Genres

Visitors Review

Louisa 2012-05-21 00:47:58

not too bad, but left no impression and wasn't all that funny

OK, this wasn't the worst movie I have ever seen, but it was far fromone of the better ones. I did not emphazise with the lead character, or even the supportingcharacters - and kept asking myself why this exec guy McCallister andhis wife got so much attention. What was the point? The only one I feltfor to some degree was Alice, you could literally feel the stress she'sunder for having to negotiate between the writer and the network guys,always pretending it's not all that bad and everything is hunky-dory.The story line seemed to go nowhere. From the beginning I expected thethings to happen that did happen, but I kept waiting for a twist, apunchline, SOMETHING. No need to say, it did not come.What really bugged me, though: I did not think that Mike's originalmaterial was all that good. It tried to be really deep, I guess, whatwith the brother's suicide, but from what I saw in the movie, it wouldhave been just as lame. So I just couldn't feel any regret for theproducer's walking all over the writer and the pilot. If at some pointI would have seen something really good, I probably would have feltdifferently.If you want to spend time with an unoffensive so-called comedy thatwill not really surprise you or make you laugh, go see this movie. Onthe other hand, there are lots of funnier, more powerful movies outthere...

2012-05-20 09:46:45

The TV Set

The TV SetI really enjoyed this movie, it's something a little different.All the actor's Duchovny, Weaver, Griffiths et al are all on top form.The actor's commentary is very funny and interesting.I would recommend this DVD.

jeremy 2012-05-20 21:04:42

Awesome

This movie was great. I don't understand why it did not do better. I wish it had been realeases more widely. I had to wait 6 weeks for this movie to come to a theatre near me! As usual, David Duchovny is wonderful. He really made the film for me!

2012-05-20 03:41:14

FUNNY-ORIGINAL-REALISTIC

Wow! Seeing it for the first time, a real fun story to watch, a docu-ciomedy which appeals to all, a good comedy of work.

Michael 2012-05-14 07:30:36

Hilarious

I thought this parody of the network TV business was a riot. Just watching each character sell out their principles was classic. Go.

2012-05-13 21:38:20

DVD "TV Set"

This review is from: The TV Set (DVD) Item arrived on time. In just okay shape, but was advertised as used. I've purchased other used items that were in better shape, but it was okay. Story pretty silly.

2012-05-11 02:33:21

The TV Set

This review is from: The TV Set (DVD) This movie is watchable only because of David Duchovny. The plot is satirical but I found it more sad than funny. The acting was good, especially the young man who was the "star" of the projected TV sitcom. Sigourney Weaver is always excellent no matter what kind of part she plays. The actress who played David Duchovny's character's wife was especially physically unattractive. But, of course, I think the only women who match him in looks are Tea Leoni and Gillian Anderson.

2012-05-10 12:10:36

The TV Set

This review is from: The TV Set (DVD) I thought Duchovny excelled in this black comedy - his look of utter loss in the final scene showed it all. If you have any actors in your life, you need to check this out.

S.R. Dipaling 2012-05-10 15:04:49

Put a chill in my creative ambition(and I'm sure I'm not alone)

