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kk88_4
Married...With Children
The Help (YEAH...U HEARD ME!!)
Ren & Stimpy
Best Week Ever
Laguna Beach
The O.C.
Con
Keywords:
Girls at the mall
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The O.C.
David Spade
smugness
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Reviews
Uncle Grandpa (2010)
History sadly repeating itself with all this Uncle Grandpa hate.
If you are reading this with an open mind, I'm grateful that you've taken the time to read this. If you are reading this out of your hatred for this 'piece of crap' that has brought CN to 'a brand new low', I make no apologies for what you are about to read:
I, like many, grew up with the likes of Ren & Stimpy, Cow and Chicken, et. al., grew deeply attached to the humor that was present in both, and consider them to be of a very high standard that few cartoons today can hold. That said, I genuinely believe with every wrinkle in my brain that Uncle Grandpa continues that pedigree fantastically well. There's definite love and consideration going into this production, each gag oozes a level of madcap energy that leaves me laughing like a cretin at best and gets me to sit in awe at the worst. True, cartoons like 'Adventure Time' and 'Regular Show' (the latter I love to death) have added a bit of sophistication to the cartoon, but the problem is that through their commitment to layering the strange with the normal, they become less like cartoons and more like generic, middle-of-the-road sitcoms (in my honest opinion). Mixing sobriety with silly is nice, but is it really to much to ask to see one show that completely tosses reality out the window with out any real-life to anchor it?
And to those who claim that this show is trying too hard to be silly, I can only say that it isn't your fault exactly. The problem with programs such as AT and RS growing in popularity is that we are hit with a deluge of programs that resort to 'wacky', 'zany' humor for profit-sake. As a result, the line between a show with genuine strangeness and one that has a whiff of the boardroom is virtually invisible. Sanjay and Craig, for example, feels a bit synthetic with its homages to 'rad 80s culture' and surreal humor at times, not to mention the wealth of recent failed pilots out there that are clamoring to take the Finn and Jake/Mordecai and Rigby crown. I can assure you all that Uncle Grandpa is the LEAST of your irritations!
The truth is, any media that is truly out there is guaranteed to get the backlash it receives, whether it's deserved or not. Think about how 'The Simpsons' written off as this wretched inversion of family values when it first arrived on TV, the only reason why is that the likes of 'The Cosby Show' and 'Family Ties' were still dominant with their perfect, sanitized depictions of family life. The world can only tolerate things that are 'outside the box' as long as it within a safe distance of it. The masses prefer a bit of familiarity tied to the unfamiliar, it's like a security blanket for them.
At least, that's what I assume when you bray on about how this show is 'the most repulsive display of incest I have ever seen'.
Charlie Bartlett (2007)
"My name is Charlie Bartlett....And I am NOT alone!"
I have always had a love for the teenage schemer types in movies and television. The Ferris Bueller's, the Zack Morris's, and to a smaller extent the Van Wilder's; the guys that tricked the school faculty, handled the elaborate scams, and had the entire student body wrapped around their finger, and once I got the gist of "Charlie Bartlett" for all it had, my expectations were sky high.
Needless to say, I liked the film for the most part. Yelchin as Bartlett shows signs of Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller right down to his actual voice in the film. In Robert Downey Jr.'s case, it is this film, combined with this year's "Iron Man", that has finally gotten me to adore him after years of indifference. The only problem I had was the actual flow of the story; it starts off decent (with Charlie's addition to public school), reaches a fever pitch in the middle (Charlie's psychiatric work and chain of deals), and then crashes into a pit of plodding run-in-the-mill teen drama nearing the end. Thankfully, Yelchin saves the film from becoming insufferably serious through his overall charm and levity.
Through it all, "Charlie Bartlett" proved to be something I could watch more than once, just not all the way through.
Con (2005)
Don't listen to the previous posts
A show like "Con" doesn't hit TV anymore. It's 150% frivolity and 200% entertainment (excuse me for that child like statement) Skyler Stone takes you through a highly intricate con to support himself in the ragged environment he lives. Be it having scantily clad women clean your house under the guise of a photo shoot for a men's magazine or just getting free pizza from just saying you were dissatisfied w/ your last order; Skyler Stone is a man who, like the imaginary Parker Lewis a decade before him, CAN'T LOSE! I myself after taping 1 show was basically infatuated by the concept, and even if it does go after a few episodes like those more 'sophisticated' users who belittle this show would say, i vow to tape EVERY SINGLE ONE and take them to heart!
****** out of *****