Messing With You Don’t Mess With The Zohan On DVD Is A Waste Of Time.

The Good: Moments of message
The Bad: Not funny, Wastes good cast members, Predictable, Lame character development, Moments of message
The Basics: A terrible film not worth anyone's time or attention, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan is not funny, not clever and certainly not constructive.


Sometimes, it is only in assembling lists that I discover I have overlooked something I thought I had reviewed. For example, when I was making my list of the "Worst Films Of 2008,” I discovered that I had never actually penned a review of the film You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, even though it easily made that list. Now on DVD, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan is just as bad and a film I loathed having to suffer through again.

Whenever people pitch the "worst movie of the year" or make grandiose claims that certain films are the worst film of a certain time frame, I suspect they forget about works like You Don’t Mess With The Zohan. So, for example, for all of the problems some reviewers had with Twilight, it is hard to take them seriously when they declare that film to be worse than You Don’t Mess With The Zohan or The Love Guru. Similarly, when people claim that 2008 wasn't all that bad in the theaters, my first questions tend to be "Did you see Disaster Movie or (Stupid) Quarantine?" I preface my considerations of You Don’t Mess With The Zohan with these thoughts because it is an utter waste of time, talent and the DVD medium. And sitting through it twice now just left me feeling robbed of time and life.

Zohan is an Israeli secret agent who has no greater ambitions than to cut hair. A superstar in Israel, he dances, plays hackey sack, has sex with many women and catches numerous things - like a fish - in his butt. As the violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians escalates, Zohan sees no potential end to the violence and the rise of an equally powerful adversary, the Phantom, leaves him wishing for more.

So, Zohan fakes his own death by appearing to let the Phantom defeat him in hand-to-hand combat. As many women mourn the loss of Zohan, he escapes to the United States where he assumes an alter ego as a hairdresser. As a corrupt real estate developer moves in on a New York City neighborhood, Zohan raises business at Dahlia's boutique by cutting hair and having sex with all of her clients. Soon, though, Zohan is spotted by a man he once wronged, Salim, who is furious over Zohan taking his goat some years before. Salim threatens to expose the Phantom as a fraud for not killing the Zohan and they converge upon Zohan at a sham hackey sack tournament as the real estate developer hires some white supremacists to burn everything down.

Every now and then, there is a movie that just makes one sit up and say "wow, this is a stupid movie." You Don’t Mess With The Zohan is one such stupid movie, but not for all of the reasons one might think. For example, a comedy about Arab and Israeli relations is about due. The fundamental concept of this flick is not a bad one. The problem is in the execution. So, for example, watching Adam Sandler as the Zohan grill naked and shoot a fish out of his butt has no real redeeming value. And by the time that the viewer gets to more telling, quirky funny bits like Salim's obsession with the goat Zohan once took, the viewer already does not care. Why? In between there are a slew of jokes that virtually all boil down to the idea that it is somehow funny that Zohan has sex with middle aged women or senior citizens of all body types.

Moreover, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan is so forced with its generic and stupid form of humor that it has to telegraph it. This is essentially the function of Gail's son. Gail takes the Zohan in and her son walks in on Zohan and her repeatedly having sex. The joke then is about the son's revulsion and as most of the things with that character, the lines he delivers are essentially saying, "this is what you ought to be laughing at." The problem is, this type of humor is likely to only appeal to the 13 year-old members of the PG-13 audience. And of those, it's not even the brightest and certainly not the most mature 13 year-olds that will find it funny.

By the time the humor gets around to actually being political, it is far too late and hardly funny. So, when Zohan's friends in New York City begin talking politics, the conversation soon degenerates into a conversation on which politician's wives each of the men would be willing to have sex with.

Far more insidious in the film is the equation of Israelis and Arabs with terrorists, though to be fair to Sandler, Smigel and the other writers, they are indiscriminate in their prejudice. Both the Israeli characters and the Palestinian ones are heavily armed and have all sorts of weapons just laying around. This - even in the context of a comedy - reinforces the prejudice that "they" are all terrorists. And it is in that regard that the film has its one decent exchange of dialogue. One Arab character says "People hate us because they think we are terrorists!" to which an Israeli character notes, "People hate us because they think we are you!" There is plenty of hate to go around in You Don’t Mess With The Zohan and unfortunately, when it is not overtly combating the hate, it is subversively reinforcing the worst prejudices about the Israelis and the Palestinians.

