitting, gritty, behind-the-scenes look at show business, and it's not always pretty or ideal. These actors are struggling, and sometimes suffering because of it, and we are brought along for every voyeuristic minute of the silently painful ride.

Saying nothing is profound, and Clooney found pure gold: to watch Krista's face rise and then fall as she realizes the perfect part she thought she was getting she is not, and then rise again, as guest star Garry Marshall says he wants her son for a role in his new project, is just priceless. No words are needed; the range of emotion (from excitement to disappointment to pride) on her face says it loud and clear. And if your heart doesn't break just a little for her in that moment, you have no soul. For someone who has been working for ten years to rid herself of the "sex symbol" role and be taken serious as an actress...well, "Unscripted" proves all she had to do was be herself.

Whereas, the general audience is used to sugarcoated doses of "celeb-reality" such as "It's Good To Be" or "Entetainment Tonight," "Unscripted" does not showcase superficial benefits to stardom. Actually, it is the exact opposite: so audiences might feel like they are being cheated, and perhaps they are. They are being cheated of that façade that everything is perfect and every actor is a multi-millionaire. The one small disappointment for this reviewer is that they decided to cut out most of the anti-Rumsfeld material shot. But still, to me, that kind of honest look at the industry is the very reason the show is a success.

Furthermore, Frank Langella, playing the trio's acting teacher, offers most of the show's voice over, and if his words sound like the words of the God of Acting...well, they should. Clooney allows Langella to flow with guidance because he is the type of teacher we all wish we could have had in school (and the lucky ones did have). He is the Mr. Feeny for today's generation: his seasoned advice applies not only to acting, but to life in general, and every viewer can take away some of his wisdom and apply it to his or her own life. Langella keeps Allen, Greenberg, and Hall grounded and focused, proving that acting is a profession that needs work, just like anything else.

If this show teaches you nothing about Hollywood-its inner workings or its image-it teaches you that actors are just people, too, and at the end of the day, they need to feel good about the work they do. "Unscripted" is a refreshing change for Hollywood, in that regard: it has single-handedly torn down the unattainable barrier between the "actor" and the "regular person." All three (Allen, Greenberg, Hall) have the audience rooting for them to succeed. "Unscripted" (re?)humanizes the way we think of the famous.

This is another experiment from Clooney/HBO along the lines of "K Street," except it's a cinema verite look at actors instead of lobbyists, actors who are at various levels on the food chain. Krista Allen is a just-past-30 "Baywatch" babe trying to make a break into serious acting; Bryan Greenburg is Vincent Chase without the sudden success (but with, he hopes, a recurring role on "One Tree Hill"); Jennifer Hall is a sort of hapless audition flop and occasional car wash hawker who's a dead ringer for "Fast Times"-era Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Best of all is Frank Langella as an acting coach who's both wise and shamelessly pragmatic, sometimes at the same time.

As a previous reviewer pointed out, the first half of the 10 episodes are more fly-on-the-wall, and I watched them with interest but rarely stopped wondering why I should care. The second half, however, develops a better sense of plotting and, right along with that, a definition of why a viewer should care. Even when some of the characters aren't very compelling the sitautions usually are.

As experimental as it seems, "Unscripted" is also a strangely effective example of studio synergy. Hall, at one point, gets a role as an extra in "Constantine" and, sure enough, if you watch "Constantine" (I don't recommend it) she's actually in the film. Likewise Greenburg's "character" gets a role in "Prime," opposite Uma Thurman, and later this month he co-stars in that same film. And I must say that after seeing Allen in this (I'd never seen her in anything before) I did find myself eagerly seeking out her "Emmanuel in Space" movies.

Still, corporate and non-corporate cross-promotions aside, this is another one of those HBO shows that suck a viewer in and turn out to be smarter than one might expect.

I had never seen unscripted before I purchased it (Don't get HBO in Australia) and I just finished watching the whole series in one go, and it is fantastic. As other reviews say the first five are very different from the last. The series starts off focusing more on auditions and the struggle to find work, and later focuses more on the drama in each of their lives, but there is no stark difference as you are slowly pushed into their lives. Blows out of the water all the crap that the media feeds about actors and hollywood. By the end of it you have been taught a lesson in life.

Hollywood still attracts the star-struck and the hopeful. 'Unstripted' is the story of three of those aforementioned dreamers. Krista Allen, Bryan Greenberg and Jennifer Hall play themselves, aspiring actors and actresses trying to claw their way up the Hollywood ladder. Frank Langella plays Goddard, an acting teacher with a penchent for making hard-to-fathom stage direction (more passion! faster! you are too real! act!) and for bedding his young, nubile female students.

This ten-episode show, originally shown on HBO is a bit uneven, I think. First of all, it really seems to capture what goes on in tinseltown for the young and the vulnerable. Yes, we have tears here. We have false praise, bloated and untrue resumes, cutthroat competition, and mistaken notions of how to do an audition.

