The Weekly "Lot" Round-Up

It's good to see that my negative criticisms of "On The Lot" are starting to dwindle a little bit. There were only two negatives tonight and, unfortunately, there's nothing the producers are going to do to change them: 1) the atrocious outfits of the hostess and 2) the sexist remarks that are starting to make Garry Marshall look like a dirty old man.

Beyond that, this was probably the best episode of "On The Lot" so far. The show got off to the best start ever when they showed last week's loser of the audience vote was told right away instead of having to suffer through waiting a week and then getting the news in front of a live audience. The producers finally understand that these people are grown-ups and deserve some dignity.

Then there were the six films of the week. While none of them totally blew me away, it was the most consistent set of films to date. Even Hillary, who's lucky to still be in the running after her first two movies, had a reasonably entertaining comedy in "Under The Gun", about a mother-daughter team robbing a sperm bank. It wasn't great, but it was the best thing she's done to date.

My favorite to win it all, Zach, came up with another crowd pleaser in "Die Hardly Working", showing the end of a boring day at work. There were no special effects from the master, but lots of sound effects that made it a winner.

Another of my favorites is Will, who this time out gave us "Nerve Endings", a comedy about brain surgery that was absurd and hilarious. David's "How To Have A Girl" was mildly amusing with two lovers trying to be in the dominant position in order to get the gender they want in a child- they just don't agree on the gender. Adam's "Discovering The Wheel", concerning a car that magically appears to a group of cavemen had some funny moments, the best of which was having even cavewomen attracted to the caveman who tames the hot car. The ending left a lot to be desired.

My overall favorite was the first film of the night, "Doctor-In-Law". This one took the well-trod path of an in-law not approving of a spouse and gave it two extra dimensions. First, Shalini made it a father-in-law, son-in-law battle instead bickering women. Then she gave it the extra twist of letting the son-in-law get his revenge. I was not big on Shalini's last film about a gay Indian comic because of it's limited appeal. This time out, with Korean actors, she told a funny tale that any nationality could relate to. "On The Lot" is slowly but surely getting better as a show. Give it a watch next week!