Tag: Gillian Jacobs

Geekscape Movie Review: Life of the Party

by MCDave

It’s a common mantra that you “strike while the iron is hot”. This timeless adage can often describe movie stars who cash in on lucrative paydays before their time in the spotlight subsides and their box office value diminishes. And after scoring a rare Oscar Nomination for her hysterical performance in the comedy hit Bridesmaids, no one could have imagined that Melissa McCarthy’s newfound success was on such a rapidly expiring clock. But as flop after flop continues to reinforce the notion that McCarthy’s slapstick humor has worn on audiences, this one time queen of comedy keeps nearing an all too sad and familiar fate with her latest dud, Life of the Party.

Just as Deanna (McCarthy) drops her daughter off at a sorority house to embark on her senior year of college, she’s blindsided by her unfaithful husband’s desire for a divorce. Yet, rather than mail it in as a newly single middle-aged mom with no finances to speak of, Deanna decides to join her daughter and return to college to finish the degree she abandoned decades prior after getting pregnant. And through the bonding sisterhood of her daughter’s closest friends and Deanna’s bizarre new roommate in the dorms, perhaps she can recapture her confidence and earn that diploma once and for all.

Before I begin voicing my displeasure with Ben Falcone’s most recent drab attempt at humor, let me preface by saying that I actually enjoyed Life of the Party slightly more than I expected. The movie is at its best when boldly unpredictable events begin to steer the story’s direction, rather than falling aimlessly into the bland trappings of recycled ideas. Sadly, Life of the Party goes through sequences of both characteristics, where the film astonishes with hilarious unforeseen revelations that lend way to a drubbing of consequential comedic blows, only to succumb to the modern comedy norm of relying on rehashed and re-branded situations that lack authenticity and originality. But despite this unsatisfying unbalance between the film’s stronger and weaker elements, what’s most alarming is the lazy writing that plagues these characters and their behaviors. Married co-writers, Falcone and McCarthy, gloss over the controversy and conflict with such a disregard of their significance for validity. Yes, we’re given brief and wavering glimpses into turmoil such as Deanna’s daughter’s reservations towards her mom’s invasion into her personal life, and her willingness to forgive her mom after some unruly behavior sabotages a momentous occasion. However, these unruly actions are instantly overlooked and forgiven solely for the sake of smoothly transitioning to a less than desirable punchline that fails to propel Life of the Party beyond the stereotypical mundane effort that’s helped plague this stage of McCarthy’s career.

GRADE: 2.5/5

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Entire ‘Community’ Cast Coming Back For Season Four!

by Scott Alminiana

Good news Community fans, Deadline has confirmed that the entire cast of NBC’s cult (but ratings starved) comedy series will be returning for season four. This follows last month’s semi-shocking news that creator/showrunner Dan Harmon was replaced with new showrunners David Guarascio and Moses Port.

I’ve got to wonder if Harmon’s being let go was  how they got Chevy Chase to come back for season four. For those who aren’t fans of the show and who may not be aware, Chase and Harmon had a very nasty feud that started when Chase walking off set during shooting. It then escalated when Dan Harmon gave a “fuck you, Chevy” speach at the wrap party, in front of Chase’s wife and daughter. Chevy Chase then left Harmon a veeeeery nasty voice mail (you can listen here), which Harmon later played for fans at his monthly show at Meltdown comics. To say the whole thing was handled poorly is a drastic understatement. But that’s all a thing of the past now, let’s look forward to season four!

In other Community News, there will be a Community panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2012. It will take place on Friday, July 13 at 10 a.m. in Ballroom 20. Cast-members Joel McHale, Alison Brie, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown and Gillian Jacobs will be in attendance. Jim Rash, Donald Glover and Ken Jeong are all currently working on other projects and won’t be able to make it. It’s still unclear whether or not Chevy Chase will be there. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Annie’s Boobs and/or Magnitude will make a special appearance. Pop pop!

#sixseasonsandamovie

What Really Are Community’s Renewal Chances And Its Impact On The Future of TV?

by Matt Landsman

After the largest online push for a show in history, Community returned to its awkward 8 PM timeslot on March 15th.  Fans (myself included) have since been anxiously waiting for May when NBC will make its decisions regarding the show’s renewal or cancellation.  Producer Neil Goldman remained optimistic at Paley Fest 2012 saying that the chances of renewal were about 70%.  In a press release issued this week, NBC announced that the final three episodes of Community’s third season will all air on one night, May 17th.

While it was announced a couple weeks back that the Community season finale would be an hour long, the reason for the conclusion now being 90 minutes is so that it correlates with “Sweeps Week.”  This is when NBC announces all of the renewals and cancellations–though we’ll actually already know by May 14th.

Since it’s return from hiatus, Community has had consistently fantastic episodes, from a Ken Burns documentary parody to the most recently a Law and Order parody in which one of the fan-favorite side characters of the show was killed off (at request of the actor).  Dan Harmon (the genius series creator) has often joked about how the show is inaccessible for the average television viewer and teased that an episode which aired last week was quite possibly the least accessible episode they’d ever done.  And yet the episode which took place almost entirely in Abed’s “Dreamatorium” (his playground for mental simulations) knocked it out of the park and became an instant favorite among critics and fans alike.

The ratings have been strong in the past few weeks, especially for NBC ratings, which are held to slightly lower standards than other networks and tend to perform relatively poorly.  On it’s first three weeks back on the air, Community out-performed American Idol and all of the other NBC shows in the 18-35 demographic.  Thanks to some great twitter giveaway contests, the show has been trending worldwide for the past six weeks in a row.  The support is definitely there and the fans have been behind the show every step of the way.

“The fans, they’re everything that we always hoped and dreamed they would be. They’re the best. They are so resourceful and organized and creative.” Said Community star Gillian Jacobs in a recent interview on IGN about the hiatus.  “It makes you want to keep fighting when you see how hard they’re fighting to keep the show on the air.”

The legacy that Community fans want the show to have is one of a show that struggled in the ratings, but it prevailed thanks to an outpouring of support.  “Communies” are confident that their show won’t go the way of Arrested Development or Freaks and Geeks, two other cult favorite shows that were canceled prematurely.  Arrested Development is actually coming back next year as well with ten all new episodes to debut simultaneously on Netflix so maybe this age of the the web and on demand allows shows not only to be rallied for but also resuscitated.

If all goes well, Community will get its #Sixseasonsandamovie.  Joel McHale hinted at future seasons in a recent interview saying “There’s graduate school, post-graduate, teaching,” he hinted. “We could slow down time.”  At the present normal running time though, NBC has announced no plans to reverse their decision regarding The Cape. I think we’re all okay with that one.