Janeane Garofalo
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BirthDate BirthPlace |
09/27/1964
Newton, NJ |
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Janeane Garofalo's Life Is a Sitcom: She Accidentally Got Married
November 14, 2012 11:27am ESTWe all know how the story goes: Boy meets girl, boy and girl get drunk, boy and girl get fake married, and — oh f**k, that wedding wasn't fake! It's every single person's worst nightmare. And, for actress and comedian Janeane Garofalo, the sitcom's wacky plot device was revealed to be reality. Garofalo revealed at the New York Comedy Festival's reunion for The Ben Stiller Show that until this past Saturday, she had been unknowingly married to Big Bang Theory producer Rob Cohen for 20 years. Wha? That's crazy talk! Crazy, but true. According to The New York Post, Garofalo explained, “Rob and I got married, for real, which we had to have a notary dissolve not 30 minutes before we got here tonight … We were married for 20 years until this evening.” “We got married drunk in Vegas . . . We dated for a year, and we got married at a drive-through chapel in a cab. [We thought] you have to go down to the courthouse and sign papers and stuff, so who knew? We were married, and apparently now that [Rob] is getting married for real, his lawyer dug up something,” says Garofalo. Holy moly, this is some pretty unbelievable stuff. Unbelievable, but not unheard of. From everyone's favorite mildly incestuous cousins to a hungover toothless man and his stripper, funny people just love gettin' accidentally hitched. Luckily for Garofalo, her surprise marriage ended in a quickie divorce. Not so for these less fortunate brides and grooms, who had things go terribly awry once they said their vows. Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon on 30 Rock While Jack is trying to marry his girlfriend Avery on the show's fifth season, the minister accidentally pronounces Jack and Liz husband and wife. The horror! Before they can undo what had been done, Jack and Liz are forced to go through couples counseling. George Michael and Maeby Funkë on Arrested Development Unfortunately, romantic feelings are not so mutual with these kissing cousins. After George Michael and Maeby have a "mock" wedding to appease Alzheimer's patients at the hospital, George Michael decides not to tell Maeby that the wedding was actually real. When the truth gets out — because the truth always does — Maeby is none-too-thrilled. Hey, at least Garofalo and Cohen's wedding was a secret to both parties! Ross Geller and Rachel Green on Friends Much like Garofalo's situation, Ross and Rachel tie the knot in a drunken stupor in Sin City. But as the two remember what they had done, things take a turn for the creepy — Ross pretends to have annulled the marriage when, in fact, he never signed the papers. That dastardly so and so! Stu and Jade in The Hangover During his inebriated nuptials with Jade (a Vegas Stripper), Stu not only gives away a tooth but also his grandmother's Holocaust ring. At least neither Garofalo or Cohen gave away priceless family heirlooms… that we know of. Fonzie and Jenny on Happy Days What starts out as a fun costume party on a boat turns into one heck of a web to unweave when Fonzie and Joanie's friend Jenny realize their farce wedding might actually be real. While the Fonz thought the whole ordeal was just a gag, the fact that an actual sea captain performed the ceremony meant that he might have actually gotten hitched. To complicate matters, Jenny is not so keen on getting the marriage annulled. In classic overly complicated sitcom fashion, our hero is ultimately saved by a technicality — the boat upon which he said "I do" was only a half mile off shore, and, according to Happy Days' Maritime Law, a vessel must be three miles out to see before a sea captain can take matrimonial authority. Needless to say, Garofalo got off easy. DJ Tanner and Uncle Jesse Marry Their Greek Cousins on Full House Whatever you do, don't walk around a table with a Greek person — you'll wind up married. Luckily, all it takes to end said marriage is to walk back around the table backwards... at least in the reality of Full House. Follow Abbey Stone on Twitter @abbeystone [Photo Credit: Joseph Marzullo/WENN] More: Channing Tatum Officially Named the Sexiest Man Alive Brandy Remembers Whitney Houston with New Album, 'Two Eleven' Let's Play 'Taylor Swift or 1950s Etiquette Manual?' From Our Partners: ’Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2’ Star Kristen Stewart on ‘Twilight’ Finale: I’m ‘Desperate’ For a Job Now (VIDEO) (Celebuzz) ’The Voice’ Top 12 Performance Show: 8 Things You Didn’t See On TV (Celebuzz)
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Janeane Garofalo married for 20 years without knowing it
November 13, 2012 4:00am ESTThe West Wing star exchanged vows with The Big Bang Theory producer Rob Cohen at a drive-through chapel two decades ago in Sin City, but they didn't realise the wedding was for real until the TV executive started making plans to marry his new fiancee. The pair's divorce finally came through on Saturday (10Nov12), shortly before they met up at the New York Comedy Festival as part of a reunion of workers on The Ben Stiller Show - the actor's 1990s comedy sketch series. Garofalo tells New York Post gossip column Page Six, "Rob and I got married, for real, which we had to have a notary dissolve (a dissolution of marriage) not 30 minutes before we got here tonight. We were married for 20 years until this evening... We got married drunk in Vegas... We dated for a year, and we got married at a drive-through chapel in a cab. (We thought) you have to go down to the courthouse and sign papers and stuff, so who knew? We were married, and apparently now that (Rob) is getting married for real, his lawyer dug up something." Cohen is engaged to Jill Leiderman, a producer on TV talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live.
