The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 - SA
Don't think Halfway Home looks interesting? Same here.
Already 'Halfway' gone
COMEDY CENTRAL'S LATEST SHOCK SHOW DOESN'T MAKE THE CUT
By MARK SCHULTZ
DailyArts Writer
I watched "Halfway Home"
with two other people, and they
both left the
room within
five minutes.
That pretty Ha
much summa-
rizes Comedy Home
Central's latest Wednesdays
attempttolaunch 10s30 psm
a unique show
that maybe, Comedy Central
just maybe, can
match the popu-
larity (and controversy) of "South
Park." But"Halfway," like "Drawn
Together" before it, tries too hard
to be provocative and just ends up
looking ugly and stereotypical.
"Halfway Home" is about five
convicted felons living, appro-
priately enough, in a halfway
house. The convicts are a parade
of incarcerated stereotypes, from
a burnt-out coke mule (Jessica
Makinson, "South Park") to a gay
Latino man-whore (Oscar Nunez,
"The Office"). Their supervisor
Kenny (Kevin Ruf, "Fun with
Dick and Jane") is reminiscent of
Jeff Foxworthy, but without the
modest wit of the "Blue Collar"
comedian.
"Halfway" is directed with an
in-your-face philosophy similar
to "Curb Your Enthusiasm." The
show's story feels equally claus-
trophobic. "Halfway" takes place
entirely in a three-story rehab
facility, andbecause ofthis limited
space the viewer gets an uncom-
fortably close look at aspects of
these convicts' lives that would
best be left off camera. Of course,
this includes masturbation and
poop humor by the barrelful.
Convicted arsonist Alan Shepa-
rd's (Regan Burns, "Oblivious")
description of his own "B.M.s"
is graphic enough to make Eric
Cartman blush, and watching
Sebastian Yates (Jordan Black,
"For Your Consideration") spend
the better part of an episode try-
ing to get an erection is no one's
idea of fun - or funny.
The show's worst attempt at
humor, though, isn't of the toilet
variety but the racial variety. In
a scene from the second episode,
Shepard (Regan Burns, "Oblivi-
ous") says "Everyone knows the
black man was here first, but then
man learned how to stand erect
and stop climbing trees." "Half-
way" doesn't use racial issues to
critique society or individuals, but
to make sure Shepard has enough
dumb one-liners to say while play-
ing chess. For the most part, the
humor in the show is offensive,
and it's offensive for no good rea-
The othe
If you've never heen to Nik-
etown in Chicagojlet me tell
you - it's a magical place. A
mystical, even-transcendent center
for clean designs and sweat-wick-
ing fabrics. The ambient white light
showcasing footwear of pure gold
could make a person feel
positively religious.
It took a bronze plaque
in the lobby to tell me
precisely how religious
I should feel. It declared
that, in reference to t
the church that used to
occupy that same spot,
the Nike mega-store was
designed to recall a reli- ABIGY
gious space. Its stories- COLO]
high ceilings, walls of red
brick and white plaster,
and interiors filled with
natural light are supposed to trig-
ger actual feelings of devotion - to
the god of athleticism.
Ikid you not. It was there in print.
Nike dropped the G word.
After hastilyccrossing myself, I
recovered my composure, remem-
bering that I worship only Caffeine-
and-Frequent-Naps,the patronsaint
of midterms week.
I took one final look around, try-
ing to experience the remarkable
store with detachment rather than
worshipfulness - and headed to the
Apple store across the street.
The glowing oculus of the Apple
symbol beckons passersby to enter
a space that seems made entirely
of shell, sea glass and clouds. We've
obviously entered a realm of oth-
erworldly purity. Everything is
reduced to its sparest form - the
whole thing is simply a cube with a
kind of shelf creating a second level,.
with a sweeping staircase leading
upward. Giving each part its own
material further separates them by
function - the long display tables
are of the same soft plastic as the
gadgets, the stairs are translucent
glass. Everythingisplain andunder-
standable, except for the inscrutable
beauty of the place.
You gaze back toward the street,
realizingyou are now inside the Mac
mastermind - you look out through
the now inverted Apple symbol,
having achieved oneness with a
power greater than yourself.
It gently dispels the fear of the
unenlightened masses - the Mac-
illiterate and even, in its boundless
r religion
benevolence, the PC-worshiping
infidels. Like me. God, I felt like I
was coming home at last!
What does this have to do with
selling things? Historical prec-
edents in this vein were made in
the mass-culture boom that came
with turn-of-the-century
immigration, urbaniza-
tion and industry. Some
architects at the time
wrote philosophical
treatises and manifestos
about how contemporary
architecture needed to
respond to a changing
society, a new and some-
AIL B. times chaotic way of life
DNER where capitalism was a
driving force.
There were new needs
to fill, especially for the
working stiff - clerks needed tall
office buildings and industry work-
Nothing like a
little religion with
your capitalism.
ers needed big factories. But some
architects also decided they needed
dignity - or a sense of higher pur-
pose to ameliorate a rat-race feel.
To temperthe potentiallybaffling
quality of newbuildingtypes, archi-
tects often drew on tried-and-true
designs. The standard reference has
long been the Greek temple, whose
geometric simplicity lends any
building authority (e.g. Angell Hall).
