The rambler has returned!

Hello again. I thought I would pound out this next blog entry after a fairly lengthy hiatus.

I just saw the new ABC comedy "Mr. Sunshine", starring Matthew Perry as Ben Donovan, the manager of the San Diego-based Sunshine Center. Here, he deals with his not-all-there boss and various co-workers, one of whom has just broken up with him to start seeing another of his co-workers. Donovan's ex informs him that all he cares about is himself and he will never be able to commit to another person in a relationship. Does this sound familiar? It should, because as millions of Americans are aware, Perry played Chandler Bing, *another* wise-cracking commitment-phobe on only the most popular sitcom in the history of humankind, "Friends"! So that kind of role for Perry is familiar territory, and is also not a very far stretch for him in real life, as he has dated several Hollywood starlets, but has never committed to a long-term relationship with any of them. And unlike the five other actors he did "Friends" with, Perry has never been married. That isn't really a big deal, I'm just pointing that out.

Anyway, as for the show itself. Perry not only co-wrote the pilot episode's script, he also co-created and executive produces the series! He even has his own production company now! Well, I sure bet that he really hopes that the show is a hit (having been given the plush time slot after "Modern Family" on Wednesday nights), as he has invested an awful lot into this show. It would really be too bad if it would go the way of the Heather Graham "Emily's Reason's Why Not" show, and be abruptly cancelled after one low-rated episode!

As for his career as a whole, he did movies at the same time as "Friends", some of them OK, and most of them really bad. I did like "Three To Tango", I have not seen "Fools Rush In", and I thought that "Serving Sara" could be extremely offensive at times, especially having the Cedric character say to his not-very-intelligent process server that "there are only three wop (Italian) geniuses in history - Leonardo (da Vinci), (Sylvester) Stallone in the first "Rocky", and you". Now, I really thought that dialogue was uncalled for!

Also, there has been something said about how Perry was typecast after having played Chandler Bing for ten years. The character was well-developed and was given a lot of really funny dialogue, but it was said that Perry was "typecast for life" as a result. At times, he attempted to distance himself from the well-known comedy role with parts in low-budget independent films like "Numb" and "Birds Of America" where he protrayed seriously depressed misanthropes, but like I said, with most of his movies, he would just end up playing a watered-down version of Chandler Bing who was really sarcastic and kept cracking jokes all the time. Perhaps that is simply his lot in life, who knows!

So, I watched the show once. Will I watch it again? Nyyeeaahh...I don't know. It's not completely terrible, but it isn't exactly "Modern Family" or even "The Middle" who both precede it. And then there's "Better With You" on the same night on ABC as well. I disliked that one immediately, I don't even bother with it. Shame that poor Debra Jo Rupp has, in a way, also been typecast, as she played Kitty Forman for eight years on "That 70s Show" and had a very distinctive laugh she would do in almost every episode. Many people miss that show and some people didn't want it to end, but it had obviously run it's course. And now Rupp is not being very accepted in her role on this show as people who saw her last show loved her on that one! Oh well, it seems like some people just can't win. Or as it has also been said, there's just no pleasing some people!


More to come...when I feel like it.

5/30/11 Update: Both "Mr. Sunshine" and "Better With You" have just been cancelled, along with numerous other shows. Somehow I just can't feel sorry for the networks that put all that crap on the air in the first place. We need more smart writers, I feel. Like Chris Rock once said, "Smart people write better shit!" What about the "Simpsons" writers? That show's been on he air for more than 20 years, they must be doing something right, hmm?