At least as offensive is the sheer amount of talent that You Don’t Mess With The Zohan wastes. Talented comedians show up for quick appearances that do not utilize their talents or make them the butt of jokes pertaining to one aspect of their personality. So, for example, Chris Rock's appearance as a cab driver is short and disappointing. That George Takei, Dave Allen and Kevin Nealon went anywhere near this movie is unfortunate.

And of the principles, one tends to expect what they get from both Adam Sandler (who plays Zohan) and Rob Schneider, who is "disguised" as the Arab Salim, but that John Turturro gets sucked into this crapfest is just offensive. Turturro has a great ability to play comedic as well as dramatic. And I had to watch Cradle Will Rock (reviewed here!) after seeing this movie on DVD just to cleanse my palate because Turturro plays a character of such integrity in that film. But in You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, Turturro is wasted, even with his sense of comedy. As the Phantom, he flops with the physical comedy and the verbal gags are hardly funny enough to waste his abilities on.

Now on DVD, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan includes a bevy of deleted scenes which add nothing to the movie, featurettes on the behind-the-scenes antics and development of the movie and commentary tracks that are not funny either. Those who find this movie funny are hardly the type who will enjoy commentary tracks and Sandler and Schneider, who both appear on the commentary track, are particularly unenlightening about anything in regards to the movie.

For those even considering You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, just ask yourself if there isn't some better way to waste two hours of your life. Having wasted over four hours on this insipid "comedy," I can tell you: there are better uses of your time!

For other works with Nick Swardson, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Jack And Jill
30 Minutes Or Less
Just Go With It
Bolt
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry
Almost Famous

1.5/10

For other movie reviews, be sure to check out my Movie Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2012, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

| | |

If Ever There Were Twin Peaks To Pass On, "Episodes 20 - 24" Are Them!

The Good: Moments of character and plot involving the Windom Earl storyline
The Bad: Inane storylines, Focus on lamer characters, (Understandable) Lack of enthusiasm from some actors
The Basics: When Twin Peaks flounders, it falls hard with a block of episodes that are virtually unwatchable with plot-heavy, un-surreal episodes "20 - 24."


[IMPORTANT NOTE: As I proceed through the episodes of Twin Peaks with reviews, it is absolutely impossible to discuss some of the episodes without revealing some of the surprises I will work hard to keep while reviewing earlier episodes, especially when discussing second season episodes. No matter how careful I am, it is impossible to write about some of the later episodes without letting slip that some of the characters were (ultimately) not the killer of Laura Palmer or killed, etc. I shall do my best to minimize that, but given how serialized Twin Peaks is, it is almost impossible to do even a minimal plot summary without some nuggets slipping out. These reviews may be ideal for fans of the series who are sitting down to watch individual episodes and want to have a guide as to which episode did what, because Twin Peaks episodes do not have names, just episode numbers!]

In the second season of Twin Peaks, following the revelation of Laura Palmer's killer, the series went wild as it went into plot and character freefall. Without the focus on Agent Dale Cooper and his mission to solve the big mystery of Twin Peaks to focus on interwoven with the machinations of Benjamin Horne in his attempt to get the Packard Lumber Mill land, the writers and producers scrambled to create something that would fulfill the rest of the season order for Twin Peaks. And it's not like they didn't know where they wanted to get to, the problem was there were too many episodes to get to before they ended up landing where they wanted to. The result was some pretty disastrous television, encapsulated on "Episodes 20 - 24" of Twin Peaks. This set offers some of the shakiest episodes of the series, even as it builds toward the big finale. The result is a set that has some terrible b-plot material being brought front and center and some intriguing a-plot material being oppressed by it.

"Episode 20" deals with the return of Major Briggs and Cooper trying to discover where he disappeared to. Bobby Briggs abandons Shelly for his work with Benjamin Horne who has gone quite insane in a reclusive way; spending all of his time locked in his office dressed as a Confederate general and playing with recreation pieces to a Civil War battle. This leaves Audrey harried, which does not get relieved by Agent Cooper, who works with Denise and Ernie in a drug bust which results in Cooper being taken hostage by Jean Renault's men. Meanwhile, James Hurley finishes fixing up Evelyn's car and Big Ed, frustrated with Nadine's regression, makes his move on Norma. Norma makes the decision to allow her love for Ed to be free, which results in a dangerous showdown between Ed and Hank Jennings!

