Warning: Spoilers follow for the most
recent season of Veep.
Although my
favorite half-hour sitcom is HBO’s Veep,
the nihilistic circus of the 2016 election has probably left the public’s
appetite for the show as an all-time low. I mean, Veep is supposed to be a farce, but it seems more like a
documentary with how the political process has unfolded this year.
It’s not a
surprise that most politicians love House
of Cards, because it makes them seem way more important. The equivalent
would be if I loved The Newsroom,
which mostly seems to be a show about Aaron Sorkin and his journalist-avatar
being smarter than the room. However, Veep,
and Parks and Recreation, are so
much more realistic when it comes to the political spectrum and journalism,
despite both allegedly being comedies.
Veep’s main story arc this season was
about Selina Meyer (the still smoking hot Julia Louis-Dreyfus) attempting to
bargain her way into the White House, after a tie in electoral votes in the
general election. Even this aspect was handled with an amount of semi-realism,
as Meyer’s campaign simultaneously tries to control a recount and influence the
eventual House and Senate votes.
The season
culminates, as it usually does, with Meyer’s efforts completely backfiring. She
manages to get Perpetual Fuck-Up Jonah (Timothy Simons) installed as a
representative from New Hampshire, only to see him show up late for the vote.
She chokes down on her pride and accepts another term as vice president, only
for Tom Jane (Hugh Laurie, as wonderful as always) to screw up the political maneuvering
to win. Perhaps the most insulting thing of all? The deciding vote is cast by
the lame duck vice president that she didn’t pick for her presidential ticket.
While JLD is
the star of the show, and quite incredible, it’s amazing how deep the bench is
for the supporting cast. The previously mentioned Laurie and Simons are at the
forefront in the fifth season, along with Sam Richardson as Richard Splett. In
past seasons, Richardson was portrayed as a buffoon, but he’s an idiot savant
when it comes to recount scenarios and gets dispatched to Arizona, to great
effect.
Picking a
favorite supporting actor on Veep is
a fool’s errand. But, there is definitely a dynamic duo – Gary Cole as the
unemotional, stats-obsessed Kent Davison, and Kevin Dunn as the wise-cracking
political operative Ben Cafferty. The two play off one another incredibly, and
steal pretty much every scene they’re involved in.
However,
there isn’t a “wrong” choice when it comes to your favorite Veep lackey. Other incredible options:
Tony Hale as the whipped manservant Gary. Matt Walsh as the hapless press
secretary Mike McLintock. Sufe Bradshaw as the utterly mysterious Sue, the only
person to keep her job from regime to regime. Anna Chlumsky as the
always-exasperated Amy Brookheimer. Even smaller stuff, like new lovers
Catherine Meyer (Sarah Sutherland) and Marjorie (Clea DuVall), works.
Veep has already been renewed for a
sixth season, although it’s interesting to imagine where they take it from
here. The head showrunner has said that the gang will
be in that season, despite Selina no longer being president or vice
president.
Want to support Steve’s blogging? Then
purchase something via the Amazon clickthru link for Your Parents Basement, Steve’s other
project! To read all of Steve’s past Inexplicable Movie Reviews, click here! For Inexplicable TV Reviews, click here! For Inexplicable Video Game Reviews, click here! And for Inexplicable Book Reviews, go here!
This has been on my 'to watch' list for awhile. I agree with you, after seeing some production pics from this show how the hell can JLD still be so stunning?!? I swear I recall watching her on the Seinfeld retrospectives on the season DVDs with age start to catch up with her so props on whatever she did to get past that!
ReplyDeleteShe comes from a billionaire family, plus, she was on Seinfeld, so she probably has Eff You Money from that alone. :D It's amazing how many good shows she's been on after Seinfeld though, especially as compared to the rest of the cast. Only Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm can match her run.
Delete