Starz Originals: ‘Head Case’ & ‘Hollywood Residential’
Starz has a long way to go before it attains the quality of HBO or Showtime. The cable channel’s original shows just aren’t all that original. I guess that comment pertains more to the unfortunate airing of the home makeover parody Hollywood Residential than it does to Head Case. Both shows premiere on Wednesday, Jan. 23 on Starz, with Head Case celebrating it’s expansion from a 15-minute comedy to a full half-hour show.
I didn’t love Head Case when I first saw it, but at a quarter-hour, the show had a pace that made up for its often patronizing, Hollywood insider humor. Thankfully, the half-hour version keeps its momentum. With Alexandra Wentworth as Dr. Goode, therapist to the B-list stars, you still get the female equivalent of Steve Carell’s Michael Scott, only with patients instead of subordinates.
It’s hard to believe a Starz program would actually decline in quality from Head Case. But with Hollywood Residential, an agonizing half-hour comedy about a celebrity home renovation show, you get a cheap knock-off of a Comedy Central original.
The episode I saw featured a kitchen remodeling for Chris Kattan, who gets the show’s host Tony (Adam Paul) an audition for a part in his movie. From there we learn, that Hollywood has its phonies and egomaniacs, much like we do in Head Case. Hollywood Residential is plagued by its paring with Head Case, if only because the celeb guest concept can only go so far in one night, and Head Case does it better.
Of the two shows, I can still see myself watching Head Case, if only for the fleeting moments of humor that occur when Dr. Goode is analyzing a patient. The sessions quickly become excessive ethnic jokes or sexual situations (just because you are on premium cable doesn’t mean you should mention cum-guzzling), which are often exposed as less than stellar attempts at edgy humor. Dr. Goode’s quirky personal life outside the office, which is thankfully a major focus of the half-hour version, adds some much needed punch.
Both shows have a similar gimmick, featuring celebrity guests as themselves with moments of self-parody. Yet, no one looks like they are having much fun. Here’s a suggestion. Instead of watching either show on Starz, rent Extras: The Complete Series and watch serious celebrities (David Bowie, Kate Winslet, Robert DeNiro, etc.) enjoy making fun of themselves.
Head Case‘s second season premieres Jan. 23 at 10 p.m. followed by Hollywood Residential at 10:30 p.m.
Hollywood Residential
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Head Case
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I’ll have to disagree with your opinion of ‘Hollywood Residential’. To highlight some particular arrogance:
‘Here’s a suggestion. Instead of watching either show on Starz, rent Extras’
How can you have you’re standards set high enough to despair at the mention of cum-guzzling then recommend Kate Winslet in Extra’s? Maybe you should decide what you find funny, rather than base your reviews on which network they happen to fall on. Daniel Radcliffe flicked condom’s in Extras, Kate Winslet mimed messy blow-jobs, and characters like Ben Stiller phoned in performances with their same type-cast characters they play in every film. Not to be particularly critical of Extra’s, but your comparisons seem un-founded.
I think you’re taking Adam Paul’s portrayal of main character ‘Tony King’ for granted. I can only urge people reading this article to take this pompous, mis-informed review with a pinch of salt.
The casting is brilliant throughout (not specifically the celebrity-guests, who are also fantastic), and Tony King’s human-doormat performance is perfect; The conversations with his ex-wife are brilliant, and his timing for the character is spot-on.
Tony King is aware of his problems, he’s too short, overweight, has no respect from the majority of his peers, and has a tendency to bottle his problems up to the point of combustion. The chemistry with his co-host Lila is real though, and serves sporadically as his ray of light at times of need.
The episode that you’ve reviewed isn’t the best of the series (although still hilarious by the end), but there is a certain element of character development which unfolds as the series progresses, so perhaps watch a few more episodes from the beginning of the series and take a second-glance at this.
Watch episode 4 with Jamie Kennedy. The script in this episode is far better than anything possible from Ricky Gervais (although I’m a fan), and executed very well from the cast. It would be a shame for people to miss this show because they were swayed by a bitter review from a HBO bottom-feeder.