The Comeback

Reviewed by:
Patrick Richardson

Lisa Kudrow hasn't been gone long enough to warrant a comeback, but judging from her new show, it won't be long before she's angling for one on Joey. Kudrow stars as Valerie Cherish, a former TV "It" girl now more desperate for work than Sarah Jessica Parker. To revive her career, Valerie agrees to film a reality series, titled The Comeback, that will follow her around as she shoots a series designed to relaunch her career. If this show-within-a-show-within-a-show sounds twisted, that's because it is. If it doesn't sound funny, that's because it's not. Kudrow portrays Valerie as a mostly pathetic character who's more out of touch with the current business and its young stars than Bill Cosby. But it's as if Kudrow's so afraid of being typecast as her Friends persona that she refrains from bringing any sort of quirk or joy to the character. Although she's the star of the reality series, Valerie's sitcom comeback hits a snag when she's recast as a frumpy, wise-cracking landlady whose catchphrase is "Note to self: I did not need to see that!" Note to selves: neither did we.