"Episode 21" finds the power out in Twin Peaks and Windom Earle having taken his first piece in the chess match and claiming his first victim. While Cooper struggles to deal with the escalating danger of the chess match, Shelly attempts to flee a very cognizant and violent Leo only to be rescued herself. Big Ed and Norma deal with the renewed spark between them and James finishes the work on Evelyn's car only to have her husband promptly killed, leaving him framed for the murder. Andy and Dick work to discover Nicky's origins and find the truth is too real for them and a new stranger enters the Great Northern on a mission to find Josie Packard, leaving Truman worried about his lover's life.

"Episode 22" finds Leo in Earle's company, the angry man held by the madman as he continues his dangerous chess match. Cooper receives a gift in the form of the return of Albert who fills in much of the Windom Earle backstory and Josie is confronted by the powerful Thomas Eckhardt. Dr. Jacoby, Jerry, Audrey and Bobby work to complete Benjamin Horne's delusion and effectively end the Civil War in his mind, allowing him to snap back to reality. James, framed by Evelyn, turns back to try to get a confession from her with terrible results.

"Episode 23" presents Benjamin Horne with his new plan to block the Ghostwood project using the little pine weasel as cover until he can get the Packard mill land and the project back. As Big Ed is broken up with by Nadine, he turns to Norma with unabashed love. Norma, in turn, decides it is time to end her marriage to Hank who is incarcerated for his various violences. And the situation between Josie and Thomas Eckhardt comes to a violent - and surreal head - which informs Cooper of the dangers of things to come and the continued existence of Bob.

"Episode 24" finds Sheriff Truman descending into drunk depression over the loss of Josie and Pete aiding Cooper in the chess match against Earle. Having lured his three queens out into the open, Earle witnesses Cooper meeting Annie, Norma's sister who has come from the convent to work in the diner. Big Ed and Nadine get some counseling from Dr. Jacoby and Audrey begins to move on with Mr. Wheeler, an old business pal of her father's. And Richard helps Ben throw a benefit for the little pine weasel.

What is unfortunate about this section of Twin Peaks is that it is almost all bad. Plotlines like Mike and Nadine, the Benjamin Horne Civil War General phase, James and Evelyn, and anything involving Dick are just homogeneously bad. These plotlines take on hugely contrived, very soap operatic aspects that make for pretty miserable television. To be fair, these five episodes of Twin Peaks are probably not truly awful the way some television can be, but they are so far below the quality of where Twin Peaks has traditionally been that it feels quite bad to the viewer and fan.

Actually, there are many aspects to these episodes that are just flat-out awful. Characters come and go for quick arcs, like Thomas Eckhardt and Evelyn and her psychopathic lover (who may or may not be her brother). The result is the feeling that the show is in transition and it's simply biding its time until it gets where it is going.

Almost all of the traditional genius of Twin Peaks is stripped away in these episodes for a harsh reality that is hardly interesting and certainly lacking in vision and the intense grace of David Lynch's dream-vision that brought Twin Peaks to popularity well before these episodes. So, for example, outside the opening sequence to "Episode 20" wherein Major Briggs begins recounting his disappearance and Josie's final scenes, there is no sense of the surrealism and unique oddity that characterized Twin Peaks. The Nicky storyline wraps up with a bland reality that does not even grace the pathetic child character with an exit; instead Dick and Andy are given a broad expository scene by Dr. Heyward on the circumstances surrounding the child's birth and formative years. It's dry, it's dull and it does no services to any larger storyline.

And the emphasis on the plot events guts many of the characters. So, for example, with the Andy, Dick and Lucy love triangle, we never learn what it is that even gave Lucy the inclination toward Richard and what his interest in her actually was. The competition between the two men for her heart seems forced and increasingly ridiculous because the characters stopped making sense. There is no chemistry between Lucy and Richard and the quirky romance between Lucy and Andy is sublimated for the plot aspects in this set of episodes.

Similarly, the various machinations surrounding Josie and Eckhardt seem both rushed and contrived in the most common of soap opera fashions. The episodes fail to resonate when the relationships between the Packard backstory characters are simply being laid out for the viewers with little regard to sensibility or genuine intrigue. Instead, Eckhardt is a fairly generic gangster from another place with little sense of genuine identity.