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On 'The Campaign' Trail: Politics Is a Dirty, Hilarious Game
July 25, 2012 9:00am ESTAh, politics. The darkest, dirtiest, most dangerous game ever played. The sort of game that can turn good, honest men into shifty, cannibalistic cretins for the mere taste of glory. Politics: murky. cutthroat, explosive… and hilarious. That’s what a visit to New Orleans for a The Campaign set visit taught me. My first trip to either an active movie set or the American South was thrust upon me quite suddenly in February of 2012. Less than forty-eight hours after I was told I’d be heading down to the set of The Campaign, there I was, watching take after take of a toupee-topped Will Ferrell make ferocious love to Zach Galifianakis’ onscreen wife. And believe it or not, even that scene was all about the politics. As the duo blasted obscene exclamations into one another’s faces — a routine the lot of us treated to the set visit would be watching for the better part of a half hour — it was explained that to this scene, and to every other scene in director Jay Roach’s film, the dirty game of politics was at play. Ferrell plays Cam Brady: a polished incumbent with “strong hair” and a penchant for double-talk. His opponent is Galifianakis’ new-to-the-game challenger, Marty Huggins. Marty… he likes pugs. And as ridiculous as these two fellows might sound, and as comically as the these two actors might be playing them, director Roach and his stars will assure you that just about everything in this movie comes from the real world of politics, in some form or another. “All of us are 100 percent coming from seeing politics,” Roach explained to the group over lunch, “seeing how politics has become much more about … win-at-all-costs, take-down-your-opponent. And less and less about statesmanship.” It’s a sad case, but definitely one that is conducive to comedy. In fact, as dark, demented, and utterly shameless as the antics of The Campaign’s central duo get, they never seem to compare to the madness of the real world. And therein lies the comic genius. Galifianakis, whom we got to speak to in between takes, illustrates this point by revealing one of his characters’ political ploys that fans will see in the film: “I do a hidden camera ad with [Ferrell’s] son in a park. Which, probably, will come across as really creepy. With the hidden camera, I try to get him to call me dad,” in an effort to shatter his opponents home life, and make him look weak. “If you read the script, it’s like, ‘God, this is a little bit over-the-top.’ But then you read the news, and you go, ‘God, it’s really not that over-the-top.’” Ferrell feels the same way: “The only think we're worried about now is, ‘Is our movie crazy enough?’ We’ve seen … Herman Cain. The Rick Perrys of the world. All these things that keep coming out. Gingrich's ex-wife suggesting that he wanted an open marriage. We're just right in that line.” All this considered, somewhere around the fifth run-through of Ferrell and actress Sarah Baker engaging in the throes of infidelity, it became clear that the film was not above having fun with its sincere themes. A tour through the set of Marty’s family house proved this: the eccentric décor boasted too many owl figurines to count, and family portraits that seemed straight out of toothpaste commercials. Some heavily improvised takes of Galifianakis and Baker massaging each other’s feet proved that the movie didn’t even mind veering from the political for a scene or two, just for laughs. As Galifianakis told us, “I’m all about jokes. I just like jokes. As long as it goes along with the character.” The inherency of the themes did reappear during a faux political ad we got to watch Galifianakis tape at the end of the day. The once humble Marty Huggins had come to flamboyant acts of showmanship to win supporters. In this scene, he teamed with an evangelical preacher to attract the “religious vote.” “We’re not a very preachy movie,” Roach explained. “But we’re definitely going after those kinds of candidates, that kind of race that is all about, ‘Smear your opponent before he smears you, and then, if he does smear you, smear him back as hard as you can.’ It’s that continual character assassination, and so called ‘opposition research.’ That’s where we got inspired to take on some real life.” Even Ferrell’s hair, which Roach admitted, “came from Rick Perry, John Edwards.” “Marty’s character is inspired by the out-there candidates that ... come out of nowhere and just become suddenly significant,” the director said. Although this movie might be taking a few jabs at the campaign game, the director doesn’t quite have animosity for the world in question: “I always had a respect and an admiration for people who got into politics. I certainly have always been interested in law and political science and I’ve been an amateur student, you know just a dilettante really in connection to politics my whole life.” This is evident by his past projects — films like Recount and Game Change. Ultimately, what we’re dealing with here isn’t a beat down of the game, but just a means of pointing out the flaws therein. Galifianakis broke his jokey demeanor to tell us, “As cheesy as it sounds, I think comedy is a really good tool for trying to say something. I think, especially — to be serious for a second — after this last war our country was in, the folk singers — you really didn’t hear a lot of people singing about stuff. The comedians started. Because there’s a bullshit detector with comedians. Chris Rock, Bill Maher, Janeane Garofalo, Patton Oswalt started questioning things. Jon Stewart to a huge extent, and Stephen Colbert. So I think comedy does have that powerful thing that doesn’t seem too preachy, because you’re also making people laugh. It’s a really good tool for messaging.” There is a lot to be learned from comedy, and a lot of comedy inherent in the idea of campaigning for public office. Everything exhibited on the New Orleans set seemed to broadcast a dedication both to the laughter and to the messages. With a team including the highly educated, politically fascinated Jay Roach and the dynamic comic forces of Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, The Campaign stands a chance to deliver wholeheartedly on both fronts. [Photo Credits: Warner Bros.] More: 'The Campaign': Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis Head-to-Head Interview Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis Win By a Nose in 'The Campaign' Poster 'The Campaign': Will Ferrell's Eagles Vs. Zach Galifianakis' Pugs — POSTERS
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Courteney Cox as Rachel?: The Surprising History of 'Friends'
April 04, 2012 4:56pm ESTIt may be hard to believe, but you almost spent 10 years watching a show called Six of One featuring Courteney Cox as Rachel. Warren Littlefield, the former president of NBC Entertainment, has written the book Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV, and in an excerpt published in the May issue of Vanity Fair, he shares the history of how Matt LeBlanc, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, and Lisa Kudrow wound up meeting for coffee at Central Perk on a weekly basis. Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman reveals that casting the iconic roles wasn't easy. "We saw a countless number of actors," she says. Among the first was Matthew Perry, who auditioned for the role of Chandler. Though it was obvious that he was a great fit for the part, he had already committed to doing the pilot LAX 2194. (Someone at FOX thought a time travel show would be more exciting if it focused on airport baggage handlers). Kauffman thought the role of Chandler would be the easiest to cast because, "It’s got the most joke jokes. It’s sarcastic and kind of quippy," however, "No one could do it. No one.” Shockingly, FOX didn't pick up the luggage-themed pilot, and Perry was free to take the role. We also came dangerously close to living in a "Rachel cut," Braniston-free world. The role of Rachel was originally offered to Courteney Cox, but she asked to do Monica instead. That required a big character rewrite, because those casting the show had another actress in mind for Monica. “When we originally wrote the role, we had Janeane Garofalo’s voice in our head,” explains Kauffman’s writing partner, David Crane. “Darker and edgier and snarkier, and Courteney brought a whole bunch of other colors to it. We decided that, week after week, that would be a lovelier place to go to.” She nearly lost the role to Nancy McKeon, better known as Jo from The Facts of Life, but eventually NBC decided to go with Cox. Shortly after casting the other roles, Kauffman realized they might be making TV history. “The first day we went to a run-through, and the six of them were together for the first time, onstage in the coffee shop, I remember the atmosphere being electric," she said. "A chill ran down my spine.” [Vanity Fair] More: Cox: 'Arquette Split Made Us Better Parents' NBC Buys Courteney Cox-David Arquette Series Jennifer Aniston: Twenty-Somethings Make Me Feel Old
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Lewis, Bosworth & Saldana poke fun at idiots in online skit
July 18, 2010 5:00am ESTThe trio turn heads in a bar, where comedienne Janeane Garofalo works, but their helium-like voices and baby talk turn off the locals. Bosworth battles with Saldana over a toy drum and then announces she has to go "poo poo" and "stinky pee pee" in the hilarious skit.
