GMMR Reviews: THE TV SET

I’m not a movie buff. I’m a TV addict. Being that so much of my time is spent watching TV, I often find myself bored and restless sitting through a 2+ hour long movie. I’m lucky if maybe I see two movies a year in an actual movie theater. But last month when I was invited to attend an L.A. screening of a new movie called THE TV SET, I thought hmmm, now this one I might actually like – a movie about television. And I was right.

The TV Set is a very smart and very funny dark comedy about what it really takes to get a TV show on the air. The movie follows the journey of veteran writer Mike Klein (David Duchovny) as he tries to get his new semi-autobiographical dramedy ‘The Wexler Chronicles’ from the script to the network schedule. Mike soon realizes that following the path of your dream isn’t always easy when there is a new compromise at every turn. From being denied his first choice in lead actor, to the network overriding almost all of his creative decisions (including the major plot device that drives the show), Mike has to wonder if making ‘The Wexler Chronicles’ is really worth selling out.

The people in Mike’s life all seem to have their own opinion (and agenda) regarding the decisions Mike has to make. His supportive and very pregnant wife Natalie (Justine Bateman) keeps Mike grounded and reminds him that giving in doesn’t always mean giving up . The there’s Mike’s manager Alice (Judy Greer) who seems more concerned with keeping the peace and her personal reputation in tact than helping Mike with his career choices. The she-devil in Mike’s world is Lenny (Sigourney Weaver) – the strong willed network president who lets it be known, in the nicest way possible of course, that she’s calling the shots. And finally there is Richard (Ioan Gruffudd), the new head of programming brought over from the BBC to lend an air of credibility to the network. Richard struggles with believing in Mike’s creative vision while proving himself loyal to Lenny and the network, all the while dealing with his family’s ill adjustment to life in the United States. Making life on set a little more difficult for Mike is Zack (Fran Kranz) the star of ‘The Wexler Chronicles’ who lack of acting skills don’t do much to impress his leading lady Laurel (Lindsay Sloane). The supporting cast includes many familiar faces including Willie Garson (Sex and the City), comedian Andrea Martin, Kathryn Joosten (Desperate Housewives) and a personal favorite of mine Lucy Davis (The Office, Studio 60).

THE TV SET was written, produced and directed by noted TV and film director Jake Kasdan. Kasdan knows the ups and down of television better than most as he was a driving force behind ‘Freaks and Geeks’ and ‘Undeclared’, two highly acclaimed shows that never quite found their audiences and were shelved way too soon.

If you’re like me and love not only the TV shows we see every week but the behind the scenes world to TV and entertainment, I think you’re really going to like this film. I found myself laughing out loud at the absurdity of situations yet feeling for the characters who have to live and work in this often ridiculous, superficial world. For those of us who truly love quality TV we will know all too well the point the Kasdan was making with this film – at the end of the day, it’s not about quality, it’s about money. My only complaint was that it ended on a somewhat ambiguous note. Just how did ‘The Wexler Chronicles’ fare on the network schedule next to its hit lead in, ‘Slut Wars’? I was left wanting to know a little bit more about these people and their stories. But then again, the movie ended much like a quality TV show pulled too early, with the audience wanting more…and maybe that was Jake Kasdan’s point.

THE TV SET in rated R and is in movie theaters now!!