The framing device for the show was... interesting. You go expecting a show about a health club and there are a couple of folkies singing "Two Brothers" and "Shenandoah." Oh and another couple of guys prowling around with oil lanterns. Apparently God has granted, er, Grant, plus some other random Civil War guy the chance to choose just one wrong on earth to set right. Naturally they choose to use this unique opportunity to expose the horror that is the 24 Hour Fitness in Koreatown.
I'm not going to list everybody who was in it, you can go look at the cast list yourself. I will only say that Chris Hardwick in a wifebeater and huge red boxing gloves would have been worth the price of admission all by himself, if in fact I had paid admission. I will also say that Al is going to be in excellent voice for the Oz tour. The provenance of the one-star reviews of the Koreatown 24 Hour Fitness that were the basis for the script was, we were told, Yelp.com but I think they found some for Al from Howl.com instead. He really raised the roof. At first I thought they were gonna pull a little joke on us and give Al what would amount to a one-word part (that word being "GROOOOOSSSS!!!!") but most everybody cycled through several times and I think he had three opportunities to rattle the rafters.
What really surprised me was how much characterization they managed to put into the reviews. As I was driving home, it occurred to me that it was kind of like "Our Town" or maybe "Spoon River Anthology" translated into 2011 Los Angeles. Or not. But the actors managed some vivid portraits.
In closing, I would like to say that if I ever again have a gym membership, it will not be in Koreatown. And wherever it may be, I promise never to bring a box lunch into the sauna. The end.
Edited to remove the "t" from Chris Hardwick's first name.
He's a nice guy and all, but not THAT nice.