And the less said about the witless James Hurley plot the better. The whole James leaves town, gets into trouble with another man's wife and is set up for a murder he did not commit only to be rescued by his true love whom he rides out on again, is straight out of the soap opera plot twist playbook. It's obvious and it feels as cheap as it is when it is presented on Twin Peaks, a series usually well above such common conceits.

Benjamin Horne suffers as well and any sense of his integrity as a genuine businessman is gutted by his sudden mental illness. Indeed, the only character that benefits with true growth here is Audrey Horne. Audrey takes charge and works to save her father's business empire and in the process becomes more mature, responsible and clever. It is almost realistic, then that she overcompensates for her new maturity by diving headfirst toward Mr. Wheeler when she cannot get Cooper. From the DVD bonus features on definitive edition, viewers would know that Audrey no longer pursuing Cooper comes from actor Kyle MacLaughlan's discomfort over the idea of the FBI agent being involved with an eighteen year-old high school student.

At least Wheeler is played by a decent and plausible actor. Billy Zane brings the same bland good looking definitively male quality to the role of Wheeler as he did to his brief part in Orlando (reviewed here!). In a similar way, David Warner - who would later wow audiences with his masterful performance of Gul Macet on Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Chain Of Command, Part II" (reviewed here!) - impresses audiences more with his presence in these episodes of Twin Peaks than his actual performance of Eckhardt. He is given a bit role and the bland undefined villainy of the character does not suit a performer of his stature and it is no surprise or even genuine interest when Warner departs quite quickly.

In fact, this section of Twin Peaks is plagued by the actors seeming to know they are working in something that is no longer thrilling or unique. Kyle MacLachlan, Sherilynn Fenn, Michael Ontkean and Richard Beymer all phone in their performances as the bigger characters going in lame directions. Peggy Lipton and Everett McGill, who play Norma and Big Ed restore some sense of sexual chemistry to their characters and they do it successfully, but they are not given enough time and space (yet) to truly run with it.

The only genuinely worthwhile performance that is consistently delivered comes from Kenneth Welsh, who plays the villainous Windom Earle. Welsh plays a master of disguise (who has pretty lame disguises) who begins to prey upon Twin Peaks and Welsh does a great job of insinuating intelligence and madness into the character. Welsh has an expressiveness to his eyes that plays silently crazy remarkably well. He's the only reason to watch this section of Twin Peaks on the acting front.

And that's not enough at all. For a series once so high, this represents the low-water mark and it's painful for a fan of the series to sit through these episodes, much less purchase them.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Twin Peaks - The Complete Second Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the second and final season reviewed here!
or check out the entire series, available in the Gold Box Definitive edition, reviewed here!
Thanks!]

For other works with Billy Zane, please visit my reviews of:
Titanic
Back To The Future II
Back To The Future

3.5/10

For other television reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

A Secret Diary, Recluse And A Rescue; Where Things Begin To Sour On Twin Peaks "Episodes 10-14!"

The Good: Surreal visions, Generally the acting
The Bad: Ridiculous plots and character developments creep in, Shaky performances in some of the new blood.
The Basics: While Cooper and Truman rescue Audrey, Donna becomes involved with a reclusive botanist who has Laura Palmer's secret diary in a plot-heavy set that is very soap operatic.


[IMPORTANT NOTE: As I proceed through the episodes of Twin Peaks with reviews, it is absolutely impossible to discuss some of the episodes without revealing some of the surprises I will work hard to keep while reviewing earlier episodes, especially when discussing second season episodes. No matter how careful I am, it is impossible to write about some of the later episodes without letting slip that some of the characters were (ultimately) not the killer of Laura Palmer or killed, etc. I shall do my best to minimize that, but given how serialized Twin Peaks is, it is almost impossible to do even a minimal plot summary without some nuggets slipping out. These reviews may be ideal for fans of the series who are sitting down to watch individual episodes and want to have a guide as to which episode did what, because Twin Peaks episodes do not have names, just episode numbers!]

