Hung And Nurse Jackie: Shows We’ll Warily Watch
So who watched the Hung premiere? HBO’s latest installment in its string of series depicting lives lived on the fringes of America is about a well-endowed gym teacher who becomes a gigolo to earn some extra cash. It was… good?
Video clip probably NSFW, BTW!
It’s so hard to tell about the general quality of the show, glamoured so as we were by director Alexander Payne’s reliably gentle/tough hand and Jane Adams, as Thomas Jane’s pimp, who is one of Hollywood’s most criminally underused actors. She gave a fine, nuanced, weird performance last night—spanning from sexual ecstasy to untethered artist sadness to hard-minded pragmatist with natural ease. And Payne’s details—his close-ups, his visual aesthetic that’s both warm and chilly—provided such a lovely backdrop for this kind of pleasingly lived-in acting.
But Thomas Jane? Hm. He’s always been such a conundrum. He was maybe going to break out and be big after The Sweetest Thing and The Punisher and then it just fizzled into nowhere. And he’s got that curious face, that bashed-up maybe-handsome, maybe-too-unfocused set of features that can be manly and attractive one minute, and then sort of sad and grizzled the next. It works mostly to his favour, we think, in the role of Ray Drecker, a washed-up high school coach who, in his youth, had a string of opportunities that never panned out (hey… sounds familiar!). Anne Heche ably plays his angry, moved-on wife in a part that could either stay shrill or round out to something unlikable, sure, but undeniably compelling in its true-to-life humanity (see: Nikki Grant on Big Love).
So we like it OK. But we’re definitely not in love. We’re trying to remember the last time a TV pilot grabbed us and demanded further viewing. Didn’t happen for True Blood or, hell, even Big Love. What about over on Showtime? We’re sorta liking Nurse Jackie, but it’s really only for the same reason as Hung: a wonderful performance by a lead actress amid a sea of other, murkier things. In the case of Nurse Jackie: What the hell were they thinking casting that guy as Jackie’s husband? He’s like twenty years younger and belongs in some indie about softly strumming guitars in a sparsely-furnished New York apartment, not playing the borough-dwelling owner of a local dive bar. Also, Anna Deavere Smith is sort of embarrassing herself with jokey-joke cameos as a stern hospital administrator. And while Eve Best is a terrific actress, we’re not sure that her hyperbolic character—bitchy blase rich Englishwoman doctor with a boatload of Blahniks but no love for children—belongs alongside Falco’s more dependably “real” Jackie.
Both of these shows have promise, and we’ll stick with them, but we’re disappointed that we’re not more excited. Not everything can be The Sopranos or Mad Men where we’re hooked like suckers from the very beginning, but watching a show out of duty or some pretentious high-minded ideal that this is Good Television starts to feel like work after a while.
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@LeeroySpitzer: I agree the kids give it realism, it's a commentary on the rapidly expanding waistlines of youth in Michigan and elsewhere; Gossipgirl bods are pretty rare. I simply cannot stand Tom Jane's neverending voice-overs though, he's trying too hard. Hopefully they cut that down in future episodes.
@GreatOdensRaven: Oh man that show HAD SO MUCH PROMISE. And then it just wused out.
@mr_mr: yeah, all straight males totally love Entourage, brah!
That show is unwatchable. I only watched as many episode as I did until I figured out the writer's weren't likely to give Turtle a shocking aneurysm or have him be hit by a falling Soviet satellite.
LBJeffries
Anyone who has worked at a hospital will crack up and get a lump in their throat watching Nurse Jackie. Also, Edie Falco is a national treasure.
@+ Watch video
nycheartbreaker
Strange as it may sound, my life is so interesting I have only watched television sporadically in the last 20 years, and went to the movies once in the last 8 years. I saw "The Departed", and aside from Nicholson and Baldwin's performances, I disliked the film and wrote-off Scorcese for good. This despite my mom being his mother's next door neighbor on Elizabeth St. 85 years ago. P.S... there is no such thing as a "hipster" in Williamsburg.
@Aethyr: R.O.A.C.H.: The ugly kids give it a sense of realism. I think somebody might have some "size" issues.
