I thought this film was okay, but not great.
Certainly, it is a topic that can be mined for great comedy and social commentary. How does Hollywood, which has so many talented people in it, churn out such crap to put into our living rooms every night?
I think the producers here try to give us a behind the curtain look at that, but they don't really hit it with the edge that they could hit it with.
The plot is that Duchovny's character is a writer who creates a show about a lawyer who is touched by the death of his brother by suicide, and slowly watches as his original concept is bastardized by network executives. Network meddling turns a neat idea into a farce. First, they put in an actor the creator doesn't want, and his inadequacy ruins much of the chemistry. Then they change the premise, and finally the title.
The movie ends abruptly as the main character watches a clip for a show that looks nothing like his original idea.
It works on some levels, but on others, it kind of falls flat.
Sigourny Weaver is brilliant. Duchovny just doesn't work well in this role. You are supposed to get the idea of a man who makes Faustian bargains to get his vision on the air, and then has his vision destroyed. Duchovny's character never really expresses his passion for his original concept, so you don't care all that much when Weaver's character steamrollers him.
I find this interesting, because no doubt they cast Duchovny because of his name recognition. The premise is how a TV show can be ruined by bad casting when this movie was ruined by bad casting.
