Reboot Review: An Uneven but Entertaining Hollywood Satire
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The post Reboot Review: An Uneven but Entertaining Hollywood Satire appeared first on Consequence.
The Pitch: A reboot is considered to be a death knell in the current entertainment landscape, a clear indicator of a risk-averse industry out of original ideas and desperate to recycle old ones to save themselves from major financial loss. Most reboots simply pander and rehash their concepts in order to satisfy their fanbases. Once in a blue moon, though, resurrecting a piece of intellectual property can actually lead to something subversive, a chance to fix poorly aged elements or find fresh, new stories to share with contemporary audiences.
Enter young indie filmmaker Hannah Gilman (Rachel Bloom), who wants to reboot the (fictional) 2000s multicam sitcom Step Right Up for Hulu. Instead of repeating all the original’s broad, Full House-inflected humor, however, Hannah envisions the new series as edgier and more grounded, an idea that excites the Hulu executives who are hungry for a breakout hit.
Her pitch couldn’t come at a more opportune time for the Step Right Up ensemble. The show’s Yale alum lead Reed Sterling (Keegan Michael-Key) has been struggling to break into the film world, auditioning for stereotypical roles that don’t service his talents or ambitions at all. His former castmate and ex-girlfriend Bree Jensen (Judy Greer) did a brief stint on a sci-fi cable show before marrying a Nordic duke.
Their other castmate Clay Barber (Johnny Knoxville) ventured into provocative stand-up routines amid criminal charges for drunk and disorderly conduct. Kid actor Zack Jackson (Calum Worthy) is the only one who seems to have left the show unscathed, all grown up and starring in a string of direct-to-video teen-centric movies.
Reviving Step Up Right provides the perfect window of opportunity for each of the cast members to get a little career boost. But once they return to the studio lot, new conflicts emerge just as quickly as old ones do.
Things become even stickier when the show’s original curmudgeonly showrunner Gordon (Paul Reiser) assumes control, his antiquated comedic ideology conflicting with Hannah’s more nuanced reimagining. Despite their squabbles, Hannah and Gordon learn to work together to bring this beloved production back to life as their cast and crew attempt to amend their own past mistakes and avoid falling back into regressive habits.
Take It From the Top: A Hollywood satire about reboot culture seems like an ace in the hole. Reboots frequently get joked about online or even occasionally referenced in reboots themselves, like in this year’s Scream sequel and Chip ‘n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers. But rarely has the subject of the reboot itself been explored in depth, how it’s conquered so much of the content we consume and the specific difficulty of fitting traditional ideas of storytelling into a more modern, evolved template.
In the same way that reboots frequently stick to formula, today’s satires have a tendency to be contradictory and self-satisfied in their messaging, often reinforcing or misunderstanding the very thing they’re trying to critique. Although the satirical humor in Hulu’s Reboot is hit or miss, the series has a lot going for it, namely a narratively promising premise anchored by a slew of committed performances from a stellar cast.
Reboot (Hulu)
Creator Steven Levitan applies the same handheld visual style and witty showcase of familial dysfunction from Modern Family to Reboot, but shifts away from the constraints of network standards by incorporating nudity and profanity into the show.
This exercise of streaming service creative freedom is a bit jarring initially, similar to how the iCarly Paramount+ revival decided to let its characters curse and copulate, but that incongruity quickly dissolves once Reboot settles into its story. In fact, the show eventually benefits from having more room to be explicit rather than play it safe, much like the Netflix showbiz dramedy The Kominsky Method (Chuck Lorre even gets a shoutout, albeit an amusingly scornful one).
In addition to poking fun at reboot culture, Reboot mines humor from a wide array of issues plaguing the entertainment industry today: diversity in writer’s rooms, cancel culture, sexual harrassment, studio bureaucracy. The pointed jabs at these topics range from flat and lazy to funny and intelligent, making for an uneven comedic rhythm.
