The Comeback

I was initially unimpressed with The Comeback. Never having been a fan of Friends, I didn't feel any particular connection with Lisa Kudrow. But since I watch Entourage and it is the lead-in show, I kept the TV on. The first few shows had me wondering why Lisa Kudrow would want to do such a crappy show...but for some unexplainable reason, I kept watching. I feel like, now at nearly the end of the first season, that I "get" the show. I am glad that I stuck it out. There have been some very funny moments on the show. In fact I decided to watch the season over again with a different perspective and have gained more from the second viewing, (with On-Demand). The Palm Springs episode really did it for me. Since then the show has only gotten better. There are a lot of long pauses to the show. I think this is indicative of the character's inability to say what is really on her mind, but usually ends up putting her foot in her mouth anyway. The premise of the show seemed a little confusing at first, but it's not hard to put it all together. Valerie Cherish is a washed up TV actress trying to gracefully get back in the groove, but she really isn't all that graceful. At the same time a reality show is being made to follow her on her comeback trail. The characters grow on you--Valerie Cherish, her husband, step-daughter and text- messaging friends; Valerie's young cast-mates on her TV show Room and Bored, and the humorless writers; her longtime gay hairstylist who is still only half-way out of the closet; her always present reality crew waiting for something awful to happen so they can boost ratings on the possibly-dying reality TV genre. It is subtle comedy and it just needed a little bit of a chance to find its ground. Without the irritating laugh-tracks and corny music of most TV comedies, the quiet pauses on the show are not the negative, uncomfortable ones that I first disliked--now it is off and running. And I really do look forward to the show!

I have finally finished The Comeback. I started it because of the raves I heard about Kudrow, and let me tell you, they are completely deserved. Kudrow is magnificent here, she not only handles the comedy perfectly with the unique touch that she also had in Friends, but she develops Valerie with many different layers. It's not until the series goes by that those layers are peeled away, and we really truly understand Valerie as a whole. In the pilot episode, one is ready to say that Valerie is a little too full of herself, or naive. Her flaws are recognizable, and yet as more episodes go on, you not only learn to recognize her flaws clearly, but also learn to accept her as a human being. It's very easy to empathize with her, and Kudrow is completely mesmerizing in her most vulnerable moments.

Take a scene in the 12th episode where she tells the audience and the crew about her experience when she was younger, as a girl with a back brace. Kudrow plays it amazingly, with her character's usual sugar tone and with her deep sadness and hurt rising to the surface. But most importantly, she plays it all with her eyes. Moments like these are crucial to her character, and Kudrow is dynamite when it comes to playing the most hilarious moments and also the darkest. The show is pretty great, but it's great because Valerie Cherish is an expertly- written character, and because Kudrow gives one of the best comedic performances I have ever seen, both on the small and big screen. Anyone who hasn't seen this, do! Such a shame it only ran for one season, especially because the ending promised even more interesting things to come.

Lisa Kudrow truly shines in her new HBO vehicle, "The Comeback." Playing Valerie Cherish, a former B-list sitcom star, Kudrow injects her outstanding comedic timing and delivery into every joke, whether it be an embarrassing situation or a humiliating video confessional. The former Friends star has surrounded herself with very little big names, leaving Kudrow herself to carry the show. While the world of failed actors and actresses in Los Angeles will probably not take too kindly to this, one who truly understands the inner- workings of pilot season and the Hollywood community will find the jokes hit their target dead-on. HBO has found their next hit in this dramedy, and pairing it with Entourage makes perfect sense. Be sure to check this out.

"The Comeback" is a well done blending of "The Office", "The Larry Sanders Show", and "Curb Your Enthusiasm". It is a fake reality show about an idiotic TV star that offers a parody of both reality TV and network sitcoms.

The show is composed of reality TV footage filmed during the life of a TV star from the 80's, played by Lisa Kudrow, trying to wage a career comeback by staring in a new TV sitcom. The twist is that rather than showing us a final edited fake reality TV show, the show is composed of outtakes from the fake reality TV show. We get to see the character redo lines that are supposed to be spontaneous reality, we see her continually tell the filmmakers to stop filming -- which they never do. And we even see the filmmakers themselves dealing with some of the logistical problems inherent in making this type of show.

What makes it all work is that Lisa Kudrow's character is a buffoon. She is totally delusional about how big of a star she is and the show asks us to laugh at her vanity and idiocy. She is a lot like the boss on BBC's "The Office", because she is a lead character we are meant to laugh and cringe at. At the same time, Kudrow gives her character just enough empathy that as much as we hate her we also feel sorry for her just a little bit. Knowing that Kudrow was so intimately involved in a network TV sitcom, makes the parody directed at sitcoms come across as very realistic and especially funny.

As long as you know that the show itself is supposed to be bad, and if you like the kind of comedy that is filled with cringe inducing moments of embarrassment, then you will like this show.

Why do more people not know about this show!? This is honestly one of the best comedies out there and nobody seems to care. Lisa Kudrow is beyond amazing, not only as an actress, but a writer too. She should have won Emmys, golden globes, sags etc for both instalments of this masterpiece! She literally predicted what was to become of celebrity culture and then came back and somehow not only matched but exceeded the brilliance of season one after a nine year absence. Well the next nine years are almost up and I wouldn't be mad at the prospect of a season 3 Lisa Kudrow, just saying...