The Agency's Posts

Taylor Swift's 'Red': 1.21 million in first-week sales: The tally is in, andTaylor Swift’s “Red” album sold 1.208 million copies....
Read More>

For James Bond's 'Skyfall,' a delicate balancing act: NEW YORK -- Early in “Skyfall,”Judi Dench's M pulls aside our embattled hero,....
Read More>

'The Loneliest Planet' is a revealing journey: Gael Garcia Bernal and Hani Furstenberg star as backpacking couple whose relationship is tested....
Read More>

Review: 'Fun Size' is a decent treat: 'Fun Size,' starring Victoria Justice and Jane Levy, is a Halloween holiday, not horror, movie....
Read More>

'Flight,' with Denzel Washington, would be tough sell to airline: People who obsess about airline safety will doubtlessly be drawn to “Flight,” Nov.....
Read More>

Taste buds and 'tude: The food and mood link: Research sheds light on how food affects mood and the flip side: how emotions impact taste.....
Read More>

Review: 'The Girl' zeros in on an obsessive Alfred Hitchcock: The tale about the dark side of director Alfred Hitchcock turns into a not-quite persuasive....
Read More>

Book review: Pete Townshend's memoir 'Who I Am': Pete Townshend has always beenrock 'n' roll's reluctant warrior. The driving force behind....
Read More>

5 Questions: Choreographer Alice Alyse on dancing for fitness: For those of us not blessed with the footwork ofFred Astaire, the notion of taking a dance....
Read More>

Taylor Swift makes a grown-up move on 'Red': The pop star has prided herself on writing her own material. But on her new album, she is happy....
Read More>

Jamie Foxx says 'Django' will make us see slavery differently: The “Django Unchained” trailer thathit the Web last weekhighlights a number of....
Read More>

Model Moves: Boot Camp: MODELMOVES: BootCamp Upcoming Model Moves Boot Campsbegin December 1st in NYC! Having been a....
Read More>
'Two and a Half Men' welcomes Kutcher, buries Sheen
Posted on: 09/20/11
Share/Save/Bookmark
 

CBS' cash-cow sitcom "Two and a Half Men" gathered its skirts and trudged into the future Monday night. The coffin over which the camera moved in the opening shot of the series' ninth season contained not just the character that Charlie Sheen had played for eight years, but in a pointedly metaphorical way, Sheen himself. (In a parallel narrative stream, the actual rock star from Mars would get his Comedy Central roast an hour later.)

They had come to bury him, player and played, and hardly to praise him: to sweep out the ashes –- to vacuum them up in a Dust Buster, eventually –- and roll out the carpet for his younger, taller, prettier, buffer and sure-to-be-less troublesome replacement.

"Two and a Half Men" is not a show I found funny, although – as with a Nashville power ballad -- I could see why other people might. Still, it’s pointless to argue with eight seasons of success, just as it was pointless to calculate just how much, or how little, work Sheen, as Charlie Harper, was actually putting in for his weekly $1.8 million, a salary he might have received for many more years, bad behavior and all, had he not taken to biting large chunks from the hand that fed him. You would have to say, technically, that he deserved the money, whether or not he earned it.

Given the show’s past success, it’s no surprise to find it proceeding Sheenless. Jon Cryer, a regular on the Emmy lists, may be the hardest-working man in situation comedy – it certainly feels that way sometimes, watching this show – but I don’t suppose anyone running a network thinks he can carry a show himself. Creator Chuck Lorre’s solution – Ashton Kutcher – seemed a sensible idea from the time it was announced. You would, after all, want to get an actor nothing like the person you want your audience to forget: That is how they rolled on "Cheers," when Shelley Long gave way to Kirstie Alley, and "MASH," when Mike Farrell replaced Wayne Rogers and Harry Morgan took over from McLean Stevenson and David Ogden Stiers followed Larry Linville. And Kutcher has fans of his own, who will be curious to see how he’s used, and what new energy he brings to the mix.

The opening funeral scene –- played to a congregation of old girlfriends and cameo player Martin Mull (who asked for $38,000 he was owed "for some, let’s say, pharmaceuticals") -- hunted for laughs in herpes, chlamydia and vaginal warts. Rose (Melanie Lynskey), Charlie’s stalker-girlfriend (and killer, it’s implied), noted their "ups and downs and the occasional restraining order."

Later, John Stamos came to see about buying Charlie’s beach house (joke about having sex with Charlie), followed by a bickering Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson, of Lorre’s "Dharma & Greg." Housekeeper Berta (Conchata Ferrell) got a line about "hosing the vomit off the occasional drug-addled hooker."

The halfway point was marked by the sudden appearance of Kutcher at the window, long-haired, bearded and wet. Kutcher’s Walden Schmidt is a tech billionaire who threw himself into the ocean because his wife left him, but dragged himself out again because the water was too cold. "I suppose I could have worn a wetsuit," he told Cryer’s Alan Harper. "But who tries to commit suicide in a wetsuit, right?"

There were some obvious old-school moves; Walden was having sex in Charlie’s bedroom, with two hot girls, before the half hour was up. Still, it was a promising beginnng: Kutcher brings a softness as well as a sense of rude health –- he was naked for much of the show –- to a series that could often be brittle and sour, misanthropic and misogynistic, and temperamentally middle-aged. His presence might allow Cryer to play some sweeter, less strident notes, though it is up to Lorre, of course, to make that, or let that, happen.

It’s too early to tell how this change will involve Angus T. Jones, as the titular half a man. (He turns 18 in October, it seems worth noting.) All he did Monday night was sit on the couch and break wind.

 
COMMENTS
Be the first to post a comment!


Post A Comment:




  • It's 2020! Start booking roles in commercials, fashion, films, theater and more with The Agency Online!

  • NEW WORKSHOP with Barbara Barna & Sean De Simone!

    Hi Everyone and Happy Summer! Sean at Sean De Simone casting and Barbara Barna are teaming up for a super informative and fun Hosting for Home Shopping workshop. A great opportunity for established or experienced TV Hosts and Experts interested in learning how to get noticed and how to get in....
  • MASTERCLASS W. Robin Carus & David John Madore

    A Special Offer for the Agency Community, from one of our favorite NYC Casting Directors! EMAIL FacetheMusicWithUs@gmail.com Or Eventbrite To Sign Up! Class Size is Limited.
  • Don't Fall Into The Comparison Trap

    Hi Everyone! As the second installment in an ongoing series of features by the Agency's amazing community, here's some sage advice from our own Regina Rockensies; a humble (& awesome)veteran we've had the pleasure of working with for a long time. Have an excellent week! : ) - The Agency....
  • One Model's Agreement

    Hi Everyone! As the first piece in an ongoing series of original articles by the Agency community, here's a short reflection on some of the values of professional acting & modeling that we can all keep in mind for our next casting. Good luck on your castings &shoots this week! : ) -....




 
home       castings&news       privacy policy       terms and conditions      contact us      browser tips
Official PayPal Seal