Reviewing The Free Press 2
Happy Capybara Productions—Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame
Benji is witty, funny and fantastic, but admittedly, I was a bit distracted by his good looks and amazing physique. ***** (5 stars!)
Oh wait—that’s what Rothman wants people to write! Here’s what I’m actually going to write, but before I do, I want to confess something.
I’m scared.
The Free Press reviewed his show yesterday and today, it’s in his show. There’s a good chance that whatever I say here, he’s going to talk about tomorrow—and if I say displeasing things to him, I’m going to get reviewed in a poor light. Seeing his “review” today, it won’t be “Benji Rothman reviews The Jenny,” it will be “Benji Rothman reviews Ray Yuen.” So do I butter him up so he presents nice things about me tomorrow and for the rest of the run?!
If you know The Jenny at all, you know that we’re brutally honest. Some of our previous staff members have been rumoured to take beer as bribes but believe me, as the Review Coordinator for The Jenny, I’m going to say that we cannot be influenced by bribes, and we’re going to write what we honestly feel. So Rothman, if you don’t like what I have to say, bring it on! I’m a veteran Reviewer and I’ve written hundreds, if not thousands of reviews. I’ve received everything from bad-mouthing, to swearing, and even got a death-threat once. Yet, here I still am!
To start, there were some delivery issues and problems with the smoothness of the show. I found a number of occasions where Rothman broke the momentum because he was obviously reading his PowerPoint notes on the laptop. I would expect to know the script well enough not to have to stop dead to review.
However, I totally agrees with Rothman on many points. The Free Press, and in past, The CBC, wields way too much power in their ratings, and especially with their star system. I had a Fringe show last year, and I sat anxiously waiting for the next-day result. Five stars meant that you would sell out, and anything below three stars meant that you’re doomed. Who holds your future? Reporters forced to jam as many shows in as possible, some of whom don’t want to be there. I personally talked with a number of sports writers who asked how I got roped into this hideous task.
Uh, I want to be here.
My show was reviewed by a fashion, music and cooking reporter. I got a respectable 3.5 stars but I easily could have one star, if the reporter happened to be racist or like a certain, Orange Idiot south of the border.
So yes, I completely agree with Rothman’s posit that The Free Press has too much power and they often abuse, or at least misuse it.
More about the show, I was a Statistical Analyst/Statistician in my other life and I loved the statistical analyses that Rothman did. Did they show causation? No, but correlation? Not sure, but it was fun to think about and there were some interesting trends.
The biggest laughs came from Rothman reviewing someone else’s previous show. I won’t say anymore about that part.
Throughout, there were entertaining parts, laughs, and good fun. If you weren’t quite soaking it in, Rothman reminded you that you can get up at any time to purchase beer or wine to help you out (I sat right next to the bar for convenience).
I’m tempted to return to tomorrow’s show to see what he says about me!
Ray Yuen
Reviewing The Free Press 2
Happy Capybara Productions—Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame
The “2” felt a bit misleading with this show. I saw the original late in its run last year, so even most of the new bits (about last year’s review, for example) had already been incorporated. It also didn’t flow quite as smoothly as last year, though it’s quite possible for that to be chocked up to opening night jitters. All that being said, this is genuinely a funny show, and a somewhat vindicating take down of the crushers-of-dreams that many reviewers are. I have no doubt this run will become more polished as it goes along, and if you didn’t get the chance to see the show last year, I would strongly recommend taking this opportunity to do so.
Jordan Phillips
