The quick jokes of movie posters, the melodramatic supporting characters who act anything but the part, and the frequent movie parodies all make “The Critic” a fun, and quite funny, show.
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In 1994, Simpson´s veterans Al Jean, Mike Reiss, James L. Brooks and more set off to create a new animated show on ABC, building off the success of their animated works on Fox. At a time when everyone and their mother was jumping on the animation bandwagon, with shows like "Fish Police," the creators of "The Critic" wanted to at once create a separate entity and build on a proven formula.
The premise of "The Critic" is simple. Jay Sherman is a bald, overweight, divorcee with a son he shares with his wife. His life revolves around his job, as a reviewer on his own television show, panning the latest dreck to come out of Hollywood. Eschewing the familiar family format that experienced great success with "The Simpsons," "The Critic" focuses on the intelligent and oft-bitter Jay and his day-to-day life as a maligned film critic in the city. While not as highbrow as a comedy like "Fraiser," "The Critic" does rely on the viewer having a good understanding of pop culture, movies in particular, for a good bit of its humor.
"The Critic" is an expansion of the throwaway movie parody jokes in "The Simpsons." Often crafted with loving irreverence for the movies, "The Simpsons" would use a movie, TV, or video game parody as a transitional element for a quick laugh as an aside from the narrative. "The Critic" assumes that all these bad movies, like "It Ate Them All" or "McBaine" are real, and some poor schmuck really has to review them. Of course reviewing all these dreadful movies would only make a soul ugly, angry, and bitter; able only to spew venom forth about the films he sees like a certain dinosaur in a certain movie he certainly didn´t like.
One of my issues with "The Critic" stems from its limited staring cast. In fact, the bulk of each episode is set aside for Jon Lovitz´s Jay, and while he´s an engaging enough character to anchor the series, he´s not consistent across episodes. In one he is eerily reminiscent of Homer Simpson, in another he seems entirely too much like one of Lovitz´s "Saturday Night Live" characters, and in another seems like a character in his own right. Jay Sherman is a perfect example of a one-note character stretched too thin, and isn´t given the chance to grow into a unique individual.
The supporting cast, on the other hand, shines in "The Critic." If, as the commentaries suggest, they were going for a sense of realism with Jay and his son Marty, they let it all hang out for the rest of the characters. Jay´s adopted parents, rich socialites without a wisp of anything resembling Jay´s persona, are hysterical. Franklin Sherman, voiced by Gerrit Graham throws out some of the funniest one-liners with exquisite out-of-left-field delivery that had me laughing the hardest I have since "Family Guy" went off the air. Jay´s boss, Duke Phillips (Charles Napier), the owner of the network, is an egotistical "Man´s man," who runs roughshod over his stations with an iron fist, despite not knowing what is going on around him. He´s the ultimate conflict of capitalism and journalistic integrity, a man who has let the dollars get in front of entertainment ("Your job is to rate movies on a scale from "good" to "excellent".") Doris (Doris Grau) is the droll, sarcastic union hairdresser, reminiscent of comedic butlers from television of yore, whose employment is secure and has no worries about saying what she thinks. Jay´s best friend is hunky Jeremy, a Mel Gibson-esque actor who hates America, yet is reluctant to leave the land that has provided him with fame and fortune. A short appearance by each of these characters livens up a show that would otherwise be bogged down in its primary story.
Mentioned by the creators during the commentaries on this DVD set, pacing is another issue that plagued the ill-fated "Critic." Some episodes would move at an incredible pace, with one rapid-fire parody following another, both in the context of the show and as the show itself. Yet other episodes would see a first act struggle to find its voice, and almost lose its audience until it would pick up in the second half. All the episodes of the show have a great deal of humor in them, but at times it gets clumpy, with four great jokes in a minute and then another 3 minutes of setup with no payoff. As the show ran on and switched networks it evened out but still was hit-or-miss for a general audience. I´ve got a good deal of movie knowledge yet some of these parodies went right over my head. I almost felt sorry for Joe Sixpack who´s trying to keep up!
With a protagonist who is a professional film critic, you knew going in "The Critic" would have its fair share of movie parodies. Whether it was a throwaway gag in the titles or an episode theme, for better-or-for-worse "The Critic" stuck to its guns. While the creators could have gone for a cheap joke and panned the latest trends in politics or television, they instead kept focus on film. By setting the show in New York, it was also possible to keep the show from falling into the always-dangerous pit of in-jokes and insider references (though "The Critic" is guilty of its fair share) while still marking itself as a show that makes fun of movies. Nothing is sacred in "The Critic," from Jews to action movies to art house indie faire and that bolsters its appeal to this casual viewer. But in comparison to the later and, in my opinion, far superior "Family Guy," "The Critic" hung itself by its limits. Where "Family Guy" would take the big joke no matter what and just throw it out there, "The Critic" tried to tie it into a film parody or weave it into the story. Some of the biggest laughs, for me, came in the random moments or brief asides in "The Critic," and I think the writers did themselves a disservice in limiting their options.
All criticisms aside, I really enjoy "The Critic." It´s one of those shows that has a very limited appeal, but even still most viewers can find something to laugh at in every episode. I first happened on the show in late-night reruns on Comedy Central in college, in late-night marathons with "Duckman." There is something familiar and comforting in Jay Sherman, not in a Burkian "Identification" sense, but rather as the way we expect to see a film critic live. Hobnobbing with stars and maligned by the public for their dislike of the popular film, yet shunned in their personal life, this is how the critic must live. But the true appeal of the show comes not from the now familiar main plot, but instead from the ancillary details. The quick jokes of movie posters, the melodramatic supporting characters who act anything but the part, and the frequent movie parodies all make "The Critic" a fun, and quite funny, show. By referencing classic films, "The Critic" is a show that may stand the test of time (ignoring the fact that there are at least three shots of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in any given episode, something mentioned in the commentaries) and the use of fictional movies for review means it won´t date itself (though it is interesting to see how many of the fictional movie ideas have moved forward since the shows cancellation in the mid-90s.) On DVD, or in reruns, I can easily recommend "The Critic" to movie fans and comedy fans alike.
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