I've loved Lisa Kudrow for a long, long time. Ever since Friends and even Mad About You, way back in middle school, I've harbored a deep love and appreciation for this extremely intelligent, beautiful and hilarious woman.
I thought Kudrows portrayal of Phoebe was by far the greatest performance of the bunch on Friends and I never quite understood why Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox seemed to get most of the attention. Probably because they were the more conventional beauties on the show. Then came The Comeback, in my opinion the most underrated comedy series of the last decade. Kudrow has a gift with comedic timing and adds amazing subtley to every role, making her fascinating to watch. And I find much of her more recent work goes beyond pure comedy. She's not afraid to invest in a character and slowly build out her psyche. Alot of her recent material is not so much laugh out loud funny as slow-burning, twinkle in the eye, sly smile satisfaction. You almost forget she's in on the joke. She employs comedic devices such as subtle verbal tics, uncomfortable pauses, and quick eye movements to build some of the most complex comedic characters we've seen.
Take Web Therapy for example, Kudrow's new web based show which you can catch at www.lstudio.com or here, specifically: http://lstudio.lexus.com/#vid1204 . Kudrow plays Fiona Wallace, a completely self-absorbed "therapist" who is launching a new business by offering 3 minute therapy sessions. Fiona is elitist, confrontational, and awkward and I love every moment of it. She's probably the worst therapists out there, as she seems to have no formal training and spends most of the each 3 minute session addressing her problems. Flying by the seat of her pants, Wallace has chosen this new therapy "modality" because she discovered that 50 minute sessions usually amount to patients "going on and on about dreams and feelings and memories and past experiences that add up to whole lot of nothing. . ." Of course the written word does not nearly convey the way Kudrow delivers this line, complete with eye rolls, condescension, disdain. Even the 10 second introduction is a tiny slice of brilliance. Notice how Kudrow says her character's name, "this," and "therapy." Her eyes also bug out for a brief moment in excitement and she makes a little neck gesture to express enthusiasm. All this in just the introduction. Right now there are only 9 short episodes online, but they are better than the majority of the schlock that is on network tv right now. So check it out, let me know what you think, and if you haven't seen The Comeback yet, Netflix it immediately.
You know you love me
XOXO,
JB
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