411 Fact or Fiction Movies/TV 09.18.09: Week 195

Posted by Ben Piper on 09.18.2009

Will Jay Leno's new show last more than a year? Is Ellen Degeneres a poor choice to replace Paula Abdul on American Idol? Will Jennifer's Body be a superb over the top horror film? Will Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs be a fun kid's movie that parents will enjoy? 411's George H. Sirois and Bryan Kristopowitz debate these and other topics in week 195 of 411 Fact or Fiction: Movies/TV!



…5…

Hello once again! Yup, we're on the cusp of the weekend, so that can only mean one thing; Fact or Fiction! This week we're lucky enough to have a couple of guys that are not only friends of mine, but are also two of my fave writers currently working for 411, George H. Sirois and Bryan Kristopowitz. Let's see how badly they piss the whole sorry lot of you off with their viewpoints…

What? Just being honest…



1. The Jay Leno Show will not last more than a year.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fiction. I can't see NBC dumping the show unless the ratings are catastrophic. Jay Leno has quite a few fans and will watch him whenever he's on. Again, I just can't see NBC getting rid of the show unless the ratings are horrendous, and I don't see that happening, either.

George H. Sirois: Fiction. There's no way NBC would drop this show, especially since this reflects something they have wanted to do ever since Carson announced his retirement at the end of his 30th season. When Jay Leno was originally tagged to be the next host of The Tonight Show, the NBC brass wanted to create a seamless two-hour block of Leno and Letterman. Obviously they wound up not doing that and they won't have a seamless two-hour block with the local news going on between them, but Leno's a proven commodity and he'll get good enough ratings for his first year on his name alone. So no, NBC isn't going to dump him.

Score: 1 for 1

2. You're looking forward to the fall TV season.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fact. I always look forward to the fall TV season because that means there's new stuff to watch. Old favorites return (NCIS, How I Met Your Mother, House, Fringe, Family Guy, Law and Order, and so many more) and brand spanking new shows debut (NCIS Los Angeles, The Cleveland Show, Flash Forward, among others). And it's always interesting to see if the old shows are still worth watching and what new shows get cancelled (I'll say that Hank on ABC will be one of the first to go). The fall TV season is what being a TV fan is all about.

George H. Sirois: Fact. I don't watch all that much first-run television. Our options became pretty limited after we gave back our cable boxes. But I always look forward to the new episodes of Family Guy and The Big Bang Theory, and the re-runs helped me get into Two and a Half Men. But like Bryan said, it's always interesting to see which shows last and which ones are cast into oblivion. (The new shows from Kelsey and Patricia Heaton look like they're going to leave pretty quickly, and the ads for The Cleveland Show look terrible.)

Score: 2 for 2

3. Ellen DeGeneres is a horrible choice to replace Paula Abdul as a judge on American Idol.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fiction. I don't like American Idol, so it really doesn't matter to me who they pick to replace Paula Abdul. But I have to say that picking Ellen is a bit surprising, and I think that surprise and newness will help make the show seem a tad fresher. Who would have ever thought that they'd pick her? And in a sense it's a choice that makes sense since Ellen is a known celebrity commodity, and people like watching celebrities. Just be thankful they didn't pick someone like Dennis Miller. My only real concern with this is Ellen's day time talk show. Will that suffer because of the time she'll have to put into Idol?

u>George H. Sirois: Fiction. I've enjoyed Ellen since her stand-up days in the 80s, and while I think she spent too much time making jokes during her appearance on So You Think You Can Dance last season, I think the format on Idol will allow her to give a different perspective from what viewers are used to seeing. Now, instead of four judges from the music industry, the contestants will hear from three music judges and one judge that has the power to hype whoever wins it all on her talk show. She can ask herself if this person has the talent to be worth the promotion. And since Ellen's been a fan of the show from the start, she won't try to take anything away from it.

Score: 3 for 3

Switch!!!



4. With a script from Oscar winner Diablo Cody and current "It" girl Megan Fox starring as a possessed cheerleader, Jennifer's Body will be a superb over the top horror flick.

