In HBO's new dramedy Hung, Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane) is a down on his luck high school basketball coach who has lost it all. His gold digging wife (Anne Heche), his goth kids, and even his parent's house (after a fire, home becomes a tent in the front lawn). With money and options running out, ray finds himself at a get rich quick convention. There he learns that the key to making money lies in focusing on your one big talent. Ray is convinced his 'big' talent is between his legs, and opts to become a man-whore.
Ray's first night out on the job is a disaster of Midnight Cowboy proportions. He gets rejected, and fifty bucks is slipped under the door "for his trouble." Ray realizes he is going to need some help. This is where Tanya Skagle (Jane Adams) comes in. Tanya is a poet that worked briefly with Ray's English class, and becomes a fellow member of the 'market yourself' seminar. After a disastrous double fling the two decide to become business partners (i.e. she becomes his pimp).
Ray's first night out on the job is a disaster of Midnight Cowboy proportions. He gets rejected, and fifty bucks is slipped under the door "for his trouble." Ray realizes he is going to need some help. This is where Tanya Skagle (Jane Adams) comes in. Tanya is a poet that worked briefly with Ray's English class, and becomes a fellow member of the 'market yourself' seminar. After a disastrous double fling the two decide to become business partners (i.e. she becomes his pimp).
Now that set up may seem sketchy and simple, turning the show into a one note joke. The pilot is really well made, and resists the urge to jump right into the swing of things with a realization that there will be plenty of time to get into embarrassing sexual pratfalls (hopefully in upcoming episodes). Instead, we get the story of Ray's fading golden years, all of his losses, and we feel his desperation set in. This is not a bad guy, and Jane does an effective job of rendering sympathy.
The pilot is very well done, and I'm interested to see where this show will lead. This kind of feels like HBO's answer to Showtime's slightly superior Californication. Another show about the dangerous link of desperation and fornication. Director Alexander Payne brings to the premiere that same odd yet wonderful feel he has on all of his projects: Election, About Schmidt, and Sideways. It may be to soon to tell, but if this show holds the same amount of interest it had during it's set up, then this series is likely to become hun....er healthy as a horse. A-
1 comments:
Didn't know Payne was involved with this project -- that's a big plus. Too bad I don't have HBO -- I love Californication.
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