Just KIDDING

Article first published as TV Review: KIDDING on Seat42F.

Jim Carrey returns to television in the new Showtime series, KIDDING, which has thus far aired two episodes. Carrey plays Jeff, who is a very successful children’s television host known as Mr. Pickles. Sort of a Mr. Rogers-type with the marketing reach of Disney, Mr. Pickles is not just a person, he’s a brand. But when one of his twin sons dies in a tragic car accident and his family falls apart, Jeff fights with his boss to take the show a little darker and deal with his loss on-air.

Carrey is a fantastic actor who hasn’t always done projects worthy of his talent. KIDDING is not a dumb comedy by any stretch; it’s a smart, complex look at grief and different ways of dealing with it. Jeff is a very odd person, his on-screen persona his true personality, not an act, and he has a unique viewpoint on the world. Carrey is a rare actor who can make that seem sincere while also allowing the pain to peek through. It’s a really excellent performance.

KIDDING would be fine as a one-man showcase, and indeed, Carrey has earned such a series. However, he is surrounded by a fantastic ensemble that really enriches the story being told. Frank Langella (The Americans) plays Sebastian, Jeff’s boss who is also his father, making that relationship a lot more layered than it would otherwise be. Puppeteer Deirdre (Catherine Keener, Being John Malkovich) that works on the show is also Jeff’s sister. His estranged wife, Jill (Judy Greer, Arrested Development), is a nurse at the Mr. Pickles Cancer Wing. This blurring of the personal and professional really informs on Jeff as a character, and they all carry their own weight rather effectively, more than just there to serve him, though they do that, too.

The series is both grounded and slightly fantastical, mostly in the way it applies to its lead character. Jeff doesn’t have a firm grasp on reality because he always sees and assumes the best. His show can exist in a place like that, and he’s been able to get away with it because of the lucky life he’s led. But when issues crash down on him, it’s very interesting to see how someone like Jeff weathers the storm.

I love that this is a very dark drama, but that it has room for small bits of comedy. And I do mean small. The opening sequence of episode two, which involves a car theft, is the funniest thing in the initial pair of installments, and no main characters are really part of it. It’s telling that the story has to step away from its leads to find something so hilarious, because their lives are not equipped to handle it currently.

And yet, there’s something about this show that I’m just not sure about yet. Partly it’s because Jeff’s viewpoint, which the audience is mainly guided by, is definitely not the true telling. Partly because we’re still missing key pieces of the emotional story. Partly because Jeff might very well be a powder keg that is going to explode before long. And partly because there are small hanging threads from episode to episode that beg to be resolved. KIDDING seems like something you’d have to make it through a whole season of before you could properly judge it.

I like this show a lot, mainly because of the actors and the basic premise. In the details, sometimes it can be a little slow, sometimes a little obtuse, but overall, it’s interesting and feels unique. I am very curious to see where it goes and if Carrey can keep his performance reigned in, as the subtlety is very much working for him.

KIDDING airs Sundays at 10PM on Showtime.

Going ALL THE WAY

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: 'All the Way' on Blogcritics.

All the Way is an HBO television movie, and like most HBO films of this type, tells a cool story in an interesting way with amazing performances. This one centers on President Lyndon B. Johnson in the first year of his administration, immediately following the assassination of his predecessor and his fight to pass civil rights in an election year. It’s a fascinating take that is neither wholly supportive or condemning of a still controversial president, and you can soon get it on Blu-ray, digital, and DVD.

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) is completely transformed into LBJ, and he’s far from the only one. I may not have been around during the events depicted, so I can’t say how accurately Cranston captures the man, but what I can say is that he is barely recognizable as Cranston in a performance that differs strongly from past roles. This is a unique character, both caring and cold. Someone who knows injustice and wants to stop it, and yet can put politics above morals. Someone who deeply loves his wife, and yet can be mean to her without realizing the pain he is causing.

Cranston is far from alone in both the make up and the acting transformation. Among those playing at his level in All the Way are Bradley Whitford (The West Wing) as soon-to-be-vice-president Hubert Humphrey, Melissa Leo (Treme) as the always supportive first lady, Lady Bird Johnson, Stephen Root (Justified) as paranoid J. Edgar Hoover, Frank Langella (The Americans) as presidential friend-turned-foe Senator Richard Russell, and Anthony Mackie (the Captain America films) as Martin Luther King Jr. Each delivers a fantastic performance.

