Taking place all over Brooklyn, Bored To Death is a show equally as expansive as the Big Apple. Directed by Jonathan Ames and starring Jason Schwartzman (as Jonathan Ames), Bored To Death is an interesting approach to the category of comedy/crime noir. The show is heavily inspired by the old crime novels of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (such as The Sign of Four) and Raymond Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely (which is heavily referenced throughout the show and is also the book Jason Schwartzman carries around with him). The show opens up with Jason Schwartzman going through a rough breakup and through those events he brashly creates a craigslist ad, advertising himself as a private detective. The beginning of the show makes it clear that Schwartzman is in way over his head. And unlike the protagonist in Farewell, My Lovely, Schwartzman seems to lack any confidence in his recent epiphany. This all changes as the show continues though.
With a full season (eight episodes) under its belt, Bored To Death starts to get good towards the end. I say that because while the first season is some great TV programming, you can tell that many episodes are used as more setting and building devices than just pure gags and laughs. A couple episodes are practically useless and essentially go nowhere for the overall plot and contain little to no laughs. Not to say that Bored To Death isn’t good, it just needs some time to lift off its own feet. George Christopher (played by Ted Danson as Schwartzman’s boss at the NY magazine “Edition”) brings his performance to a level that we’ve never really seen from Danson. His child-like nature, coupled with his profound wisdom throughout the show make him a dual layered character who becomes funnier and more witty with every episode. Zach Galifianakis also gives a nice performance as best friend to Schwartzman and comic book creator. His personality is very real to life and true with many men in his situation being tied down to a relationship and the insecurities that surround him.
Most episodes throughout the season consist of Schwartzman getting a case and trying to get his girlfriend back, while also trying to hook up with new women. Even in episode three (The Case of The Missing Screenplay), we see Danson get Schwartzman a possible opportunity to re-write a screenplay for indie film director Jim Jarmusch in which Danson raves, “Look at that hair, God I love that!” This episode is one of the standout episodes of the season because it shows that Schwartzman can still be persuaded into chasing his real career, which is something that he seems to forget because of his moonlighting as a private detective. The episode also shows Schwartzman’s and Danson’s desire for women and how those urges only leave them in trouble and eventual heartache.
The show really picks up though at episode six, when Schwartzman is given a case to stop a blackmailer who’s act is prostituting married men by videotaping the act and then threatening to mail the tape to their wives. It’s the first episode where Schwartzman finally reveals to Danson that he has been moonlighting as a private detective (even though he doesn’t believe him at first). This causes an epiphany within Danson as he gets as giddy as a school girl who just got the newest Barbie playhouse for Christmas. Since Galifianakis has been acting as Schwartzman’s driver since episode four (The Case of The Stolen Skateboard), the three are suddenly paired together on the adventures and it creates a certain special moment where you know that these three together are gold.
While their intentions start out great when Danson buys night vision goggles at a secret spy store and puts it on the company credit card, things end up not turning out to well. Schwartzman, Galifianakis, and Danson throughout the show all smoke marijuana like it’s their job and typically Schwartzman smokes in order to get his mind into the mood of a detective sort of like Sherlock Holmes’ prominent drug use within The Sign of Four. When Schwartzman posing as a married man and is in the hotel trying to bust the blackmailer, he finds out that she is absolutely beautiful and he is unable to resist her charm. During this Danson and Galifianakis are getting high in his car down the street and Danson becomes distracted by Galifianakis’ comic book art. This whole sequence and series of events are very well done and the climatic chase between them and the blackmailers leaves them getting the money and sex tapes, but also slamming into a police cruiser. Danson assures them though that he has away out of it by the end of the episode and even offers Galifianakis and Schwartzman to make a comic for the magazine about the entire adventure.
With the three together now as a team and seemingly best buds, the real focal point of the show comes down to a long time beef with one of Danson’s worst enemies, Richard Antrem (played by Oliver Platt and in the show is head of NY magazine GQ and is now married to Danson’s ex-wife). Through a series of run-ins with Platt’s character, Danson becomes enraged with his stupidity and lack of respect. Danson ends up writing an editorial in his magazine in episode seven (The Case of The Stolen Sperm) about his nemesis and it is heavily rooted in slander and is basically a direct attack on Platt’s character. This eventually fuels a rebuttal and Platt’s character challenges Danson to a boxing match, which Danson happily accepts. On top of that, Schwartzman and Galifianakis both step up and want to fight too. Platt’s lackey and critic Louis Green (played by John Hodgman and better known as his role as the PC guy in Apple commercials) steps up to the plate in fighting Schwartzman as he once reviewed his first novel, basically trashing it and rebutting it as an actual work of fiction. Galifianakis ends up fighting a random comic book writer who looks like him, beard and everything.
Verdict:
These events all lead up to the season finale which basically focuses on the big fight between Edition and GQ, the new pot smoking love interest of Schwartzman, and Danson trying to somehow and someway get his ex-wife back. Overall, the episode does a good job of really showing these three main characters’ true intentions and goals, the fight acts as a sort of outlet for the things they seem to be really fighting for. Seeing Galifianakis work out in Pink booty sweatpants is also quite hilarious. The season finale of Bored To Death truly left me wanting more and while some episodes were lackluster, the season overall was fun and really relaxing to watch. I don’t always need a show that keeps me on the edge of my seat, sometimes it’s just nice to watch characters interact with each other in real life situations, because we all like to relate to what we see on screen. If writer and director Jonathan Ames is able to to keep a fine balance between the show’s laid back Brooklyn nature and interesting detective storytelling while also improving and maintaining strong plot development, the show’s second season will undoubtedly be just as entertaining as the last.
out of 5
-Eric Egavian
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