As Twin Peaks progressed into its second season and those responsible for making videos of the episodes, the show began to change and the marketing people got hip to that fact very quickly. Instead of releasing episode by episode videos, they began to do little bundles of five episodes each and in this way, they compelled fans to purchasing the material they otherwise would not have purchased along with the essential bits they needed! Today's bundle pack is Twin Peaks - Episodes 10 - 14, five episodes that bring the mystery of Twin Peaks to a more complex place. The problem, of course, with reviewing the multi-episode tapes is that episodes in these type packs might vary greatly and in the case of Twin Peaks, the series is heading into a downward bit.

For those unfamiliar with Twin Peaks, the series takes place in the Washington logging city of Twin Peaks, near the Canadian border. A murder, that of the young lady Laura Palmer, has occurred and FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper was brought in to investigate it. While Cooper is in town investigating the murder using less-than-orthodox means, industrialist Benjamin Horne has conspired to take over the Packard Saw Mill lands to turn much of Twin Peaks into a resort area. Twin Peaks is heavily serialized and those who have not watched the episodes that precede these will likely be utterly lost.

In the final season of Babylon 5, there is a moment when Londo Mollari reacts to an assassination attempt with a quiet despair saying simply something like "I'm afraid this is the point where it all begins to go wrong, very wrong, for all of us." If only Londo were available for this set of Twin Peaks episodes!

"Episode 10" finds Ronette Pulaski still freaking out having only seen a sketch of Bob and while Cooper and Truman try to figure out who he might be, Donna Hayward meets the reclusive botanist Harold, a man Laura Palmer apparently knew quite well, though she never told Donna about him. After Truman and Albert square off yet again, Leland Palmer arrives with valuable information about Bob, information which seems confirmed by the reappearance of the one-armed man who is injecting himself with a strange drug. He is not the only one having a drug-related time; Audrey, captive of Blackie and Jean Renault (older brother of the dead Jacques and Bernard) is being drugged into submission while they plan how to use her to get to Cooper.

"Episode 11" finds Leland Palmer in the hot seat for killing Jacques Renault, the man he believed killed Laura. While Andy worries about Lucy's pregnancy and the presence of the alternate inseminator, Richard, Donna meets again with Harold and he reads to her from Laura's secret diary. Donna, suspicious of Maddy and James, begins to entertain the option of running off with Harold. Josie returns to Twin Peaks and consoles poor Pete, who is mourning Catherine, and she seduces Truman rapidly. Meanwhile, Jean Renault approaches Benjamin with the ransom demand for Audrey, a demand that involves Cooper being delivered to him as payment for the death of his son, a mission Cooper is willing to take on . . . with a little help from a friend.

"Episode 12" - truly the mixed bag of highs and lows of the set - has the trial of Leland Palmer, Donna trying desperately to get Laura's secret diary away from Harold and Andy learning that it is possible he did impregnate Lucy, despite prior information about his low sperm motility. Cooper, having found Audrey's note, decides to get a jump on Audrey's captors and he and Truman head to One-Eyed Jack's to do that. Nadine, now possessing superhuman strength and believing herself to be in high school, returns home. Benjamin Horne is made an offer on the Ghostwood project that would solve all his current financial problems and he employs Hank Jennings to recover the money Cooper is holding as part of the ransom attempt.

"Episode 13" has James rescuing Donna and Maddy from the dangerous Harold who foiled their attempt to get Laura Palmer's secret diary. James recommits to Donna and Cooper and Truman return to Twin Peaks with Audrey, who has been shot up with an almost lethal dose of heroine. As Big Ed deals with having Nadine back at home, Josie is extorted by a stranger who has something important he can lord over her. Josie and Benjamin threaten one another with a series of escalating disasters until Benjamin buys Josie off and she leaves, leaving Truman bewildered by her departure. As Maddy prepares to leave Twin Peaks as well, Cooper's boss, Gordon arrives with news of Windham Earl and Phillip Gerard, the one-armed man. By withholding the Haliperidol from Phillip, the inhabiting spirit Mike - who Cooper met in a prior dream - takes control and reveals the nature of Bob.

and "Episode 14" - has Gordon leave shortly before Hawk discovers the fate of Harold and the secret diary, as Truman, Cooper and the Mike-controlled Phillip head to the Great Northern where Mike is convinced Bob is. Mike freaks out when Benjamin Horne enters and Cooper believes he may have found Laura Palmer's killer. While Norma meets the transformed Nadine, she reluctantly lets Shelly Johnson go as Shelly and Bobby have discovered having the vegetative Leo around the house is more work than fun for them. When Margaret - the Log Lady - arrives at the station, she, Cooper and Truman head to the Roadhouse where a singer is performing and Cooper is given another vision, a vision that coincides with the return of Bob who commits another murder!

