TV Stars in The Movies

The holiday movie rush has produced some truly excellent and some disappointing fare. But one thing has remained true: TV stars are really bringing it to the big screen this season. Click on the movie titles to read reviews from our sister site My Cinema.

First there's the rush of TV faces who play a crowd at a dinner party and make up the brief but best part of Fair Game. Current TV superstar (and longtime My TV favourite, from way before Modern Family) Ty Burrell is there alongside beloved character actors from past TV seasons like FRIENDS' Susan (Jessica Hecht) and Grey's Anatomy's Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith). Fantastic Broadway player Norbert Leo Butz formerly of ABC's short-lived The Deep End also joins them for dinner.


Grey's Anatomy's Sandra Oh livens up a dreary adaptation of Rabbit Hole, as she does for anything she's in, former Joan of Arcadia star Amber Tamblyn, Everwood's Treat Williams, Lizzy Caplan from Party Down/The Class and Gossip Girl's Clemence Poesy fill the limited supporting roles in James Franco (Freaks & Geeks/ General Hospital)'s tour de force 127 Hours. and That 70's Show's Mila Kunis continues her rise to film stardom with an impressive and My Cinema Award (among other awards)- nominated supporting performance in Black Swan. 

Gossip Girl's best actress Leighton Meester gives the performance of her career so far in Country Strong as a beauty queen-turned-country singer on tour with her idol. Meester delivers excellent vocals and a compelling performance as the surprisingly multi-faceted Chiles Stanton.

And then there's Burlesque. The musical is absolutely packed with TV stars delivering excellent performances. Grey's Anatomy's Eric Dane plays a slick real-estate tycoon and Veronica Mars herself Kristin Bell plays the star of the burlesque show, showing off that Tisch musical theatre degree that so many people forget about. David Walton (100 Questions/Perfect Couples) and Dianna Agron (Glee) put in fantastic turns in tiny but important parts, and pros of the reality dance world Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars) and Chelsea Traille (So You Think You Can Dance) hold down the burlesque chorus. Perhaps the best TV star performances come from former OC stars Peter Gallagher and Cam Gigandet. Gallagher, always reliably excellent, plays Cher's ex-husband and co-club owner. Gigandet, remembered fondly as the guy who killed Marissa, nails the easily-fumbled role of Christina Aguilera's unavailable love interest with easy charm and sincerity.

If you're going to the movies this month, you're bound to see some truly excellent film actors. But don't forget where a lot of them find their home- TV.

Recipe for Success

Set Veronica Mars creator Rob Thomas free on a low-pressure network like Starz. 

Add a winning comedy concept (a catering company full of wannabes). 

Then give him a plethora of Mars alum to work with (Vinnie Van Lowe, Dick Casablancas, Logan, Meg and Veronica herself... just for starters).

And add a sprinkling of other winning cast members (the incomparable Jane Lynch, the always likable Lizzie Caplan, and Ryan Devlin, whom some may remember as the guy who appeared on my TV for 1 hour of Valentine this fall and made me giddy for months).

The result is Party Down, a new comedy premiering Friday, March 20 on Starz; sure to be a treat for any Thomas fan. 

For the full story, visit "Watch with Kristin" at Eonline by clicking here

New Sitcoms

Though many new sitcoms are premiering this year, absolutely none have managed to stand out to me as (as the folks on HIMYM would say) "awesome" . To tell you the truth I haven't even seen most of them: only 2. Both are critical flops and both lack the creative energy one might expect with such comedic talent working on them.

The first is perhaps one of the worst sitcoms in a long time... 'Til Death. Though phenomenal as a supporting player in Everybody Loves Raymond, Brad Garrett simply cannot carry his own show. It's quite simply not funny.

The other, however, I don't mind at all. The Class is not considered to be terrible but it certainly hasn't been acclaimed. And yet, after just having watched the second episode, I find it mildly amusing. It's not lightning in a bottle, but it's good for a few chuckles and provides a nice break from serious shows about doctors and lawyers, kidnappings and criminals (yes its true I counted- I watch 10 shows that fall into these categories). The cast is great- pulling together Joan of Arcadia alum Jason Ritter, the anti-mean girl Lizzy Caplan, Joey's ex-neighbour Andrea Anders and a cast of suitably likable others. One of the executive producers is one of the great masterminds behind FRIENDS David Crane and the show is directed by Will & Grace's James Burrows. How this isn't lightning in a bottle I'll never know but it's worth a watch anyway.

More on the up and coming sitcoms of the year to come.