Fine acting, writing less than likely to save sitcom
April 14, 2005
BY PAIGE WISER Staff Reporter
No, it's not perfect, but "Less Than Perfect" does not deserve to die.
This week's episode of the office sitcom (8:30 p.m. Friday on WLS-Channel 7) may be its last. For three seasons, redheaded Sara Rue has played Claude, the less-than-perfect beauty of the title ("I have 3 percent more body fat than other people in this area," she admits). We've watched her move up, from working as a temp on the fourth floor to a position as an executive assistant on the famed 22nd floor, right outside the office of network anchor Will Butler (the historically nasty Eric Roberts).
Oh, maybe we missed an episode or two. This year the show switched from Tuesdays to Fridays, and the occasional happy hour does cut into our viewing schedule. But "cancellation" is such a strong word. It seems so unfair, when even "The Bachelor" is alive and necking.
"Less Than Perfect" pits Claude and her dorky friends against their cutthroat, comely colleagues. And Claude is starting to win. "If you don't focus," advises office-supplies clerk Owen (Andy Dick), "Baby will never get out of that corner, you know what I'm saying? I think you do."
| TELEVISION REVIEW 'LESS THAN PERFECT' / ** |
The writing is sharp and original. The actors are funny. There's even a fabulous wedding in the works. Then again, the best moments on the show are little ones -- while Claude is talking, for instance, Owen might be in the background scratching his eye with a stalk of celery.
But the chances for a fourth season are not good. "They are slim," says Patrick Warburton, who plays on-air pundit Jeb Denton. "The network has shown no love for the show."
This is an actor who knows heartbreak. He famously dated Elaine as Puddy on "Seinfeld," and starred on such critically-acclaimed-but-doomed series as "NewsRadio" and "The Tick." He is braced for bad news. "It's really hard to disappoint me at this point," he says, on the phone from a Carl's Jr. drive-through.
Executive producer Gene Stein is more optimistic. "Cautiously optimistic," he says. "I think we have a real shot at coming back." He'd like to see Claude get more responsibilities at work, and what Jeb's married life will be like, and whether there might be plots that incorporate Owen's lesbian mothers (Joanna Kerns and Valerie Harper).
But for now, "We just want to get our fourth season," he says.
Here are three reasons why he should get one:
1. The casting
Some of the finest television actors alive are on "Less Than Perfect." And Eric Roberts, of course, is B-movie royalty ("The Prophecy II").
Andrea Parker was a cold, stiletto-heeled operative on "The Pretender" with her own cult following. Sassy Sherri Shepherd, whose chest is a supporting character on the sitcom, also can be seen in "Beauty Shop."
Will Sasso recently was added to the cast, along with Warburton, and is probably proudest of his role in Christopher Guest's "Best in Show." But some of us have a soft spot in our hearts for his mentally challenged pageant judge in "Drop Dead Gorgeous."
Maybe you tune in for Andy Dick. But you stay for the guest stars: Martin Mull, Cindy Williams, Jenny McCarthy, Barry Bostwick, Trista Rehn, Tori Spelling, Danny Bonaduce, David Cassidy; look for Christopher Knight ("The Brady Bunch," "The Surreal Life") in this week's very special episode.
2. The camaraderie
"I've been on sets that are not happy," says producer Stein. "But this happens to be a happy set." The actors even spend time with each other off the set. Rue and Dick, for instance, lobbied to be on an episode of "Trading Spaces" where Dick's home office was redecorated. (He hated it.)
3. The cattiness
Yes, Claude is the show's sweet-hearted center, but there's more than enough mean-spiritedness to satisfy cynical viewers. Some characters are self-centered; others are sincerely cruel.
Everyone is petty -- and that's what we like to see.
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