George H. Sirois: Fiction. Superb? No, I don't think so. If the "It" in "It" girl means "over-saturated ‘actress' who needed an official media blackout so people would stop reporting about her," then she's definitely that. She's already declared that she would never have a nude scene in a movie, so the 17+ male crowd that was looking forward to that won't be storming the theaters, and the ones who still want to see it will likely just download it instead. In terms of quality, the previews I've seen for it look terrible, so I don't see it amounting to much.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fiction. I'll have to agree with George here. I mean, is the movie a must see? Yes, because it has a bevy of interesting elements with Megan Fox starring and Cody scripting. But will it actually be any good? I have my doubts. I'm certainly not going to see it because I think it looks great or anything.

Score: 4 for 4

5. With Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eackhart as the leads, you expect Love Happens to be elevated above the usual rom-com doldrums.

George H. Sirois: Fiction. Jennifer Aniston seems to just flip-flop between romantic-comedy and romantic-drama and it looks like it's her turn to do the drama. And as for Aaron, well, he did No Reservations already, so we already know he's not above acting in a sure thing that's going to bring in some money with the
rom-com-drama crowd. So no, just because they're in this doesn't mean it's going to be anything above the formulaic chick-flick that we see in theaters dozens of times each year.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fiction. Aaron Eckhart is a pretty decent actor, but, and this is probably just me, Jennifer Aniston is incredibly overrated. She needs good material to shine, she can't "elevate" anything. Unless Eckhart and Aniston have insanely good chemistry (and it sure as heck doesn't seem that way in the trailers and TV commercials), I don't see this being anything beyond ordinary.

Score: 5 for 5

6. Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs will be a fun and original kids film that parents will enjoy as well.

George H. Sirois: Fact. As I mentioned in my UBS report yesterday, the source material's familiar for the kids (if their parents read it to them, of course) and the parents will recognize the voice actors involved. So that usually equals at least a modest success for the film in question. I don't expect this to be any different.

Bryan Kristopowitz: Fact. If the actual full movie is half as fun as the previews then this will be a treat for everyone. The animation looks superb, the voice actors look top notch (Ash and Mr. T !), and the story sounds just insane enough to work. I know I'm interested in it.

Final Score: 6 for 6

Bonus Non Fact or Fiction Question: What is your favorite Patrick Swayze movie?



George H. Sirois: Road House, no question. And one of the best lines ever spoken in a film is simply, "You're too stupid to have a good time!"

Bryan Kristopowitz: Steel Dawn was pretty cool, but I think my all time favorite has to be Father Hood, the comedy he did from 1993. He was such a sleazebag in that movie. It was hilarious.

________________________________

While Patrick Swayze was not a "legendary" actor, he provided several iconic moments throughout his movie career that still resonates to this day. (At least for me) From "nobody puts Baby in the corner" (cheesy as it is) and the overhead lift from Dirty Dancing, to his turn as the romantic lead in Ghost opposite Demi Moore, (which somehow got me laid back in the day, don't ask) to being the leader of the Wolverines in Red Dawn to turning his image upon itself by dressing in drag in Wong Fu. Not to mention that he was one of The Outsiders….

And yes, one of my own guilty pleasure movies of all time, that George cited above, is Road House. "Pain don't hurt".

And of course, there's the Chris Farley SNL skit in which Mr. Swayze was competing for a spot as a Chippendale's dancer opposite his flabby counterpart… Hilarious, and unforgettable.

As another part of my adolescence/early adulthood passes away, I'll wipe away a tear, and thank him for all that he gave to us.

That said, and quickly moving on, George and Bryan provide a reverse no-hitter! They both agree universally across the board. Haven't had that happen in quite a while. I thank them both for sharing their opinions and taking part.

Yeah, We'll do this thing again next week. Don't we always?
-BP

* Bookmark 411mania.com And Check Back Daily For All Your Pop-Culture Entertainment Needs *

TWITTER

http://www.twitter.com/411mania
http://www.twitter.com/411wrestling
http://www.twitter.com/411moviestv
http://www.twitter.com/411music
http://www.twitter.com/411games
http://www.twitter.com/411mma