Up & Coming Weekly

Pair of Jokers Mismatched cops go for laughs in The Good Guys TV by DEAN ROBBINS We know Bradley Whitford can be funny because of his stint on The West Wing. But he’s miscast in The Good Guys (Monday, 9 p.m., Fox), a new series about an idiotic veteran detective paired with a young go-getter (Colin Hanks) on the lowly property- crimes beat. Whitford can’t find the humor in this dinosaur, who deplores the idea of running evidence through a newfangled com- puter and relies instead on old-fashioned hunches. Meanwhile, the script can’t decide whether it wants to be a comedy or an action-packed crime drama. If we’re supposed to laugh, why are there so many meaningless shootouts and car chases? The producers could take lessons from USA cable se- ries like Burn Notice and Psych, which effortlessly achieve this kind of balance. I don’t need to run the evidence through a computer. I have a hunch The Good Guys will be a bust. Are We There Yet? Wednesday, 9 pm (TBS) Bradley Whitford stars in The Good Guys. Based on the 2005 film, this new sitcom feels like an old sitcom — a very old, very tired sitcom. Newlyweds Nick (Terry Crews) and Suzanne (Essence Atkins) bicker about his ex-girlfriends, her dowdy appearance at bedtime, etc. Meanwhile, he complains to his overbearing mother, and she complains to her man-crazy best friend. Ice Cube provides welcome comic relief as a nutty uncle, but Are We There Yet? needs more than just relief; it needs full-blown resuscitation. The OCD Project Thursday, 10 pm (VH1) VH1 sets aside reality-show silliness for a poignant look at people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. The setup sounds like a common reality gimmick, as six people with OCD move into a house together for three weeks of treatment by a clinical psychologist. But the approach is more respectful than usual, and the patients’ stories are heartbreaking. They know how crazy their be- havior is and still can’t stop it. One fears hitting pedestrians with her car; another washes her hands constantly; another believes his thoughts alone can affect real things in the world. “OCD has created a very lonely place for me,” says Kristen, the hand-washer. If my thoughts alone could affect real things in the world, I’d think up a cure for these sadly afflicted folks. Smash His Camera Monday, 9 pm (HBO) Ron Galella is a pioneering celebrity photographer who be- came a bit of a celebrity himself for his relentless pursuit of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Marlon Brando and other privacy-obsessed stars. The title of this Sundance-winning documentary comes from a command Jackie gave to her security team: “Smash his camera.” Brando broke his jaw, while most other celebrities simply ran away from him in horror. One understands the impulse. Galella is the downside of the First Amendment: A goon who would lie, bribe, disguise himself and jump hedges to get his shot. The film finds its share of prominent defenders, including Andy Warhol and Chuck Close, who see artistic value in Galella’s work. Others call him “a leper,” “the worst kind of human being” and “money-grubbing scum.” They may be right, but now he’s money-grubbing scum with his own presti- gious documentary. National Spelling Bee Friday, 8 pm (ABC) The kids are impressive in their spelling prowess, based on long hours of memorizing long lists of long words that no one has used in a long time. One just hopes that, years later, they don’t regret devoting their youth to a pursuit so n-u-g-a-t-o-r-y. So Much Better Than Shrek the Third Shrek Forever After (Rated PG) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS You know how awful Shrek The Third was? So depressingly awful that I didn’t even really plan to see Shrek Forever After (93 minutes). From a charming ogre-meets-ogre love story the Shrek franchise slid steadily downhill over a pile of clichés and story retreads until the high point of the last movie were the end credits. Happily, the latest entry recalls the heyday of the loveable Ogre living his own special brand of fractured fairy tale. Although there is not much to discover that hasn’t been discovered more than once over the course of the three previous movies, at least the sweetness is back. The tale opens with the story of when Shrek (Mike Myers) met Fiona (Cameron Diaz), which segues into the story of just what Fiona’s parents were doing when they discovered that their daughter had been “cured.” It turns out that King Harold (John Cleese) and Queen Lillian (Julie Andrews) were getting ready to make a very bad decision, and only the wonderful news of their daughter’s rescue prevented catastrophe. Much, much later, Shrek is becoming disillusioned with both the life of a settled down family ogre and the paparaz- zo’s obsession with his every word and gesture. So, once more, Shrek is dealing with emotional problems stemming from his inability to connect appropriately with those around him. At this point, it is all very retread (albeit very cute retread). Send Shrek to a therapist, get that Ogre some Prozac, and we’re out. But then things start to get interesting. The cutesi- ness of the opening scenes quickly shifts to the intro- duction of Rumplestiltskin (Walt Dohrn), a much better villain than whoever it was from the third movie. As anyone familiar with fairy tales should know, but what somehow escapes Shrek’s attention, is that Rumplestiltskin shouldn’t be trusted. How he missed that fact when everyone he knows seems well aware of it is beside the point. The real issue is 20 UCW JUNE 2-8, 2010 why Shrek, a comparatively worldly ogre, is so easily taken in by a little man in curly shoes who grins like a used car salesman, and does everything but twirl a black mustache while laughing evilly to telegraph his general lack of trustworthiness. Of course, if Shrek wasn’t so easily fooled the movie would be pretty short. This takes us into a world where he is footloose and fancy free. At least, until he realizes that magical little men don’t always have our best interests at heart. Following his moment of clarity he is stalked by some tricked out witches and meets Donkey (Eddie Murphy) again for the first time. Rinse, Wash, Repeat. So many sitcoms have done this to death, but the whole It’s Wonderful Life predictability of it all never wears too thin since there are so many fun characters to reintroduce. As shown in the previews, Puss-in-Boots is now a pampered housecat and Fiona is a red- headed Valkyrie type. As in previous Shrek films, a few new characters are introduced, but recurring characters such as Dragon and Gingerbread Man are not neglected. For those of you keeping track, try to pick out Mad Man Jon Hamm, The Office’s Craig Robinson, and Kathy Griffin. For those of you not keeping track, just enjoy the fact that Shrek is ending on a high note instead of with the completely inferior Shrek The Third. HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM

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