Cool News
Herc Says ‘I Don’t’ To NBC’s REAL WEDDING CRASHERS!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
I am – Hercules!!
It’s a “Punk’d”-like reality show from “Punk’d” mastermind Ashton Kutcher about a troupe of actors who prank groomsmen and bridesmaids by making those groomsmen and bridesmaids think they’ve helped wreck the bride’s wedding dress or screwed up the timing of the hall rental.
MTV’s “Punk’d” I find enjoyable more times than not, and I think Kutcher’s “Beauty and the Geek” is one of the most entertaining reality shows anywhere on the tube; “The Real Wedding Crashers,” or at least the episode I saw, is barely watchable.
Part of the problem is the people being pranked are regular people – not celebrities – which means the show is mining a vein exhausted by “Candid Camera” decades ago.
A far bigger problem is the fun of the payoff is severely dampened by the fact that the prankees don’t find out they’ve been pranked until hours or days subsequent to the prankings. The urgency of the faux mayhem has long passed, so there’s no real explosion of relief and good-natured fist-shaking.
The wedding theme is also perhaps trouble, as it seems to hamstring creatively those who conceive the pranks. Also, since the pranksters were invited by the bride and groom, even the show’s title makes no sense.
The most insidious prank is on NBC’s viewership; the troubled network took off “Studio 60” for this dreck.
But what matters Herc’s opinion?
Variety says:
… wheezes and labors in building toward the inevitable reveal -- representing a slog for the modest payoff. … You can sense the conceit is running out of steam, though, given how frantically the show begins pointing toward the reveal, teasing it at practically every act break. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… Desperate times evidently call for desperate shows. And even though things aren't quite as desperate at NBC as they were a year or two ago, this quasi-reality trifle smacks of something you would do if you had tried and struck out with everything else. … the first installment of this six-part midseason hourlong series implodes on pretty much every level. …
The New York Times says:
… It’s still not entirely clear why Derek and Jonnie, the likeable and laid-back couple in the premiere episode, agreed to allow a reality show to infiltrate and undermine their ceremony, though that they both come from Las Vegas, the land of Elvis-impersonating ministers, may explain a lot. Nevertheless they and their friends and relatives are too nice and too humble to make the wedding crashers really fun for viewers. The pranks would be more amusing if pulled on a more pompous and pretentious wedding party. But people who want to be on “The Real Wedding Crashers” are a self-selecting subset … Weddings tend to all look alike, no matter how personalized the party favors. Too many crashed weddings can become a crashing bore. …
The New York Post says:
Call it the corporatization of "Punk'd," or maybe just call it a big stinkola. I'm talking about the latest and worst of the shows that the very desperate NBC has put into the 10 p.m. Monday night slot. … Maybe it's time to give the time slot over to informercials. It would actually be less painful to see some skeevy muscle guy all slicked up with oil than watch this mess. The hour has become The Black Hole of Despair. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… They punk their friends and loved ones! And God too! "The Real Wedding Crashers," a reality-show riff on the hit movie, isn't as lowbrow as it sounds, nor "crazy" (again my quotes); the comedy, such as it is, veers from slightly inspired to lame. … Sacha Baron Cohens-in-waiting they're not. …
The Washington Post says:
NBC's latest experiment in desperation air fare, "The Real Wedding Crashers," is an HD broadcast: Hugely Dumb. The network, which recently celebrated its worst week of prime-time ratings ever, isn't going to climb out of any sewers with this slimy little gutter-dweller.… It's sometimes been the case in movies and television that tastelessness has its own inherent crude energy, but not "Wedding Crashers." It manages to be that rare bird (but maybe not rare enough), a boring horror.
…
The Boston Herald says:
Ashton Kutcher has snared many stars in mortifying situations in his MTV show “Punk’d,” but his latest series marks the first time an entire network has been pranked.
NBC’s “The Real Wedding Crashers” is by several stretch limos the worst TV series of the entire season.… …
The Boston Globe says:
My first impulse was to describe "The Real Wedding Crashers" as "juvenile," but the word could possibly imply that there might be a hint of a chance of fun, and that would be misleading. Also, "juvenile" carries with it a superior tone that I should probably save up for more worthy idiocy, such as "Flavor of Love," which is dumb and irritating but somehow not quite as far beneath contempt. And so I turned to a pair of "dis" words -- "disastrous" and "disappointing" …
Yikes! Did you read that New York Times piece? $27,000 is the average price of an American wedding, excluding honeymoon, engagement ring and bridal consultant! And a lot of us get married more than once! So quit your bitching about not being able to afford a $1,600 HD set!!
