Freaks and Geeks: The Best Cancelled Television Show in History

Freaks and Geeks is probably one of the best, well scripted television shows that our generation has had the pleasure to see. It was THE show that launched a lot of their cast into fame: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segal, John Daley, Linda Cardellini, and Martin Starr, just to name a few. And if the cast wasn't enough to prove why this show was great, here's just some other reasons.

1. You can relate to it and it's realistic. 

One of the reasons why the show got cancelled was because Garth Ancier (former NBC executive who cancelled the show) thought that the problem with the show was that neither the freaks or geeks win. But that's what made the show amazing. The freaks are the outcast in the schools, the nobodies, the kids who probably won't go to college. The geeks were the kids that got bullied, all the girls were at least a foot taller than them, and they sometimes tried to hard to fit in. The issues that the show dealt with were issues that everyone could relate to, or know someone that went through that experience: being picked last for a team in gym, crushes, puberty questions, cheating on a test, and even being too old to go trick or treating on Halloween.

The dialogue in the show is another reason why it's so good. Everyone that was in the show were teenagers to begin with, and they spoke like actual teenagers. None of the lines ever felt forced. And all the characters have flaws, like REAL flaws. And they deal with those flaws realistically, which means sometimes you can't have what you want. There weren't any miracles in the show to save them, and that's why I think as an audience, we were okay that the freaks and geeks didn't win.

2. The cast & cameo appearances are great.

You can't really have a better cast than the ones that are already in the show. And it's no surprise, almost everyone in the show has gone off to do big things in the film industry. The actors all fit their characters spot on, and they're all unique in their own way. Linda Cardellini plays the sweetheart, stuck between the freaks and geeks Lindsay Weir. She struggles in high school with not knowing what she wants to do, balancing life between being smarter than everyone else but choosing to be friends with the kids who struggle themselves with grades. Her dorky brother Sam Weir played by John Francis Daley is the subject of bullying in high school and gets asked a lot, "Are you a middle schooler?" James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segal, and Busy Philipps are considered the 'freaks' in the high school, and even though they may look like they don't care about their grades, they still have real feelings and emotions we can relate to. There's even some pretty cool cameo appearances like Ben Stiller who plays Agent Meara, Shia LaBeouf who plays Herbert or the high school's mascot, and Jason Shwartzman. 

3. It's hilarious.

With witty lines and character flaws, the show is guaranteed laughs. If you don't believe me, just take a look at this clip:

 

The Comedy of Judd Apatow

There is nobody I can think of that can make people laugh the way Judd Apatow can.  As a director, producer, and writer of many hit films like The 40-year-old Virgin, Anchorman, Knocked Up, Bridesmaids, and most recently, This is 40, Judd has become a comedy juggernaut within the industry.  His success in this particular genre is one for special recognition, for comedy is no easy task to conquer.  You must have a good well thought out script and characters.  You must have good actors who have comedic ability for the specific part that will carry the jokes or comedic moments throughout the film. Its not as easy as it sounds, which is why you hear of so very few comedy actors/ actresses, and directors.  So how does Judd Apatow do it? What makes his films so continuously successful? 

Life is Comedy

“I’m just trying to tell the truth about, you know, the struggle of-- being alive is funny, it's just inherently tragic and also hilarious--in a fun way and in a sad way. That seems to connect with people.” - Apatow

Judd doesn’t make comedy just through jokes, he finds comedy through life struggles dealing with things like family, relationships, work, and even death.  His stories are made to relate to real life struggles of the average person’s life and to do the things in life most of us want to do or say but cant out of social expectations.  He uses touchy topics that are generally not funny in reality but uses that drama to turn it into something that is acceptable and hilariously funny. Life and it’s unfortunate dealings are his main mechanism.  It gives us something that feels real, and makes light of otherwise sad/bad things in life. Here are some examples:

The 40 year-old Virgin

The title alone is enough to grab your attention. 40?...Virgin?...What! Most cant believe those two things are in the same sentence. It brings comedy all its own. Based on the journey of a 40 year-old guy named Andy (Steve Carell) to finally lose his virginity through the help of his friends, he struggles to find a girl and or find one of his liking, and his ignorance and awkwardness about sex becomes comedy gold.  Steve Carell embodies the character so perfectly as well as contains the necessary comedic talent, his timing and expressions brought the character and great writing to life.

Knocked Up

A drunken one-night stand that was generally supposed to stay that way unexpectedly takes a turn as Alison finds out a few weeks later that she is expecting.  The couple isn’t shy of the usual cliché you see in many movies and on television. Alison is tall, thin, blonde, smart, and successful, while Ben is a lazy, overweight, stoner who lives with his no-good friends and does nothing but sit around all day and they must find a way to work it out together.  As a journalist on the brink of a career break through with E! News, Alison is now faced with a whole new challenge as she must deal with telling her brand new employers her situation, as well as personally with dealing with Ben and her new reality of a baby on the way. This unlikely love story paves way for comedy as it is sweet, but not too sweet, and unrefined but not too raunchy, but is simply honest and realistic. The movie shows struggles with relationships, commitment, trust, getting old, and growing up which most, if not all couples, come across at one point or another. Also, it is the dirty humor and profanity, of which Judd is known for mastering, that sets the fuel to the fire that makes this movie such a comedic hit. 