If it weren't for the latter half of "Episode 14," this would be a "not recommend" for the boxed set. It was that close. The problem over the course of these five episodes is that Twin Peaks becomes more of a soap opera than it had been. It is weird for the sake of weird and it does not work nearly as well as when the show is being genuine and creepy. There are a number of disturbing conceits utilized by these five episodes that brings them down quite a bit.

So, for example, the whole secret diary of Laura Palmer bit is just too contrived to be worthwhile. It was bad enough that Donna was exploring her new bad girl side, but the addition of Harold and his orchids and obsession with Donna and possession of the secret diary is just campy at its best. Sure, there are moments that are creepy with Harold that work, like the climax to "Episode 12" as Harold begins to lose it and truly becomes a menace to both Maddy and Donna.

Benjamin Horne's dealings with the mysterious Japanese investor seems like another conceit as well and when the identity of that person is finally revealed in "Episode 14," it is less of a surprise than one suspects Frost and Lynch wanted it to be. It would not have been so bad were it not for the bevy of new strangers in town in this set of episodes. In addition to the asian investor, there is Josie's tormentor, Harold, Richard (Lucy's beau who is a pretty slimy guy), Jean Renault and Gordon (Cooper's almost-deaf boss who annoyingly yells through every scene he is in). Given the importance and recurring nature of all these new characters, it is easy to see why the primary cast would be a bit resentful about the direction of the show. On the DVDs for the second season, interviews indicate that much of the cast resented the appearance of so many new recurring characters and it's a good argument, especially considering the first season cast was essentially twenty-four strong.

Twin Peaks is also weakened by these episodes in that it becomes a place where there is very little genuine menace. After all, Nadine has come out of her coma, Leo Johnson is vegetative, yet able to mumble out a clue to give Bobby a new direction, and Cooper's rescue attempt yields an Audrey who has a ridiculously quick recovery period from her near-fatal heroin poisoning. All of the prior episodes that were building up events with a tone of wonderful menace are robbed of genuine consequences when it seems virtually everyone survives. When only the most obvious villains bite the dust and stay dead - often at one another's hands - the show begins to depart from its true greatness and potential.

These episodes are rather plot heavy as well, minimizing the amount of genuine character development that is going on. I resented very much the obviousness of Cooper and Truman's relationship in "Episode 11." Cooper approaches Truman about using one of the Bookhouse Boys to get Audrey back from One-Eyed Jacks in Canada and he asks Truman for someone he trusts and the very best. It would take pretty much an idiot to not figure out that Truman chooses himself and the bond between Cooper and Truman grows even more. I like Cooper and Truman, I like their very genuine friendship, but the way it played out in that episode just seemed too obvious; it seemed like Cooper ought to have seen it coming, too. It was not as bad on the second viewing.

What was as bad was every single scene - without exception - involving Richard. He is an annoying character and the idea that Lucy liked him and might have to choose between Richard and Andy is insulting and completely out of character for the way Lucy had been established. Also homogeneously terrible are the scenes with Nadine. After having a truly impressive scene packed with emotional significance in the first season finale, Nadine becomes a punchline in these episodes as a purveyor of physical comedy. And her amnesia is yet another soap opera conceit that cheapens the series.

Sadly, the best moment of character comes when Truman prepares to slug Albert again, but Albert reveals that - despite all his cynicism - he is a pacifist. The character suddenly works is a strange and complicated way and it's a surprise to find how well that bit does what it intends to, truly turning the character on his head.

Indeed, in these episodes the general feeling is not one of weird menace, it's of foot dragging. One suspects that once the identity of Laura Palmer's killer came out, the series would essentially be over. As a result, the writers and producers took the buckshot approach; shooting out a whole load of plotlines and seeing what might take. Sadly, none of the new plotlines are worthwhile and as "Episode 14" climaxes, viewers have a queasy feeling that has been building; the end seems near and something great is going down. Fast.

