Vince Russo's The Brand

One of my biggest pet peeves is the over-use of certain words that should only be used when they apply. Great. It ties my balls in an absolute knot when the term great is thrown out seemingly pertaining to EVERYTHING. Great movie, great band, great actor and the worst—GREAT MATCH. In my world, Great should be used only for the GREATS! There’s a reason Jackie Gleason is called, “THE GREAT ONE”. But, if the misuse of great wasn’t bad enough—here’s one that rips my balls right off—nut sack and all–GENIUS. When the word GENIUS is used to describe any one other then Albert Einstein, the nimrod using it obviously has no idea what it means. In my world, a GENIUS is on a playing field by himself. Nobody else is allowed to play with him—nobody can even stand on his field. Groucho Marx was a GENIUS, Freddie Mercury was a GENIUS, DeNiro is a GENIUS and today ZACH GALIFIANAKIS is in that category.

Zach Galifianakis is just one of those guys that could make anything funny  . . . even a funeral for instance. His facial expressions combined with his ability to ad-lib on cue as if he were delivering the perfect line in a perfect script, is a GIFT that very few GREAT GENIUSES have. And, his delivery is impeccable–he has the timing that only the greats like Rickles had before him. Whether he’s interviewing celebrities on his popular YouTube series, “Between Two Ferns”, or trading lines with iconic actors such as Robert Downey Jr., or Bradley Cooper, Zach is always stealing the moment, the scene, the entire movie!!!

In his new series on FX, “Baskets”, Zach plays duel roles as Chip and Dale Carter. Chip is a struggling, starving, rodeo clown who lives at home with his mom, while Dale is the Dean/Owner of the successful Baskets Career College. Here’s the sick thing—throughout the 30 minute show you actually believe that Chip and Dale are being played by two different actors who just happen to look the same–that’s how good ZG is!!! From there is a supporting cast that just adds great character to this ground-breaking dramedy. Veteran comedy Louie Anderson plays Chip & Dale’s MOM, Christine Baskets, who is so phenomenal in the role that he actually steals every other episode from Galifianakis. Add to that, my favorite character, the melodic, melancholy, monotone Costco Insurance Adjuster, Martha, played by stand-up comedian Martha Kelly. and I’m telling you—you have the best comedy on television since “Curb Your Enthusiasm”.

I highly recommend you watch this show. This is what GREAT TV is all about. Different, unique, outside of the box, spontaneous and oh, yes—ABSOLUTELY GREAT!!!