411 Fact or Fiction Movies: Week 69

Posted by Ben Piper on 03.23.2007

George Sirois and Leonard Hayhurst debate Grindhouse, Fantasic Four 2, Simon Cowell, and Scrubs among other things.

Greetings my good people, and welcome to yet another installment of Fact or Fiction Movies. This week we have George Sirois, famous for his Scene Anatomy and UBS Evening News column, and Leonard Heyhurst, 411 movies zone editor and your resident Ask 411 guy. Let's start getting some answers from these gentlemen, shall we?

1. Former Conan O' Brian sidekick Andy Richter has tried to make his way as a sitcom star before, only to be met with critical acclaim but low viewership. Andy Barker, P.I. shall reverse this trend and be a breakout role for him.

Sirois: Fact. Granted, there's a lot going against this show, with Andy's previous sitcom coming and going and, considering the colossal failure of The Michael Richards Show, people could likely get nervous about another sitcom with a private investigator. However, a show produced by Conan O'Brien is going on in the dream slot – Thursday nights at 9:30, the Night Court slot – and this is where an offbeat show with an offbeat lead actor can really take off. So I have faith that Conan and Andy can really pull this off.

Hayhurst: Fiction. George expertly points out all the negatives against the show that are no fault of Richter's. He had the perfect series for himself in "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" and Fox mishandled it. He even went all sitcomy with "Quintuplets" and still got hosed. You can say being on NBC now will be beneficial to him, but they haven't exactly been hitting homeruns lately. The 9:30 Thursday slot might have been plumb in the past, but how ratings have dropped for other critically acclaimed NBC Thursday sitcoms like "My Name is Earl" and "30 Rock" should point out that they are doing something wrong. Early reviews of the new series have been decent, but I don't think it matters.

Score: 0 for 1

2. Simon Cowell has recently stated in interviews that he regularly "outsells" Bruce Springsteen with regards to the cumulative American Idol alumnus sales numbers when compared to the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. Is this just another case of him being a pompous, over-inflated windbag?

Sirois: Fact. Not only does he come off like a windbag, but I don't like the message that he's sending his millions of viewers on top of that. Bruce built himself up ever since his mother took out a loan to buy him his first guitar, and he went out on the road, building and crafting his music for several years before he got his Columbia Records deal. What Simon's doing is telling his audience that you don't have to do that anymore. You can just come on their show and take the quick and easy way to success. Pardon my French, but I'm a little pissed at this fucking fast-food entertainment mentality. Oh, and by the way, Simon. You had to build up all those millions of records on the backs of many different entertainers that are nowhere near as relevant as you or they think they are, and there are dozens of other producers out there that can make the same claim.

Hayhurst: Fact. First let's point out that Bruce Springsteen is one guy and one of the best selling artists in history and "American Idol" has produced dozens of people who have put out albums. Let's also point out that a lot of those people weren't even well liked by Cowell. Let's also mention how Springsteen has been around for thirty-five years. Kelly Clarkson has been the show's longest lived success, but do you think we'll be buying her records in 35 years? I agree in a lot of what George says in the mentality that all you have to do to get famous is get on "American Idol" and you don't even have to be that talented. "American Idol" seems to be on the other side of the mountain this year in popularity, so let's hope it's on the fade. And really, Randy Jackson is a better producer than Cowell. Cowell is just trying to stir controversy.

Score: 1 for 2

3. After seeing the trailer and the TV commercials, you are holding out hope that Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer will actually be a good, fun movie to watch.

