Trouble at "The Office"

If you know me well, you know I've been obsessed with The Office for over 3 years now. On Thursday nights, you'll find me in front of the TV, tuned into NBC to watch my favorite characters. I secretly (or not so secretly) wish Jim Halpert was real so he could find me and marry me. I've even had The Office desk calendar at my cube for the past two years, and I delight in reading a fun new Office quote every day.

But this current 2009-2010 Office season has, frankly, sucked. And I'm not quite sure why. Except for the wedding episode, every episode has either been so-so or downright bad. What happened to my friends? Are they just not funny anymore? Or are the writers putting them in weird scenarios?

Multiple storylines this year did not go over well. What was the point of having Jim and Michael be co-managers? That went no where -- as did Dwight and Ryan's plot to take down Jim, something that could have been potentially really funny. I didn't like Sabre coming in and buying Dunder Mifflin, a company we've had loyalty to over the past six seasons. I get the writers were trying to reflect how the business world is now with our bad economy. But it just made me sad and brought the show down, not make me connect with the realness of the situation.

Another thing the writers did this season was make likable characters unlikeable. Stanley having an affair bothered me. But even worse, Jim and Pam, the two most lovable, normal characters in the show, are starting to seem unlikeable and even a little annoying. I can't put my finger on what it is exactly. I don't think the show "jumped the shark" by having the pair get married, but something about them changed. Even the birth episode was not that special or exciting in my book -- an episode that should have been just as funny and touching as the wedding episode.

Another problem this year was Michael. We all know Michael says and does stupid things, and puts himself into awful positions. At times this can make for cringe-worthy but interesting TV, like when Michael promises local kids ("Scott's Tots") that he will pay for their college tuition or when he dates a married woman.

But when Michael does things that seem downright mean, like spreading rumors about people in the office, dumping Pam's mom because she's 58 or refusing to let Phyllis play Santa, it just makes him look like a horrible person, not someone who tries but just doesn't get it.

This season didn't have to many continuos plotlines or problems, which was reflected in the season finale. The only thing that keeps us wondering is if Jo will bring Holly back to the Scranton branch like Michael asked.

We can only hope that, if Steve Carell leaves the show next year, NBC decides to end it as well. Even though the supporting characters on The Office are superb, I can't imagine a show without Carell. But, bottom line... and I never thought I'd say this... but The Office just ain't what it used to be. Maybe it's time to end the show before it totally loses all of the magic it used to have.

Movie Review: Date Night

If you're looking for a hilarious movie from two of sitcom's brightest stars... you might want to skip Date Night. It's not that Tina Fey and Steve Carell don't shine in Shawn Levy's film -- they do -- it's just that this movie doesn't have the right comedic material for them.

Carell and Fey star as Phil and Claire Foster, a mediocre couple from New Jersey who have the regular middle class life -- go to work, come home, deal with the kids, go to bed. Get up the next morning and do the whole thing over again.

After hearing about their friend's impending divorce, Phil decides to shake things up. Instead of their regular date night at a local tavern eating potato skins, he wants to take Claire to an upscale restaurant in Manhattan. When they can't get a seat at the uber trendy restaurant, Phil decides they should take the table of the Tripplehorn party, who aren't there to get their table.

When the Fosters are mistaken for the Tripplehorns, they find out that this other couple is in some big trouble with a local crime boss -- and now they are in that trouble, too.

Full of hijinks and some slapstick comedy, not many scenes are as funny as they could have been. Levy had Fey and Carell in his hands, and it seems he didn't give them enough to work with. Besides an amusing scene where the couple has to strip in a club, and another where their car gets connected to a taxi, there aren't too many laugh out loud moments.

The beginning of the movie shows Fey and Carell at their local date spot, making up stories (and voices) for the couples eating around them. This is when I saw these two actors really in their element--or, at least, how I'm used to seeing them--goofing off and having fun. However, their characters aren't Liz Lemon and Michael Scott; they are a suburban couple trying to rev up their marriage. Even though they weren't as funny as I would have hoped, Fey and Carell effortlessly portray this loving albeit bored couple.

There are tons of cameos in this movie, including Leighton Meester as the babysitter; Ray Liotta as the crime boss; Mark Wahlberg as Claire's hot, shirtless former client; and Kristen Wiig and Mark Ruffalo as the divorcing couple. But by far my favorites were James Franco and Mila Kunis as the real Tripplehorns.

Overall, Date Night is a cute movie, but it won't leave you laughing and wanting more.