BOOMTOWN
Did anyone ever think Donnie Wahlberg could reveal himself a strong actor?
Well, the former New Kid on the Block is sure fooling ’em now. He delivers a strong performance in NBC’s latest crime show, “Boomtown,” playing on Sundays at 10 p.m. “Boomtown” follows the new trend of concept television shows like “24” and “Push, Nevada,” only “Boomtown” takes it one step further in terms of quality and craftsmanship.
“Boomtown,” set in Los Angeles, is somewhat like Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” in that the story unravels in multiple points of view and does not follow a chronological order. The show is told through the eyes of reporters, city officials, police officers and suspects as they report on, solve or participate in a crime.
The pilot episode follows two teens suspected of murdering a 16-year-old and wounding a six-year-old in a drive-by shooting. After a series of questionable coincidences, including how the suspects just happened to be driving directly behind the police officers minutes after they had been clued to the car type and license plate number, the officers, the district attorney and a reporter solve the crime. The quality acting overshadows implausible circumstances in certain scenes.
Wahlberg cleverly plays Joel Stevens, a mysterious detective whose wife is recovering from a suicide attempt. Another local actor, Neal McDonough, born in Dorchester, also shows off his acting skills as he plays cocky district attorney David McNorris.
Police officer Ray Hechler (Gary Basaraba) provides the comic relief as he chases down a murder suspect only to discover the kid was running because he had stolen a Michael Bolton album. Mykelti Williamson, best known as Bubba from Forrest Gump, also adds humor with his quirky stories.
Reporter Andrea Little (Nina Garbiras), police officer Tom Turcotte (Jason Gedrick), and paramedic Teresa Ortiz (Lana Parrilla) round out the cast and various points of view that comprise “Boomtown.”
The mix of humor and seriousness is a credit to the show’s exceptional writing. Writer and producer Graham Yost has had success with television before, as his HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” just took home six Emmy awards. Yost managed to nab two of the miniseries’ better actors, Wahlberg and McDonough, in an attempt to repeat his previous success. After the pilot episode of “Boomtown,” it seems Yost may just have the golden touch.
The show’s unique writing and solid acting make “Boomtown” a capable program, worthy of its praise as one of TV’s hottest newcomers.
–Ben Rohrbach, Contributing Writer
HIDDEN HILLS
Imagine a toned down version of “Sex In The City” set in the suburbs, and you have NBC’s “Hidden Hills,” which airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. Although there is no blatant nudity or foul language, this show definitely pushes the boundaries of appropriateness for network television.
The sitcom focuses on the idea that suburban middle America isn’t as wholesome and normal as we think. “Hidden Hills” shows the lives of two not-so-typical married couples, Doug and Janine (Justin Louis and Paula Marshall) and Zack and Sarah (Dondr´é T. Whitfield and Tamara Taylor), whose daily gossip only gets wilder when a single mother named Belinda (Kristin Bauer) with her own porn website moves into the neighborhood. The first episode conveniently included a tasteless fantasy car wash scene and a fantasy wet T-shirt rain shower over the new porno mom. Otherwise, throughout the show, the writers used every opportunity they had to make a raunchy joke, and they seem to hit the mark more times than not.
There have been better and funnier controversial sex-laden TV shows: “Sex In The City,” “Howard Stern” and “The Jerry Springer Show.” The unique setting and characters are the perhaps “Hidden Hills” saving graces, distinguishing it from the rest of the arguably copycatted, sexually suggestive shows.
Sex comedies have been done before, but never quite like this. The idea is original and fresh — simply concentrating on domestic life in the new millennium of cell phones and softball moms. The show gives a glimpse into neighborhood life, interesting enough for any audience member’s tastes. For example, there is the effeminate male neighbor who makes the other husbands wonder if he’s gay or the recently divorced neighbor now dating a young floozy. Another interesting element of the show is that the family activities are incorporated into this world of sex. The parents are constantly using sexual innuendos while still trying to raise their children to be future upright and contributing members to American society.
All in all, “Hidden Hills” is a so-so contender for the fall season. It feels like the unsure future that “That 70’s Show” had when it first premiered, but it may not share the same success as an escalating hit.
–Tony Ly, Contributing Writer
THE IN-LAWS
Those who can’t get enough of Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller’s disturbing antics in “Meet the Parents” will love “In-Laws,” the new NBC sitcom highlighting the woes of family life.
The saga — and humiliation — continues after the newlyweds move in with the wife’s parents. Only this time, the son-in-law does not spray paint the cat, transform the backyard into a swamp of sewage and set the gazebo on fire. He does, however, manage to wreck the father-in-law’s beloved Fleetwood, earning the nickname “Fleetwood Matt,” probably the lamest nickname since American Pie’s “the Sherminator.” Matt, the son-in-law portrayed by Elon Gold, and Victor, the father-in-law portrayed by Dennis Farina, clash horns like two rams in spring, only no dominant male emerges from the confusion. Unfortunately, Farina can’t decide between the cynical Italian gangster and the hurt daddy look, lacking Tony Soprano’s suaveness to reconcile the two. Half the time, he summons Matt for “private convo time,” which sounds as brutal as a cavity search, but moments later, he weeps about his daughter no longer being a “precious bundle of joy” he fed at night “when Marlene’s boobs conked out.” Gold, in turn, sets himself up for each situation that might potentially result in a put-down with the alacrity of a practiced masochist. The battle between Matt and Victor begins when at a family dinner, Alex (Bonnie Sommerville, otherwise known as the much-suffering Mona from “Friends”) decides that Matt and she should move in with her folks to save on rent and shorten the daily commute to work. Ironically, of all reasons, the self-inflicted pain of living with the in-laws boils down to convenience. Diligently portraying the daughter whom no guy deserves, Alex appears in the show in various shades of pink and calls Victor “daddy.”
Meanwhile, Matt has got the whole world going against him. The second worst thing to being a male nurse, Matt pursues the career of a chef, borrowing the money for his education from, of all people, his father-in-law. Why? Nobody knows. Throughout the show, the actors snap predictable punch lines of which, only a couple surpass the ones in “Meet the Parents.” Only Jean Smart, who portrays Marlene, the mother-in-law, has mastered the art of sarcasm enough to sound funny at times. A newly converted real-estate agent, this classic suburban mom is so proud of her career change that she refers to her old self in the third person, which sounds as spooky as Gollum’s “my precious” from “The Lord of The Rings.”
To redeem its vices, the show has its moments. After Matt crashes the Fleetwood, Victor asks the car mechanic in a hushed voice, choking back tears, “She’s lost a lot of transmission fluid; is there any structural damage?” But the show quickly runs out of steam. It seems that “In-Laws” — and its viewers — are in for a long ride before NBC finds a show that will not feed on jokes that better actors have already cracked at a faster pace in funnier situations.
–Inna Golovatch, MUSE Staff