But I do thoroughly enjoy hate-watching this steaming mess. Little surprise that Jerry West is threatening legal action and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has ripped the shit out of it in an article.
It is just insane. So historically inaccurate it might as well be the rise of the Clippers dynasty. And as Kareem accurately points out, the characters are entirely one-dimensional cartoons. Jerry West, as character assassinated by Jason Clarke, comes off as the Tasmanian Devil on Red Bull. Say good morning to him and he launches into a profanity-filled shit fit. Kareem is this sullen figure who tells kids to fuck off. Forget that he actually has a children’s charity.
Jerry Buss is Mr. Party Animal. As played by John C. Reilly, he should be wearing a lamp shade on his head in every scene. Sally Field plays Buss’ mother as part savvy business person and part seriously demented. Not since SYBILL has she had to play more than one character at once, but SYBILL made sense. The only actor who comes off well is Tracy Letts. It’s like he’s in a different series.
The scripts are ludicrous. Every rule you learn in Screenwriting 101 they break. Listen as characters spew out endless exposition to people who already know the exposition. Or characters breaking the fourth wall to blatantly tell you something they should artfully be showing.
And speaking of the fourth wall, this series is loaded with every cheesy Adam McKay bullshit gimmick. Freeze frames to show graphics, film switching from 35mm to 16 mm to tape, to black & white, etc. For absolutely no reason. He’s done it in a couple of movies. We get it. Now it’s just incredibly annoying.
The so-called “comedy,” as Kareem puts it, is all bad SNL skits.
Apparently, it’s a hit for HBO. Hey, I watch it. I wonder how many watch it for the right reasons — and those are to laugh… at all the wrong things.
(Notice I went through this entire review without one basketball metaphor.)
39 comments :
Thanks for the warning. Better off watching They Call Me Magic on Apple+. More entertaining and factual
While you certainly know this, Ken, but your younger readers may not realize that this era of the Los Angeles Lakers was known as Showtime, but HBO didn't want to name a show after their competitor, so they changed it.
I watched a little of one episode. As a non-sports guy, I was indifferent to the subject matter, but I was amazed that the production design and presentation looked like a '70s porno movie. No kidding. Scare up a copy of DEEP THROAT and you'll see what I mean.
Watching HBO/HBO Max is like venturing into a fetid and dank swamp. Some truly fascinating things might be seen, but the odds are you'll step knee-deep in some disgusting muck. And maybe get your leg bitten off. I need to see a lot of good reviews, and study why the reviewer liked the show, before I'll go for a look.
(Isn't "bad SNL skit" kind of redundant?)
You know those caricatures they draw at the beach and at county fairs? This is just a live action collection of those.
It is a guilty pleasure to me. Kareem, Nixon, and Cooper actually look so similar to the real ones here it is freaky.(I know Nixon is played by Norm's son). My biggest issues are I am completely caught off guard by the portrayal of West, not that I ever paid much attention to him, and the actor who plays Magic is simply not believable. Can't suspend my disbelief. Same for Adrien Brody as Pat Riley. Brody looks like a scarecrow duffus, and Riley was a GQ sex symbol. I do appreciate reliving that time, but for Godsake, NO ONE called Southern California Cali in 1979!! Still I think it is only people born after 1985 and people who have never been there that call it that.
The so-called “comedy,” as Kareem puts it, is all bad SNL skits.
Not that I'm going to watch this basketball show, but SNL does provide a kind of service in just regurgitating disposable humor tropes sometimes. They take a shallow one-dimensional joke and flog it for 5 minutes. It's cathartic in its own way.
What the Lakers have done to Jerry West is one of the most reprehensible things a team has ever done to someone they owe so much to.
He is one of the greatest players ever, his Olympic team was as dominant as the Dream Team and they were amateurs, he sat thru ten years of Finals defeats at the hands of the Celtics playing his heart out, he helped the team get Kareem, he helped develop Showtime, he was the person who brought Kobe to the Lakers and for years he was as closely associated with them as any NBA player with any NBA team. and he ws always professional about it. He was the logo.
And this is how he is treated. And Buss's kid doesn't even mention him as one of the five greatest Lakers. LeBron - PUHLESE.
How are the Lakers doing in the playoffs right now?
