Bored to Death (Sundays 9:30/8:30 Central)
HBO
Sep 18, 2009 Web Exclusive
You almost have to feel bad for Jason Schwartzman, in that during the decade since he stole hearts in Rushmore, no one besides Wes Anderson has really found a suitable vehicle for him. So here he is again, this time starring as novelist/journalist Jonathan Ames in HBO’s adaptation of Ames’ amateur private detective novella, published earlier this year in The Double Life Is Twice As Good.
As the series begins, Ames’ girlfriend has left him, and out of curiosity, boredom, and desperation he posts a Craigslist ad offering private detective services—partly as an homage to the Raymond Chandler paperbacks that litter his apartment. Each episode finds Ames trying his hand at detection while also sorting out the details of his personal life.
Befitting HBO, there’s an eclectic cast of (relatively) big name stars, including Schwartzman, Ted Danson, and Zack Galifanakis. Ultimately, however, Ames isn’t that interesting a character. His voice is enough to hold up a short story, but it works less well as a television program. At any rate, Jonathan Ames is no Max Fischer. (www.hbo.com)
Author rating: 4/10
Average reader rating: 6/10
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November 9th 2009
3:25pm
Agreed. Good cast, lackluster writing. I’m surprised their bothering to make another season of this series. A waste of HBO’s great talents (and money) in my eyes. Can’t imagine anyone wanted “Bored to Death the Complete 2 Season Box Set.” To me, this was a failed experiment. A writer trying to live out his Raymond Chandler fantasy (don’t they all, once they read Chandler?) except “Bored to Death’s” author, Jonathan Ames, just can’t write compelling stories. I’ve read his other stuff and it’s very blah. Faux Bukowski, Proust light. HBO should wise up and dump this series before other cable networks with shows like “Mad Men” steal their once solitary cable thunder.