Calling our “struggling” actor correspondent
Gave HBO’s new “Unscripted” series a try last night. As you may or may not have heard, it’s one of those newfangled semi-improvisational shows (no scripted dialogue, rehearsals or retakes), focusing on three actors in Hollywood. Almost all of the cast use their real names and play themselves or close relations.
I don’t like improvisational TV shows or movies, as a rule, but this one was reasonably involving.* The flaw in most such shows for me tends to be the sense that I’m watching actors in a circle-jerk; here the difficult thing about watching the series relates to a different kind of self-abuse. The humilations endured by the three actors are sometimes so acute I had to look away from the screen. But they were never so much so that I dove for the remote.
Definitely worth giving this one a try at least for another episode. At least to see if you can tell whether Krista Allen is playing a character or just being herself. If she’s acting, she’s good.
*Then again, I said something similar about “Signifigant Others,” and the fun went out of that real quick.