Is there a Jack Nicholson character? My memories of watching the Lakers of the 80s and 90s on TV include seeing Jack on the sidelines in dark glasses and a smirk.
Not a sports guy at all, so I won't be watching this. I agree with you on the gimmicky film-making of Adam McKay. It's on full display in his Netflix film Don't Look Up.
HBO must have wanted another "Vinyl": a period piece where they can depict debauchery and super-flawed characters. But were the 80s Lakers giving them that story they wanted? Why make it about them at all if you're not going to depict on-court scenes for several episodes? Either Buss and West are interesting enough people in real life to create a story around, or they're not. And if they're not, and you have to go to cartoonish lengths to make your show compelling, make it a completely fictional show about a fake team rather than tacking this mess with the 80s Lakers label to get more viewers.
[Sigh]. It's far worse as a fan to have a bad show about a topic you love than no show at all. That Lakers team is a great story and they deserved a better storyteller.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, are you watching this unfold? I think Nike/Phil Knight and Michael Jordan are, so don't screw it up!
A philosophical question about shows such as "Winning Time."
Obviously, writers and/or producers take literary license when making movies/shows "based on true stories." But how much is too much?
There are examples in our history where a movie has become so ingrained in our culture that it affected how people view events. In some cases ("Birth of a Nation", "Gone with the Wind") it has had an extremely negative effect. Or you could consider "The Triumph of the Will."
"Winning Time" concerns basketball, so maybe it's not as serious a problem. But for people whose reputations are smeared by what seem to be totally unfounded portrayals, I'm sure it feels just as important.
I have no interest in this show. And I have no reason to believe that Kareem is anything other than a gentleman. But I disagree that someone's charitable endeavors are unassailable proof of good character. Michael Jackson, Bill Cosby and Jimmy Savile gave to children's charities.
This was a slam dunk of a review!
I miss the good old days when Winning Time referred to an ESPN documentary about Reggie Miller's rivalry with the Knicks. I haven't seen that Winning Time, either. It'd be like watching a documentary about the Braves-Mets rivalry in the late '90s and early 2000s led by Chipper Jones and John Rocker.
I gave up on Adam McKay after THE BIG SHORT. Why he keeps getting Oscar nominations is beyond me.
Thanks for the warning on this (apparent) POS.
Thanks too, for mentioning that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar wrote an article:
https://kareem.substack.com/p/winning-time-isnt-just-deliberately?s=r
I another article Brady Langmann of Esquire states that Kareem is "a brilliant (and prolific) writer"
So, there's a silver lining in that.
Way out here in the sticks, Jerry West has an unimpeachable reputation, and big role in at least two Lakers dynasties. Amazing that anyone would try to smear him.
I was curious so I checked wikipedia on this series - ratings suck pretty hard - average of 440-thousand viewers for first eight.
Compare to the estimable Luck, which was cancelled after nine episodes - average = 570-thousand.
I suppose the budget was much bigger for Luck.
Mike Barer: Nicholson is referenced in Pynchon's early-1990s "Vineland" at a Lakers game, and the two viewers comment on the shape of Jack's shades.
I love this show! Love how it portrays the Lakers and Buss. (John C. Reilly is fantastic). But I guess I should point out, I am Southern California born and raised, but I was a die-hard Larry Bird, Celtics fan back then. Hated the Lakers! Yep, great show!
I didn’t think it was bad to watch. In fact, I found it entertaining. Yes I accepted them all … as comic characters, but in totality, it’s a good yarn. Riley is over the top but it’s fun to watch and Riley is a joke, but interesting. Thanks for your great review.
Ken. I think you will remember that that was the time frame I worked for the Lakers. We used to see each other at games all the time when you would come in to practice your play-by-play. The office I used was right next to Jerry West’s and I saw him before and after almost every game. I can say from personal experience that he was (and probably still is) a prince of a guy, as were most of the other staff and players. Of course there were occasional arguments and disagreements, but what family doesn’t have those. I’ve heard enough about the series that I have already decided to skip it.
I can say this much about Kareem Abdul-Jarrar.
He was seen sitting courtside at a high school all-star game a few years ago and was interviewed briefly while there. Imagine being a basketball player that is teenaged and seeing one of the greatest players ever taking time on a weekend to watch you and your teammates playing.
"The Basketball Metaphor" sounds like a novel that Robert Ludlum never got around to writing.
