The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

‘Sheen’s Korner’: Not Winning

Posted on | March 5, 2011 | 21 Comments

Brutal reviews for Charlie Sheen’s Saturday night Webcast. Chris Nashawaty called it “a sloppy, self-indulgent bit of cringe theater” featuring “a posse of chuckleheads and enablers.”

About 115,000 people tuned in to watch the godawful disaster, according to USA Today. One of the viewers, Michael van Poppel said, “Wish I could get my 50 minutes back.” Another viewer, Sarah Rumpf, said: “I don’t have the expertise to diagnose Sheen as bipolar but somethin ain’t right with that boy.”

Kinda ironic: While Sheen was on the Internet making an even bigger fool of himself — if such a thing were possible — I was watching my 18-year-old son performing a lead part in the senior play at his high school.

Much more entertaining, if the critics are to be believed.

UPDATE: If you’d care to waste an hour of your life (unless, perhaps, you’re a grad student in abnormal psychology, in which case this might be worth a thesis) here’s the video:



Video streaming by Ustream

UPDATE II: Listing the show’s “most awkward moments” — apparently not content to say “from start to finish” and be done with it — Bryan Alexander of the Hollywood Reporter calls it “cable access at its worst”:

“Now what? We’re out of material,” [Sheen] admitted at one point.
That was obvious. Or to re-quote Sheen, “duh!”

The sound quality was atrocious, the lighting inadequate and the “guests” neither very bright nor attractive. But other than that . . .

UPDATE III: Holman Jenkins of the Wall Street Journal explains what CBS and Warner Brothers executives are thinking:

CBS got seven good years from Charlie Sheen playing Charlie Sheen, prolonging CBS’s run as the “hot network.” Warner has 177 episodes in the can, more than enough to bring in huge bucks for years . . .
All in all, our legal departments are probably right: A bullet has been dodged. Mr. Sheen could have flamed out in year two instead of year eight. He could have flamed out in a way that killed our investment altogether. Phew. . . .
We sewed ourselves into a corner and then, Charlie, you got us out. Thanks. You went on radio and maniacally slurred our highly valued colleague, Chuck Lorre, producer of “Men” and two other shows that arguably are even more important right now to our future. You crossed a line no self-respecting business in America could tolerate.
Even more, every time you open your mouth, the “$320 million” lawsuit you keep threatening to bring becomes more of a farfetched longshot.

Yeah, they got their money’s worth out of Charlie and he gave them an easy out at just the time when they needed an easy out.

Category: Celebrities

Comments

21 Responses to “‘Sheen’s Korner’: Not Winning”

  1. Charles Johnson
    March 6th, 2011 @ 11:14 am

    This is strangely off topic but on topic. But if intelligence helps men attract women, why can’ t I keep a woman? Kilgore Trout excluded of course.

    My guess it was not the speedo look that wooed Mrs. McCain. People may not know this but RSM was into acting before journalism. Unfortunately RSM just missed his role of a life time.

    Now get off my interwebs!