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'Ratatouille' & 'Surf's Up' Land Multiple Annie Awards Nominations
December 03, 2007 12:21pm ESTRatatouille and Surf's Up look set to dominate the 2008 Annie Awards for film and television animation after landing 13 and 10 nominations, respectively. Rodent movie Ratatouille is up for awards including Best Animated Feature, while its vocal stars Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and Patton Oswalt have all been nominated for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production. Among Surf's Up's nominations are nods for Best Animated Feature, Best Animated Effects and Best Directing for Ash Brannon and Chris Buck. Elsewhere, Bee Movie has five nominations, while The Simpsons Movie and Persepolis both received four apiece. The nominees for Best Animated Television Production are Jane and the Dragon, Creative Comforts America, Moral Orel, Robot Chicken: Star Wars and Kim Possible. The 35th annual Annie Awards ceremony will take place at Royce Hall in Westwood, California, on Feb. 8. COPYRIGHT 2007 WORLD ENTERTAINMENT NEWS NETWORK LTD. All Global Rights Reserved.
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The Ten Review
August 03, 2007 5:36am ESTDirector David Wain rounds up some of his buddies from the 1990s comedy troupe The State to poke fun at the do’s and don’ts of the Ten Commandments. No need to fall on your knees and pray for forgiveness if you’ve forgotten whose house you should not covet. Wain breaks down the Ten Commandments in episodic fashion and confers the task of introducing each outlandish morality tale upon his Wet Hot American Summer star Paul Rudd. The silliness is firmly established when Wain examines the consequences of worshipping a false idol. In this case it’s Adam Brody who enjoys fame and fortune after he accidentally jumps from a plane sans parachute. Not that he can reap the benefits of sudden stardom—he’s stuck in the ground and can’t be moved. But Brody’s predictament isn’t necessarily the oddest. A 35-year-old virgin (Gretchen Mol) goes weak at the knees when she’s hit on by none other than Jesus Christ (Justin Theroux). Liev Schreiber engages in a game of oneupmanship with his neighbor when both start snapping their town’s supply of CAT scan machines. Life imitates art when Winona Ryder learns the hard way that stealing causes her nothing but pain and shame. Rudd gets in on the fun as the lucky devil juggles married life with Famke Janssen with his booty calls with Jessica Alba. But Wain inflicts the most humiliation on his co-writer Ken Marino whose arrogant surgeon learns the hard way playing pranks on patients will only led to life in prison and a nightly “ass-raping.” As you can tell Wain’s not really into making subtle statements about the set of rules we observe—intentionally or otherwise—in our everyday lives. By finally making good use of her sticky fingers Winona Ryder reveals she’s ready to laugh at her past transgressions. Not that she goes off on a shoplifting spree. No she purloins a ventriloquist’s puppet in the name of love. Nothing in The Ten beats the hilarious though unsettling sight of a game Ryder getting all freaky with her wooden object of affection. She hasn’t let her hair down like this before so good for her. But she’s got some competition from Gretchen Mol whose screams of “Jesus” during hot and sweaty sex are let out with intense religious fervor. The award for Harried Husband of the Year goes to Paul Rudd Knocked Up’s henpecked spouse. But he plays the role of an estranged hubby with such biting wit that he makes marital disharmony a joy to behold. Still it’s hard to see why Famke Janssen and Jessica Alba—both wasted by the way—would fight over this dweeb. A hysterically deadpan Liev Schreiber spoofs his oh-so-serious forensics expert from this past season’s CSI Oliver Platt does a killer Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation and Rob Corddry gives brutal prison sex a kind face. The Ten isn’t exactly the full-fledged State reunion fans are waiting for especially as Thomas Lennon and Michael Ian Black barely make their presence felt. But Kerri Kenny is relentlessly cheerful as a sitcom-ish mom who fails to convince her two black sons that their real dad is the Governator. And an oily Ken Marino quickly loses his smirk once behind bars though he takes his punishment like a real man. David Wain can sleep well at night knowing that The Ten won’t cost him his place in Heaven. While there’s no denying that the Bible-inspired buffoonery on display is irreverent at best Wain and cohort Marino do not take a sledgehammer to the stone tablets. Instead they seem more interested in how the Ten Commandments play a role in our lives regardless of our religious beliefs. That said whatever point they try to make is lost amid the sexual shenanigans. Not that it takes a theologian to deduce that murder is bad stealing is wrong and buying up the town’s supply of CAT scan machines is asking for trouble. By the very nature of its structure The Ten can’t help but unfold as a series of interconnected sketches that sadly lack a punchline. But it’s so goofy and hilariously borderline offense that it’s hard not to be caught up in all the silliness. Indeed Wain’s preoccupation with sex provokes more nervous laughs than groans of disgust. And The Ten offers some side-splitting parodies of family sitcoms prison dramas crime procedure shows and preachy faith-based dramas. There’s even a warning against skipping church on Sundays—and letting it all hang out literally with your buddies—that would turn Homer Simpson into Ned Flanders. Wain orchestrates all this madness in the anything-goes manic style of Airplane! or Scary Movie. The Ten is by no means a minor miracle of the comedy kind but if you accept it for what it is rather than what it tries to be than it’s certainly worth skipping evening services to see.
