The Good
Jay Mohr is brilliantly cast in a show that spares no one as it sends up the film industry.
The Bad
Nothing.
While it might be easy to scoff at Action: The Complete Series as a legitimate skewering of the film business (simply because it is served up to us by none other than Joel Silver), one would also be missing the truths and ideas that this show inevitable serves up. Jay Mohr is never better as Peter Dragon, a bigshot producer who is in desperate need of a hit after his recent big budget film tanked at the box office. He gets this help in the form of Illeana Douglas, Buddy Hackett and a host of other actors that serve as Dragon’s sounding board. Not that a person of Dragon’s dubious character actually talks to these people, he spends more time yelling and screaming then waits for them react.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
It is sad that Action: The Complete Series wasn’t given more of a chance. The writing was sharp, the action spot on and the storylines unbelievable. That fact that many of them were based in reality make this show all the more appealing.
Features
These are commentary tracks by the writers, filmmakers, actors and other creative types on this show. They are for the episodes “One Easy Piece,” “Love Sucks” and “Dead Man Floating.” At first, with all the people involved I thought it was going to be a nightmare trying to hear everybody. Then surprisingly, I realized that the opposite effect was happening. Since there were so many people there, these commentary tracks were given to uncomfortable silences as it seemed nobody knew what to say.
Getting Into The Action
An interesting “Making Of” featurette in which we get to hear from Joel Silver, writers Don Reo and Matt Silverstein among others. They talk about the creation of the show, how it ended up being on Fox and how ultimately Action only had a 13 episode run. Nothing too special here, but this show’s history could have made a great episode for this show.
Trust Me: Useful Words and Phrases Every Producer Must Know
This is a simple bonus feature in which we have a Blackberry that lists out a word or phrase from the industry. We use our DVD player’s remote to click on the screen, and we are then given a definition of that word in the form of a scene from the show. Not the most innovative bonus feature, but it does get the point across.
Video
1.33:1 - Full Screen. Stylistically, I would have thought a show from Joel Silver would have been a bit more dynamic in this department. Had the show been on HBO (as it was originally supposed to have been), maybe this would have been the case. As it was on network TV, we are treated to a normally lit television show that has just enough camera angles to keep us interested.
Audio
English Stereo - Close Captioned. This show is the perfect vehicle for Jay Mohr’s sense of humor. Also, since many of the jokes he tells are done as almost “asides” to the situation at hand, the uninitiated might not see the humor at first. Also, as this show is devoid of a laugh track, it makes the humor that much more cerebral. However, what’s funny (or what is supposed to be funny) is clearly spelled out and defined. Nothing about this show’s audio design gets in the way of that.
Package
Jay Mohr, Illeana Douglas and Buddy Hackett grace this front cover with the glitz of Hollywood behind them. The back gives us some more promo type shots from the show (as well as one shot that’s actually from the show), a description of Action: The Complete Series, a “Special Features” listing and some technical specs. All thirteen episodes are on two DVDs, that each get their own tray in this normal amaray case. Solid packaging that if priced correctly, could sell very well and even create a cult following for this show.
Final Word
When is Jay Mohr going to get to the Chris Rock level? He is an actor who seems like he’s had a bunch of different careers ever since he made himself known to me in Jerry Maguire. He’s hosted comedy shows, filled in for Jim Rome on his sports radio show and who knows what else. I think it’s time this actor/comedienne really started to focus on his comedy. By this I mean, Mohr obviously has a biting take on the world. He is someone who can take this mess we call our lives and make us laugh at it in ways we probably wouldn’t otherwise.
I know it’s going to happen for him, either by attrition or performance, Mohr is going to rise above his current standing. If nothing else, Action: The Complete Series shows us this.
Action was released .
