I’m still watching it, but begrudgingly. What started as a clever post-apocalypse comedy has turned into a bog-standard sitcom that should be called “An Outrageously Jerky Character Played By Will Forte Tries To Get Laid But It Doesn’t Work Because Of Something Or Other Always Happening”. I think I’m disappointed because it has Chris Miller and Phil Lord’s names on it, but I don’t see any of the creativity and humor of The Lego Movie or 22/3 Jump Street. I guess because the main character has their name, I figured they were more involved.
True story: I once had a teensy part on a TV show I didn’t know. Probably one line or something. I don’t even remember what the part was. I think a reporter. But on the day I was shooting, I was in the make-up trailer seated next to Joe Mantegna, who was a regular on the show. I was utterly flummoxed. I mean, this guy was basically David Mamet’s mouthpiece on stage for years, and I knew him from a few movies I loved, including House of Games and Homicide. And he starts talking to me, just the sort of friendly chatter between two guys getting make-up put on their faces and hairspray sprayed in their hair and eye liner put around they eyes and whatnot.
“So where are you from?” he asks.
“I’m originally from Arkansas,” I tell him.
“Oh, do you know Mary?”
I have no idea who he’s talking about. Mary who? Why would being from Arkansas mean that I know someone named Mary? Did he think that only a handful of people lived in Arkansas and they all knew each other? Because I used to get that. I’d say I’m from Arkansas and someone would say, ‘oh, do you know so-and-so’, as if I would obviously say, ‘yes, of course I do, we’re both from Arkansas!’ But when people do that, they normally at least throw in a last name. So I had no idea what to say when asked whether I knew Mary.
“No, I don’t think so,” I admitted.
He then politely asked me something else and I was none the wiser for quite some time that Mary Steenbergen, who is also from Arkansas, was also a regular on the show, which was called Joan of Arcadia and starred Joe Mantegna and Mary Steenburgen.
Anyway, I was delighted to see Mary Steenburgen, who I don’t personally know, appear on Last Man on Earth.
-Tom