Review: 'Hollywood Residential' on Starz

Smallscreen Reviews

By April MacIntyre Jan 21, 2008, 23:14 GMT

Cheryl Hines, known mostly as Larry David’s patient tv wife from “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” has collaborated as an executive producer with writer/ producers Andy Bobrow and Adam Paul, and come up Aces with a scathingly funny comedy about Hollywood egos running amok on the set of an innocuous little home improvement show. Cheryl Hines - funny lady...© Lee Roth / RothStock / PR Photos

Cheryl Hines - funny lady...© Lee Roth / RothStock / PR Photos Hines

Hines

Similar to "The Office", the single-camera comedy borrows a bit of concept from HBO’s "The Larry Sanders show," IFC’s "The Business" and a whole bunch of home improvement shows from cable to make this half-hour show, “Hollywood Residential,” for Starz Originals debuting on Wednesday, January 23 at 10:30 ET/PT.

Cast from Hollywood Residential

The show centers on the exploits of slightly bitter striving actor, Tony King (Adam Paul), who is paying the bills with his tv handyman gig as he performs successful celebrity home makeovers, ostensibly. He’s completely out of his depth and regularly explodes with a salty sailor’s litany of curses while he nearly maims himself enacting even the simplest home repairs.

King preps Electra

King's lacking of power tool skills is bested by his green-with-envy maneuverings of his celebrity charges, mercilessly pumped for information as he shamelessly self-promotes himself between takes for any potential “real” spill-over acting work.

King and Lila, and Paula Abdul

King’s producer is Don - played perfectly by David Ramsay - with the exact amount of contempt, bemusement and mortification that any producer on a schedule with a budget has while enduring a hack talent gone delusional. He balances King’s on-screen female foil, Lila (Lindsey Stoddart) who is accomplished and futilely attempts to take off some rough edges of King.The show features celebrity cameos all in on the joke, such as Tom Arnold, Carmen Electra and John Cho, with Cheryl Hines appearing too.

Kattan and King

The one episode I was sent for review features Chris Kattan who gushes over Tony at first meet, then shoots himself in the foot after he arranges a disastrous casting session in a project he serves on as an associate producer. A perfect scene that sums up all the phoniness and lying endemic to Hollywood ensues, as Kattan is put on the spot by King who asks what the casting agent thought of his audition. Kattan’s hilarious, elastic dance around the truth could have been overheard in some variation a million times in this town.The writers give their talented guest celebrity cameos plenty of room to improvise, and the producers have also found a great Violent Femmes song to open the show with, "Add it Up." Grade: B+ and recommended, but a big caveat, it is not family friendly, tons of bad language, just like on a real set with actors, producers and crew.

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