In one instance, there’s a great joke that breaks through the predictable sitcom noise, but in the next, there’s a tired wisecrack that undermines those occasional doses of ingenuity. For a show that aims to comment on the exhausting trend of reboots, it’s frustrating that it can’t seem to totally shake itself off from the trappings of quippy, corny sitcom dialogue.
Back to The Drawing Board: At first, Reboot’s somewhat disappointing pilot doesn’t inspire much confidence. Despite the show’s effective introductions of each character and setting up the emotional stakes of their arcs, most of the jokes land with an awkward thud. Luckily, Reboot gets sharper and funnier after a smart twist at the end of the first episode, which lays a complex foundation for the personal and professional dynamics at play.
Even when the comedy doesn’t quite hit as hard as it should, Reboot more than makes up for its shortcomings with strong character work. Bloom and Reiser are solid, both fitting snugly into their roles as two determined industry players with differing creative approaches about how to replicate Step Right Up’s success.
Their generation-clashing rapport vaguely evokes Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon in 30 Rock, starting off their already rocky relationship on a tense note but soon developing a sweet respect and admiration for one another through their collaboration.
Reboot (Hulu)
Knoxville is excellent as Clay, the Jackass star infusing a compelling amount of biting humor and moving pathos into a role with rich interiority. You’d think it would be odd to have someone known for their rowdy, daredevil personality perform at a more restrained register, but Knoxville gets the job done and then some.
He adds layers to his character’s desire to break away from alcoholism and old patterns of bad behavior. The result is both poignant moments, like struggling to give a sincere overdue apology to Step Right Up’s longtime director Jerry (Lawrence Pressman), as well as some hilarious ones, including an entertainingly silly Freudian subplot involving Zack’s seductive mother Susan (Kerri Kenney).
Key and Greer make a fun and cute pairing, their characters navigating an awkward reunion that forces them to confront their unresolved issues as exes and the fragility of their own egos as actors. For the most part, their will-they/won’t-they relationship avoids cliché; Reboot gradually teases out the lingering romantic tension between the two in a way that feels real and lived-in.
As uniformly robust as Reboot’s cast is, arguably the weakest member of the show’s formidably accomplished bunch is Worthy. The former Disney Channel star has done underrated work on projects like American Vandal, and his extensive background in TV acting as a tween helps give Zack some dimension. Unfortunately, he’s relegated to playing a grating, clueless Gen-Z caricature, but does manage to squeeze out a few good lines, especially when he initiates a mild flirtation with charming Hulu exec Elaine (Krista Marie Yu).
It’s admittedly hard to stand out in an ensemble as stacked as this one, but Reboot ensures that supporting players like Worthy get a chance to shine and it’s all the better for it. Other acting highlights include the always welcome comedy icon Fred Melamed, who plays one of several older seasoned pros Gordon employs to help punch up the show.
Dan Leahy also delights as a snarky young Step Right Up writer whose entrance leads Gordon to make one of the season’s most unexpectedly inspired jokes. Most interesting (and somewhat underused) is Alyah Channelle Scott as Timberly, a reality show host who gets chosen for an important part in the Step Right Up reboot and excels in her new role much faster than expected.
The Verdict: While watching Reboot, one gets the sense that it’s almost where it needs to be, so close to actualizing its potential if it just tweaked its humor and polished its neither completely toothless nor particularly cutting satire.
Levitan’s light touch is both the show’s greatest strength and weakness: It allows for an accessible glimpse into the messy world and little absurdities of Hollywood workplace dynamics, but keeps stopping short of going bigger with its comedy and deeper with its observations. Reboot has a structurally sound plot to support itself and a perfectly assembled cast to work with. All it needs is a tad more retooling.
Where to Watch: Reboot arrives on Hulu beginning September 20th.
Trailer:
Reboot Review: An Uneven but Entertaining Hollywood Satire
Sam Rosenberg
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