The story itself focuses on a very a narrow time, just the first year of Johnson’s presidency. The decision to do this is an interesting one as I think most filmmakers would be tempted to take a wider view, and normally I’d wish they would. The reason it pays off here is because All the Way is treated like a character study, zeroing in on who LBJ was and why he did the most notable things he did, which is a question worth examining. It does so without judgment, and with a balanced view. Like Cranston did in Breaking Bad, he manages to convey a portrait of a complex individual that becomes much more fascinating than the story itself, proving the choice is a smart one.

To make the man more interesting is a feat unto itself given the very tumultuous time period in which All the Way takes place. An assassination of a popular leader has just taken place. The politics of a nation is about to undergo a huge shift. Parties fight for their base, which they lose with a momentous decision. While things aren’t as personally ugly as they are in the current election cycle, the racial and social tensions could not be higher. And yet, this is background and context for LBJ, rather than the point of the piece.

There are sadly only a brief pair of bonus features, though they’re both pretty good. “Bryan Cranston Becoming LBJ” is exactly what it sounds like, with the actor discussing his approach to the character, and a look at the make up, hair, and prosthesis needed to complete the transformation. “All the Way: A Walk Through History” speaks to what is actually happening in the world during the era, much of which is included in the movie satisfactorily enough, but I’ll never complain about a featurette that backs up the factual side of what a film shows.

In short, I like the movie itself, and the extras, while too few, are solid, giving me no hesitation in recommending this release. All the Way is already available for digital download, and will arrive on Blu-ray and DVD on September 6th.

Guess who's coming back to Smallville?

     The CW's Smallville is having an exciting year, especially where guest stars are concerned.  With a new two hour TV movie coming up in a couple of weeks, featuring a whole bunch of other heroes, the show is brimming with talent.  However, some news broke a few days ago that is even bigger for the show.  Two Superman heavyweights are returning.  No, no, sorry.  Michael Rosenbaum's Lex Luthor is not coming back...yet, anyway.  It seems that actor is reluctant to go bald again.  But hey, Gene Hackman played Lex with hair, so why not Rosenbaum?  Anyway, I think you will be pleased with who is returning.

     Annette O'Toole (Nash Bridges) played mother Martha Kent for 132 episodes of the series, leaving almost two years ago.  (Fun fact: Annette O'Toole also played Superman love interest Lana Lang in the movie Superman III.)  The last of the adults to leave the cast, Martha went to take her deceased husband's job as a Senator in Washington D.C.  Though fans had been promised an occasional return of Ma Kent, she has been absent from the show since May 2007.  However, I am please to report that she is returning to the town of Smallville this May in the season's penultimate episode.

     Shortly after O'Toole's return was announced, so was the comeback in the same episode of her real life husband, Christopher Guest movie staple, Michael McKean (Clue, Best in Show, This Is Spinal Tap).  McKean was previously on Smallville back in a  2003 titled "Perry", when he played the legendary editor of the Metropolis newspaper The Daily Planet, Perry White.  White has been portrayed by many actors in many versions of Superman, including Jackie Cooper in four movies, Lane Smith in the television show Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, and most recently Frank Langella (Frost / Nixon) in the 2006 film Superman Returns.  McKean's take was memorable, however, as his Perry White has a drunkard, washed up, unemployed loser.  Clark met him and set him on the proper path, and viewers of the show have long awaited his triumphant remergence.  It is not clear if McKean will become recurring, as both Clark (Tom Welling) and Lois (Erica Durance) currently work at The Daily Planet on the show.  There have been several editors of the newspaper on Smallville, including Princess Leia herself, Carrie Fisher (Star Wars).  Could Perry White have finally arrived once and for all?  And is he romantically linked to Martha Kent?  Considering how important a role White plays in the Superman legacy, his return to the show is big news.

     While O'Toole and McKean won't arrive until May, you can watch Smallville every Friday night on The CW, as it returns from its winter hiatus this coming Friday.