gieneh Reviews

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List (2005–2010)

The best of the celebrity "reality" shows!

[10/10 · 21 July 2007]

In the sea of crap that includes shows like Family Jewels, Being Bobby Brown, Hey Paula, and the Simple Life, Kathy Griffin's Life on the D List stands out as a prime example of how to do it right. She is hilarious, real and gutsy, with a human side that showcases her vulnerability, generosity, professionalism and commitment to family. Contrast that with the train wreck that is Paula Abdul, the tedious sex jokes of aging rocker Gene Simmons and the low life, classless antics of Bobby Brown. If someone like Paris Hilton is A-List and Kathy Griffin is D-List, I'd say the alphabet is turned upside down.

I think Kathy's great, her show is great, and if she's an example of the D-List, then long live the D-List and Kathy Griffin.

Locusts (2005 TV Movie)

One big cliché from beginning to end ...

[24 April 2005]

This was easily one of the lamest and most clichéd movies I have ever seen, surpassing every disaster film I've watched to date. I was originally intrigued by the idea of bioengineered locusts taking over the country but the treatment was corny, stereotypical and worn out, from the uninspired dialog to the hackneyed scenes (the Fruit Festival was an absolute howl - the all-American pastoral peace ravaged by vicious grasshoppers)and the tired casting. Lucy Lawless was totally miscast as the head of a Department of Agriculture division, Mike Farrell was totally wasted, relegated to a flat caricature of the American farmer, and the rest were too vapid to even mention. Of course, the Department of Defense is to blame and advocates the idiotically radical "let's drop nerve gas" solution before the intrepid scientists come up with the ideal eleventh-hour solution. And, to neatly tie the whole thing up, the bugs conveniently become sterile at the fade out - answering the burning (ha!) question, "what if one or two actually survive?" No sequel here, folks. Skip this one unless you're in the mood to throw darts at your TV screen.