@nonce: Jane Adams was the only reason I tried to watch the pilot, and I couldn't get through enough of it to even see her. I endured Thomas Jane overacting clunky, try-too-hard dialogue for about 5 hours (and what was with the amateurish, inconsistently artsy editing?) before I finally broke down and feebly clicked off the television, defeated. I think nutsy Anne Heche was screaming at me at one point before my body surrendered. So was there at least a cock shot? If so, was it more sexy or less sexy than my dad farting in the shower?
@EleanorRigby: It's the "Too Big to Fit in Here!" scene that always gets me.
@ae38: I agree. The Riches was my favorite program last year and I was gutted that they never got to finish the second season. I wasn't overly impressed by Hung, but I am confident that the storyline will work itself up into a slow boil. You can't expect to care about the characters at the end of a pilot episode. I remember I was initially ambivalent about SFU as well.
@Nic Fit: I couldn't agree with you more. And yet the hype machine is conspicuously silent when it comes to promoting this show. It's just as well, the death of true creativity is often popularity.
i'm suspicious of your reporting on this show because i've noticed their advertisements on gawker and they are paying you guys
ClaraAphaea
I've always thought Thomas Jane, and while I LOVE LOVE LOVE The Sweetest Thing, he's never come across as very good actor. More or less, he seems to be trying to hard.
I still like to look at him tho
@dippitydoo: Holy crap. You're right.
@inthesticks: It was. Then something suddenly changed, though I know not what. These things are deep mysteries; do not inquire too deeply into this completely inexplicable matter.
@GreatOdensRaven: Easy Money. I still am not over the fact that it was canceled.
TallulahSkankhead
But...but...wait! The word on Bloodcopy was that True Blood was awesome!!!! I'm confused...
I liked Hung. But then again, I was one of the few who enjoyed Dmitry Lipkin's previous work with The Riches. This show seems similarly paced and sometimes I just want a story that can build and provide some entertainment as opposed to something that is the BEST OF ALL TIMES...or whatever.
ae38
@Voyou_Charmant: i thought his son kinda looked like the older brother in 'family guy'.
@hypocriteoath: Seriously? you must not be a straight male. I'll admit part of seasons 3/4 were a bit rough, but overall that show is pretty fun to watch. Then again, its possible I just like seeing boobies outside of strip clubs.
mr_mr
@chiken: Er, that's what she said.
You know the actor who plays Edie Falco's husband is only 6 years younger than her, right? 1969, 1963. We're just not used to seeing that totally normal age difference in Hollywood unless the genders are toggled, in which case it doesn't even merit observation.
I think Nurse Jackie is great. Good development of characters, and it seems like real people. Making faces, not afraid to look unpretty, kindof gritty, and it's fun to watch Jackie live out her dual lives.
It's honestly my new favorite show.
laughingweek
@Voyou_Charmant: Well hello there hunnie!
I think Hung could develop into a good show if given enough time. It's a grower, not a shower, if you will.
Dismissing a show on its pilot alone is too hasty. I thought True Blood was just plain stupid based on the just the first episode, but it has now become one of my favorite shows on TV, right up there with Mad Men.
We're trying to remember the last time a TV pilot grabbed us and demanded further viewing.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Boy, did I learn my lesson...
@Macloserboy: Excellent calls both. The Skeet Ulrich:Johnny Depp of the next generation.
DahlELama
@DaveCrabtree: Oh God, I laughed at that so hard. She can say that kind of incredulous statement better than anyone.
Scenes like that give me hope that this series will strengthen the weak spots before too long.
JerseyCurl
@mr_mr: I would rather throw my television out of the window before watching ONE more episode of Entourage... let alone RERUNS! didn't that show run its course about 1.5 seasons in?
@TrinaFazool: 2:25 PM "watching a show out of duty...starts to feel like work." especially when it actually is work!
@Macloserboy:
Was Aaron Eckhart in Arrested Development? ("I just want my kids back!") No. Point: Jane.
Where do you stand on the Dermot Mulroney / Dylan McDermott issue?
