Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Bonnie Hunt: Afternoon Snooze-Fest


I, for one, was very excited when I heard that comic/actress/Chicago native Bonnie Hunt was getting her own daytime talk show. Bonnie is wry sweetness and light in a darkly cynical world. Think Rosie O'Donnell before she really got angry. Think the fun of Ellen Degeneres but coming from a totally different angle. From her variety of movie roles that always played as though she wasn't acting but just "being herself" (Jerry Maguire, Cheaper by the Dozen), she seemed like the perfect person to have a fun, frivolous, frothy daytime talk-variety show with a snazzy, retro design and feel.

Cue up the snooze-fest button and my disappointment. Man, this show is about as interesting and fun as walking through swamp mud. Nothing of her personality translates onto live tv: she fails to be funny, witty, or personable really. Instead, she appears to be clueless and, frankly, uninteresting. Her hair always looks good. I love her Chicago accent (that is so played up it almost sounds fake...but then, virtually any really good Chicago accent sounds somewhat unreal). But this show is a drag and I think it's because she really sucks at interviewing people. Yesterday I watched a supremely awkward 2 segments with Jimmy Kimmel. I don't know...if you can't make people laugh with Jimmy Kimmel sitting there trying to help, I'm not sure you're funny.

Oh Bonnie. Oh, oh, Bonnie. We knew ever since your ill-fated sitcom in which you starred as none other than a talk show host that this is an endeavor to which you've always aspired. But I'm thinking maybe you should stick to small character roles...it involves less personal contact. And it hurts me to say that, really it does.

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