Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List: season premiere
Kathy Griffin is back, or as I choose to call her now Emmy Girl. Yes, the Emmy is on full display. In your face, everyone, Kathy’s got an Emmy! Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List won the Emmy last year and if this first episode is a sample of what season four has in store, that Emmy is going to get a companion. This show is riotous. And irreverent and a perfect blend of comedy and celebrity reality which is really unreality because how many of us interact with Anderson Cooper and Michael Moore?
Kathy Griffin has found the perfect genre for her particular brand of comedy. A sitcom wouldn’t capture her true character, strict stand-up is not her best venue (although she’s gotten very good at it), and a talk show would force her to chat with others and appear interested. The My Life on the D-List format works for her and she’s found a way to incorporate stand up, situation comedy and guests into a reality hour that highlights her being funny. She has supporting players — Team Griffin, Jessica, Tiffany, Tom and Kathy’s adorable mom, Maggie — as her comic foils and partners in crime.
She has stars popping in as guests. She portends that this is reality, but it’s her reality, so that means showing her naked ambition to become a big star. Kathy, I hate to tell you this, honey, but you’ve succeeded. Thanks to your self-deprecating, ribald and outrageous humor and humanity, My Life on the D-List is now an oxymoron. You ain’t a D-Lister no more.
The season premiere started off with a bang as Kathy gets a plum gig, co-hosting New Year’s Eve in Times Square for CNN with Anderson Cooper. In typical Griffin fashion, she worries that her team will spend New Year’s drinking and cavorting, leaving her to fen for herself. When they come up with a drinking game — every time Kathy calls Anderson “Andy,” they down a shot — you know someone’s going to wind up puking. What was really interesting about this segment was that we glimpsed briefly that Ms. Griffin actually works at her craft; she writes material and studies it. Those witty retorts come from not just a quick mind and sharp tongue, but planning. Kudos, K. Kudos, too, for Andy Cooper. He came off looking like a good sport — which I think he is, and not just because he was nice to me when I interviewed him for TV Week. Great line, Kathy told her mother that Jessica was “Hurling in the new year.”
Kathy’s life now includes a new man, and what a man he is. Oh, he may look like just another average Joe, but he’s not. Steve Wozniak, or Woz as we like to call him, simply created the Apple Computer with Steve Jobs. Depending on whose history you believe, Woz was the brains and Jobs knew how to make things happen (he still does). But Woz is very sweet and it was hilarious when Kathy talked about how he can talk about the most complex topics and she just answers, “I concur.”
They go to the Producers Guild Awards, where My Life on the D-List is pitted against Planet Earth, 60 Minutes, and Extreme Home Makeover. Knowing she’s bound to lose to Planet Earth because Oprah endorsed it. The producer pays here a house call, fearing that Kathy will say something wrong at the event — she promises him that she will. I love when she said, “Is Oprah the new Scientology where people are so afraid of her that they could lose their livelihoods?”
The Woz thing is really funny, because he’s more of a star to some people than Kathy. At the PGA event, Michael Moore gushed over Woz’s contribution to the world. Woz’s response, “The world did some good things and I was just there for the ride.” Overall, though my favorite Kathy-Woz moment was in the car. He hacks into her IPhone — completely in his element. Kathy looks on adoringly. Her line says it all: “You really have an aptitude for this. You’re a throbbing brain with a tie.”
Like every My Life on the D-List, Kathy has filled it with jokes and gags. This is the kind of show to watch again and again — which is a good thing since Bravo will run it ad infinitum. I’ll be watching and re-watching. Welcome back, KG.
Other points of interest
— Kathy’s new fashion look is sexy socialite. Can she be “Sexy socialite every day of the year?”
— Her opening line to Anderson Cooper: “It’s such a treat for you to be here with me, Anderson.” Before the broadcast, he warned her that if she said anything outrageous on New Year’s Eve, there was no seven second delay. “If you say Suck It Jesus, it’s going out there worldwide.”
— When Planet Earth won, Kathy shoots the bird — with both hands. She complained loudly, “Oprah fucked me again!”
— While presenting American Idol creator Simon Fuller as the visionary of the year, she riffs on Paula, saying she was propped up like a puppet. Kathy also wonders what vision Simon Fuller had, remaking Star Search?
— Hilarious moment at the podium, a loud noise like a gun shot goes off. Kathy goes down as if she were shot. As Woz bends over her, she jokes, “Don’t ever make an Oprah joke. Those are my dying words.”
Arrested Development: The One Where Michael Leaves (season two premiere) - VIDEO
Do not adjust your web browser. You are now entering the Retro Squad, where we are reviewing past episodes of classic TV shows.
Here’s the rundown. Michael and his son leave for Phoenix. Well, not really. Michael needs money so he ends up going back to his old life at the model home in order to track down the company check book.
