411 Fact or Fiction Movies: Week 94

Posted by Ben Piper on 09.21.2007

Should Dane Cook be allowed to become a movie star? Is Kathy Griffin annoying and unfunny? Will Heroes second season outdo its first? 411's Nick Wallander and Jerome Cusson debate these and other topics in Fact or Fiction: Movies!



Hello everyone, and welcome back to yet another exciting episode of Fact or Fiction: Movies…

Pretty nice new banner, eh? I have to thank my very good friend Velcronious for doing his photoshop voodoo for me.

This week we have newbie Jerome Cusson taking on Nick Wallander. Let's not waste any more time, shall we?

1. Kathy Griffin is annoying and not funny.

Nick Wallander: Fiction. Total and utter fiction. Chances are that most of you reading this can't even remember Kathy Griffin from anything other than her stint on Suddenly Susan. So, if that is the case, you probably have no place to judge her based on some watered down sitcom where she had no creative control. On the other hand, her stand-up acts and her reality television series Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List demonstrate the true Kathy Griffin. I'm not gonna lie, folks. Kathy Griffin is really damn funny. Seeing Griffin work her magic on the fly is better than any sitcom script. Hell, I once did standup for a talent show (and won it-fyi) and I wish I could have been just one quarter of as funny she is when she isn't even trying. Basically Kathy Griffin is kind of like that one really inappropriate and funny friend that we all have in our social circles. Not annoying in the slightest.

Jerome Cusson: Fiction. I've seen some of her stand-up, and she is actually quite funny. She's annoying sometimes, but her brutal honesty makes up for it most of the time. I never saw her on Suddenly Susan, but I know that she is actually funny from her Bravo reality show. Plus, she made those terrible E! award pre-shows actually watchable. That alone makes this an easy fiction.

Score: 1 for 1

2. The last thing anyone really needs is another Resident Evil flick.

Nick Wallander: Fiction. I can think of a lot of other stuff that we need less than RE: 3 right now. In fact, let me list them off to you: 1) House of the Dead 3. 2) A Lindsay Lohan sex tape. 3) CBS's Two and a Half Men. 4) Daddy Day Camp. 5) Baby Genius's 3. 6) A Scott Baio sitcom. 7) Another Britney Spears movie. 8) Herpes. 9) Tron 2. 10) Season 4 of Grey's Anatomy. So, there you have it. Ten things we don't need any more than Resident Evil: Extinction. Fans of the first two movies are going to be gung-ho about this one because it should conclude the story. Closure is a good thing, right?

Jerome Cusson: Fiction. As terrible as this movie looks, there are still even more things worse than this movie. My hunch is that this won't even be one of the worst movies of the year, especially with Daddy Day Camp and even Good Luck Chuck. Plus, the trailers actually make this seem pretty good, which is something the other trailers couldn't even try to do.

Score: 2 for 2

3. Dane Cook shouldn't be allowed to star in movies such as the upcoming Good Luck Chuck.

Nick Wallander: Fiction. Dane Cook is just trying to make a buck. Sure he hasn't picked the best movie projects, but the guy needs to start somewhere right? Cook is most likely just trying to establish himself as a viable star in movies. Say what you want now, but Good Luck Chuck is going to bring in some money with the Cook/Alba combination working in the movie's favor. Cook doing an average comedy is no different than the efforts of Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy doing crappy comedies the past ten years or so. Hell, even they made money on Click and Norbitwhat should any of these guys care what we think?

Jerome Cusson: Fact. I think Dane Cook can be funny at times, but this is the kind of garbage that will ruin his career, and ruin his potential. Cook strikes me as being able to handle some good comedic material well, but so many comedians seem more willing to sell out than actually find good material.

Score: 2 for 3

Switch!!!

4. You were pleasantly surprised for the most part by all the upsets at the Emmys this past weekend.

Jerome Cusson: Fiction. The problem with the Emmy's is that they acknowledge certain shows while blatantly ignoring others. How does a show like Friends win its' first and only "Best Comedy Series" award in its eighth season. Also. Everyone said The Sopranos would dominate and it pretty much did. Everyone thought Ryan Seacreast would be a terrible host, and he was. Increasingly, I find award shows to be more tedious than anything. A lot of times, it seems the best shows don't get enough credit.

Nick Wallander: Fiction. The new guy is on to something here about a couple of things. Seacrest was the kiss of death for the Emmys and we all knew that the voters had a hard-on for The Sopranos. In that regard the show was kind of frakkin boring. Katherine Heigel winning for Grey's wasn't really an upset for the show because they did have three nominees. However it was upsetting to me that she beat both Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson, who were both better in season 3 (I want an Emmy for playing a girl pouting on the bathroom floor). Piven winning his award was expected and it probably should have gone to Rainn Wilson. I could go on about that but I won't. Basically the only real upset of the night was Jaime Pressly winning for My Name is Earl and to be honest, she deserved it.

Score: 3 for 4

5. Were you not surprised when OJ Simpson found himself in serious legal trouble again.

Jerome Cusson: Fact. I never thought we would hear about OJ Simpson much after he was in the civil trial. Now thirteen years later, here we go again. I think this is once again going to become a huge media circus. The Goldman family will continue their money-grabbing ways. The media will use this to generate ratings, and the legal system may try OJ for what he allegedly did in his past as opposed to what he being accused of now.

Nick Wallander: Fiction. Yeah, maybe I am a little crazy, but there are two reasons why I am a little surprised by this. One is that I would expect a guy like O.J. to lay low and count his blessings since he did already get away with murder. Lightning usually doesn't strike twice, so I don't know what he was thinking. My second reason is that I underestimated the power of a good P.R. firm. What do I mean? Well, it seems awfully convenient that O.J.'s book would start selling more copies after he got busted again. Sure he isn't really getting a cut of the book, but the publisher will and who knows if they'll help foot some of the legal expenses. Just saying.

Score: 3 for 5

6. The second season of Heroes will be better than the first.

Jerome Cusson: Fiction. For Heroes to still be as good would be quite the amazing feat. Believe me, I would love to see this show maintain a certain level of quality, but the odds of it being just as good seem pretty slim. I'm certainly hoping for the best. Unlike , the writers seem more willing to satisfy viewers with answers instead of dragging things out.

Nick Wallander: Fact. I have to disagree with Jerome on this one because I happen to have a lot of faith in the writing staff of this show. Something tells me that they have a hell of a story brewing for us. Word has it that they knew where it was going at the beginning of last year already. So who am I to argue? They have done a great job of pacing the story and giving us answers at the same time. However I expect to be given several more mysteries with all new characters. Basically I am going on a big hunch here. Remember, the season is starting anew and doesn't have to rely on last year's story that much. This means we can't compare it to last year like we would with other shows.

Final Score: 3 for 6

Nick and Jerome split the difference this week.

Personally, outside of Spader winning the best dramatic actor at the Emmys I was happy with how things played out. No one expected Terry O' Quinn to win in his category, (I was actually pulling for his castmate Michael Emerson) so to see this long time character actor get the respect he deserves from his peers was great. And yeah, I can't stand Kathy Griffin personally. Perhaps it's just me, but her personality is just grating. Not to mention that voice of hers.

Now that I've gotten my personal views out of the way, I can now thank you, the readers for clicking this link, and Nick and Jerome for taking part. Check back next week at the same battime, and the same batchannel, for more Fact or Fiction: Movies!