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Ratatouille Review
July 03, 2007 5:44am ESTThen again Ratatouille does come from Brad Bird the creator of The Incredibles so you know you are in for something good. Meet Remy (Patton Oswalt) a rat who dares to dream the impossible dream of becoming a gourmet chef. All his life Remy has had a gifted sense of smell. While his family rummages through the garbage for scraps Remy only goes for the good stuff stealing directly from the kitchen. For instance a piece of brie combined with a fresh berry is just heaven for Remy. Then circumstances literally drop Remy into the Parisian restaurant of his dreams Gusteau’s where he soon discovers having whiskers and a tail is detrimental to cooking five-star meals. So close and yet so far away. But as luck would have it the petite rodent befriends the restaurant’s shy outcast garbage boy Linguini (Lou Romano) and together they form a most improbable partnership. With Linguini’s clumsy body channeling Remy’s creative brains they turn Paris upside down. Vive Remy! Ratatouille doesn’t have any showboating animated characters in need of A-list voices to bring them to life. Instead the vocal talent all take a backseat to the story and it works out perfectly. Stand-up comedian Oswalt (TV’s The King of Queens) taps into a rodent frame of mind and gives Remy a nice mix of intelligence spunk and food savvy while voiceover veteran Romanoo is effectively goofy and sweet as Linguini. There’s a slew of other more well-known voices as well including: Ian Holm as the domineering slightly sadistic short-in-stature chef Skinner at Gusteau’s; Janeane Garofalo as Collette the only female in the kitchen who at first resents Linguini but then grows to love him (mais oui!); Brad Garrett as the late great chef Auguste Gusteau Remy’s mentor whose spirit resurfaces in Remy’s imagination; and finally Peter O'Toole—yes THE Peter O'Toole—as the pompous food critic Ego who hates everything he eats. Well that is until he samples Remy’s cuisine. What can I say? Helmed by the ultra-talented Brad Bird Ratatouille is simply a masterpiece in animation which is quite a compliment in this day and age of the CGI glut. Reaching the standard they set with Toy Story Pixar has never stopped churning out the highest quality CGI you’ll ever see onscreen unsurpassed by any of their competition. Ratatouille’s attention to detail is nothing less than amazing down to Remy’s rapid breathing when he’s frightened just as if we are watching a real rat to the way Bird and his crew turn the City of Lights into a truly mesmerizing sight. And for those who love to cook—or eat good food for that matter—forget about it! Ratatouille is the delicacy you’ve been waiting for on par with expert cooking movies such as Like Water for Chocolate or Babette's Feast. Pixar clearly has defined the way we watch animation creating films that are not only entertaining for the children but just as hilarious compelling and heartfelt as any live action film. Now if only the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences can just get off their high horse and consider an animated film worthy of a Best Picture Oscar. Ratatouille might just have a chance.
