Like a lot of Web series fighting for eyeballs in the diffuse world of online entertainment, Crackle’s new “Backwash” hopes to entice viewers with big names usually beamed out on bigger screens.
“Backwash,” a manic comedy of 13 episodes, includes cameos from Jon Hamm, Sarah Silverman, Hank Azaria, Fred Willard, John Stamos and more. Each episode is seven to nine minutes long.
Celebrities been drawn to “Backwash” largely on the basis of its central talent. Joshua Malina (“The West Wing”) stars in the series, which he wrote and directed with veteran TV writer-producer Daniel Schnider.
The first two episodes debuted Monday, with subsequent episodes premiering Mondays and Wednesdays on Crackle.com, Sony Pictures Entertainment Company’s video website.
The series’ executive producer is Danny Leiner, who directed “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle” and “Dude Where’s My Car?” Like those films, “Backwash” is an absurdist journey precipitated by a frivolous happening.
The twitchy, nervous Jonesy (Michael Panes) and the confident, arch Val (Malina) are roommates. Val craves the free toaster of a local bank promotion, with motives somehow related to revenge on his dead father. He bundles up Jonesy, gives him a roll of “meat in a sock” and sends him packing with this advice: “Jonesy, you’re a winner, and winners something something something.”
An over-the-top adventure follows, including an accidental bank heist and a lackadaisical getaway in an ice cream truck. Their friend Fleming (Michael Ian Black) is roped in, too.
It’s all slapstick to the tilt, complete with actual slapping and mallet gags.
Each episode is presented in “Masterpiece Theater” style, with a guest star introducing the episode from a plush library, contrasting the lowbrow comedy that follows. They, too, add another layer of satire.
“Good evening. I’m Hank Azaria, and, yes, I lost a bet,” Azaria says.
Ken Marino (“Veronica Mars,” ”Reno 911!”) sits cross-legged and opens in the customary fashion of “You might recognize me from …” But rather than just listing a credit or two, he gives a litany until he becomes obsessed with finding out how you, the viewer, might know him.
These introductions are the best part of “Backwash.” Even though “Masterpiece Theater” parodies are old hat, they at least keep to a formula. The antics of Jonesy, Val and Fleming are too cartoonish and unhinged from any reality. The joke is that they can make up anything as they go (animation pops up in action sequences), a scheme that quickly tires.
For some, the surrealism of the series might recall some of Black’s comedy, like the short-lived 2005 comedy series “Stella.” But “Backwash” isn’t a Black venture (he’s simply a player in Malina and Schnider’s madcap), and it neither has the wit of “Stella” nor has learned the lesson that comedy needs some kind of grounding to flourish.
Malina clearly believes in his show, though, and one has to hand it to him for fully committing to it and its humor.
With Crackle, Sony has shown a strong belief in the Web series, a medium that has struggled to grow into its own and find pop culture resonance. They have kept production value reasonably high by Web series standards, and “Backwash” is one of the better produced series out there.
One hopes Sony keeps the faith, and that they’re rewarded with more than “Backwash.”
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More