Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2004 > August > 05
Thursday, August 5, 2004
Yikes! There’s a ‘Man in the Mirror’!
Is there anything we don’t already know — or suspect— about Michael Jackson?
Precious little, although some of us may still wonder how the heck Jackson transformed himself from a wildly talented black man into a creepy white man on trial for child molestation.
The answer would require deep psychoanalysis, but pure conjecture isn’t even addressed in VH1’s sleazy bio-pic “Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story” (Friday at 8 p.m.).
Instead, the film starring Flex Alexander (UPN’s “One on One”) simply splashes all the bizarre behavior with which we’re already familiar across the screen. The end result is a freak show that doesn’t even hint at the talent that Jackson has squandered.
Of course there’s a legal reason why we don’t hear any of Jackson’s songs. The singer did not cooperate (gee, wonder why?) with the production, and thus declined to allow his music to be used.
The actor portraying Jackson mimics his high-pitched, breathy speaking voice and shows off his dancing skills. But beneath heavy (and, frankly, quite terrifying) white makeup, he looks more like a stop-action cartoon than a human being.
The litany of Jackson’s tragic and allegedly sordid life seep out: abuse from his father, a childhood further ruined by constant touring, an obsession with plastic surgery, dangling his blond tow-headed baby out of a hotel window and romping with unrelated young boys at his fantastic Neverland Ranch.
Cheesy production values, on top of cheesy subject matter, make “Man in the Mirror” one of the most skin-crawlingly awful flicks to come along in years.
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Here’s a convoluted concept for a reality show: contestants are asked to write a script for a new sitcom and present it to the viewing public.
“Situation: Comedy” is the show, and it comes from “Will & Grace” star Sean Hayes. It’ll air sometime next season — if the response warrants.
Sounds like a gimmicky way to solve the comedy-is-dead situation to me. Instead of hiring professional writers, the reality show’s producers will try to cull ratings from the creative process and come out with an actual show, too.
It’s “American Idol” for writers, which is a weird idea by itself.
The process, which will stretch into a 10-week run on Bravo, begins with script submission. Judges will winnow the field to the five best, and the writers will head for Hollywood to meet with industry honchos.
After more rounds of judging and pitching, the two best scripts will be transformed into 15-minute presentations to air on Bravo. Viewers will observe rewrites, casting, rehearsals and tapings. And then they’ll vote between the Final Two.
The winner gets $25,000 and a deal with one of Hollywood’s best agency’s, Creative Artists.
Interested? “Situation: Comedy” wannabes can submit scripts on Bravo’s contestant Web site.
If you win, be sure to let your friendly TV blogger know.
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