Tuesday 31 May 2011

The Office: An American Work Place...My New Favourite Comedy


Britain and America are at war. But wait; don’t run to your bomb shelters just yet! I am simply referring to my mental popularity war between the respective nation’s versions of The Office.
 Depressing, dull and brilliant, Ricky Gervais’ original British creation has been my favourite TV comedy for some time,  and having watched the entire series roughly ten times, it still holds that torch (albeit now sharing it with the American classic: Seinfeld).
Currently however, most threatening to its podium position, is its beautifully warm hearted, so much more than a remake, stunning in its own right, American counterpart, The Office: An American Workplace .
There is absolutely no show, which is so smile inducing, so endlessly watchable and harmlessly entertaining. Most importantly, An American Workplace is hilarious. On my own little personal scheduling I am about to start watching Season 6, so here is a rundown of the components of The Office  I have noted components from the first five series that have made this American masterpiece my new favourite comedy.

-It IS better than the UK version
Simple mathematics is applicable here: Gervais and company had a run of two series and a Christmas special without putting a foot wrong. An American Workplace has bashed out the good for more than treble that time and is still yet to let me down. Look at it that way and The Office USA clearly deserves the highest accolade.
 -Steve Carrell
Earning my appreciation with the sweet natured Dan In Real Life, and earning everyone’s respect as a real actor in Little Miss Sunshine, Steve Carrell’s Michael Scott is an classic creation, both for contribution to the comedy in this show, but also as a properly fleshed out character, with emotions and layers that provide both many of the funniest and saddest parts of the show.
The Office USA may not have the bleak, kitchen sink, miserable feel of the original, but there really times that through all the photogenic smiles and gags, Steve Carrell creates a massively flawed, sad and ultimately sympathetic character. Just look at when he first starts to notice his relationship with boss Jan is not at all healthy; the forced assured smile creates just as much vulnerability as any David Brent, “oh for fucks sake” ever did. Michael Scott is a lonely and desperate character, covering this all up with naff jokes and endless bravado. All this to the credit of  Steve Carrell, who in this writers opinion, is a modern comedy master.
 -Scranton...the place to be?
Alright, so this is probably exclusive to me, but something about Scranton just appears to have such a small town American loveliness, that I as a Brit appreciate. If this is the equivalent of a Slough industrial estate from the original, you guys don’t know you are born! Combine this with wonderful theme music and the opening credits are just a perfect invitation to sit back for hours with this stunning show.
-Kindness runs through it
When Michael buys Pam’s Dunder Miflin illustration after she has been subjected to a night of rejection at an art viewing. Enough said; sheer loveliness.
 -Jim & Pam
There was no couple I more desperately wanted to see confess their feelings to each other than Tim and Dawn in The Office.  There is no couple I more desperately wanted to see this and the ongoing relationship of than Jim and Pam, in The Office USA.  Perhaps the sweetest television couple ever, it has been a genuine treat to see Jim and Pam’s love for one another progress from suppressed office flirting, to first kiss, to dating, to marriage proposal, to news that there is a mini Halpert on the way.
Between Jim’s playful teasing, and Pam’s dewy eyed smiles, they create a near classically sweet, traditional romance that just furthers my adoration of this show.
 -Toby
One of the more genuinely tragic characters of the series, Toby is simply a marvellous character. Providing further doses of laughs simply by a subtle disapproving gesture, he is almost a nod to the original he is so painfully depressing.
Unexplainably despised by Michael, secluded to the Annexe with Ryan and Kelly’s endless breakups and make ups, we are only occasionally given an insight into the personal life of Toby, making the characters brief appearance in every couple of episodes worth their weight in comedy gold.
 -Angela
The kudos is due here, more for the performance, than the character. Played with unflinching harshness by Angela Kinsey, there is something just amazingly manipulative about this almost Lady Macbeth-esque character (particularly in relation to Dwight). Would certainly be a nightmare to work with, but An American Workplace just wouldn’t be the same without her. If Kinsey has just the slightest bit of niceness about her in reality: this performance is an absolute stunner.
 -The layers of comedy go right up the business hierarchy
The typically American approach being “show, don’t just tell”, The Office USA, is particularly rewarding in dragging humour out of all the layers of the Dunder Miflin pyramid. Whereas in the original, head office characters were played totally straight, and sister branches were only bared reference to, the American version has laughs in Head Office, City Branch, characters homes, on the road, the warehouse and in many various other surroundings. No doubt contributory to the shows ongoing quality, all this just gives so much depth to the comedy that I just love.
What is massively clear by now, is that The Office: An American Workplace is no longer a remake, nor should it be compared to “the original”. It is a classic comedy in its own right, and this writer now often compares the quality of modern comedy to it, setting a standard that is truly testing to match. With these points above, and surely many more you could mention, it certainly is my new favourite comedy TV show. No, America and Britain are not at war, not even over my preference of their versions of The Office.
The Office: An American Workplace, stands in truce with its British equivalent, as an endlessly watchable, incredible piece of television.

Saturday 21 May 2011

007 in Moonraker Or Metal Genitals vs Beige Clad Eyebrows


This time last weekend I had just finished watching what Alan Partridge once righteously dubbed “The Greatest Film Ever Made”.  This time last week I was joyously hearing Carly Simon sing out “Nobody Does It Better” to the end credits of said film. This time last week I had of course just watched and loved The Spy Who Loved Me, courtesy of ITV rerunning the Bond series for the  absolute umpteenth time.
Life was good.
But like a bungee jump that ends in paralysis, a Christmas dinner that ends in salmonella, a moment of sheer exhilaration and brilliance can turn to utter shit. Just like the Bond series did this week on ITV1.
This weekend, this writer watched Moonraker. Not only is it the worst Bond film ever made, it may also be amongst the worst films ever made.  Having just revealed the intimate details of my last two weekends (you lucky buggers), please permit me the opportunity to explain why this bizarre mess is an absolute pustule on a seemingly invincibly enjoyable franchise.

