The Return of Jezebel James (2008) User Reviews

Lorelai Lite (TM)

[rlurda · 5/10 · 17 March 2008]

I'm a huge fan of Gilmore Girls and a huge part of my fanship (fandom? I'm not sure how to verbinate "being a fan of") is the dialogue: quicked-witted and intensely smart, it appealed to me on a fairly deep level. More than that, there was a real sense of character to back up not only Lorelai and Rory that made them more than just cardboard cut-out clichés. There was heart as much as there was humor so naturally I expected to find the same things in Amy Sherman-Palladino's newest show. But as anyone can attest, you can give the likes of Shakespeare to an ill-equipped actor and it will come off as clumsy. Whether or not it's the fault of Amy having phoned in a script that seems like it was culled from dropped scripts of GG, the show just doesn't work. Fact of the matter is that Parker Posey is a horrible stand-in for Lauren Graham's comedic talents and Posey seems to be overacting the material in front of her when the brilliance of AS-P's writing is that the jokes work best when the only laughing is from the viewer and not the "live studio audience". The laugh track *kills* the humor in the show.

What's more is that the dynamic between Sarah (Posey) and her on-screen younger sister Coco feels like it was transplanted haphazardly from Gilmore Girls, with Coco acting the role of Rory. It's infuriating because it feels like AS-P got lazy and went for the cheap laugh. I rate this show poorly because I feel that Amy Sherman-Palladino had the chance to follow up the six years of Gilmore Girls she was present for with another hit and that instead she delivered a thinly veiled insult to television audiences en masse.

Jezebel James or Gilmore Girls?

[toony-3 · 6/10 · 22 March 2008]

While Gilmore Girls can never be beat, it's great that Amy Sherman Palladino is still making good t.v. shows. Obviously nothing tops Lorelei and Rory's incredible personalities, so Amy seems to have incorporated some of their quirks into the characters of 'The Return of Jezebel James'. There are many similarities in the characters and relationships to those in Gilmore Girls, starting even in the second episode with the fact that Sarah is crazy about Hello Kitty. Parker Posey even looks like Lorelei. Coco is very much a Rory to Sarah. Many of the lines and situations in 'Jezebel' could very easily have been in Gilmore Girls as well.The on screen chemistry looks slightly just like that; ON SCREEN. You can tell that they are acting, unlike in Gilmore Girls where the chemistry between all of the characters seems real. The worst thing about Palladino's new show is the laugh track. It kills anything funny! I'm sure that 'The Return of Jezebel James' would be a much better t.v. show without the uncomfortable fake laughter. It's just not 'Two and a Half Men'. 'Jezebel' is meant to be in the same style as Gilmore Girls, with the viewer's laughter only. Maybe the laugh track is there to try and separate Jezebel from the Gimore's. In summary: lose the laugh track. Over all, if 'The Return of Jezebel James' becomes better over the episodes, it may be a show worth watching every once in a while. Let's give it a chance.

Something's off

[curlydee26 · 5/10 · 20 March 2008]

I think that this show could be great. It just needs to slow down. Gilmore Girls had fast dialogue but the story lines were slowed down, more like how normal people interact. This is too sitcomy for me. I think this would be better as an hour long comedy and allow the characters to develop. I saw some of this shine through in the second episode, where Sarah was calm and gave Coco permission to open up as she was ready. I hope this makes sense. And I hope "they" read this, because they need to cut the laugh track. I don't understand why comments need to be ten lines long yet they don't want you to pad comments. That makes no sense. So I am just going to ramble until they accept my post.

train wreck, in spite of a lot of talent

[cherold · 3/10 · 16 June 2012]

I only watched the first episode - some people claim the show improved somewhat by the time it was canceled a couple of episodes later - but wow, that first episode was pretty disastrous.

Written by Amy Sherman-Palladino, whose work on the Gilmore Girls was brilliant, and starring talented "indie queen" Parker Posey, on paper this was going to be great. But it wasn't. Posey's performance is shrill and brittle; she acts the whole episode as though she has realized she is in a bomb and hopes that if she talks loud enough and fast enough people won't notice. And while the writing isn't terrible, it's not especially funny.