10 p.m. Monday. NBC.
Shipping Now!!
Dean, Hank, Brock, Rusty, Monarch, Uberbheit, Girlfriend, Phantom Limb, Triana Orpheus, Iggy Pop, David Bowie and the Guild of Calamitous Intent!! 
Banacek 1.x * The Batman 3.x * Battlestar Galactica 2.x Value Pack * Beauty and the Beast 2.x * Columbo 1989 * Deadwood 3.x * Entourage 3.1-3.12 * The 4400 3.x * Jason of Star Command: The Complete Series * Kidnapped: The Complete Series * The Larry Sanders Show: Not Just the Best Of * The Lost Room: The Complete Miniseries * Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman Vol. 1 * Michael Palin: Around The World In 80 Days * Mission: Impossible 2.x * Monk 5.x * Moral Orel: Vol. 1 * MXC: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge 2.x * My Life On The D-List 1.x * The OC 4.x * The Odd Couple 1.x * The Office 1.x/2.x Value Pack * One Day At A Time 1.x * Psych 1.x * The Rockford Files 4.x * Roots: 30th Anniversary Edition * Scrubs 5.x * Seinfeld 8.x * Shadow Warriors Starring Sonny Chiba 1.x * The Shield 5.x * The Streets of San Francisco 1.x Vol. 1 * Teen Titans 3.x * Twin Peaks 2.x * The Untouchables 1.x Vol. 1 * The Venture Bros. 2.x * Voltron Vol. 3 * Welcome Back Kotter 1.x * WKRP in Cincinnati 1.x
Thousands and Thousands of Pages In Their Original Uncut Glory!!
$44.99 Amazing Spider-Man: Every Issue 1963-2006 (575+ Issues)
$44.99 The Avengers: Every Issue 1963-2004 (535+ Issues)
$39.99 Captain America: Every Issue 1964-2006 (515+ Issues)
$39.99 Fantastic Four: Every Issue 1961-2004 (550+ Issues)
$24.99 Ghost Rider: Every Issue 1973-1998 (200+ Issues)
$39.99 Incredible Hulk: Every Issue 1962-2005 (530+ Issues)
$9.99 Ultimate X-Men: Every Issue 2001-2005 (70 Issues)
$39.99 Uncanny X-Men: Every Issue 1963-2004 (460+ Issues)
This 56” 1080p DLP HD set costs 5.7% of the average American wedding!!
…
NBC’s “The Real Wedding Crashers” is by several stretch limos the worst TV series of the entire season.… …
-
+ Expand All
-
I haven't done that in a while. Just tell us - is it better than "The Littlest Groom?"
-
Would be a much sadder show. I'd like to see The Real SuperBad myself. That show would kick ass.
-
event horizon.
-
...all that dough on a wedding.
-
regarding STUDIO 60, that is. "Gee, good to see they've kept that off the air for *THIS*!!!"
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR....
Not only do I hate reality TV enough as it is, but now I got even more reason because this lame duck of an idea is still acting as a roadblock to a quality drama. NBC, what the fuck is wrong with you?? You already technically give STUDIO 60 a 2nd season order a few MONTHS ago by now, but then you take it off, the first show you put in its place is ALREADY CANCELLED (Black Donnellys) and now you're still choosing to avoid it by broadcasting THIS insult to human intelligence?!?! Goddamnit I really hate this world sometimes. Most times. *sigh* -
Just sayin'...
-
even harder to believe Herc reffered to him as a "mastermind". way to lower the bar, America.
-
fail. Please give those viewers out in TVLand prone to this dreck the strength to avoid watching this attack on their intelligence. Please god, please.
-
and then I hope they are forced to bring back The Black Donnellys. I thought that was an excellent show and then I found out last week it was cancelled. What the hell NBC??? You think The Wedding Crashers is going to be anything close to a hit? I give it 3 to 4 weeks tops.
