Cover Up, Skins! (US Version)

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     After Shameless and Being Human, I am getting a little tired of typing 'based on the British show of the same name', but here we go again. Except, this one is MTV's Skins. Please keep in mind, I haven't seen the British version. Everything I say this review applies ONLY to the American version of Skins. And what I'd like to say is, the show is terrible.

     Where to begin? First of all, the only audience I see for this series is the legions of horned up boys that flock to whatever the current equivalent of American Pie is. Look at the poster above, and you'll see what I mean. I will be the first to admit, I was in this demographic ten years ago. Ok, seven years ago. But now it takes a little more than the promise of a bit of girly skin to get me to spend me valuable time. And being that this series airs on basic cable, all you're going to get is a glimpse of that skin, not any of the really naughty bits.

     The characters are incredibly poorly executed. The lead, at least in the first episode, titled "Tony", is Tony (James Newman). He is supposed to be the ultra-cool kid that everyone loves, who can score all the girls, and gets whatever he wants because of his charm and good looks. I got a kick out of his friends making fun of him behind his back in one scene, because I don't see how anyone could possibly like Tony. He isn't that good looking. He's arrogant. He's a horrible friend. He takes advantage of people in obvious ways. There is nothing likable about him at all. Yet, there are plenty of 'Tony's out there that somehow pull this off, at least while still in high school.

     Similarly, I found most of the characters one note. Stanley (Daniel Flaherty) is the ugly dork who can't get laid, though he did show a slight hint of personality and kindness late in the episode. Cadie (Britne Oldford) is the pill-popping crazy one. Abbud (Ron Mustafaa) is little more than a racist stereotype. Tony's friends at the all-girl schools were two-dimensional preppie types. And yes, some teen guys are obsessed with girls and drugs. But most of them don't flaunt it as badly as the 'characters', using the term loosely, as caricatures would be more accurate, in Skins.

     The only small saving grace was Michelle, also known to Tony as Nips (Rachel Thevenard). Yes, her nickname is sexist and vulgar. No wonder she doesn't like it. She is the sole character that showed slight depth, and felt marginally real. She had a good sense of humor, was kind, enjoyed her life, liked who she was, and knew where she stood. So why is she sleeping with a creep like Tony? 

 

     I have considered that perhaps I'm just not the target audience for this series. I did manage to sit through the whole hour, so it wasn't the worst thing I've ever watched. But even teenagers deserve better dramas than this stuff. If anything, this just gives them an unrealistic worldview of limited, if any, consequences for dumb actions.

 
     If you'd like to make your own judgments, Skins airs Monday nights at 10 p.m.

Article first published as TV Review: Cover Up, Skins! on Blogcritics.

'The' Special Relationship?

    HBO's newest movie is called The Special Relationship, and revolves around Bill Clinton's second term as president of the United States, and Tony Blair's first term as prime minister or Britain.  I'm not sure why they seemingly had a special relationship, even after viewing the movie.  Their relationship didn't seem particularly more interesting or complicated than plenty of other world leaders'.  But it wasn't a bad movie.

     The beginning flipped quickly past Blair taking advice from the Clinton team on how to win, then concentrated on three meaty segments of their time: the Lewinsky scandal, Kosovo, and the 2000 U.S. presidential election.  Each lasted a certain number of minutes, but the after effects of the main event being focused on were never discussed.  As such, it seemed more a series of vignettes than a cohesive film.  It also was far from balanced, painting Blair as the humble, heroic figure and Clinton as a lying, scheming, manipulator.  Both characterizations are rooted in some truth that happened, but again, this movie did not seem to want to explore complexities.

     The best part of the film was the acting.  Michael Sheen took a third go round as Tony Blair, having previously portrayed him in The Deal and The Queen.  At this point, he's practically become more recognizable to Americans as Blair than Blair himself, and so it's hard to judge his performance as anything but thoroughly realistic.  Helen McCrory was a delight as his wife, Cherie, whom she also played in The Queen, and so the chemistry was already set.  Dennis Quaid came as close to Clinton as any non-comedian I've ever seen.  The only weak link was Hope Davis, usually a wonderful actress, playing Hillary a little softer and weaker than expected.  However, as the Hillary scenes were mostly private moments, it's hard to say it she was being accurate or not.

     I wouldn't discourage anyone from watching the film, but I wouldn't necessarily encourage it either, unless you have an interest in the event covered, as I do.  Sheen made Blair really grow and come into his own over the course of the hour and a half, but other than that, there's not much that stands out.  Not exactly what I've come to expect from HBO, but feel free to make your own judgments.