While Michael tries to do something productive, the rest of the siblings are into the usual mischief. When she and Tobias decide to explore an open relationship, Lindsay falls for a real estate agent. Tobias readies himself to join the Blue Man Group, excited at this new acting opportunity. GOB, who has been put in charge of the company, finds the contracts with Saddam Hussein but inadvertently gives them to his father who is dressed up like Oscar, George Sr.’s twin brother. Buster reconnects with Uncle Oscar but gets enlisted in the army by Lucille.
And at the end of the day, the Bluths realize they all need each other. If they didn’t, it wouldn’t be Arrested Development.
Why I Love This Episode:
This episode of AD was the first time I realized just how important having a DVR machine was. My favorite part is when GOB tells Michael about the contracts that he found that prove George, Sr. was making homes for Saddam and exonerates Michael. “Half in English, half in the squiggly,” GOB explains. My husband and I rewound that scene three times. I laughed out loud each time. And I might have peed a little in my pants. That’s not the first time I’ve admitted that. It’s all for the love of Arrested Development. Writing this got me wondering what other fans’ favorite moments are. If you have one, please leave it in the comments.
I have three other favorite parts. (One could even say they’re ’sub-favorites’ to the main favorite mention above.) The first is when “Michael Moore” stops Lucille and Buster while she’s going to meet GOB at the company. He asks her if she’d ever send her child to war. The look that she gives Buster is great. Later on, Buster complains that his mom sent him off to into combat because, “the fat man dared her to.”
Second, we have a classic Tobias scene. In an attempt to find something George Sr. might be hiding, Michael takes a sledge hammer to the walls of the model home. Behind that wall, is Tobias — painted completely blue. Turns out that while looking for a support group, Tobias found a Blue Man Group performance. Now, as with many of Tobias’s pursuits, he doesn’t have the gig quite yet. In fact, he’s yet to ask for an audition. He tells Michael, “Oh, no, no, I’m not in the group yet. I’m afraid I just blue myself.”
And third, I loved the scene where Lindsay meets up with her realtor lover at his open house. I watched the episode this weekend to write this article. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Ed Helms appear on screen. “It’s Andy!” I said. But that’s not why I loved the scene. Lindsay’s obliviousness is at its best in this episode. She misreads everything Andy, I mean, the realtor says to feed her own ego.
Of course, there’s always the little things. Here’s a few: the rape horn, the Uncle Sam outfit Annyong wears, George-Michael sitting on his father’s lap while driving, the eerie music every time Oscar Bluth says “father” in Buster’s presence, and Barry’s weird unknown diseases.
Best Lines of the Episode:
“Not a real nose. Got a picture of her when she was fourteen in a swimming cap. She looks like a falcon.” –Michael on his twin sister’s plastic surgery.
“Yeah, like anyone would want to ’R’ here.” –Buster on how his mother doesn’t need a rape horn
“Well, if it isn’t the boy who cried Phoenix.” –Lucille to Michael
“It seems as though I may have stumbled on an acting opportunity.” –Tobias
“As a member of the Blue Man Group?” –Michael
“No, you’re thinking of the support group. They’re called… the Blue Man Group.” –Tobias
Here’s the video of the episode. Enjoy!
Gotham Awards Draws Hollywood’s Best
Gotham Awards Draws Hollywood’s Best
Last night in New York City, the Independent Feature Project held the 17th annual Gotham Awards. The year’s best indie flicks were recognized, and plenty of stars showed up to see who won.
Hollywood hotties Maggie Gyllenhaal, Uma Thurman, and Keri Russell all showed up looking fine. And the men were no slouches, either. Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin represented the male gender with pride.
Who were the winners, you ask? Well, Sean Penn’s Film “Into The Wild” won the Best Feature Award, while Michael Moore’s “Sicko” took the honors for Best Documentary.
Don Cheadle’s “Talk to Me” tied with Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman’s “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead” for Best Ensemble Cast.
Renee Zellweger Schmoozes Up the Red Carpet
Renee Zellweger Schmoozes Up the Red Carpet
Things have been pretty quiet for her as of late, but last night, Renee Zellweger showed up looking fine at the 2008 Academy Awards.
The “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason” actress is looking quite svelte these days, and she proudly paraded her perfect figure outside the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California prior to attending the Oscars.
Miss Zellweger picked out a dazzling strapless sparkly silver evening gown, showing the world that at 38 years old, she’s sexier than ever.
And like the true Hollywood veteran that she is, Renee was spotted chatting up everyone from Johnny Depp to “Sicko” writer/director/producer Michael Moore.
Academy Awards To see the entire gallery from the 2008 Academy Awards (February 24) - !