This leaves the actors in a strange state. Sherilyn Fenn is used very little as Audrey and Eric Da Re is brutalized given his acting talents as he plays Leo as vegetative. It's painful to watch scenes like the one where Bobby and Shelly throw Leo a party and Eric Da Re is forced to sit there looking braindead.

But it's not all bad. Ray Wise, who plays Leland Palmer, rocks his scenes, from the emotional breakdown as he admits that he was convinced Jacques killed Laura through the final scenes of "Episode 14" where he returns to dancing, though in a different way from his prior episodes. Wise transitions Palmer realistically from a singing, jovial screwball to the efficient lawyer he had been characterized as prior to his daughter's death. And ultimately, Wise steals all of the scenes he is in.

But much of these episodes continues to rest on the acting talents of Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Ontkean. Ontkean is relegated to sidekick duty almost exclusively and MacLachlan gives more average performances in these episodes than in prior outings. Most notably is the absence of any sexual chemistry between MacLachlan and Fenn on screen, which they had in the first season. In the DVD bonus features on the "Gold Box Edition," MacLachlan reveals his discomfort with any sort of relationship between Cooper and Audrey and that comes through in his performance in these episodes. Gone is any flirtation in their performances and it does diminish the work some.

In this set, Lara Flynn Boyle is given quite a bit to do. I was a bit of a fan of Boyle from her role on The Practice and here the seeds of who she became as an actress on that show begin to creep in. Here, Lara Flynn Boyle stretches taking Donna from a good girl to a lusty young woman who is deeply hurt and has to oscillate between these complicated emotions convincingly and Boyle manages to do it. There is no point that she does not seem like Donna, despite the fact that Donna is very much a character in transition here.

Outside "Episode 14," these episodes could be passed; the new clues in the murder investigation are slow in coming and the essential concepts all come in the end of "Episode 13" and the climax of "Episode 14." As a result, this boxed set is very difficult to recommend, but as it came down to a razor decision, I opted for a very light recommend and it's exclusively for those who like Twin Peaks already. Anyone who has never seen an episode of the series ought not to start with this set; it will be confusing and underwhelm the viewer.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Twin Peaks - The Complete Second Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the second and final season reviewed here!
or check out the entire series, available in the Gold Box Definitive edition, reviewed here!
Thanks!]

“Episode 10” – 7/10
“Episode 11” – 5/10
“Episode 12” – 6/10
“Episode 13” – 3/10
“Episode 14” – 7.5/10
VHS – 5/10

For other television reviews, please visit my Television Index Page by clicking here!

© 2012, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |

Why Do The Wonderful Fall? Wonderfalls The Complete Series Is Wonderful, Repetitive, Then Not Enough!

The Good: Funny, Sweet, Well-Acted, Interesting plots, Strong concept
The Bad: Only 13 Episodes, Repetitive plot format for first few episodes.
The Basics: A clever show, Wonderfalls focuses on Jaye Tyler, a young woman who is plagued by inanimate objects that talk to her and get her to start changing the world.


The DVD-release era officially began with the resurrection of Family Guy on Fox and became rooted when Serenity was created after the television series Firefly was axed. I suppose that means Fox deserves some credit for killing shows, getting them released on DVD, earning boatloads of money in that market and then figuring out ways to make more money from the series' that it killed. Fox became convinced with Family Guy (read my review of the first boxed set by clicking here!) that it was economically more viable to make more episodes to sell more boxed sets than to kill the show and their business sense won out, allowing the series to continue.

Enter Wonderfalls, a brilliant "dramedy" stuck in Friday night's "death on toast" timeslot. Friday night is where shows go to die. In the last twenty years, the only successful network show to dominate and survive on Friday nights is The X-Files. Seriously. Check it out. Friday night is death on television. Anyone over fifteen is out on a date, anyone younger is doing whatever kids do now that there's no ABC TGIF crapfest on. The point is, outside The X-Files and Boy Meets World, nothing remotely worthwhile has been put on Friday nights for the last two decades and stayed there (the week I first wrote this review, for example, Men In Trees was moved from Friday to Thursdays).

So, Wonderfalls was doomed the moment its timeslot was announced and that has nothing to do with the DVD set. Buy it. Period. It's worth it.