-
I *heart* the fact that Studio Shitty got replaced with this. I hope it starts getting 'Deal or No Deal'-type ratings and eventually gets expanded up to a two-hour format, knocking 'Heroes' to a Thursday-at-4:30 timeslot. Wheeeee!!!
-
However, this show, judging by the horrible reviews across the board, will be NBC's highest rated show of the decade (at least until next week when word of mouth takes hold and it gets even bigger ratings). That's how much faith I have in Nieslon families. Sad. But in all seriousness, it will get good ratings because it follows the first new Heroes in a couple of months. This week's ratings are meaningless - it's new. Let's see how quickly people tire of it. If I recall correctly, Donnelly's got good ratings their first time out but once they lost Heroes as their lead-in, and those curious about anything new moved on, the ratings took a nose-dive.
-
Guaranteed
-
This slot will surely open up for "Ow! My Balls!"
-
either Studio 60 or Black Donnelleys. Actually, it might get better ratings than both of them combined. That is the sad reality of reality shows. They are immensley popular and cheap to make. I think this show will be the final nail in Studio 60's coffin.
-
I don't think they gave them a second season order for Studio 60. In November, they gave them an order for the final 9 episodes this season and rumor was that NBC forced them to lower their licensing fees to get it done. Based on how Studio 60 hasn't gotten on the schedule again and May sweeps is right around the corner, I think NBC will burn off the final episodes in the summer and we won't see season 2 of Studio 60 at all.
-
Someone tell me how Deal or No Deal, Heroes, and The Real Wedding Crashers have any kind of demographic flow. The first show is aimed at housewives, the second at 18-34 year old males, and the third at teens/very early twenties. NBC does have some quality shows but they are lost in the prattle of game show lead-ins. That lowest ratings week ever had six hours of game shows. Three of them lead off the night. Where does the audience of Identity and Rains match up? Save NBC from itself and get them someone who knows how to write a schedule. And about that Saturday night of reruns... would it hurt them to blow off a movie or something?
-
Witty.
-
this show is just crappy enough to piss off fanboys of both Studio 60 and The Black Donnellys and at the same time get a sizeable audience of reality show viewers - so inevitably it will. You can look forward to seeing this three nights a week by fall.
-
Oh no, you mean Punk'd sold out to the man? Ow!! my balls! indeed. I'm shocked something so horrible could come from the network that brought us an hour long show where people guess what number is in a box.
-
it definitely will get old quick. If this were just a punk'd type show in general it may have a chance, but restricting itself to weddings is definitely a few nails in the coffin. I still don't think this will get more than a few episodes aired, but what worries me the most is the shows it will spawn on FOX and other networks. God help us all.
-
Really-- Was Ashton Kutcher raised on a steady diet of Ed McMahon & Dick Clark's TV Bloopers and Practical Jokes? Or is he just a long-lost relative to Alan Funt? What's his fascination with TV prank shows?
NOBODY CARES, Ashton. Get a new shtick. You want to entertain people? Release a sex tape with your wife well-lit and going crazy naked. We'll watch that. The girls will dig seeing you, and the guys will be all over watching Demi even though it will be like watching you bone your mom.
REALITY SHOWS MUST DIE! -
Get Battlestar Galactica, and put it on NBC in HD after "Heroes" where it fucking belongs. SciFi is fucking it up by broadcasting in what I'd have to call "WDTV" (Worst-Definition Television) -- Seriously, SciFi's broadcast signal looks like crap no matter what provider I get it from!
Battlestar Galactica deserves to be on next to the other best SciFi show on television. GET IN GEAR, dipshits, and stop putting it on next to lame shit like "Real Wedding Crashers" or "Black Donnelys"== Give us some other scifi show we give a crap about. You've got the geek audience tied up at 9:00 PM Monday nights, and then you just DROP US like a hot potato at 10:00 PM, like fucking idiots. Great job programming to the audience BONE HEADS. -
or mention this exactly? Its spring. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and nobody is watching. I saw this thing for about one minute last night and the pain MADE me turn the channel. My other emotional response was pity for the poor actors involved. Someone give them a job on a soap opera or something. This was just cruel. Other than that - no more chat about this. Life be too too short.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 325 total posts 322 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 106 total posts 106 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 63 total posts 60 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 74 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 159 total posts 51 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 47 total posts 41 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 161 total posts 34 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 488 total posts 33 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 121 total posts 23 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 70 total posts 20 posts