The Dump

I didn't want to devote separate posts to a couple of things we tried but didn't like. So I'm dumping those notes here.

Thing 1: Vice Principals on HBO. I'd heard such good things, but I should have guessed that it being HBO meant it wouldn't appeal to me. I like their dramas but their comedies don't work for me. Like, so many people like Silicon Valley, and I couldn't get into that either. Nor could I enjoy Ballers or that one with Jack Black that I can't remember the name of. (Was it Jack Black? I think Tim Robbins was the president or something?) I dunno, John Oliver notwithstanding, HBO's idea of funny just doesn't jive with mine.

Also, I was totally put off by use of the name Gamby, since that's a character in The Fall and Rise of Peter Stoller. Still like Walton Goggins, though.

Thing 2: Pan. I thought maybe it couldn't be as bad as everyone said. I don't know if it was, but I know I quit caring pretty early in the movie, like around the time Peter first flew. I stopped paying much attention around that point, though I let the movie play to the end. My overall sense is one of a lot of mugging and scenery chewing. The whole thing was over-stylized, a poster for style over substance. The writing and directing vied for the award of Worst Ever, which left the actors in a bad spot. I was sorry for them.