Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Tension-free satire (but the commentary is good), October 1, 2007
This is an airless, somewhat smug, fatally mild-mannered satire about the production process behind a doomed television drama. Duchovny plays a writer/producer whose autobiographical show is, bit by bit, compromised by Weaver's executive -- the casting, the tone, the plot and even the title are all eventually distorted by a suit who takes demographic readings from her teenage daughter.
This war between artistry and commerce isn't exactly breaking news, and in fact it was already tackled years ago by the smarter, funnier "The Big Picture."
"The TV Set" is pitched too loose. Though he has plenty of opportunities, Duchovny's character never really articulates any kind of vision, and the film loses a lot of tension because the story he wants to tell really doesn't look much better than the compromised version. Even when the final version of the show appears, he seems more angry over its implied failure than he does over the loss of his vision.
Ioan Gruffudd plays a supposedly ingenious BBC executive lured to America who seems to have Duchovny's back but he, too, never asserts himself in a realistic way -- his character seems like an incomplete thought, as does the go-nowhere failed courtship/feuding between the show's two leads. And Weaver's lines are all on-the-nose jabs at a corporate mentality ("Original kind of scares me," she says, surprisingly without the accompaniment of a rim-shot).
What's up with Kasdan? He made the wonderful "Zero Effect" followed by the sort of cynical teen comedy "Orange County" which wasn't nearly as funny as the films that inspired it. But I miss the wit and imagination that I thought "Zero" offered a promise of. Those qualities certainly don't arrive in "The TV Set."
One ammendment to my 2-star review: There's a commentary track on this disc between Kasdan and Judd Apatow that, to my mind, is far more enjoyable than the movie itself. They don't talk a lot about what's going on on-screen, but spend more time discussing the television work they've done that inspired the movie -- "Freaks and Geeks," "Undeclared," "Larry Sanders," "The Ben Stiller Show." I give that commentary 4 stars. Well worth listening to.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
More like 3.5 stars, but almost 4, October 21, 2007
The TV Set started off great. It really is a fun movie, especially if you're a fan of the "movies about making movies" type of genre. Or in this case, about making a TV pilot. It has great writing by Kasdan, and great acting all around. It was the end that brought it down I thought.
I won't spoil it, but I felt that there was no real resolution. It was a "life goes on" type of ending. It wasn't bad, just made me feel unsatisfied. Especially when I had such a great time watching Duchovny and the others give really great, believable performances. I know the story was inspired by Kasdan's and Apatow's real experience in TV, and in a way the ending was indeed very believable. It does make you feel how one feels, if he/she had a dream completely taken away from them.
Anyways... What was great about the film is how it all seemed very natural. If it weren't for the stars, this could be passed off as a documentry on failed pilots. This isn't a mock-doc though, it's just very realistic. The characters act how one would think people in there positions would indeed act. Nothing seems forced. Think of this like a low budget version of Mamets State and Maine.
One of my favorite parts of this film is how the 'actor' in the pilot acts. It really is true to life for the most part. His character is a bit annoying, but thats kind of the point. The way he acts on the red carpet was priceless IMO. I was laughing quite hard at the bit where the reporter is asking him "why don't you smile". His response seemed so typical. If you've ever done stage work, and been around people who claim to be actors (but don't actually act in anything) Then you'll get a laugh.
The story may not be that original, and thats really the films only fault. We get a feeling of "been there, done that." But The TV Set does this type of film really well. Everything seems to work. Just don't be surprised if at the end you say "thats it?" But even after three days, I'm still thinking about the film, and it's ending. It's very powerful, it's just not what everyone might want though.
As far as the DVD goes, if you're a fan of commentaries you'll want to give this a listen. The two commentaries included are both very good. If you're a fan of the film, then all the better. I really don't like technical commentaries where they're telling us they "used a crane for this shot." Anyone who has interest's in filmmaking probably knows how they did most of it. These commentaries are simply good friends, sitting around talking about the film they made. Those interested shouldn't be dissapointed.
The TV Set is one of those movies where you say "I wish it was twenty minutes longer." It was like watching a really great unaired pilot, but knowing that we'll never know whats happened to the characters because the pilot was never picked up. It's a piece of satire that was almost great. It was definitely a pleasure to watch though.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Sitcom's Genesis Covered in Clever Though Repetitive and Insular Detail, November 22, 2007
Even though the movie's conscience, no matter how tattered, is carried by the well-intentioned characters played by David Duchovny and Ioan Gruffudd, it is Sigourney Weaver who easily steals this 2007 television industry satire as Lenny, the Machiavellian head of a struggling network. With her natural authority and scathing wit, she goes back to lacerating Working Girl mode and makes Lenny the complete embodiment of the decline of commercial television with her mantra, "Originality scares me." Acerbically written and directed by Jake Kasdan, Lawrence's older son and a TV insider himself, the film focuses specifically on the development of one sitcom pilot from its casting to the show's presentation to the network affiliates. Its creator is Mike Klein, a seasoned TV writer whose brother's suicide inspired him toward his autobiographical concept.
The story's scope is brief compared to what Sidney Lumet and Paddy Chavefsky already covered with visceral aplomb thirty years ago with the brilliant Network, but Kasdan treads familiar subject matter here. The interactions between Mike and the network suits, in particular, Lenny, are funny, but they begin to get repetitive as the plot meanders toward a rather abrupt conclusion. The other shortcoming is the erratic shift in the movie's perspective between Mike and Richard McCallister, a BBC-imported programming whiz who sympathizes with Mike but finds himself inextricably tangled with network politics. Both Duchovny and Gruffudd are fine in their rather curtailed roles, and there is a smart supporting cast that helps to propel the slim plot - Judy Greer as Mike's perpetually waffling manager, Justine Bateman as his grounded wife, Fran Kranz changing from doofus to egomaniac as the sitcom lead, Lindsay Sloane as the increasingly savvy ingénue, and Andrea Martin in a funny bit as a cynical costumer.
The film's wry tone reminds me of Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration, though Guest cuts a broader and deeper swath on the entertainment industry. Kasdan presents a more insular world in this movie, and the result feels less than resonant to the casual viewer. The 2007 DVD boasts two commentary tracks, which seems excessive for something so small-scale - the first is with Kasdan, Duchovny, Sloane and producer Aaron Ryder about the details of the production and the second again with Kasdan but with executive producer Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) to discuss more of what inspired the film itself. A deleted scene is included as well as a brief making-of featurette.
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