27 November 2008 1:36 AM, PST | From Studio Briefing - Film News | See recent Studio Briefing - Film News news
Rosie O'Donnell's effort to revive the live variety format on TV Wednesday night was pilloried by critics today (Thursday). Perhaps the mildest comment came from Alessandra Stanley in the New York Times, who wrote, "Ms. O'Donnell can be very funny, but she didn't try very hard Wednesday night." Mary McNamara in the Los Angeles Times was tougher, concluding: "O'Donnell was clearly attempting to recapture the uplifting unapologetic wonder of the big Broadway musical and the television variety show. But having a bunch of talented guests does not a terrific show make -- you have to actually give them something interesting to do. Otherwise you're left with, well, a rubber turkey." In the Hartford Courant, Roger Catlin wrote, "It was tough to put a finger on exactly what was going on. ... There was not a single well honed sketch." Tim Graham of the conservative Media Research Center, posted a review on the NewsMax website complaining that O'Donnell did not keep her vow to keep politics out of the show. Moreover, he wrote, "The show was supposed to be some nostalgic version of an old-time variety show, but it wasn't really for the family-hour set. O'Donnell began by repeatedly touching her breasts and making jokes about how her Spanx undergarments were holding her together. She also said 'dammit' in the first few minutes." And Matt Roush in TV Guide began his review by remarking, "If the TV variety format weren't already dead, the ghastly ego trip of NBC's Thanksgiving-eve turkey Rosie Live would surely have killed it."
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