Mulaney

By: Robert Murphy

There is nothing wrong with comedians getting their own sitcoms and trying to make a show where they can display their craft, in fact, it's probably a great sign of your skills if you do end up with a TV show when you're a comedian. But, if The Jeff Dunham Show has taught me anything it's that not all great comedians should have a show of their own each week. Mulaney stars comedian John Mulaney who plays himself, a struggling up in coming comedian that is trying to make it big in New York City but hasn't quite taken off yet. He lives in an apartment with his two friends, Motif (Seaton Smith) who is a comedian as well and Jane (Nasim Pedrad) who is an off centered firecracker character that spends most of her time looking for a good man in a bad city. In an effort to get his career moving, John ends up getting a job as a comedy writer for Lou Cannon (Martin Short) who is a famous comedian himself and is now hosting a made up game show. It all seems like a perfectly fine setup but it is one that tanks right from the get go. 

When your show gives off a familiar feel to it, i.e. Seinfeld, the absolute worst thing you can do for your show is broadcast that fact and Mulaney does this around the 2nd or 3rd episode. One of John's jilted lovers exclaims that he is nothing but a Jerry Seinfeld ripoff and this puts the first nail in the coffin for viewers because if you hadn't noticed the connection before, it is now all you can think about. The similarities are very obvious and that was probably the point of the show, to be just as meta as Seinfeld was with it's jokes about making a show within a show, Mulaney obviously taking that one step further. John opens up each show doing his stand up which by itself is actually pretty good and can be seen as a saving grace but once the curtains open it never translates over into the show. For a sitcom comedy you would think the goal would be to make you laugh and you never get more than a chuckle for the thirteen episode series. You would think that veteran Martin Short or even Elliot Gould who plays Oscar, the effeminate neighbor, would spice things up but neither of them do much good. 

The other factor working against a show like Mulaney is the flatness and otherwise bland presentation it puts forth each episode. The show never really takes itself seriously in anyway and this should be a good thing especially for a comedy but there is a difference between not taking it seriously and just not caring and I think the show steps into that territory. It didn't care that it has the same format that Seinfeld did, it doesn't care that it isn't funny or that deep lull moments occur in each episode with bland dialogue and laugh less jokes, it just wants to be put on screen so everyone can cash their checks and go home. I really felt like they were just throwing things at the wall and seeing if it would turn out being funny.

Great examples of this include the episode, "It's a Wonderful Home Alone" where John faces an old painful memory of his days as a child actor and how he was up for the role of Kevin in Home Alone only to be out shined by Macaulay Culkin. The episode rips much of it's story by spoofing It's a Wonderful Life and trying to make you laugh at John acting like a baby most of the episode and his friends, well, not really caring. A fake Macaulay Culkin finally appears at the very end of the episode with his back to the camera too in a last hail marry effort of laughter. Then, there are episodes like "Patriot Acts" where John feels bad about not doing his military service and tries to perform at a USO show only to flop over and over again in the recruiters office and makes some bad jokes. 

I am at lose when it comes to Mulaney, most 90% of the episodes I spent with an unchanging expression on my face as nothing really feels funny. Moments where I did laugh I immediately felt bad about because I knew it was forced and what had made me laugh was at best chuckle worthy. In a way, I almost feel like actors Martin Short and Elliot Gould were added to the cast to remind you that they're funny so the show must be funny but that itself is the equivalent of spraying air freshener over a turd instead of throwing it away. That may be a bit harsh of a metaphor but truly I cannot see viewers getting much enjoyment from Mulaney and you were better off watching Family Guy or Bob's Burgers every Sunday night instead.

Good:

- John Mulaney's brief stand up at the beginning of the episodes

Bad:

- Episodes are not funny

- Seems like there was no care or effort put forth in the writing

- Despite cast members like John Mulaney and Martin Short who have proven their comedy worth, the show still feels flat and lifeless 

Scully Rating: 2.0 out of 10

Thor: The Dark World

Zach Goodier

The sequel to the original movie has some big shoes to fill, and with the story having already been continued through The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World starts out almost exactly where Avengers left off, with Loki being brought before Odin to answer for his crimes.  However, in the prologue we see a look into the distant past; an era where war consumed the universe as the Asgardians fought the Dark Elves, who had once ruled before our universe was even born (think pre-big bang), and sought to return it to the darkness that once ruled, where the Dark Elves were born.  Their leader, Malekith the Accursed, fled their home world, sacrificing nearly his entire race in an effort to devastate the Asgardians and allow the last of his people the chance to escape.  Now, of course, he has returned, and seeks to use his Aether that was hidden from the world to bring darkness to the universe once again.  Can Thor stop him, and will he be able to trust the deceptive Loki to help him in his quest when he has nowhere else to turn?

A potentially great villain turned "meh."