(I do like your comparisons, though.)
j.blo
@JerseyCurl: I also would watch Edie Falco fold laundry, but I couldn't watch her in those maudlin scenes with Eli Wallach dying while his wife feeds him chicken soup. I was screaming at the TV "Edie, you're so much better than this shit."
She made it up to me later, though, when she said "Are you fucking serious?" to the woman who wondered if the cab was available.
Mostly agreed.
It's hard to judge a series by its pilot: too much exposition. But the big question mark over Hung is Thomas Jane. I kept wanting to see Patrick Wilson instead. But I'll give it another try or two.
Edie Falco's is the best performance on TV right now, IMO. But you're right about the husband, except that, if I'm going to identify with Jackie's foibles, I might as well get to identify with sleeping with Mr. Hotness. I think the bitch doctor is supposed to be Samantha from Sex & the City, which isn't a good fit. But Merritt Wever rocks. And Peter Facinelli adds something.
@EleanorRigby: Me too. Every single time it's on. "Oh that is the sweetest thing!"
I tell you what happened to Thomas Jane's career: Aaron Eckhart. He's Thomas Jane done right and what's funny is that they've made at least two films together, which probably worked out better for Eckhart than Jane (clearly), because once you've seen one you're not that thrilled with the other. He is to Eckhart what Josh Lucas is to Matthew McConughey.
Didn't Hung bill itself as a comedy?
The Honey and I were watching the gloomy pans across the trophies and all the other memorabilia while the fire raged and said, "That's not... funny."
@nonce: Indeed. She won me over in An Inspector Calls on Broadway 15 years ago.
However, I really didn't warm up to Hung. It's just a low-rent guy version of Weeds, substituting sperm for pot. What humor there was in the pilot was too black for my Sunday night tastes. I think I'm gonna pass.
I'm giving Nurse Jackie a longer leash. I agree with your assessments of the side characters, but a lot of good shows had to go through a first-season shakedown before hitting their strides.
The actor who plays the husband is only 6 years younger than Edie Falco, not even close to 20. I agree they don't seem to go together agewise, but I wonder if that's because women who are younger than the husbands are usually cast?
chiken
Did anyone else notice that Great Gatsbian green light at the opposite end of the lake, as lost Ray Drecker considered life's empty, unfulfilled promise? I couldn't help but laugh at that shit. I'm not reading into this, right? It was exactly that.
I liked Hung. I think the point of the kids is that they're polar opposites of the father. I've known plenty of jocks who went on to breed pasty-white fat kids.
I think the show has great potential. Adams and Jane were great. I love Jane and have never understood why he doesn't get more leads. I think this show could erect his career into something bigger.
Hope Davis and Jane Adams are class acts.
Borromeo
@Nic Fit: Sigh. I wish they would remake the Scarecrow & Mrs. King.
Why is there always an "Englishwoman" intergrated into each one of Showtimes shows? Dexter's English girfriend was the WORST.
ThaLza
@BBooms: I'm watching season 4 right now and I don't get it. Seriously. Why the hell is Nancy even doing anything? I literally don't have a clue.
@MissVero: Oh, hello from Vero, MissVero.
Now that Breaking Bad is on hiatus, we have Mad Men to look forward to! Not feeling Hung or Nurse Jackie.
@Voyou_Charmant: though should be through***** Edit button please!
I watched Hung and wasn't impressed (hehe). It was rather slow moving and what is the deal with his kids? How did those two kids come from him and his wife? I don't get it. Can't wait for the episode when his ex-wife "accidentally" answers one of his ads- ha!
Will give one more episode a shot, but would rather watch reruns of Entourage/Eastbound and Down at this point.
mr_mr
Hung was not so good. I turned it off half way though.
1) Self loathing womanizer with a dry sarcastic wit. An attractive ex who is with a douch-y but nice guy who is financially stable..... I already own Californication.
2) I just don't care about his predicament. He's in a bad way because he forgot to pay his homeowners insurance so he wasn't covered when the fire hit, the solution is next dore; his neighbor wants to buy his house (more specifically his property) for (according to the dialog) a fair price but because he is stubbornly holding on to his parents home (that he nearly burned down), he wont sell it and is continuing to keep himself in this situation. Sell the house, move to a place you can afford and move-the fuck-on.