Producer and screenwriter Mike Klein(David Duchovny,whose dry,stoicdemeanor actually serves him even BETTER for comedy than drama)hasdecided to pour part of his life story into a script and a project fora TV series. Through about four months and plenty of experience withexecutives,test groups,agents,directors,crew and actors,he will mostcertainly come to regret that.Over that period of time,Mike watches in various shades ofhorror,disbelief,disappointment and despair as the personal story ofhis brother's suicide and how it affect his life turn into asterilized,sexied-up and contrived network "ratings-getter". All thewhile,he's soft-pedaled by his loyal but woefully superficialagent(Judy Greer,who gets plenty of chance to shine here),put off by anoblivious director(Willie GArson)and getting his project raped by ateam of network air-suckers led by a guile-as-natural-as-breathingchief of programming(Sigourney Weaver). Director Jake KAsdan dials it down from previous effort--more from theunexpectedly poignant "Orange County" than the dry,strange and sharp"Zero Effect"--to make a film that is wryly documenting the degradationof dreams,ideas and creativity in favor of ratings and profit. Thecomplaints of this show that I've been reading have been two thingsmostly: pacing and Ducovny's acting. On the first count,I'd say thepacing was intentionally set to show how the creative process can die aslow and painful death due to plenty of "committee". As forDucovny,well,he is what he is. Take it or leave it. As said before,heseems to work better for comedy since he doesn't feel the need to EVERpunch up the lines,and to me,comedy is much better when the actorsinvolved AREN'T trying to hit the marks. The best performances herewere probably by Greer,Justine BAteman(as NAtalie,Mike's verypregnant,very patient,no-nonsense wife),Ioan Gruffudd(spelling?)(as theBritish producer who senses that he's losing control of both hispersonal AND private lives),Lindsay Sloan(as a vain,in-sincerehot,young actress. I know,I know...is there any other kind?)and FranKranz(as the over/under-acting douche who's letting his modest successget to his head). I'd be lying if I said this film was of superior quality,of course. Mymain(or chief)complaint is that this film is done at such an economy ofinformation and plot that one might think that writer/director KAsdanwas under a time and money constraint to make this show go into thecan. I won't spoil the ending,but it feels like it was almost MADE tocreate a level of Love-it-or-Hate-it debate among viewers. Overall,this film does what it sets out to do,which is namely to offeran acidic,subtle(perhaps a little TOO much so)and funny account of the"creation" process of television. It may go over some heads,and itcertainly isn't a perfect concoction,but it worked for me. Of course,itdidn't do any favors for MY ambitions of creating a TV show(or moviefor that matter),but I suppose it should be more of a cautionary talethan preventive. I sure hope so,anyway.

2012-05-10 06:59:34

Tension-free satire (but the commentary is good)

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.

george-rolph 2012-05-05 16:46:58

Great Fun!

7 out of ten.Why? Because it works as a send up of TV and because, the ice sculpturelooked like the alien Sigorny Weaver once did battle with. (I think itwas supposed to be a polar bear but the shooting angle was carefullychosen to make the joke. Then the Hollywood machine -- rating us allwith zero intelligence as they like to do sooo often -- got Sigorney tovirtually tell us the joke in the dialogue. Ho Hum). Now, I am a fiercecritic of movies, as anyone who had read most of my "reviews" on herewill know. (If I hate it I don't review it I just stone it to death).This however, was a delightful change and a pleasantly funny movie.Apart from some of the background characters going over the top,everyone played a great part. David Duchovny as Mike, was superb as thesuffering writer having his entire script stolen from him and re-written in dumb down mode (Something Hollywood would never do, ofcourse!) played his role to perfection. No, that it is not a spoiler!Sigourney Weave as Lenny, a sort of, emotionally dead, pseudo-logical,ratings obsessed monster, played the role of her human version of theAlien perfectly. If she had dribbled some slime she could have beenthat very monster.Everyone did their part and everyone did it well (Except for the O.T.T.background characters on the TV sitcom set).This is not a movie to tax your brain and not one to kill it off likemany Amercian "comidies" (sic)are today. It is exactly the kind ofthing to watch when you are too exhausted to think too much and way toobored to want to. It will deliver just the right amount of pick me up.Watch it! It is worth the money and the time.

2012-05-05 05:14:26

Inside TV-land comedy

This is a behind-the-scenes primer on why America gets served a steadydiet of mediocre television programming. David Duchovny and Kranz aregreat, but it's Sigourney Weaver's role and her superb performance thatcarries the show.Among the high points are the movie's take on focus groups and theiroutlandish role in network decision-making -- surpassed only by theinappropriateness of Sigourney Weaver's teen-aged daughter'sdecision-making power.Seth Green's cameo as host of Slut Wars is a perfect little gem thathits just the right, sleazy note.

