An Open Letter To Hollywood On The Subject Of Jay Mohr
Dear Hollywood,
I would like to talk to you about Jay Mohr.
The website Ain't It Cool News has a round up today of the critical response to a new sitcom starring Jay Mohr that made its debut last night, Gary Unmarried. As they point out in their post, the Los Angeles Times calls it "terrible," the Chicago Tribune deems it "formulaic," and the Washington Post renames the show "Gary Unfunny" (good one, the Washington Post). Perhaps the highest praise for the program comes from the New York Times, which simply claims the show to be "workmanlike."
"OK," you, Hollywood, are probably saying.
"But every year we put out new shows and some of them are doomed to fail." True. "It's a numbers game," you say. "And there's no proof that a terrible, formulaic, unfunny show made with workmanlike dedication to the middle ground can't be successful. Why, just look at Two and a Half Men." You got me on that one, Hollywood. But let me ask you a question.
WHY DO YOU KEEP GIVING JAY MOHR SHOWS?
"But Gabe," you, Hollywood, are probably replying. "He's only actually had two shows. Last Comic Standing and now this. [ed. note: CORRECTION, Hollywood, three shows, including Action.] The rest has been cameos and recurring character arcs."
THAT IS A FAIR POINT BUT THAT'S STILL TWO TOO MANY IF YOU ASK ME! AND ENOUGH WITH THE CAMEOS AND RECURRING CHARACTER ARCS. ALSO THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH, WHOOPS.
"But, Gabe," you, Hollywood, are now saying. "Surely everyone is just trying to make it through the day, including Jay Mohr. He is as deserving as anyone to pursue his ideal of success and creative fulfillment."
Maybe, Hollywood, maybe. If Jay Mohr was a humble, grateful performer who respected and appreciated the opportunities he was given, that would be very true. But in addition to a long career of crap work, he's displayed nothing but contempt for the people who got him where he is. He left Saturday Night Live on bad terms after two seasons because he didn't feel he was being given enough attention, and then went on to write a book about it. And after his show Last Comic Standing was canceled due to poor ratings, which is a totally legitimate and sensical reason to cancel a show, when it was later resuscitated and given a fourth season, Mohr refused to host the show, returning only as a "guest comedian."
I don't wish Jay Mohr any personal harm. I'm sure he's a nice enough guy (actually, I am not sure he is a nice enough guy, but I will give him the benefit of so much doubt). I just feel that we have taken the gamble on Mohr, and we have lost that gamble, and it is time for us to stop throwing good shows after bad. Or in Mohr's case, bad shows after bad. I'm sure that with his smirks and his self-satisfaction, Mohr will be able to carve out a perfectly happy life for himself as a seedy nightclub owner, or perhaps the night-shift manager of a Jersey Shore dining establishment. But let's leave the comedy to people who are funny. Which is not him.
Sincerely,
Lindsay Robertson
Posted by Gabe at 2:00 PM in Backlashes
Tags: Gary Unmarried | Jay Mohr
Not to mention he looks weird. Anyone else have a hard time looking at him?
p.s. I can't see any entries earlier then the Silverman entry. Please advise!
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"p.s. I can't see any entries earlier then the Silverman entry. Please advise!"
Can you explain?
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I can't see earlier entries either. The page stops completely right after the Sarah Silverman video.
PS Gabe/Lindsay, you don't have to wish Jay Mohr personal harm. You can leave that to me.
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This happens every now & then on here. The page just abruptly stops. How do I look at earlier posts before Silverman? :(
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That is no good. OK we will investigate right now.
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Let's not forget about "Action". It only lasted a season, but was legitimately funny and is the only thing I can think of that had Jay Mohr in it that was good (aside from Small Soldiers, obviously).
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"I don't wish Jay Mohr any personal harm..."
I don't believe you
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"Go" is the only thing with Jay Mohr that was good. Does he remind anyone else of an older Dawson Leary?
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I like how the Publisher's Weekly review on Amazon characterizes the book as "resulting in a memoir that will appeal only to die-hard Mohr fans". Hahaha. Like there are any of those.
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make sure you check out the movie "street kings": a) it qualifies as one of the worst movies of all time and b) jay mohr is sporting the most ridiculous mustache i have ever seen.
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You are saying mean things about Bob Sugar, and that makes me sad. Action was great.
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You forgot he was in the tv show Action which had a very short run in the late 90's. I think of that shitty show everytime I see him.
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whenever anyone mentions tucker max, im my head i just think of jay mohr.
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yeah, it's still doing it. like someone said, it happens occasionally on the sites (mostly on VG), but usually it has a big box with an X on it instead of a video/picture; this time we can watch the (very unfunny) silverman video. but there's no link to page 2 or older posts.
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Mohr was really good in Suicide Kings, and I always liked him on SNL. I have a very different reaction to his book, it's heartbreaking. Sure, it was his fault completely for leaving SNL on bad terms, but it takes a lot of strength to be the bigger person in situations like those. I grapple with those situations in my life, and although I've done better for myself with connections in my field than Mohr, I still have a lot of empathy for him, and I would like to see him succeed. He's certainly been more successful than most actors and/or comics, and deserving of it. Many of us enjoy watching him. Just wanted to rebut. ~Jeff
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When I think of Jay Mohr it reminds me of girls pooping!
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I first learned the truth about Jay when he was on "Table for Five" with smart people, all (I think) Deadwood people except for Jay, an actual lump of dead wood (was that their angle?) and Jay kept interrupting David Milch to say things that would make everyone glare at him before ignoring him and continuing.
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It's entirely because of his Christopher Walken impression/story. His shining moment...
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There was a recent segment on the Adam Corolla show where Mohr appeared...I never had much of an opinion of him before one way or another, but he was both very funny and very contrite about his past jerkiness.
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http://www.hulu.com/action
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