Lately there have been more than a few movies and series of the 'behind the scenes' looks at Hollywood from an insider's standpoint. 'Entourage' (also from HBO) is one example, 'Californication' is another, this time from the perspective of a writer. 'Get Shorty' was another, that with a gangster twist on it. I guess you could say, 'write what you know' and Hollywood is rotten with writers, hence the focus. It's more of a stretch, I suppose, to write about a drug researcher, since there are few of those toiling away in the film capital of the world.

Recommended. Five stars for the interesting, faux documentary of kids on the way up. It misfires on occasion, but all-in-all I liked it a lot. Very eye-opening. I'm glad I'm not an actor!

Update: I have watched this again, and have enjoyed it a lot. This is a very well made. Frank Langella's character, especially, is terrific. He's either full of BS all of the time, most of the time, or never. He always seems to land on his feet, even when caught in an awkward situation. And he's a rascal, bedding one student after another, then dropping them for the next conquest.

It's really a shame it wasn't picked up for another season or two. If you have any slight interest in film and television, or you want to watch a masterful performance by a seasoned actor (Langella), you really need to watch this series.

The back of the DVD case says 16 to 9 aspect ratio, yet it plays on my widescreen TV in old style 4 to 3, with a 16 by 9 widescreen image within this frame. This is the only DVD I have experienced that produces 4 by 3 when the back states otherwise. Sure I can zoom, and the actual program is brilliant, but I just want to know if this is happening to everybody.

Found this again recently on DVD. Yes, it's clear why this show didn't do well: it's honest and deeper than what America will ever want to believe about their favorite dream career: becoming a big time actor. As the endless navel-gazing of Entourage continues, season after torturous season...it's clear that no one in America is really ready for the "truth" about an actor's life & Hollywood...America's fantasy about the FANTASY is what killed this show.

Unscripted: sensitive, really intelligent, funny sometimes, painfully embarrassing like life can be too. This was a group of amazing people, beautiful and uneven like the REAL PEOPLE they were portraying...a real joy to watch if you are truly interested in storyline and really good acting. This is a beautiful piece of work.

I'm so sorry America didn't have the stomach for it. Funny, it's so very normal to watch someone split a gut right there on the screen, or be tortured, raped...the strange and unusual violent behavior of American entertainment..this is the stuff they put money on in Hollywood. America...asleep at the wheel, being babysat by stuff like Entourage.

Check out "Unscripted". Five stars, over and over....

As an actor living in Los Angeles,this is the most accurate depiction of life that I and thousands of other people know. Everyone thinks that being an actor is glamorous and that everyone is rich and lives like Brad Pitt. It can be a very humbling experience and sometimes down right humiliating. When you have to book a job in order to pay rent or going into an audition where everyone is trying to psyche you out or make fun of you. The sad thing is,this is an evil business. Everyone is scraping at the bottom and trying to fight their way to the top,lying,cheating, betraying everyone to get what they want. There aren't many genuine people in this business.

As for the show,I highly, suggest anyone that wants to pursue acting or get a look into the life of an actor, pick this DVD up. It does a tremendous job at capturing the realistic side of life as an actor. Expenses, friends, loneliness,depression, having family as a support system,the high that you feel when you book a job, the lows that you get when you don't book a job or get edited out,etc.

BUY THIS TODAY!

For all those budding actors out there, thinking they can make it, they should watch this series based in LA, which displays the reality of auditions, acting classes and hopes and dreams of succeeding in this craft.

For fans of Bryan Greenberg, this was fascinating to watch - giving real behind-the-scenes action from the film "Prime".

And Frank Langella was excellent as the world-weary acting coach.

I really enjoyed this series. Inside the world of the struggling young actor. After watching this I'm convinced actors are onstage 24/7.

Oh my god I hate the acting coach guy. He doesn't give the actors any specific tips or pointers, just constantly tells them they're not good enough. I don't know why they didn't end the series with him getting hit by a bus or something.
At first I thought it was all real, then I realised that it was all staged, but the parts the actors actually got during the show were written into the fiction. The most surprising part is that they actually got established actors from the tv shows and movies the three aspiring actors got parts on to participate in the little fictonal scenarios they wrote on the set. It seems like Jamie Kennedy's new show Blowin Up is based on the same formula, probably highly influenced by this show.
The differences other reviewers pointed out between the first five episodes and the last five were not apparent to me at all.
So what did I really like about it? The believability of the actors casualness, like they're really not aware of the camera, something rarely valued by filmmakers aspiring to capture realism.
The characters, to whatever extent they were characters, go through a lot of self-questioning, having to weigh up all the different things they're being told about who they are or who they should be. Ultimately they were all a little less decisive and resourceful than I would have liked to see, but I guess that's realism, no one really has all the answers, and they did all display an admirable resilience.
It's generally eventfully written, or based on eventful realities. They don't dwell too long on one situation, or keep recycling the same dramas, it always keeps moving.
The only reason not to buy it is the price tag. Damn you, HBO.