2012-05-03 02:12:01

A Film where the actors themseves probably had some real-life feeling connected to this film

"The TV Set" is a film that im sure alot of young (and old) writers can relate to. David Duchovny himself has probably had some real-life feelings connected to this film, due to the two hit shows he stars in, "The X-Files" and "Californication"."The TV Set" is about writer Mike Klein (Duchovny). He has writen a pilot for TV. When Mike presents his idea to TV executives, they love his work, BUT, they want him to make changes here and there (which he is ok with), but when they ask him to change the ending of it, thats were he has the problem. "The TV Set" has a great plot, and acting by David Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver. The reason I give it two stars, is it gets boring at times. Its like the producers had this great idea for a film, but it was not done the best way.

disdressed12 2012-05-02 14:09:29

clever satire about the TV industry,

or at least as small apart of it.namely,what it takes to get a scriptfor a TV show to the the pilot stage and beyond.it focuses on onenetwork and one man who pitches his idea to them.one of the network bigwigs(Sigourney Weaver)is full of herself and always manages to makethings about her.Weaver is brilliant here.David Duchovny plays thewriter hoping to get his script picked up.he leaves the character ofFox Mulder in the dust,proving he is no one trick pony.Justine Batemanis almost unrecognizable as his put upon wife.all in all,this is a veryclever work,which pokes fun at the television industry and howstupid,plastic and shallow many of the people(mostly the corporatetypes)behind the scenes are.for me,The TV Set is a 6/10

anhedonia 2012-05-01 15:42:37

Why isn't this funnier?

Despite its short running time, "The TV Set" doesn't quite sustain itshumor throughout. There are tremendous lulls in-between some very goodjokes. There are a few really big laughs and the premise is awfullyenticing. Yet, writer-director Jake Kasdan, who wrote and directed thevery funny and hugely under-rated, "Zero Effect" (1998), cannot seem tokeep things funny throughout.The film, to be distributed nationally by ThinkFilm, is a rather rudeawakening, albeit a funny one, to anyone who aspires to be a writer,especially a TV writer. Mike (David Duchovny) comes up with an idea fora TV series, only to find he is forced to compromise at every turn -from the lead actor to the tone of the pilot to plot points.The first 10 minutes or so are very funny. But the film loses steam asit goes along, partly because Kasdan seems to want to make a 21stcentury version of "Network" (1976) at times. But trying to emulatePaddy Chayefsky is no easy feat. Chayefsky was unique and althoughKasdan scores some points, he just cannot overcome these huge dulllulls when exposition takes over for comedy and the film just fallsflat.Sigourney Weaver as Lenny, the studio executive - incidentally, therole was initially written for Ben Stiller, so I suppose it's ablessing that he backed out because the man's not done a good movie inyears and has ruined several potentially funny films - seems to besimply replaying her shrill, bitchy Katharine Parker from "WorkingGirl" (1988). Trouble is, villains need to be interesting and Weavercan't quite find what makes Lenny an intriguing person.Judy Greer does the best of the lot. She has fine comedic timing, knowshow to turn a phrase and realizes that good comedy requiresunderplaying a role sometimes. It's good to see Justine Bateman back inaction, but she truly is wasted as the suffering wife. Ioan Gruffuddbrings a semblance of dignity to the proceedings finding the rightbalance for a character conflicted by personal gain and artisticintegrity.Then, there's Duchovny. I realize he has an incredibly loyal followingfor whom he can do no wrong. Every performance, in their mind, isOscar-worthy. (I am a huge Woody Allen fan, but I readily admit theman's made some turkeys. Duchovny fans, on the other hand, can't seemto quite grasp that he isn't all that good an actor.) Duchovny has theemotional range of Patrick Swayze, if that. You want to see how limitedhis range is? Watch Duchovny's crying scene in "Return to Me" (2000).Duchovny has a few good moments in "The TV Set," especially reacting towhat's happening around him. But, truth be told, he gives the sameperformance in everything he does, be it television or movies. There'sno difference between his performance here and his turn in the wretched"Connie and Carla" (2004). It's impossible to differentiate oneDuchovny performance from another. There's a smugness to him that canbe appealing, and which occasionally works, but he desperately needs abroader range of emotions to turn him into an average actor.Kasdan misses several opportunities to get in some great jokes. After awhile, the film takes on a typical arc. You sense where the story'sgoing. A couple of digs at TV work. After all, Kasdan has experiencehaving good shows canceled. And some of his best jokes seem to lurk inthe background. You have to pay attention, but they're good."The TV Set" isn't a bad movie. It just isn't as terrific as it couldbe or Kasdan wants it to be. He has a lot to say about the state of TVtoday - which is, with a few exceptions, rather execrable - but heseems to struggle trying to find comedy for his entire story. Writingcomedy isn't easy. And Kasdan should be credited for coming up withthis. I just wish this had been funnier. Come to think of it, a bitmore of "Slut Wars" - written well, of course - might have helped.