The book this is (very loosely) based on by Jeff Pearlman is really terrific.
HBO already did a great documentary called Courtship of Rivals about Magic and Bird that covers at least part of the timeline.
I am fascinated by the era and it was easy for me to realize it's someone's idea of comedy. The only thing I would add is that while they have treated Jerry West extremely poorly, the real Lakers have treated him far worse. So much so that he's working for the Clippers now.
I watch it for all the wrong reasons, I also break the 4th wall...how about my ball skills
Unrelated:
Eagerly anticipating Ken's review of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent....
Whatever you want to say about...I friggin' enjoy it..BIG Time!
I am actually enjoying the show. I liked Vinyl too!
Talking of sports, I see the news that Brett Favre is involved in a Mississippi welfare fraud scandal where he pocketed $1.1 million of welfare funds for himself.
Favre is a Republican.
A Republican who's a hypocrite and a fraudster? I'm shocked, I tell ya! Shocked!
I disagree with some aspects of your review. It is an entertaining show and the one thing I do disagree with is the over the top portrayal of Jerry West.
As far as your disagreement with Kareem in the show. "Sullen", as you describe the character, is how Kareem was for most of his career. He was not outgoing, he was withdrawn, he was aloof, he didn't like the NBA lifestyle. With the help of Magic, it brought him out of his shell. He was not a nice person throughout most of his career. I don't know what the fact that he now has a children's charity has to do with anything. Kareem was my favorite player back in the 70s and 80s and when he got traded from the Bucks, I was devastated.
This shows plays much better as just fictional entertainment, because while the characters do/did once exist, that's where reality ends. If you were a person who followed the Lakers over the years, you know Jeanie Buss did not join the team in any capacity until she was in her 20's. Paula Abdul was not the choreographer that reinvented the Laker cheerleaders. Pat Riley was not a sniveling, insecure whiner after he retired. Jerry West was not a violent misogynist. He also didn't quit as coach because of Magic. He stepped aside because he hated coaching and knew Buss' purchase was the right time for a new coach. Norm Nixon actually had more assists, by far, than Magic did that year. There was never a "Dr. Day" to advise Magic on business dealings, much less a Day daughter that Dr. Day tried to pimp out to Magic. Who knew Magic had such a predilection for cunnilingus? Did he really go down on practically every girl he met? The show never mentions that Buss also bought the Los Angeles Kings hockey team. At the time, they were hardly an afterthought. There are dozens upon dozen other things that are flat out wrong, but hey, artistic license means never having to say you're a stickler for the truth.
Friday Question: Do you think cellphones hurt modern day comedies? I know there are ways around this (poor service, dead batteries, etc), but often their prevalence seems to stifle a lot of comedic potential. It’s hard to imagine Cheers or Frasier, for instance, being as funny if everyone was constantly looking at their screens. Plus a lot of plots would’ve been rendered moot.
Manny has good question about cell phones. Think of all the movies/shows in the past which wouldn't exist if there were cell phones. Home Alone, she yells KEVIN, they call or trace his cell, and know he's fine. Very short movie.
Gilligan's Island if they had a sat phone, 2 days on island max.
@ Manny
I am not sure about Ken, but cell phones are a double edged sword just like everything else in comedy. A good farce might begin with a misunderstanding caused by a cell phone problem such as low coverage. Other times, a cell phone could hinder the plot because it would be a super cheap joke for everybody to look at their phones while ignoring Cliff or Frasier. While I would agree that the first time would be funny, doing it as a running gag would cause problems and the Cheers writers always strived for fresh ideas.
I have yet to check it out, but the one thing I keep reading is how historically inaccurate the show is. There's a scene where Magic plays one-on-one against a player whose name I forget. That game never happened.
Listen as characters spew out endless exposition to people who already know the exposition. Or characters breaking the fourth wall to blatantly tell you something they should artfully be showing.
This drives me crazy...everything has to be spelled out to viewers and explained to us like we're five years old. I understand that we're more distracted nowadays, but FFS stop treating your audience like idiots and let them put 2+2 together on their own.
@ Ted
HBOMax has some amazing content. I have zero desire to see this, however. To imply that the streamer is some sort of swamp is ludicrous.
And ENOUGH with the SNL trashing. It has PLENTY of hilarious skits.
Sorry, I meant @ Laurent...
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