Sirois: Fact. I'm a comic-book film fan, so I want them to succeed (unless it's total crap, and then I hope it leaves theaters quickly and another one comes up that's a lot better). I didn't see the first Fantastic Four until it came out on DVD, and it was mediocre at best. It's watchable, sure, and there's a lot going for it, but Julian McMahon's performance as Doctor Doom – and the script that should have gotten another re-write (if you're gonna make a blonde joke at Johnny Storm's expense, make sure the actor playing him is blonde) – bring it down several notches. But we've seen almost every recent comic-book film series hit its stride in the second chapters. Blade, X-Men, Spider-Man, they've all improved on their originals. I'm not worried at all about the second chapter of Fantastic Four since they got the origin story out of the way and it looks like Doctor Doom's getting a more limited role. What I'm worried about is what the THIRD chapter's going to be like…

Hayhurst: Fiction. I like the first trailer I saw, because it was just a brief, exciting section of the film. Yet with that it doesn't appear to be any better creatively than the first movie. The main problem with the first movie, and this one too, is that people who don't know about the origins of the characters or much care are making it. They just want to make money. Even if the movie is good, I doubt it will do well at the box office because hardcore and casual fans were both burned the first time. It better hope to ride Spiderman 3's coattails.

Score: 1 for 3

Switch

4. Scrubs Boasts the most underappreciated ensemble cast on TV today.

Hayhurst: Fiction.If anything I would say they are over appreciated and overrated. Why? Because everyone is saying how underrated and overlooked the show is. If everyone is saying it, then that means everyone is watching it and likes it. "Scrubs" has gone from being a cult favorite, to a cult favorite that gets shoved down everyone's throats. Since it went into syndication it's on eight times a day. "Arrested Development" fell into the same trap where all the critics pushed it and the average viewer got turned off. "The Office" is in danger of the same thing. Don't get me wrong, "Scrubs" has a great and talented cast, but they're not under-appreciated anymore.

Sirois: Fiction. How is it under-appreciated if it has a strong fanbase, is consistently critically acclaimed, and is part of the latest run of the legendary "Must See-TV" Thursday night timeslot on NBC? Just as Leonard said, if everyone's saying it's an under-appreciated show, that means everyone is watching it and therefore it's not under-appreciated. It's just appreciated.

Score: 2 for 4

5. You really care that Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have adopted yet another refugee baby.

Hayhurst: Fiction. Being a sarcastic question, I almost said fact in an equally sarcastic manner. The problem here is not with Pitt and Jolie, but with the media's obsession of their private lives. If they want to adopt a thousand underprivileged kids and give them a good home, more power to them. If you have ever heard Jolie speak on the subject, she has been truly moved by her work in third world countries and wants to not just use her celebrity, but herself, to do what she can. She's not adopting these babies as a status symbol or publicity stunt as others who came after her have. Yes, I'm looking at you Madonna. The story is sensational and in your face, because certain media outlets have chosen to make it so.

Sirois: Fiction. I'm glad that Angelina and Brad are doing it, and I have no complaints about them doing it at all. They want to use their status to do something like that, please do! God knows it's a lot better to read about something like this instead of Britney's latest breakdown. But at the same time, it's not something that I think about on a daily basis and I'm not losing sleep over it. One thing that I hear about a lot is what a lot of celebrities like to do when the press isn't looking over their shoulder, and what they do then seems to be a lot more interesting. So the way I see it, the less the media covers them, and the less I care about it, there's more good that seems to be done… if that makes any sense.

Score: 3 for 5

6. Grindhouse is shaping up to be the funnest movie this year.

Hayhurst: Fact. But that is only a fact for a small member of the film-going audience. I just happen to be a member of that audience. Much like Snakes on a Plane last year it's targeted at a very specific, hardcore demo. Some media outlets like "Entertainment Weekly" have just latched onto the film and are trying to force it in the mainstream in a hipper than though way, much like they have done with "Scrubs." It will probably only get fair reviews and box office, but those who are in on the joke of directors Rodriguez and Tarantino should have a blast. I only wish I could go see it in a midnight showing.

Sirois: Fiction Based on what I've read about the content that's supposedly upsetting the MPAA board, the humor would be absolutely perfect for me. It's incredibly wrong, but at the same time, if you have the right kind of demented sense of humor, it'd be hilarious. However, one week after Grindhouse opens, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters comes out, and I can already say THAT is the funniest film of the year. But I'm confident that Grindhouse will come in at a close second.

Final Score: 3 for 6

Thanks to both Leonard and George for playing. Check back next week for another thrilling installment of 411 Fact or Fiction Movies!