2012-05-01 08:38:04

So So

This was a bit dull in spots and it seemed like it was trying too hard. However, this was a dark satire and I did laugh at times. The Lennie character is great...I liked her because she acted in the way that society says women are not supposed to act and that made the things she said/did even funnier. This show portrayed the truth about the entertainment industry and the foolish bureaucracy behind it.

2012-04-30 02:30:17

What can I say? Good but not great -- a rental

This review is from: The TV Set (Amazon Instant Video) What to spend a couple of hours in the depths of the LA TV show development process (and its attendant dramas?). Well then TV Set might just be for you. Engaging performances from Sigourney Weaver (whose father was a network exec so the role must have been interesting) and David Duchovny (as the put upon writer producer); genuine feeling of the real process; but at the end of the day this story is just not a big story and the characters aren't that memorable. It just does not capture the most important moment in anyone's life or provide any insights into them or our culture that are particularly profound. So it winds up being a middling sort of entertainment. Funny, but not super funny; kind of dramatic without being really moving. Insightful, but not in a super profound or memorable way. Sigourney Weaver is kind of like a slightly less amazing version of Faye Dunaway in Network. Kasdan's Orange County was definitely better.If you like this you might also like Christopher Guest's "For Your Consideration" or HBO's "Entourage".

adam-1009 2012-04-29 14:27:11

Much too short, much too simple

I really liked the idea for this movie, cast was great (especiallyDavid Duchovny and Judy Greer), but when I was expecting the plot tomove in the most interesting parts of the TV series production suddenlythe end titles showed up..."The TV Set" is really good project, but unfortunately the creatorshave only highlighted the process and left a lot of comic potentialuntouched. I know there is the rule "always leave them hungry", but inthis one they've left me starving :)But above all this it worth watching movie, especially if you want tofind out how your favorite TV series were created.

Pippy-4 2012-04-29 00:49:48

A smart, funny film about the process of getting a TV Pilot from the paper to the screen

David's character Mike Kline was so far removed from Fox Mulder thatthis should finally shut the critics up that say David can only playone role. David was almost unrecognizable as this down trodden man whohad his dream script completely turned inside out by the powers thatbe. He, in MHO was terrific as was the whole ensemble cast. JustineBateman was very good as his wife and Sigourney was terrific as thenetwork boss. The expressions on David's face were just amazing. Hetruly made you feel sorry for the man while you also had to laugh athis pain. I LOVED the film. And I can say for the first time that Davidwas really skuzzy looking. Duchovny's expressions were priceless. Thisfilm has a truly wonderful ensemble cast. There is not a badperformance in the bunch. Bottom line . I think that this film is verysmart, funny and kind of sad. You feel Mike's pain I'd give this film 4 stars any day of the week

joe robertson 2012-04-28 10:05:16

depressing, but enjoyable TV insider's story

very depressing insider's story of the difficulty of getting any kindof decent show on network TV. makes me want to reconsider the few TVshows that i actually watch as it's hard to believe anything actuallydecent could survive this process. the movie is funny, but in a "it'sfunny how truly mediocre most of our cultural output is" kind of way.Duchovny did a good job and it is a good movie. hopefully Slut Wars anda good sitcom appealing to a narrow demographic can coexist. reminds methat there are still plenty of good books to read. Sigourney Weaver isfunny, but her character seems to crush the life out of anything thatwould express any human emotion.