Which leads us to the laugh track. There is perhaps nothing so destructive to low-key witticisms than a boisterous laugh track. Sherman-Palladino is not a sitcom writer, and trying to persuade the public that she is by dropping huge laughs on every wry remark or deprecating comment just makes the show seem to be full of unfunny jokes. I had a similar reaction of Sports Night, another show where dry wit combined with loud laughs created nothing but dissonance (although my reaction to that show wasn't nearly as negative as my reaction to Jezebel James).

So, if Posey were calmer and the laugh track were gone, would the show have been good? Maybe. I would be curious to see Jezebel James sans laugh track with Posey replaced by, say, Lauren Graham. My gut feeling is that it still wouldn't have worked - that Amy just couldn't find the rhythm of the half-hour sitcom - but I'm not sure. All I am sure of is that the network executive who insisted the show have a laugh track should have been demoted to a janitorial position.

?

[akoutoula · 1/10 · 16 March 2008]

Having read sometime ago that Sherman was on a new project and being a big fan of Gilmore Girls, one can imagine how much I was anticipating The Return of Jezebel James...I'm not an experienced TV critic, I know nothing of camera angles and all that. What I do know is that the show just...sucked! I can't seem to figure out whether the script is rubbish or just the acting. Parker Posey where I'm concerned was downright ridiculous in Boston Legal and certainly hasn't found her tempo here...Everyone involved exudes awkwardness on an embarrassing level. It's evident that they're trying too hard to make this super-hip-tongue-in-cheek....not buying it. Definitely not Gilmore Girls unfortunately...not by a long shot

summary

[pancake_repairman · 7/10 · 1 April 2008]

i'm kinda surprised Posey and Sherman didn't fight the laugh track to their death. it's the main thing that confuses the tone of the show and probably contributed the most to the bad reviews. i expect theatre critics would be kinder to the show. many scenes seem more written for the stage than the screen, apparently another thing the audience has trouble accepting or comprehending. the show does have lulls, a lack of character depth, and reaches for unearned dramatic moments, but however flawed the presentation of ideas is, the ideas are at least present, there is at least some value placed on originality and creativity which is more than i can say for most shows.

Why is it so bad?

[rob30316 · 1/10 · 22 April 2008]

I've always loved Parker Posey, but this show makes me understand those who find her annoying. She's really, really irritating in this. Maybe she's just hoping to get this travesty canceled--she deserves so much better. I disagree with previous commentators, though--I think the laugh-track greatly adds to the humor. Without a laugh-track telling me someone said something funny, I wouldn't have even realized this was supposed to be a comedy.

This show reminds me of the worst 80's sitcoms. It's so contrived and poorly written and the characters are paper thin. I think the show has such a fast pace to keep viewers from realizing that no one is saying anything funny, insightful, or dramatic.

I really hope Sherman-Palladino pulls it together before JJ gets canceled (or she gets dragged off into the night by a torch-wielding mob that blames her for destroying Posey's career), but she can't have much time left. This show is terrible.

And just so you know, I loved Gilmore Girls.

Genius, Just Genius

[Jesstica · 10/10 · 21 March 2008]

Amy is BRILLIANT! Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose in a sitcom together with "sisterly banter", is what I look forward to now every Friday evening. The collaboration of Parker Posey, Lauren Ambrose, and Amy's brilliant dialogue is GENIUS! The perfect premise of today's women unable to conceive, the love of sisters becoming reaquainted by childhood memories and unselfishness, and what a better way to title a show or tell a cute story by coalescing on a children's book. This show is everything a female in her late 20's and early 30's have always wanted to watch in a television comedy! I rarely watch television, but I love every aspect of this show. Genius, just genius!