This is 40

A sequel to Knocked Up, we are brought inside the life of Pete and Debbi and their struggles to keep their family together. Their sex life is strained, their kids hate each other, their businesses are failing, and they are on the verge of loosing their house.  As you can imagine with these deep scenarios, Judd made this into one of the best comedies yet.  Its very realistic, yet its one of those movies that takes things two step further solely for the comedic effect.  And Melissa McCarthy makes an appearance, so no explanation needed there.  Nothing is held back, in fact you get the sense of that straight from the beginning when it opens with an argument about Viagara. Its candid, funny, and emotional, all at the same time. It is a unique twist on the average middle-aged couple and family and highlights every aspect you could possibly imagine.

Judd has the ability to know what is too little and too much without pushing it too far.  He breaks social barriers of society by voicing scenarios through his characters that many people wish were acceptable in real life. I really enjoy his films and look forward to his new projects. 

Who Said Women Werent Funny?

After seeing the very funny movie Bridesmaids featuring Kristen Wiig, star from the hit comedy show Saturday Night Live, I knew this film would have an interesting yet big impact on the entertainment industry.  Kristen’s character Annie, as well as her co-stars Melissa McCarthy (Megan), Maya Rudolph (Lillian), and Rose Byrne (Helen) together create such an ensemble in which each characters’ uniquely developed personalities contributed to the recipe of comedy perfection.  With comedy expert and producer Judd Apatow and director Paul Feig also on the team, this film lead to break several barriers in terms of social norms specifically in terms of societies perception of women.  It relieves the always perfect, put-together image we are so used to seeing on the big screen and portrays the very vulnerable, more unguarded reality through frequent profanity and scenes relating to unusually spoken about or seen bodily functions if you will.  Nonetheless, this movie has become the foundation for women in comedy for future productions and even current movies such as The Heat.

            Also directed by Paul Feig, The Heat, takes us to a whole new level of comedy.  I can honestly say I have never seen a movie more funny than this one.  The jokes and sarcasm are endless and the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy is brilliant.  Id recommend everyone to check it out because I guarantee you will laugh at one point or another.  The characters, of which they play, are quite unfiltered and keep surprising you with clever remarks from opening scene to finishing credits.

This is 40... This is awful!

      I recently saw This Is 40 and I have never been more disappointed in a movie theatre. The movie is basically a sequel to Knocked Up but with a different cast. The main "plot," if you could call it a plot, was about the struggles of an upper middle class marriage. To begin, the cast is really not likable and the supporting cast members are a constant reminder about how dull the main characters are. I think that the casting was poorly done and casting is one of the most important aspects of a film. The character development was very weak which made it hard to follow throughout the movie.
     
      The length did not help at all. A slow comedy like this should not be just shy of two and a half hours long. My friends and I were almost praying for the end to come, but the film just kept adding more and more inner stories to the major story. There were a lot of forced conclusions to the inner conflicts. I think Judd Apatow was trying to be too adventurous with this film and it did not pay off. Plus, every humorous part was shown in the credits, so there were barely any surprising laughs throughout the film. I do not understand why a movie would spoil itself before it even premiers. I think that there were a lot of unnecessary scenes that did not move the plot along at all. Along with a lot of unnecessary plot lines, there was also a lot of forced humor, which is very unlike Judd Apatow's movies.

      I was truly excited for this movie, but it really let me down. In the trailer a critic said that "This is by far a Judd Apatow's best movie!" It was the worst by far. The movie was just like a hear beat monitor. It went up then flatlined, then up and flatlined again throughout the entire movie. I wish the film settled on a certain genre instead of switching between a comedy and a drama the entire time. If you could not tell, I was very dissapointed and I really want Judd Apatow to surprise me with a great film in the future.

There is still hope.

Movie Night

After a five and a half hour drive from Ithaca to Northboro Massachusetts I finally arrived home. It has been 4 months since I left for football camp in early August. Upon my arrival I sat down to dinner with my family in the our living room. After a delicious dinner my mom suggested that we watch a movie as family. We stumbled upon the movie Wanderlust.

Wanderlust is Directed by David Wain and produced by Judd Apatow. It was the perfect movie for the mood I was in after a long car ride. Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston were the two lead actors who played a happy couple from New York City. On a roadtrip down to Atlanta the couple stumbles across a hippy commune and their life would be changed forever. Rudd and Aniston both delivered nice performances and my family and I laughed throughout the film.

It is so nice to be home with my family. After a long football season and a crazy first half of the semester being home for Thanksgiving break is a much needed breath of  fresh air. I look forward to more movie nights with my family throughout the week. I'll keep you posted! Enjoy the break everyone.

-Mike Vulcano