Set in the underused setting of Niagara Falls, NY, Wonderfalls follows the adventures of Jaye Tyler. In the pilot, "Wax Lion," Jaye is touched in her indifference by a talking wax lion who sets her on a mission to help people. Fearing she is going mad, Jaye gets into counseling only to have a brass monkey begin talking to her, too. Desperate to get inanimate objects to stop talking with her, Jaye begins to do what the totems tell her to. And the results range from the bizarre to the touching to the absurd.

Jaye is accompanied on her adventures by her attorney sister, Sharon, her best friend Mahandra, her philosopher brother Aaron, and her new romantic interest Eric. While Sharon attempts to reconcile her past with her difficult sister with her newly not-quite-out lesbianism, Jaye tries to learn to trust her older sister. Eric works on getting to know Jaye, who expresses interest, then fear in a relationship with him.

The basic concept of Wonderfalls is brilliant and explained quite well in the behind-the-scenes featurette on the first disc. What if there were a Joan of Arc in today's world? Without god. That's the basic premise of the show. What is speaking through the animals? Who knows? We never get an answer, though Jaye does ask all the right questions. The characters are sharp and interesting, which is to be expected from the team of Bryan Fuller (Dead Like Me), Todd Holland and Tim Minnear (Angel).

The principles of Wonderfalls are:

Jaye Tyler - The focus of the show, a talented underachieving young woman with an impressive degree and no ambition to do anything more than clerk at a Niagara Falls gift shop until the Universe decides to give her quests to influence lives around her,

Sharon Tyler - Recently outed to her sister, she struggles to quit smoking and keep her sister out of jail when Jaye gets in over her head,

Aaron Tyler - Jaye's brother and an expert in religions who - despite his disbelief in god - begins to believe Jaye and becomes her closest confidant,

Mahandra McGinty - Jaye's tough best friend who tries to encourage her to explore her feelings for Eric and seems willing to accompany Jaye on any scheme her friend gets her into,

Darrin Tyler - Jaye's conservative doctor father who struggles to understand his daughter's abruptly strange behavior,

Karen Tyler - Jaye's socialite mother who fears that even counseling might not help her,

and Eric Gotts - Recently married in Niagara Falls, then cheated on by his wife Heidi, Eric ends up working at the bar Jaye frequents and becomes enamored with her, despite her crazy behavior.

What makes all the characters work and pop is the writing and the acting. The writing is a credit to the creators who have a very clear voice for each of the characters. The acting is, largely, the result of excellent casting combined with exceptional direction. Simply put, the casting was extraordinary and the directors understood how to get the best out of these talented individuals.

Tracie Thoms is energetic and flinty as Mahandra and she has great chemistry with Lee Pace, who plays Aaron. William Sadler and Diana Scarwid, similarly have great balance as actors which enables their characters to play off one another quite well. Katie Finneran is brilliant as Sharon. She exhibits an extraordinary sense of timing, being funny, being touching and playing each with such sincerity as to make her character feel quite real.

Tyron Leitso is given similar acting challenges, based mostly off playing off the show's lead. Leitso makes his character work by playing confused and oblivious with a strong sense of underriding goodness. So, while Jaye is an inactive person forced into action, Leitso plays Eric as a man who clearly was once functional and good who has ended up broken by loss and hurt and desirous of a fresh start. That whole layer of subtext is provided by Leitso's performance. And it helps that he has phenomenal on-screen chemistry with Caroline Dhavernas.

Caroline Dhavernas rules Wonderfalls. She is an impressive young actress, who is funny, quirky, and passionate. She plays her serious scenes with clarity and in one of the late episodes as she cries over one of the other characters, she is heart wrenching. And when she's funny, she's funny. Dhavernas has great timing, wonderful screen presence and it's hard to deny that she's very easy to watch.

Unfortunately, there is a formulaic evolution to several of the episodes and given how short the series is, that is accented somewhat in this boxed set.

All in all, Wonderfalls is a great show killed well before its prime. Hearing the commentary tracks with where the show was going (they knew up through the third season!) it's sad to see this show was never realized fully. What exists here, though, is a body of work its easy for the creators to be proud of. The show is smart, funny, and compelling. It is a must own for anyone who likes fast dialog, smart characters and a clever concept. People who want television spoon fed to them are probably the only people who won't like this show. And fans of TGIF.

For other, different, television on DVD, please check out my reviews of:
The Big Bang Theory - Season 3
V - The Complete First Season
Lost

6.5/10

For other television series reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010, 2006 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
| | |