Trey Mercartne
In "The Comeback" Lisa Kudrow plays Valerie Cherish, a Z-List ex-Sitcom star who is desperate to resuscitate her flagging career. She lands a role on a tacky new sitcom (although her 'lead' role quickly descends into a recurring cameo), but only under the proviso she also star in a low-rent Reality series documenting her return to the spotlight. "The Comeback" is comprised of scenes presented as 'raw' footage from the fictional reality show that the programme is based around. Much of the show's humour comes from the idea that we are watching un-edited, raw footage of an over-the-hill actress and her constant attempts to regain dignity, which always fail.First to be applauded for this marvellous series is Kudrow who puts in the flawless performance only ever hinted at on the sterile apartment sets of "Friends". The comparisons between Kudrow and the character she plays in this series are obvious, and add greatly to the overall appeal of the programme. Kudrow's decision to knowingly mock herself is both self-assured and inspired. In "The Comeback", Kudrow is at her best; subtle, with impeccable timing and always completely hilarious. The way in which she constructs her characters gradual unravelling as she's faced with a variety of embarrassing situations is fascinating and presents a masterclass in how comedy acting should be done. Valerie Cherish will make you cringe, laugh and, here's what makes Kudrow's performance really superb, you'll also feel desperately sorry for her.Along with Kudrow, the camera style of "The Comeback" is what makes it so funny and entertaining. There's something continually funny about seeing the reality show's Producer dip in and out of frame and ask Valerie pressing questions off camera; as she's stitching poor Valerie up like a kipper whilst making her a laughing stock. The constant parodies of current American Reality shows are great, especially because they expose the entire premise of Reality TV to be complete garbage. The world of network sitcom is also taunted throughout the series. Even the fake sitcom's name - 'Room and Bored' - is so awful that you can imagine seeing it pop up in next week's TV Guide.If you're a Film or Television producer, you'll find endless humour at the sight of camera crew's bashing through doors and falling down stairs to keep up with the 'star'. There is definitely a perverse pleasure to be had, for those in the business, to see a crew struggle with those irritating logistical problems that you've faced before and will no doubt face again on the next shoot. Laura Silverman, by the way, is excellent as the mild-mannered, but totally ruthless, Reality Show Producer who you'll want to work on your next production! She's completely believable."The Comeback" is an outstanding comedy series that ended well before it's time. For those in Film and Television, especially, it offers an entire new level of humour that has rarely been shown before. The writing is great, the performances stellar, and the idea actually very novel; although it might not seem so at first glance. Without a doubt, this is a must-see series that I can't recommend highly enough.
HoldenSpark
You feel bored at first. You're kind of embarrassed for Lisa Kudrew at first. Don't we all feel on some level that she's somebody we already know and love and sort of our friend because we've all had that great experience watching her as an equal and vital part of "Friends"?At first you kind of just feel weird about "The Comeback". And there's all this kind of stuff that isn't exactly groundbreaking, and the first episode you see, regardless of which of the first 12 episodes you happen to watch as the initial episode that you watch will probably leave you thinking, why in the world would I (me, now, this guy who's writing all for you to read) tell you that any episode you pick up first will leave you feeling bored. Thats not a very good way to start a review, is it? And yet..., and yet...I missed the original airing of this series and happened across all 13 being offered "on demand" on HBO cable his past weekend (april 2007) and never having heard of it noticed it had Lisa K. and thought I'd watch it just cause of that. I watched episode six first. And was kinda bored. And just though, oh, uh, whatever. So, watched something else next that day. But, then it was a slow TV day and it was cold outside and I flipped around and nothing else was one so I came back to this and just jumped ahead to the last one, #13 thinking that, well, even if it was boring at least I'd know what a happened, as it did kinda make me wonder, as boring as it was....Then I watched the last episode (#13) as the second one in this series I watched. And I was drawn in a little more, cause there are some really awful feelings that come out during the episode which I felt really strangely and really deeply cause I didn't know what was going on. But I kinda sorta did. And I felt kind of embarrassed for them all. But I couldn't help noticing how deeply this stored bored into me in that episode, on a level that was unusual, especially given its (still, to me) tepid nature. Albeit episode #13 did give a decent payoff.So, I decided to watch another episode and thought I'd better just watch the episode before episode #13, in case they were all boring and this was the best it was going to get. So I watched #12. And was stunned to find myself being drawn in a little more. And so I kind of wanted to watch #11 by then as I decided I'd just count down backwards.And, as I did, I began to "get it". And I began to understand what they were doing, and how incredible Lisa Kudrow was actually being, in this remarkable achievement. And each time I dropped back an episode I became more and more increduleious at how they had and were and did and were still doing, turning all this boring stuff into something incredible. And as the episodes rolled backwards I actually changed over from being bored to being totally engrossed and I began to laugh out loud once I began to "get it". And I started to actually tear up a little, and I begin to understand that somehow, show how, from the seemingly dull and boring and slow and kind of mindless they were being more than just the obviously wickedness they were also being after you got past the idea it was boring, and I realized they were creating something much much more, they looked into this woman's soul and they had found not only her, the characters humanity, but all of the cast were actually being all they could be in these roles and building a platform upon which Lisa Kudrow stood and then she delivered something worthy of all the effort it took to hold her up there, she did them, the cast holding her up there, justice, and she did us, the audience, justice, and she did her own self justice, and she did the character justice, and she did justice even to her old cast mates in Friends, and she brought honor even upon her own family, for this is something they could be proud of from her in a way that is universal. For, in fact, she brought humanity to this woman, the real humanity of exactly how this woman would live in our world as it is today. Lisa portrayed, in this character, life as it really is. No matter who you are or what you do, most people, when it comes down to it, deep inside have the same fears and hopes and dreams and ways of getting along in the world but still wanting what ever it is you want.By the time I'd come to the end I was enormously sad that this was all there would ever be of this series and that I would never again be able to have the joy of seeing it all for the first time. And I'm so glad I watched it in the way I did, for it was the best way to see it.Though there will not be more episodes, its okay. For this series, these 13 episodes comprise a masterpiece. It is the Citizen Kane of the work of our generation of storytelling. I predict that over time it will rise in esteem as "Its a Wonderful Life" did. The Comeback is just as good and worthy.I hope you "get it". I sure did.
