The TV Set (Jake Kasdan, 2007) ***

Dir. Jake Kasdan
Starring David Duchovny, Sigourney Weaver, Ioan Gruffudd, Lindsay Sloane, Judy Greer

Jake Kasdan’s The TV Set is a comedy about veteran TV staff writer Mike Klein (David Duchovny). He’s just about to reach his dream of seeing his own pilot script being made into a TV series, but must jump through a few hoops before that happens. Those hoops include: slightly insane network president Lenny (Sigourney Weaver) who lets her preteen daughter make judgments on the prospective television shows, network interference with casting of his male lead, and network requests for script changes that water down his main premise. As Jake juggles artistic pride with financial necessity, Kasdan uses this story to make pointed comments about the nature of modern American television.

The TV Set is an amusing satire with several knowing jabs at Hollywood, and will probably be funniest to those familiar with how the TV industry works. They will understand the amusing swipes at the nature of pilot season, network upfronts, and demographic targets. That doesn’t mean it won’t be enjoyable for those unfamiliar with those terms. The overall story still stands fairly well on it’s own, and it’s very amusing to watch Mike’s increasing despair as his show gets trashed by the network and their reliance on focus groups.

It’s not a coincidence that Kasdan has populated this film with actors most known for their television experience. Besides David Duchovny (X-Files),we have Justine Bateman (Family Ties) as Mike’s wife, Lucy Davis (UK version of The Office) as a network exec’s wife, Kathryn Joosten (The West Wing) as an editor, and Lindsey Sloane (Grosse Point, also a TV industry satire) as the actress who wins the job of female lead. By doing this, you get the sense that while Kasdan is satirizing television, he’s doing it from the position of a nostalgic fan. This perspective is much more interesting than if it came from an arrogant elitist.

The TV Set loses its focus in a subplot that follows a former BBC executive (who struggles to deal with the American television format. It’s perfectly reasonable for Kasdan to criticize American television by comparing it to the BBC, and utilizing The Office’s Lucy Davis to dole out some of the criticism was a smart idea. Unfortunately, all of this is trapped in an annoying family subplot, as Davis struggles with adapting to the United States and is constantly seen either pouting or crying because her husband is working late and missing family functions. This becomes tiresome very quickly, and is an abhorrent waste of the actress’ considerable comedic talents.

There are some amusing sight gags in the film. During network meetings, the network primetime schedule can be seen in the background. Mixed in with real life programs are fake shows that unfortunately sound all too real, such as Malibu D.A., Skrewed, and Stat. The funniest is Slut Wars, a Survivor-type reality series with scantily clad women that becomes a major hit for the network. This at first seemed a bit too broad but when you consider the nature of prime time television, it’s really not that far off. Perhaps the scariest title of all is JAG. It’s frightening to think of a world where that didn’t get canceled yet.

Some of the gags are a bit too broad. A network session where they test two different versions of Mike’s show before a focus group has some great potential. Unfortunately, the people involved in the focus group are portrayed as ridiculous caricatures and the scene loses most of its inherent humor. Weaver’s entire performance is over the top, with contorted facial movements that distract from her otherwise amusing material. Mike’s constant back problems throughout the movie lead to an unnecessary development that turns out to be a contrived reason for him to not appear at the focus group meeting.

Kasdan occassionally falls prey to some of his own criticisms. He makes several points in the film about how TV caters to hormones and turns women into objects, noting how the focus group responds to Lindsey Sloane’s character. However, in an early scene he kinda does this to Sloane herself, showing her in a changing room with very little clothing. Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but it diminishes the strength of your argument when you do the very same thing.

Still, it’s hard to deny that this is a pretty funny film. Kasdan is a talented director with a good eye for satire and he’s put together an amusing cast. David Duchovny pulls off a great slow burn throughout the course of the film and Lindsey Sloane has the perfect pitch for her character. Despite the several flaws and an abrupt ending, this is an enjoyable comedy that hits its targets more often than not.