You wouldn’t think of Lisa Kudrow’s HBO comedy “The Comeback” as a searing examination of sexual politics — but it is. A study of the psychological craving for fame, an examination of the mistreatment of women of a certain age, “The Comeback” is a funny half-hour with dark undertones.
Much delayed (nine years!), a new season begins Sunday on HBO, locally at 8 p.m.
Kudrow’s character Valerie Cherish, an aging former sitcom star still seeking diva status, puts herself in unbearably demeaning circumstances in order to grab another round of showbiz limelight. With a film crew and hairdresser following her every move, she is exposed as a facile, needy, pathetic woman, still coasting on her pretty red hair for fame.
Yet a darker story emerges as Valerie’s home life is exposed, her desperation becomes more obvious. Now she’s in the position of re-creating the enmity on the set of her original sitcom in a documentary for HBO — within the sitcom. Kudrow plays Valerie playing Mallory, opposite Seth Rogen as the abusive, heroin-shooting sitcom creator. Comedy!
Gender politics in Hollywood gets a serious look, and stays with you after the laughter dies down. — Joanne Ostrow, The Denver Post
