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Friday, March 25, 2005
The American Office
Watched the American version of The Office last night. It was good...
But not as good as the original.
Which everyone's anticipated and said. The cast is great, but the only one who's as good as the original cast is the person playing the receptionist. She's a perfect mix of restrained frustration and anger and exasperation - perhaps even more so than the original, actually.
Oddly, the character I miss most is the psychotic lackey - assistant to the regional manager guy - who was so much funnier than the guy in the American version, who seems more Office Space than Office. There was a kind of shameless violation of borders that was the most surreal - and at times, funniest - aspect of some episodes.
That said, the sneak peek at a future episodes was hilarious, involving as it did a political correctness workshop. Asked to roleplay different ethnicities with index cards they have to wear on their foreheads, a black man has an index card that reads "Black". Steve Carrell greets an Indian woman with an offensive Indian stereotype, only to be clocked by that woman. This was appallingly offensive and I couldn't stop laughing. Thankfully, the show recreates the original version's pilot but will be veering off in their own direction afterwards. With any luck, that'll mean broader humor that better suits the cast, especially Carrell. He can't do the quiet moments the way Ricky Gervais did, and so why make him do it? He's good at what he does and should be allowed to do it in his own way.
However. The show's regular time slot is Tuesday, and I've already got four hour-long shows to watch. A half-hour sitcom will be hard to fit in.
Unless, of course, the humor becomes more offensive.
But not as good as the original.
Which everyone's anticipated and said. The cast is great, but the only one who's as good as the original cast is the person playing the receptionist. She's a perfect mix of restrained frustration and anger and exasperation - perhaps even more so than the original, actually.
Oddly, the character I miss most is the psychotic lackey - assistant to the regional manager guy - who was so much funnier than the guy in the American version, who seems more Office Space than Office. There was a kind of shameless violation of borders that was the most surreal - and at times, funniest - aspect of some episodes.
That said, the sneak peek at a future episodes was hilarious, involving as it did a political correctness workshop. Asked to roleplay different ethnicities with index cards they have to wear on their foreheads, a black man has an index card that reads "Black". Steve Carrell greets an Indian woman with an offensive Indian stereotype, only to be clocked by that woman. This was appallingly offensive and I couldn't stop laughing. Thankfully, the show recreates the original version's pilot but will be veering off in their own direction afterwards. With any luck, that'll mean broader humor that better suits the cast, especially Carrell. He can't do the quiet moments the way Ricky Gervais did, and so why make him do it? He's good at what he does and should be allowed to do it in his own way.
However. The show's regular time slot is Tuesday, and I've already got four hour-long shows to watch. A half-hour sitcom will be hard to fit in.
Unless, of course, the humor becomes more offensive.
