When given good material.
The value of writing is never more apparent than in the contrast of the characters Laurie plays in HACKS and on THE CONNERS.
This pains me because I know some of the writers on THE CONNERS and have admired their work in the past.
But take the "Pepsi Challenge" (for those old enough to remember what that was):
Watch Laurie play this road manager for several episodes of the second season of HACKS (on HBO Max) and you will be laughing out loud. Everything out of her mouth is funny. Her attitude is hilarious. And she has the chops to absolutely hit it out of the park.
Then watch her on THE CONNERS (on ABC). Everything is forced. The laugh track is cranked to high. Such a waste of a brilliant talent. It’s like a $500,000 Maserati being asked to deliver for Postmates. I will grant you that there were times on ROSEANNE that she shined, but lately she can’t rise above the material.
Writing is kinda sorta a little important.
13 comments :
I think that Jackie was my favorite character in the original Rosanne. I don't even recognize her on the Conners. I really do love Laurie Metcalf though!
Mike, yes, "Getting On." Metcalf should have won the Emmy, but it went to Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the gazillioneth time for "Veep." It's hard for a dramedy in the comedy category...still, Metcalf was my choice, no contest. I wish there had been more seasons of that series.
I just want to say I like "The Connors". Laurie Metcalf is still great, it's just that Jackie has gotten older and a little crazy...and that's how she's playing it. I agree with the comment on how great Lecy Goranson is. I never liked Becky very much in the early days of "Roseanne", but she plays a wonderful character now.
Where did all the comments go ?
I've had the pleasure of watching Laurie Metcalf work thrice. The first time was at the taping of a pilot for a political sit-com starring Nathan Lane, and it was the second time they'd shot it, with Metcalf replacing an actress in the first shoot. I attended both shoots so, without changing the script, I saw how Laurie improved the character and was much, much funnier.
The other two times were both at The Conners, one a taping, and the other time a live broadcast. She was fine both times. (At the first one, I also saw then-93 year old Estelle Parsons act in the same soundstage where she gave her Oscar-winning performance in Bonnie and Clyde 50 years earlier. She was amazing!)
Metcalf was about to open, previews had begin, playing Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe when Covid shut down Broadway. I'd have loved to see her in that.
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Laurie won three consecutive Emmys for her performance as Jackie Harris on Roseanne, with the streak finally being broken by Christine Baranski on Cybill. She was also great as Mrs. Cooper on The Big Bang Theory
Laurie M's daughter, Zoe Perry, does a terrific job of playing the younger Mrs. Cooper on Young Sheldon.
I just couldn't get into The Connors at all. I think they invested so much time into re-creating the old show and didn't spend any time thinking about how they would have evolved over the last 20 years. Even the couch looks the same as the original. Love John Goodman but he's acting like he's contractually obliged to appear. The whole thing seems forced. It would have been nice to see a one-off special or a limited series but it's not working as an ongoing series.
@maxdebryn
Yes, it was brilliant casting by Chuck Lorre to use Laurie's actual daughter to play the younger version of Laurie's character from TBBT. It only works, though, because she can act. Zoe wasn't well known before this, but she played Jane Cardone on The Family for 9 episodes.
She also played a younger version of Jackie on Roseanne for a few episodes. Her father is Jeff Perry, who was Harvey Leek on Nash Bridges.
@ScarletNumber - I always associate Jeff Perry with My So-Called life, where he played the affable teacher Mr. Katimski.
I wanted to like THE CONNERS, but after seeing Darlene physically abuse her child the way her mother physically abused her brother (the episode with the Packers-Bears rivalry), I knew they weren't trying to be better than the original show with that piece of shit gone.
The sad part is she is bound by a contract. She can't complain. Nobody wants to be labeled as difficult. Her best option is to be like Bea Arthur and walk away when the contract expires.
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