FALL TV EXTRAVAGANZA!!!

ALLEN GREGORY

*** (out of ****)

I’ve seen a lot of stars make risky career decisions post-fame: Keanu Reeves quitting being awesome to try acting, Nic Cage quitting acting to try being awesome or Keanu Reeves starting Becky.  Of course, those are just the best examples – it rarely works out so well.  That’s why I was a bit cautious about Allen Gregory, Jonah Hill’s new pet project.  He’s a funny actor but that doesn’t mean he can write or produce worth shit. Well, add another one to the win column, Keanu, because this show sold me within the first five minutes.  It’s a cartoon that doesn’t completely rely on the fact that it’s animated to get laughs and it’s one of the tightest pilots I’ve seen in a while.  All the characters are given just the right amount of introduction and motivation and there’s a clear story that’s going to be followed.  The only negative is that unlike every other show I’ve reviewed this season, it sets the bar high immediately instead of sucking real bad so there’s room for improvement.  The tone of the show implies that it will be very arc and story driven, which usually means bad things for a show’s longevity.  But until they run out of ideas this should be amazing.  I’m going to call it:  Jonah Hill is the Old Keanu Reeves. -DT