Great lead cast, awful show

[pertifly · 3/10 · 23 March 2008]

I will admit that I cannot get past a laugh track, but I was willing to try for Parker Posey and Lauren Ambrose. Ambrose was great on Six Feet Under and of course Posey is lovely in all her work. This show is horrible. The few funny scenes are marred by the laugh track but if the writing held up I would be watching still. Parker's character says "Coco" (referring to her sister) as if the name "coco" is as silly to her as it is to the rest of the world. It's as if she knows it's a joke. Lauren Ambrose is left to play the stereotypical early 20s underachiever who doesn't speak to her folks and can't keep a job. This is a sad waste of two great talents and I hope it is canceled soon.

Excellent Writing and Lots of it!

[yossarian100 · 10/10 · 15 March 2008]

Finally, Amy Sherman returns. Not since Gilmore Girls have I enjoyed so much snappy and witty dialog. Talented actors must have a ball doing so many high speed lines, I'm sure it's a challenge, and I enjoyed every minute of the first show. I can easily overlook the laugh track. Why? Because I'm laughing so hard. Seriously laughing. I'm hooked on the characters after just one show and I can't wait for the next one. I'm not sure, though, if general audiences will respond well to this type of writing and performance. It's all rapid fire. If you blink, you'll miss something, and forget about getting a glass of water. Personally, I love the way Amy Sherman puts a show together and her machine gun writing style tickles me to death, so I'm hoping this show is a huge success. I'm also hoping there's enough people out there who also enjoy this type of writing. Gilmore Girls had a fairly long run so maybe this show will too.

I'm trying so hard to like this show...

[Stokez · 2/10 · 21 March 2008]

I am a huge fan of Gilmore Girls, and I've noticed that Amy Sherman has tried to include that trademark fast banter in this show as well. However I don't mind that,but the actors can't seem to pull it off. Parker Posey. I've seen her in a few other films and I liked her acting, but on this show....she seems over the top. It's so obvious that she's trying, ever so hard, to imitate Lorelai's method of speaking although it's evident that she can't pull it off. The other characters don't seem to mesh well together. I enjoy the overall plot and I do think that it is a good show, but the acting brings it down considerably. I've watched the 1st and 2nd episode, and I really have tried to like the show but I just can't. It's so disappointing, I expected so much more.

Has great potential. Work on the show!! I hold hope for you!

[christchick510 · 3/10 · 26 March 2008]

This show makes me cry. Amy Sherman Palladino did an incredibly great job on Gilmore Girls, i thought it was the end of the world when the new writers took over. But then she started this show.

OK bad thing Parker Posey... wow she is a really bad actress. What's with the one where she breaks down crying? is she SUPPOSED to be dumb, b/c in Gilmore girls Lauren Graham didn't come across like that at all... and lets face it,Posey's the new Graham. She's not quick enough, and she needs to do an overall better job. It's gonna be hard to replace Lauren Grahams acting.

those laugh tracks HAVE GOT TO GO!! the show is already bad enough with Posey's acting... whenever there's a little chance for funny, the laugh tracks kill any chance.

However Lauren Ambrose is doing an excellent job! She's the person keeping the show alive, even if they are still barely living.

Good Things: Well, the script is great and has great potential. Hope is not lost. Just make adjustments!!!!!! Everythings great except for the poor acting and the laugh tracks

advice:

the first thing id do is GET RID OF THOSE FING LAUGH TRACKS!!!!!

then Parker Posey really needs to read this b/c its just horrible. YOU NEED to be quicker, smarter, and funnier. think witty, not stupid.

just oughl.... this could be a decent show but it ain't

[tomas94 · 17 March 2008]

Well to sum up my summary comment this show really is oughl. Which is to bad since the actors are decent the script are decent and the show could be quite decent but if i have to singlehandedly take one thing that will make this show not hit it the f.... bad and not god laugh track which is on all time and it's not even funny 90% of time when it's on.

And whats worse it's sad that Amy Sherman can come to do this after the fantastic "Gilmore Girls".

To sum up this show ain't going to be on long especially since they have this extremely bad laugh tracks on.