Bonnie Hunt gives TV a taste of improvisation
By A.J. Frutkin
Washington Post
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| TV and comedy veteran Bonnie Hunt does more than act in her new TV series "Life with Bonnie." She also writes, produces and directs the show. Hunt plays a mom and local talk show host.
ABC 'Life With Bonnie' 8 p.m. Tuesdays, ABC |
On her new ABC comedy, "Life With Bonnie," Hunt has shaken up the staid format by adding improv to the mix.
"I want to give people 150 percent," Hunt said during an interview in her comfy dressing room above the set of "Life" in Culver City near Los Angeles.
"I want viewers to say to themselves, 'What am I watching?' Maybe they're smiling at first, and then laughing, and then realizing how much they're enjoying it."
So far, viewers seem to be doing just that. After its first handful of airings, "Life" is averaging about 10 million viewers — not bad for a show that's going up against NBC's durable "Frasier."
The series revolves around Hunt, who plays a Chicago mom and morning TV talk-show host. It also features David Alan Grier ("DAG") as Hunt's producer. Those aren't the only big names. Many episodes feature Hollywood actors playing ordinary folks who appear on Hunt's talk show to be interviewed.
That's where the improv kicks into high gear. Already memorable is an episode in which "X-Files" star David Duchovny played a Chicago TV weatherman, and cracked up Hunt on camera.
Such scenes may point to a new brand of TV comedy, but Hunt suggested they also hark back to TV's golden age, adding that she's often "nostalgic for the time when you watched TV and knew people were havin' a ball."
Hunt is perhaps best known for her role in the 1996 film "Jerry Maguire," in which she played Renee Zellweger's older sister. She's no stranger to television either. In 1990, she starred in the NBC comedy "Grand." In 1991, she was featured in the ABC comedy "Davis Rules." Her next two series, "The Building" (1993) and "The Bonnie Hunt Show" (1995), aired on CBS and were co-produced by Letterman's company, Worldwide Pants.
Along with writing partner Don Lake, Hunt is executive producer of "Life". Viewers may recall Lake from his role last season on Julia Louis-Dreyfus' NBC comedy "Watching Ellie." Lake played one of Ellie's kooky neighbors, the veterinarian Dr. Zimmerman.
Hunt cut her comedy teeth with the famed improv troupe Second City, in her native Chicago. Her professional partnership with Lake dates back to 1989, when both were members of Second City's short-lived Los Angeles chapter. Lake was a regular on "The Building" and "The Bonnie Hunt Show" and he co-wrote with Hunt the 2000 feature film, "Return to Me."
Hunt said she and Lake came up with the idea for "Life" after Hunt was approached to replace Rosie O'Donnell, as O'Donnell prepared last year to leave her daytime talk show.
"I knew I didn't want to do that," Hunt said. But she added that the idea of a talk show intrigued her as a comedian.
"So Don's typing at his computer. I'm typing at mine. And I looked up and said, 'Don, what if I played a housewife and mother, who also had a local talk show?' Don turned his computer around and he had already typed on it — without us even speaking — "housewife and mother with her own talk show.' And we were like, 'Oh, that's scary.' "
In person, Hunt is a tad more serious than her wacky on-screen persona might suggest. Her dressing room is festooned with flowers, photographs and vanilla-scented candles. It's a homey atmosphere that speaks to her need for comfort and calm.
But with as many hats as she's wearing on "Life," who wouldn't need some calm? In addition to writing, producing and starring in the series, she's also directing it.
And after four failed TV series, controlling as many aspects of her show might be a key to success. Describing most TV series as "top-heavy," Hunt said executives overseeing those series can slow the creative process to a snail's pace.
"I've never been a big fan of comedy by committee," Hunt said. "If the studios or networks see a problem creatively, or if they anticipate a problem, they just throw more people at it."
Not so on "Life." In fact, Hunt said the network's grip on the series is pretty loose. But that wasn't always the case. When Hunt and Lake first pitched the show to ABC, they envisioned themselves writing each episode together. Most TV comedies are staffed with pairs or teams of writers that deliver only several scripts per season.
Considering her multiple duties on the series, ABC executives were fearful that Hunt was biting off more than she could chew.
"It was a question of time management," said Stephanie Leifer, senior vice president of comedy for ABC. "When someone is starring, producing, directing and writing everything themselves, we were concerned she'd be overwhelmed."
Hunt said she understood the network's position. As a concession, she and Lake hired a full writing staff. But from the get-go, Hunt said she knew they'd be underused.
"There's nothing more painful for me than to take another writer's script and completely change it," she said. "I told them the day that they were hired that it was difficult for me to have them here. They were wonderful writers, but they weren't what (Lake and I) do."
In a tremendous show of support for the series, ABC picked up "Life" for a full season after only three broadcasts. Within days of that announcement — and with the network's blessing — Hunt let go of most of the writing staff. The network seems so impressed with the show now, that Leifer calls Hunt "literally, a superwoman."
Along with that moniker, however, have come other names. Following the writing staff's exit from "Life," Hunt said tabloids began printing negative stories about her managerial style.
The reason? "I'm a girl," she said, adding that despite the advances made by women in Hollywood, there may still be a double standard. When a man takes control of a set, Hunt noted, "he's a genius. When a woman does it, she's crazy. It is different when you're a woman. It's surprising to me on a daily basis that that's a factor."
In the face of such challenges, Hunt's success may be her greatest revenge.
