Mike Klein (David Duchovny) is pitching a new TV show based on his brother's real life suicide. Only manager Alice (Judy Greer) seems to be on his side. Everything goes wrong except the show keeps getting picked up. He doesn't get his choice of lead actor with the very broad Zach (Fran Kranz). Network heads Richard McCallister (Ioan Gruffudd) and Lenny (Sigourney Weaver) keeps changing his vision. His pregnant wife Natalie (Justine Bateman) isn't easy either with her fears of losing the job, and it's all giving him back pains.This reminds me of Robert Altman's 'The Player' with all the inside ball and Hollywood cameos. Except this one seems to be trying a little too hard. Written and directed by Jake Kasdan, he certainly has all the inside info that's needed. However it actually feels like a TV show of the real TV world. Kasdan needs to hold back on some of the all encompassing TV world. The movie needs to get the audience to relate to it with a story that has a life outside of the TV world. This is way too insular. It may be more interesting for industry people than regular folks. The other big problem is that I found the TV show really boring and tiresome. It grinds the movie down.

David Duchovny stars as Mike Klein, a television show writer who hopes that his heartfelt new pilot that he wrote after his brother's suicide gets picked up for the fall season. But he has to deal with compromising his vision to the network executives' bottom line (ratings) if he wants to see it on the schedule.Well acted, especially by Duchovny and Sigourney Weaver, if a bit black and white satire. Not as biting or pointed as I sensed that writer/director Jake Kasdan wanted it to or could've been, but entertaining and poignant enough to make it a good watch regardless. And is miles above his much better known, "Walk Hard" My Grade: B-

A hilarious reflection on the process of making a pilot and the state of the TV industry in general. The script, characters and performance style provide a brilliant, subtle humour (far more convincing than the slapstick and gross-out styles that can be found on other projects that Judd Apatow has been involved with). The characters will absorb you instantly, providing a cross section of the weird and wonderful who decide what goes onto our boxes. As we undergo the making of a pilot TV show, so unravels the effects that this has on those involved, and we can observe the relationship between the characters' TV careers and personal lives (although in some cases this could have been explored deeper). You will find yourself laughing out loud, whilst wincing in pain at the injustice of it all! This cringe-worthy comedy is a must-see for anyone who enjoys television!

Producer and screenwriter Mike Klein(David Duchovny,whose dry,stoic demeanor actually serves him even BETTER for comedy than drama)has decided to pour part of his life story into a script and a project for a TV series. Through about four months and plenty of experience with executives,test groups,agents,directors,crew and actors,he will most certainly come to regret that.Over that period of time,Mike watches in various shades of horror,disbelief,disappointment and despair as the personal story of his brother's suicide and how it affect his life turn into a sterilized,sexied-up and contrived network "ratings-getter". All the while,he's soft-pedaled by his loyal but woefully superficial agent(Judy Greer,who gets plenty of chance to shine here),put off by an oblivious director(Willie GArson)and getting his project raped by a team of network air-suckers led by a guile-as-natural-as-breathing chief of programming(Sigourney Weaver). Director Jake KAsdan dials it down from previous effort--more from the unexpectedly poignant "Orange County" than the dry,strange and sharp "Zero Effect"--to make a film that is wryly documenting the degradation of dreams,ideas and creativity in favor of ratings and profit. The complaints of this show that I've been reading have been two things mostly: pacing and Ducovny's acting. On the first count,I'd say the pacing was intentionally set to show how the creative process can die a slow and painful death due to plenty of "committee". As for Ducovny,well,he is what he is. Take it or leave it. As said before,he seems to work better for comedy since he doesn't feel the need to EVER punch up the lines,and to me,comedy is much better when the actors involved AREN'T trying to hit the marks. The best performances here were probably by Greer,Justine BAteman(as NAtalie,Mike's very pregnant,very patient,no-nonsense wife),Ioan Gruffudd(spelling?)(as the British producer who senses that he's losing control of both his personal AND private lives),Lindsay Sloan(as a vain,in-sincere hot,young actress. I know,I know...is there any other kind?)and Fran Kranz(as the over/under-acting douche who's letting his modest success get to his head). I'd be lying if I said this film was of superior quality,of course. My main(or chief)complaint is that this film is done at such an economy of information and plot that one might think that writer/director KAsdan was under a time and money constraint to make this show go into the can. I won't spoil the ending,but it feels like it was almost MADE to create a level of Love-it-or-Hate-it debate among viewers. Overall,this film does what it sets out to do,which is namely to offer an acidic,subtle(perhaps a little TOO much so)and funny account of the "creation" process of television. It may go over some heads,and it certainly isn't a perfect concoction,but it worked for me. Of course,it didn't do any favors for MY ambitions of creating a TV show(or movie for that matter),but I suppose it should be more of a cautionary tale than preventive. I sure hope so,anyway.