This year, if I were going to choose an Emmy winner for Best Actress in a Comedy, it would have to be Natasha Lyonne.
Sorry, Jean Smart, but this season of “Hacks” is headache inducing.
Lyonne stars once again as Charlie, the girl who can see if peple are telling the truth, in “Poker Face.” Rian Johnson’s 70s-like creation was so novel and unique in its first season, I didn’t know if he could do it again. But he has, with aplomb.
Charlie, if you remember, is also on the run from Vegas mobsters, so she cruises around the country in a 1969 vintage sky blue Plymouth staying barely one step ahead of her pursuers. She lives in the car, smokes, a little like if Jim Rockford were on the lam.
Lyonne’s Charlie is a throwback to snappy, glib dames with great comeback lines. Her crazy big round eyes and Rapunzel red locks make a face for the ages. She’s a standout in every crowd, especially as she solves the murder of the week “Columbo” style.
Peacock dropped the first two episodes this week. (I could watch ahead but the pleasure here is digesting these gems one at a time.)
First episode, called “The Game is a Foot,” is stunning. Tony winner and Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo plays five roles, all matching sisters, like she’s the symphony conductor and first chairs. Even if the story gets confusing (the metal leg thing, don’t think about), Erivo pulls it off.
The stage mother (Jasmine Guy!) of child stars from a lost TV show has stolen the earnings and royalties of the kids (all Erivo). She dies, and the kids want their money. But it turns out there’s a secret sister who will throw a wrench in the works.
It’s a little like those Tyler Perry or Eddie Murphy movies (or, see Jerry Lewis) where one actor is taking on a collection of identities. The only person who could figure out the mystery of too many Erivo’s is Lyonne, who wise cracking sarcasm cuts through the maze.
Next up, sort of “Six Feet Under” with a murder mystery. “Last Looks” starsthe great Giancarlo Esposito as an evil undertaker, and an amazingly hilarious and charming Katie Holmes as his younger wife who wants to leave the embalming for a glamorous life. Kathrine Narducci, of “Sopranos” fame, screeches in on a motorcyle for a kooky cameo as if she’s arrived by mistake from a Marlon Brando movie.
Esposito has built a career as a character actor, especially from “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” He’s always an overnight sensation, but he’s the star of this episode as the undertaker undertakes killing his wife while a TV crew is using the funeral parlor to film a murder series. It’s all very meta, with lots of inside jokes about Hollywood.
Katie Holmes is just a knockout as the wife, Greta, with a pixie haircut and Capri pants. She’s like something out of William Inge or F. Scott Fitzgerald. It’s like she’s getting 222 volts instead of the standard 110. She’s only married to Esposito’s character because he buried her parents. Now it’s time to move on.
Enter Charlie, who befriends her, then becomes Esposito’s worst nightmare. Together they look like Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovitt, especially when they’re in the crematorium. You almost think Lyonne is going to sing “Not While I’m Around.” Of course, the whole story goes up in smoke, and there’s a nice surprise twist for Charlie at the end that points to episode three. Cheers!
Still great: the Helvetica type for the titles of the episodes, the whole “Columbo” feel of something from another time, one we’d all like to revisit right now.’
Again sorry “Hacks,” and also “The Bear.” “Poker Face” actually has jokes, and the people seem happy. That’s a comedy.
