Only saw the pilot so far. Really hope it improves, because that was just as bad as all the reviews suggested. I can picture Paul, June and Jason on the How Did This Get Made? podcast being bummed out that this wasn’t a movie so they could tear it to shreds.
I’m all for protesting coal, but that scene where Witherspoon preached the ’5 facts about coal’ while a protester behind her nodded fervently was laughably bumbleheaded. You slide it in elegantly, you don’t turn the character into a politician delivering prepared talking points. I was half expecting it to turn into a GI Joe style PSA where they guy says”now I know!” and Reese responds ”and knowing is half the battle!”
The scene with her family was super clichéd. ”He’s an addict!” (Oookay?). And that mother roaring ”YOU ARE RUINING DINNER!!!!”... a prime candidate for ”Exquisite Acting” on Hollywood Babble-On. Also a prime candidate for creating more nightmares than Friday the 13th.
Aniston’s performance when Alex went on air to announce the news about Mitch’s firing was equally over the top. She gets $2M per episode out of the Apple war chest for this B-grade nonsense? Watch Savannah Guthrie announce the firing of Matt Lauer after learning of it moments earlier. She’s a bit shaken, but professional. But Aniston lays it on t-h-i-c-k. Maximum drama, DEFCON 1. Forget JFK assassination, Challenger disaster, 9/11, Vegas shooting... THIS is the big one, the official end of the world: ”Mitch” was fired.
Speaking of Mitch, his long defensive rant that culminated with him demolishing the TV while screaming like a lunatic was another candidate for ”Exquisite Acting”.
The scene where Witherspoon is interviewed by Aniston is downright cringeworthy. Her angle is bonkers and totally unrealistic - they’re doing a feelgood segment about a clip that went viral, and she goes into full gotcha interrogation mode, hell bent on exposing Witherspoon as a phony? What?
Then there’s the comically eager product placement. I expected some, sure. Did not expect iPhone ads with every single character introduction in the first few minutes.
- In the very first shot of a character (Chip), the first thing that happens is that an iPhone X/Xs on the floor next to him lights up with an incoming call.
- Next shot: Carell’s character introduction. Starts with... iPhone X/Xs next to him in bed, incoming call.
- Next shot: Aniston’s character introduction. Starts with... iPhone X/Xs next to her in bed, incoming call.
- Minute 4: Closeup #4 of iPhone display (call). Closeup #5 of iPhone display (text).
- Then an entire minute passes without iPhones. The 6th iPhone appears in the hand of some old dude at 6:30. Ahh, caught up with the placement-a-minute-minimum policy.
- Minute 8: iMac.
- Minute 9: Girl answers non-Apple landline phone!!! How can this be? Oh wait, never mind, she’s showing off her Apple Watch.
You’d think they’d throw in non-Apple tech here and there to look a little less sleazy, but no. It’s an all-Mac, all-iPhone universe. Aniston had a regular analog watch, maybe that’s the one token non-Apple alibi they would allow. After hours of fists banging on boardroom tables.
I hate ”Steve Jobs would never have approved...” arguments but honestly, I think he wouldn’t have settled until Apple TV+ was to HBO what Pixar is to Dreamworks Animation. This is bush league quality. Mobile Me original launch quality.