The story of Dark World is fairly good, but not much to surprise you.  You've seen these types of stories before, but being directed by the same man who has done Game of Thrones means you get the quality delivery that would come to be expected from such experience.  However, the story itself isn't nearly as sophisticated as GoT, and it's only big variable in terms of twists and turns comes from Loki, who really dominates the screen with his whit and shifty demeanor.  But overall, it's a straight-shooter in terms of what is going on and who is doing what.  There is some deeper conflicts that I feel director Alan Taylor sought to bring out a little bit, but none of these are relevant to the story, and are quickly forgotten once the central conflict swings into full gear.

Plot too relaxed? Need tension? Add Loki.

Malekith serves as a mediocre villain at best, his role is well portrayed but not much is invested in his character on a personal level, he's just the disgruntled "baddie" who happens to have people willing to die for him and his cause.  Jane Foster is back, as well, and I sort of wish she hadn't come back.  While she helps add some presence to the screen, her role in the story is mainly "damsel in distress" when she is exposed to the hidden Aether and becomes its host.  This becomes essential when Malekith awakens and seeks out his ancient weapon, and really works to raise the stakes for Thor.  As I have stated already, Loki brings most of the presence to the screen, and makes for the most compelling parts of the story.  Without getting into too many spoilers, Loki's loyalties, which have never seemed very "solid," add for a big X-factor in terms of what might happen at the climax.  While his role in the third act might not be what you expected, and leaves some unresolved questions, he really does a great job of bringing those mixed emotions and uncertain loyalties to the forefront of the story.

Suddenly Asgard isn't looking too almighty, is it?

The action is even better than in the previous movie, and there are some large-scale fights that take place within Asgard itself.  Needless to say, this movie ups the tension when you realize that an otherworldly and seemingly untouchable place as Asgard is attacked.  However, some elements of the movie felt somewhat forced, or altogether unexplained.  From a fairly early point in the film, you see all these phenomena occur around London, the place on earth where this "alignment of the realms" occurs.  While it works as a basic plot device, the dimensional rifts that occur that warp time and space are just... there.  While obviously this film isn't meant to be based on modern understandings of science, it seems that even within the logic of this universe, things were forced.  "Space magic" is the term that comes to mind, and while some of it has persisted throughout the Thor story, this is an instance where it felt like they pushed the bounds of their own universe too far.

Nothing against Natalie Portman or Jane Foster... just didn't feel like the relationship was all that deep between them to justify the time spent on relationship development.

Overall, this movie was a great film.  Great characters return, an epic story as old as the universe itself, and some of the coolest action outside of The Avengers.  However, while there is always room to fault the logic of these movies and their sci-fi/fantasy dynamic, this movie does push the envelope a little too far in the details of the story.  It wouldn't be such a big deal if it didn't play such a central role in the climax of the film, with magic space portals making you try to follow the action while trying to figure out where in the universe you even are, and making the portals themselves a flimsy plot device to try to do... well I still don't think I know.  Malekith seemed like the only one who had a clue what he was doing that whole movie with the "space magic." I also felt that Jane Foster's role in this movie was somewhat forced and almost irrelevant.  While I don't mind seeing her back, I just didn't feel like I missed her much at all.  However, these are all little cracks in an otherwise brilliant masterpiece that any fans of the original movie or newcomers to the Marvel universe would almost certainly enjoy.

Good:

-Thor is back and better than ever.

-Loki is back too, and better than ever.

-Excellent back-story that makes the conflict truly feel worthy of Asgard's finest.

-Action is compelling, and the visuals are simply brilliant.

Bad:

-Melekith felt like he could have been so much more than he was, as Asgard's greatest enemy. Plus the space magic made a lot of the writing feel half-baked to a certain extent.

-Jane Foster is a character I just could never get behind all that much, and her romance with Thor just feels like an obligation more than anything.

Scully Rating: 9 out of 10

Thor 2: The Dark World Trailer

Written by Zach Goodier

Gear up for another Marvel movie, Thor is back with the sequel, "The Dark World."  Make sure you watch this all the way through, because one of the big moments of this movie is the reintroduction to Loki.  Despite his being a prisoner of Asgard, it appears that he may be let out of the cage to help Thor in this movie.  Does this mean that Loki will escape and renew his pursuit of conquest, or will he perhaps become a reluctant anti-hero to perhaps spice up our potential Avengers sequel with a return?  We will have to wait and see, but also important is that Jane will be coming back, which you will either like or hate, but she appears to be visiting Asgard, which apparently highlights the differences between them in terms of where they belong.  This could put some strain on the potential relationship developing between them, but there is also the enemy. 

 I haven't done a lot of research, and I haven't read any of the source material out there about them, but it appears that Earth is in danger again- go figure- and the forces of Asgard are being called to defend Earth from this new threat.  I guess we'll just assume that Iron Man, Hulk, and Shield are all on vacation and didn't get the memo, or maybe they will appear... but wait, this isn't the Avengers sequel... so most likely not. 

We'll just have to wait and see, more details are likely to be revealed as we draw closer to the November 8th release, so be patient.