In 1979, Bond started to get a sweat on under his wonderfully pressed tuxedo, that the kids on the block would become apathetic to his international antics in a world of psychopathic villains, easy photogenic women, flash cars and unique gadgets. Why the stress Double O? Simple: Star Wars had made our international man of mystery start to seem a little old hat. Imagine Bernard Manning at an iPad convention and you can imagine how he felt.
Conservative and outdated dumped in the midst of an environment wise to the fresh and the groundbreaking. So like Manning would probably tell a gag about why he felt the black ipad wouldn’t sell as well as if they made one in white: Bond repulsively responded with Moonraker.
Starting with the plot, the villain, Hugo Drax plans to eradicate the human race with a worldwide toxin release, while like a fascist Noah, plans to take some sexy people into space to make a super race of his own. Yet although this is obviously a pretty wicked scheme, the way the film shows the couples lovingly kissing and bounding through space like couples waiting for casting calls on the Joy Of Sex book, the tone of this all seems like the filmmakers are expecting us to see this plan as slightly beautiful. What with the sassy romantic music, shell suits, and coiffed hairstyles who are we to judge this plan? The guy hardly discriminates: he’s got all the races covered; even a ginger or two.
So while this genocidal plot is obviously awfully vicious, the Moonraker team seem set on making this evil scheme appear almost normal. Whether this is intentional or not is only known by the makers, but my criticism lies with the way I ended feeling no hostility to Hugo Drax, well not for anything other than his distracting resemblance to David Brent of The Office. With a plan of that scale, he should appear awful, but no attempt is made to make us feel that. Just compare my disgust or contempt towards Hugo Drax to Christopher Ecclestone in 28 Days Later after his “ I promised them women” speech and you’re just nowhere close. Alright so Drax is only a Bond villain, but look at the likes of Blofeld, Goldfinger and the bitch who kills Bonds wife in On Her Majesties Secret Service, and you have one welter weight Bond villain, with an appallingly underwritten scheme.
 Not only does Moonraker fail to create any decent new villains, it successfully pisses all over the general view of secondary villain Jaws.
Originally coming across as one of the most ruthless henchmen of the series in line with Odd Job, Tee Hee and Robert Shaw in From Russia With Love: Richard Keil’s Jaws here returns as a mugging, soppy, dentists nightmare. A few qualms with the big man here: first of all (and there greater reason for this) he is never given a suitable demise: something every memorable henchmen is entitled to.
Its  obviously a running joke seeing Jaws as somewhat indestructible , but to this writer, its frustrating and damn well annoying. Let’s face it, even in this shit there were occasions were you agreed, “yes, that’s the way he should leave us”. But Jaws did not die, he instead fell in love. With a woman who resembled a pigtailed child inappropriately posing in a “your face here” frame of one of those saucy Naughty Nelly postcards you see in Blackpool, all twitching eyebrows and pert appendages. This creation arrives making an unacceptably strange arrangement with our Jaws.

So not only does Jaws escape from the demise we all wanted him to have, he instead blasts off into the moonlight to have some frighteningly awkward sex, especially if that metal genitals implication towards the end is to be believed.
Before finally settling in space, Moonraker is also abysmal for its scatty approach to locations, flying from alpine peaks, to Magnificent Seven aping frontiers, to a monastery, to science fiction temple to finally settle in this awful attempt at recreating the laser blasting excellence of the then recent A New Hope. Although it manages to take place in so many locations it manages to be utter bollocks in every one of these.
In fact only one scene, the river boat chase, manages to lift it slightly above the awful, yet the makers still manage to keep the standards of this promising piece in line with the rest of the film with the appalling editing.
I will openly admit, in this scene I found the explosions as a result of the bobbling mines to be excellent , but with a choice of music like this the filmmakers have hit a dud again. As if they had a composer walk out when it came to scoring this scene, and therefore anything would do, the scene is played out to music usually saved for Bonds pre-shag moments, not to be played out to some amazing stunt dummy throwing explosions. As a result of this criminal underscoring, what could have been an excellent scene, feels very mediocre and lacks any kind of tension or threat AT ALL.
Remember those outstanding ski chases in On Her Majesties Secret Service? Imagine if they were re-mastered to play to Moby’s Porcelain and you’ll get a fair idea of how incredibly jarring and frustrating this scene ends up being.
 I am even going to criticise Roger Moore. After being so strong in Live And Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me it really pains me to do this, but in Moonraker, he is absolutely terrible. Breezing round like a beige clad eyebrow, he seems to put the whole thing on auto drive, possibly even wearing his own clothes onto set. Most crushingly bad is he in the scene in the fake ambulance, were he appears even more suggestive than his female companion trying to seduce/distract a bystanding guard, pulling faces so strange, he makes Bonds slightest eyebrow raise, seem like a nonstop, ultra coy, traditionally British come face. Dire.
So here I sit, thinking of better times, thinking how last week Carly Simon was singing out The Greatest Movie Ever Made. This week, I’m hearing a shockingly bad disco arrangement of Shirley Bassey’s Moonraker theme, that somehow doesn’t seem so painful after watching the film.
Along the way, Bond has made several duds, but to this writer, none as grave as this.