On the fourth night of Austin’s SXSW Film Festival, fans got their first look at the wholly weird and strange and sad and rageful new Jody Hill (The Foot Fist Way) movie Observe and Report. Seth Rogen plays a bipolar mall cop, but his illness thankfully isn’t employed as an easy joke. He’s just a deeply odd dude with an inflated sense of importance, a crew of sweet underlings, and an alcoholic kindly wreck of a mom at home. (The Austin crowd loved it. Not all crowds will. It’s weird. Paul Blart would probably walk out of this movie.)
The first question during the Q&A after the screening was not about the flaccid penis (not Rogen’s, incidentally) that played a pivotal role in the film’s climax, or the bizarre fact that mainstream Warner Bros. allowed such a dark comedy onto their plate, or the arguments that must have gone down during post-production over scenes that were just too troubling to stay put. No, the first question was some earnest idiot who stood up and wondered about the possibility of a Freaks and Geeks movie. Incidentally, at the previous Friday’s screening of I Love You, Man the actress Jamie Pressly was cut off while trying to answer a question about improvisation by a similarly hopeful young fellow who hollered out to Jason Segel about the need for a reunion.
Now I watched that entire series in one delirious sitting, breaking only to pee and drink, pee and drink. Linda Cardellini was like a much cooler version of my childhood idol Jo from The Facts of Life. But all you freaks and geeks out there aren’t helping your cause by acting goofy. Speaking today about Freaks fans’ sometimes inappropriately timed bursts of devotion, Rogen expressed amused patience. "It’s nice, it’s nice," he said. "I’m sure they’ll keep asking. And the fact that they’re doing an Arrested Development reunion movie doesn’t help us. They’ve given people hope!" Alas, no plans are in the works as of now. So we all might as well start trying to enjoy the actual entertainment in front of us. And when a lady is talking, don’t interrupt!
What do you think? Do you think the guy who asked the Freaks question was a champion or a boob? What pop culture favorite can you not let go of? For my ladies, did you too try to make two mini ponytails converge into one larger ponytail a la Jo when you were growing up?
As our own
Bravo’s Real Housewives Hydra has sprouted another head. In Jersey! The Real Housewives of New Jersey, will be coming to a DVR near you starting May 12. Is there something a little culturally tone-deaf about the conspicuous, competitive wealth the Real Housewives franchise embodies? Ha ha, just kidding — cat fight!
A glorious day has arrived, PopWatchers: Designing Women is finally coming to DVD. Shout! Factory announced yesterday that it’ll release the 21 episodes of the first season — with an extra reunion special featuring stars Delta Burke, Dixie Carter, Annie Potts, Jean Smart, as well as series creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason — on May 26. Until now you’d only been able to catch the fabulous interior decorating fivesome from the late ’80s/early ’90s in reruns. (Yes, we’re counting Anthony Bouvier as one of the five. Bernice, not so much.) In honor of this amazing news, I’m offering up three reasons you should be excited:
Last night on the Real Housewives…the limping publishing industry collapsed in on itself. Bethenny has her book deal. (Okay, that one we might actually buy.) The Countess LuAnn is tapping away in some luxe garret about the importance of wearing head scarves and not looking royalty in the gilded eye. And now it’s been revealed that Simon and Alex are writing a book about toddler-rearing in the city. Cut to a clip of Francois screaming his head off. Soon I expect news of Jill’s tome on the necessity of every spoiled woman having a gay best friend. (Though she’ll have to ditch annoying Brad for the book tour. He bugs.) And Ramona can do a calisthenics book or something similarly thoughtful, because Ramona suddenly cannot stomach shallow people. Ramona, whose main story line this episode involved shopping for ankle boots, likes people of substance. Ramona might need someone to toss a glass of substance in her face.