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F*ck Review
November 10, 2006 1:12pm ESTDocumentary filmmaker Steve Anderson explains everything anyone could possibly want to know about the word that gave four-letter words a bad name. The educational sometimes clinical look at the much-maligned word shows also the history of the media free speech and what some consider the decline of Western civilization. But yeah even those of us using it a lot will learn something. Did you know it can be used in practically every form of speech—as a noun verb adverb adjective and more? Did you know that it is NOT an abbreviation for Fornicating Under Consent of the King or For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge or anything else as popularly misconceived? The word is discussed by directors such as Kevin Smith who is know for having hundreds in his movies culture critics such as Miss Manners' Judith Martin reporters such as Ben Bradlee and porn stars of course such as Ron Jeremy. The guy who steals the show here is British comic Billy Connolly who when he's not in kids movies is pretty blue. With his wildly long hair flopping he goes on a banter about how the word is a "universally perfect word that everyone understands" and his rant surpasses even funny folk like Bill Maher Sandra Tsing Loh Janeane Garofalo and others in the film. Conservative commentators like Pat Boone and Alan Keyes are interspersed with rebuttals from hip-hoppers like Ice-T and Chuck D. At one point Boone suggests that his name be used instead of the F-word and it cuts to Ice-T saying "Boone that! " trying it out as a substitute. It's nice to see unexpected people in this as with Hunter S. Thompson’s last interview and singer Alanis Morissette discussing the word used in her first hit "You Oughta Know." Even Sam Donaldson declares it "a grand word." It gets raunchy too especially when porn starlet Tera Patrick and her biohazard musician hubby Evan Seinfeld talk about their preferred f**king positions. The talking heads are shot with a black backdrop and so they all appear on equal footing almost as if they are all on a panel together talking to each other. In between news clips of presidents shooting photographers the finger film clips from movies like Sideways Scarface and South Park: Bigger Longer & Uncut are used and some funny animation by cartoonist Bill Plympton helps illustrate some examples. The documentary shows fascinating facts like the first time its used on TV the first time its used in a poem and the first time it was used by a vice president on the floor of Congress. The documentary diverts from the word and does explore FCC censorship linguistic experts and other more academic ideas that make it seem like it should be mandatory for high school kids to see before they're allowed to say it. Ultimately it takes the sting out of the word and you get rather desensitized to it after hearing it said more than 600 times in the film. And Drew Carey appropriately suggests that the sequel to the film should be called "C**t."
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The Wild Review
April 14, 2006 6:02am ESTLike Madagascar the story starts at the New York Zoo. Samson (Kiefer Sutherland) the lion is once again the star of the show but unlike Madagascar’s Alex Samson claims he came from the wild. He regales the other odd assortment of zoo denizens--including a talkative giraffe (Janeane Garofalo) a lisping anaconda (Richard Kind) a snarky Koala (Eddie Izzard) and a take-charge squirrel (Jim Belushi)--with tales of danger and excitement abroad. Of course Samson can’t tell the real truth that he was actually born in captivity and is making it all up because everyone including his rebellious teenage son Ryan (Greg Cipes) would think less of him. But when Ryan runs away thinking he can’t live up to his dad’s reputation and is mistakenly shipped off to the wild Samson has keep up the charade as the gang embarks on a dangerous mission to rescue him. The lion does come clean at some point in case you were wondering. Another vocal roster of big names another dollar. This time around we’ve got Sutherland Garofalo Belushi all doing the animal thing. There’s also William Shatner as a villainous wildebeest headed for the loony bin after deciding he’s tired of being the prey and turns predator. He’s even got his herd of wildebeest dancing a Busby Berkeley number around a volcano á la Lion King. Sigh. Luckily there is one saving grace--sort of: Izzard as the wisecracking Koala bear Nigel who gets mistaken for a god by the wildebeest and milks it for all its worth which isn’t a whole lot. Still if anyone has seen the British comedian’s hilarious HBO special Eddie Izzard: Dressed to Kill you can just imagine him strutting around as a Koala dressed in women’s clothing and doing his shtick. The Mouse House once again proves it doesn’t have an inventive bone in its body--or even the gumption to realize that had something with potential. Apparently the pitch from writers Mark Gibson and Philip Halprin had been mulling around Disney for about nine years before it got made giving the likes of Nemo and Madagascar a head start (I’d be peeved if I were those writers). But even if The Wild did come first it still wouldn’t be able to measure up mostly because the story is insipid. Wildebeest turning into predators? What’s THAT all about? The CGI-animation is spot on of course but we are definitely taking all of that for granted these days. No now what we want is a good compelling story. If not that then at least we should have a couple of really funny characters--like commando penguins or a fish with short-term memory--to help things move along. The Wild doesn’t have either so while children may be left mildly entertained for an hour and a half parents will be left twiddling their thumbs waiting for it to be over.
