Galafianakis comedy is just clowning around.
And now for something completely different.
Well, maybe not completely different, but certainly a different Zach Galifianakis than you’re used to in stuff such as The Hangover trilogy and Birdman.
Baskets, an avant-garde comedy starring Galifianakis in the title role, premieres at 8 p.m. today on FX. It’s GALi-fuh-NAK-iss for those challenged by so many vowels.
If anything, Baskets will remind viewers of Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis on the Funny or Die website.
The title refers to Baskets the Clown, a sad sack who certainly flirts with being a “basket” case since he’s doggedly pursuing his life-long dream of being a classically trained French clown.
It’s an artistic career for which he is woefully unqualified.
We sense that fact early on when Chip fails to survive a prestigious clown school in Paris (he doesn’t speak a word of French) and returns to his home in Bakersfield, Calif., where he’s forced to take a job as a rodeo clown.
Still, Chip struggles on with his dream and it makes for a comedy that is frequently tinged with pity for a character who seems lost in the real world.
Broke, struggling and saddled with a sophisticated, bohemian French wife (Sabina Sciubba) who does not love him and married him only for a green card, Chip is forced to confront his past and compete with his siblings for his mother’s approval and affection.
And there’s another surprise. Chip’s mother is played by comic Louie Anderson. Don’t laugh. Anderson is brilliant in the role.
Delightfully droll standup comedian Martha Kelly plays the timid, low-key Martha, Chip’s insurance claims adjuster and semi-assistant. She’s the most likable character of the lot and has a strength that isn’t readily apparent.
Baskets is a good example of the growing trend in comedy circles that some have labeled “sad-coms.” These, and FX’s Louie is the groundbreaking example, are not laugh-track yuk-fests. Instead, they are frequently rough-edged explorations centered on people battling odds.
Sometimes those people are not all that pleasant. Chip certainly has an ugly side, especially with the way he treats the kind-hearted Martha. And his personal frustrations bubble up when he is forced to ask his mother and
brother for a small amount to keep his French wife in premium cable luxury at her separate motel.
If there’s one drawback to the episodes I previewed, it’s that some scenes smacked of improvisational exercises that were allowed to go on too long. That’s always a temptation with such talented comedic actors.
Otherwise, Baskets will be well worth your time if you enjoy comedy that is slightly askew of the mainstream.
FX has ordered 10 episodes for Season 1.
Legends reminder. DC’s
Legends of Tomorrow debuts at 7 p.m. today on The CW. Dig out last Sunday’s TV Week for my full preview of the fun new series.
It’s got enough action, adventure and superheroes (along with a minimum of cluttering intellectual substance) to satisfy the need for escapist silliness of the most discerning comic book fan.
Legends of Tomorrow is followed at 8 by the Season 3 premiere of The 100.
London Spy. The latest drama from BBC America debuts at 9 p.m. today. I found it muddled, dark and depressing, but perhaps that’s just me. Stick with it and you might be entertained.
London Spy begins with a chance encounter and ensuing romance between young, extroverted, hedonistic warehouse worker Danny Holt (Ben Whishaw, Spectre) and anti-social, reserved, enigmatic investment banker Alex Turner (Edward Holcroft, Wolf Hall).
Things appear to be going along just fine for these polar opposites until Alex is found dead and his true identity as a spy for the Secret Intelligence Service (MI-6) is exposed. Danny then slowly slips into the murky and dangerous world of global espionage.
Hopelessly lost, Danny turns to his friend and mentor, Scottie (Jim Broadbent, Iris), for help in finding the truth. Together they venture down a frightening road where nobody is who he seems, including Scottie.
The five-part mystery comes from best-selling author Tom Rob Smith (Child 44) and is rated TV-14 for adult language and sexual situations.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Email: mstorey@arkansasonline.com