3) His ugly ginger kids. Christ almighty, I know this is superficial but those two could not have come from the people playing their parents, not even in movie world.
His son looks like someone put make up on an overweight black guy to make him look white. His daughter is one of 983746509823746340956 overweight "goth" girls who are loitering outside of Hot Topic right this second.
4) It's just not terribly entertaining. Those three issues aside, the show just didn't hold my attention. Everything was so forced and contrived. It felt more uncomfortable than entertaining.
@Mosesnoses: It doesn't get any deeper in subsequent episodes, trust me.
In fact the random introduction of the aforementioned husband just complicates what I thought was the "House RN" concept. She's not supposed to have a family/anyone else she cares about, dammit.
@misslinda: Yeah, I couldn't even get through the pilot.
@daveyjonesisdead: Season 4 was bad, but I'm liking the new season. The show is so fucking dark now, it's kind of awesome.
Still the best of these type of shows: Breaking Bad. By a longshot.
I agree about the husband in "Nurse Jackie" -- good actor, wrong role. Other than that, I like the show. But I would watch Edie Falco fold laundry, so take that for what it's worth.
I'm glad they seem to be refining Peter Facinelli's character. That little tick they gave him in the first episode, where he grabs women inappropriately when he's nervous, was just stupid.
JerseyCurl
@lazereyes:
i thought he looked like the lovechild of fred armisen and kelly osbourne.
loosecanon
Its nice to see ugly betty still getting work, this time as the 'goth-son' in hung...
@Nic Fit: Wouldn't that be crazy???
I crossed Nurse Jackie off of my list. I just wasn't interested in learning more about the characters. Nurse Jackie was mildly interesting, but the rest of the group, blech. They're walking talking stereotypes that sound routine on paper and even thinner on the tee vee. Instead, I will patiently wait for my beloved Mad Men to return. Dreamy, dreamy Mad Men...
They should do a show about a seemingly normal suburban-ish person/family with one very strange secret and the unusual encounters involved in trying to live a double life.
Hung made me realize what my winning tool is. PM for pix. LONG ISLAND - FAIR PRICING - BIG DONNY
i'm just happy to see that Banyan is working again.
loosecanon
Jane's wife of a few years (and which started with a carriage ride) was Mrs. Dubois. It's another sad ending for the man of missed opportunities.
Spot on - the casting of the Nurse Jackie hubby - wrong.
Pleasant guy to look at and probably a fine actor, but just doesn't gel with Falco.
Hung? The jury's still out - or should I say - hung?
I would have wathced Nurse Jackie until Edie Falco decided to get involved in the polotics of health care because she plays a nurse on TV. Either that or I keep seeing Carmela Soprano and it throws me off.
uncivily obedient
"watching a show out of duty...starts to feel like work." Great observation. The pressure to watch because friends or co-workers do or because there's buzz feels like running a hamster wheel. Just because such-and-such is a good show doesn't mean you have to watch it. When all's said and done, you're not missing a thing.
TrinaFazool
@choinski: Weeds blew it, in my mind. They were totally placed to comment on the housing foreclosure crisis, the economy, etc., but instead veered into a crime fantasyland. A big miss.
daveyjonesisdead
That's where Thomas Jane is from! Damn you for keeping me on my couch on Saturday afternoons whenever you are on, The Sweetest Thing. I blame Jason Bateman's presence as the brother.
I thought the same thing about the casting of the husband. Totally off.
GypsyStrats
My impression, having watched exactly one episode of Nurse Jackie and Hung, is that they come out of what sounds like a really good pitch idea (i.e. Nurse Ratched meets Carmella Soprano) rather than a fully fleshed out, sustainable concept.
Mosesnoses
I suspect like many many many beloved series, the first episode will in no way resemble what it evelves into. (Weeds, anyone?).
choinski
Manifold kudos on avoiding the low hanging fruit of little pricks / monster dicks .
Awesome. I will watch anything with Jane Adams in it, no matter what.