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Seinfeld: The Merv Griffin Show (1997)
Just great, like all of them
Like most Seinfeld episodes there are multiple story lines. Seinfeld living out his infatuation with his girlfriends toys, Kramer doing the Merv Griffin show re-make, Elaine dealing with her sidling co-worker and George mistakenly injuring/killing birds/squirrels. The special beauty of this episode lies in the manner in which the separate plots are being inter-weaved through Kramer's Merv-Griffin show. I have personally never seen the Merv-Griffin show before and can imagine that it must be even funnier if you have. Its just so hilarious to see Kramer taking it all so serious in the beginning and becoming more and more drawn to the darker side of showbiz by the end - finally turning the Merv Griffin show into some kind of Jerry Springer show. The second best part is George's deal with the pigeons, which they don't seem to have signed. Eventually he ends up giving up his bed to the squirrel he injured. Then there is Jerry - drugging his girlfriend to play with her dad's toy collection. Finally, there's Elaine's work problems with the sidler, which takes credit for her work and has her do his work when she tries to counter-sidle him. It's all just very well put together and so relate-able. Gosh, I miss the show!
Made for Each Other (2009)
I want these two hours of my life back! (might contain some spoilers)
This movie suffers from two major problems, which are the core ingredient of every comedy: - bad actors - with the worst definitely being the stocky co-worker of the lead character and the assistant of the diva - horrible verbal and situational humor (a running gag are the barbecue-sauce smeared faces of the characters interacting)
I don't care so much about the plot, which is typically lame for comedies. It's more about what happens in between.
It's a movie for a really simple audience, with humor revolving around the following sub-topics: cheating, little people, homosexuality, anal sex, fetishes (e.g. for elderly people/nursing uniforms), buddy-ism, actor's diva-ism, slapstick and chicken wings. Out-of-place interludes (not the Family Guy ones) and boring flashbacks are also very common in this flick.
Don't get me wrong, I like nudity, obscenity etc. in comedies, but it has to be put together in an intelligent manner. And some scenes really had potential here. For example, when the neighbors prepare a tape for the lead character to show him how anal sex can make a relationship work and the lead character bends down - looking for the batteries of the remote - and it looks at if neighbor is getting it on with the guy: This could have been a really good scene had it been placed in a more social situation, e.g. in an office environment shortly before a meeting. Instead, its just some out-of-place scene within a movie that seems made up of scenes like that.
Also, don't be lured in by the in Malcolm-in-the-middle actor - Christopher Masterson. I know that he did a great job in the show, but that show also had a plot, many great actors and the right balance between verbal and situational humor. While Masterson does some OK acting in this movie, its just not enough to save this horrible movie. Do me a favor, don't make the same mistake I did - listen to the reviews and don't watch this movie.