There's no mistaking human-
kind's iron grip on transcendence,
or the recurring need for a feeling
of elevation. It's hard to say wheth-
er it's by force of habit or if it truly
pushes our pleasure buttons. But
when governments and corpora-
tions want to give the commonplace
meaning, they use the design lan-
guage of transcendence.
Maybe all they really want from
me is my cash or eight hours of my
life. But hey - if it's good enoughfor
Mike Hart's god, it's good enough
for me.
- Colodner can be reached
at abigabor@umich.edu.
son.
Perhaps the lack of humor in
"Halfway" comes from the fact
that the show is partially impro-
vised in the same manner as
"Curb." Unfortunately, unlike
"Curb," the show is an amalgam
of unknown actors, the best of
which might make the Hollywood
D-list. "Free Ride," another semi-
improvised show that aired briefly
on Fox last year, failed because
the actors couldn't make up for
the lack of script. "Halfway" suf-
fers from the same problem. The
show's group of relatively inex-
perienced actors might fare well
memorizing lines written by fun-
nier people.
Unfortunately improvisation,
if done badly, only amplifies the
faults of a mediocre cast and con-
cept. Comedy Central should look
for more competent writers - not
promising pilots.
Dancemichigandaily.
- k ers e acom/thefilter
By MATT EMERY sible to ignore Offer's awkward-
Daily Arts Writer ness, the strength of the group lies
not in his lines, but in the group's
It's tough for a band with such a all-too-loveable musical founda-
disco/house quality to break into tion.
the mainstream Though "Must Be the Moon"
indie scene. provides other entertainment
But that's ***s above Offer's lyrics, two specific
exactly what tracks downgrade the group's
the experimen- progress. "Sweet Life" proves Offer I
tal dance music may not be so at home out of his d
group !!! - pro- Myth Takes usual droning vocals, as we hear a t
nounced "chk chk Warp completely new side to his singing I
chk" - have suc- range - something close to Antho- o
cessfully done. ny Kiedis. The chorus also leaves 1
They certainly don't take the most a lot to be desired, as Offer sim-
direct route in approaching indie- ply blurts out the super-articulate T
dance music, which customarily chorus line "A / A / B / B / CCDD g
relies on synthetic drum taps or / CCDD." p
mind-numbingly repetitive guitar "Infinifold" folds under the a
riffs. Instead, !!! take the bizarre pressure of the rest of the album r
angle, injecting trumpet bleats, as a simple piano keeps things o
string arrangements and overly
twangy guitar licks into most
of their tracks. 2001's self-titled university unions-
debut and its full-length follow-up almost as good as
Louden Up Now (2004) set !!! off as
the most fun dance/rock crossover
around. However, each subsequent
record took the kookiness and off-
beat instrumentation a bit too far.
Myth Takesahas managed to solve
most of the problems, keeping the
trumpets and guitar while amp-
ing up the addictive qualities and
craftingta solid, danceahle record [cupcakes ar
that easily tops any of the group's M, University
prior efforts. ni ons
The title track and opener plays
out as one of the album's high-
lights. A quick, layered drum beat
mashes together with a spy-movie
bass riff. Lead singer Nic Offer's
callous vocals meld into the equa-
tion as background squeals seam-
lessly blend into spaghetti-western
guitar for the chorus. Though the
elements of the song seem com-
pletely ridiculous, the result is far
from it - just tight and incompa-
rale dac rok.
raWheancrocaltered in the past TO play: Complete the grids
by needlessly elongating tracks, and every 3x3 box cont
like "Hello? Is This Thing On?"
from Louden Up Now, Myth Takes
lengthens tracks only when it's There is no guessing
tactful. "Bend Over Beethoven" is just use logic to solve.e
their most obvious cross of loop-
ing house music with typical dance
rock. A porno groove keeps things Difficulty: Medium
lively as the song shifts between
multiple movements, with the
song's high climaxes and seam- .
less transitions bordering on rave
material.
"Must Be the Moon" shifts focus1n
to Offer's lead vocals and, unfor-
tunately, his lack of lyrical abil-
ity. Although most of the song is 1 2
catchy, there's a strong emphasis
on the frontman's insipid lyrics. 8 5
Offer's switch to a cross between
singing and a type of quick and 6
rhythmic spoken word flows well G _
until production distorts his voice
to sound like an actual phone con-
versation.
Offer's lyrical junk continues 4 3
in the lines describing his sexca-
pades: "One time two time three 51
times four / Really who was keep-
log score / We did it on the bed /u su
We did it on the floor." Though the
background hysterics make it pos-
They don't need
lyrics. They have
dance beats.
ow-key and a string section that
oesn't pep things up seems to end
he entire album on a tearful note.
t's a peculiar choice to close the
overwhelmingly hip, party-friend-
y record.
Despite the few downfalls, Myth
'akes is a lot of fun. !!! brings damn
ood party music that retains a
piece of the weirdness from prior
lbums but never slips into the
ealm of annoying mimicry of
ther acts in the genre.
e not a breaktast tood.]
so that every row, column
ains the digits 1 to 9.
or math involved,
Good Luck and enjoy!
9 7
3 4
6 1
4 _ 8
6
2
9
4
0