Ben Stiller Show

Starring: Ben Stiller, Janeane Garofalo, Bob Odenkirk , Andy Dick

RS: 4of 4 Stars

Lasting but twelve episodes on Fox when the network was prominently featuring the likes of Herman's Head, The Ben Stiller Show has nevertheless gained cult status, and now everyone can find out why. It's not just the fiendishly twisted pop-culture parodies -- Lassie recast with Charles Manson as the family pet, U2's "One" rewritten as a commercial for Lucky Clovers cereal, Bruce Springsteen giving Gary Coleman a haircut -- as much as the loving detail behind them. As Manson's owner, Andy Dick affects the weird Harvard accent common to dads from 1950s family dramas. In The Grungies, which deftly re-creates the quick-cut anarchy of a Monkees episode set in 1992 Seattle, one silent character dresses exactly like Kurt Cobain in the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. On "Amish Studs," Janeane Garofalo's near-silent bonnet-wearing lass shows a sweet desire that will break your heart. And if you think Stiller's best work was in There's Something About Mary, you haven't seen his James Hetfield impression. Or his Sydney Pollack as Frankenstein's monster in Woody Allen's Bride of Frankenstein. Or his Ron "the Beast" Perlman.

TOM NAWROCKI
(January 7, 2004)