David Duchovny as the writer delivers a turn so listless and bland, you want to goose him with a cattle prod.
The TV Set (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:73
Fresh:47
Rotten:26
Average Rating:6.3/10
Consensus: Offering both broad and insider jokes, The TV Set is a sharp satire that will please both the average moviegoers and pop culture aficionados.
Runtime: 87 mins
Genre: Television
Synopsis: Go to any bar in Hollywood and you're sure to find a hard-done-by writer who is drowning his or her sorrows after being chewed up and spat out by the network television system. In THE TV SET, Mike... Go to any bar in Hollywood and you're sure to find a hard-done-by writer who is drowning his or her sorrows after being chewed up and spat out by the network television system. In THE TV SET, Mike Klein (David Duchovny) seems set to join them. Klein's script for a TV show called THE WEXLER CHRONICLES was inspired by his brother's suicide, and is very close to his heart. After selling the script to PDN, who are headed by a fearsome executive simply known as Lenny (Sigourney Weaver), Klein watches as everything from the casting to the production goes horribly wrong. Klein has one buddy at the network, a Brit named Richard McCallister. McCallister's former position at the BBC leads Klein to believe that some quality control will be exerted over his project, and hopes McCallister will pull it out of the mire of mundanity that PDN thrives on. But he's very, very wrong, and as Klein's dream turns into dust--the show barely resembles anything he wrote--his health takes a turn for the worse and he enters mid-life-crisis mode. Duchovny and Weaver are outstanding in their roles, adding just the right balance of humor and anger to their characters. THE TV SET is ostensibly a comedy, but may make for painful viewing for anyone involved in the industry, or anyone who hates seeing dreams shattered. But director Jake Kasdan (ZERO EFFECT) manages to add a large dose of absurdity to the proceedings, saving it from being too depressing, and making many of the scenes a genuine hoot. [More]
Starring: David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Judy Greer
Starring: David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Judy Greer, Fran Kranz, Lindsay Sloane, Lucy Davis, Willie Garson, Justine Bateman
Director: Jake Kasdan
Director: Jake Kasdan
Screenwriter: Jake Kasdan
Producer: Aaron Ryder
Composer: Michael Andrews
Studio: ThinkFilm
Reviews for The TV Set
... a pointed satire of the dumbing down of network TV with a sour tone and a broad execution.
A mostly lightweight endeavor that never builds any genuine emotional traction. And you have to wonder if it's just a little too 'inside' to resonate with a sizable audience.
Not a backstage film for the ages, but it manages to be a bit more useful than the vast bulk of its stablemates.
A clever satire on the dynamics of prime-time television in America with its sleazy programs and its slavery to ratings and ad dollars.
Kasdan wisely doesn't make this about the big, bad bosses vs. the creative geniuses who won't compromise. It's a well-balanced look at a process, which, from the outside seems arbitrary and convoluted, but from the inside makes sense.
Yes, it’s funny because it’s true. But it’s also sad for just the same reason.
if Kasdan's point was to use the film as metaphor, its attitude towards the audience is spiteful at best
Kasdan has the narrative vision (and the b*lls) to let most of the fun derive from what isn’t there rather than what is.
The satire is unrelenting but not too broad; it stays close to common observation.
It’s deftly calibrated and acted with relish: [writer-director] Kasdan is really good!
David Duchovny, Justine Bateman, Ioan Gruffudd and Sigourney Weaver star in this biting look at the creatively draining world of TV sitcom production.
At its best, The TV Set is wry and even laugh-out-loud funny about the messy tangle of art, commerce and family, as talented creative types try to stay true to themselves and put food on the table.
A facile but likable send-up of how things (don't) work in Hollywood.
Much like the television pilot it revolves around, the pale satire The TV Set doesn't quite know what it wants to be.
What with its utter lack of passion, it's difficult to say if the film wants to be taken as satire, but if it does then this one counts as a toothless dog.
It gets high ratings for razor sharp writing and direction as well as a wonderful ensemble cast delivering terrific performances.
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