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Ridiculously over-the-top, featuring dull performances and ludicrous action sequences taken to such impossible extremes that they lose any value they might otherwise have, WANTED wraps up with a massive action sequence that looks like a live-action version of 'Itchy & Scratchy'...though even someone making that cartoon would have stopped themselves when things looked like they were getting 'too unbelievable.' Funnier than any deliberate comedy this year, filled with overwrought comic-book fanboy angst and brimming with absurd action, WANTED will be forgotten in theaters before I've finished typing this review and really doesn't merit another line of commentary.

It appears that comedy is a lost art to Hollywood. Watching Ferrell and the rest of the cast flounder their way through this scriptless mess, it's hard to believe that this same Hollywood produced Blazing Saddles, My Favorite Year, Roxanne and a long list of laughers that weren't really made all that long ago.

This film tries, tries, tries so hard, but it's obvious that no one really had any ideas for humor before they went before the cameras. The basic premise is 'act stupid and the jokes will create themselves,' but, alas, they don't. Characters that are beyond caricatures are not a good place to start-- the only person who comes out of this mess with a measure of dignity is Christina Applegate, who at least has a character that seems slightly real at least part of the time. The rest of the 'characters' are just wigs and costumes and so horribly written that the actors can't do anything to fill the time, other than make faces and try to say things that show desperation rather than inspiration. The entire world depicted in this film is so senseless and ungrounded in reality that nothing CAN be funny, it's just Bizzaroland, and an unamusing one at that.

Funniest recent movie? Kung Fu Hustle. Maybe the Chinese can take over our comedy industry along with manufacturing. Hollywood apparently is no longer up to the job...

After many years of not being able to see this program, but only being able to hear the scathing opinions of others about it, in particular those of the series' originator, noted SF writer Harlan Ellison, I was anxious to actually see it for myself.

And when I finally did...? Well, I actually enjoyed the 10 or so episodes I could see. Yes, the production values were very small, but shows like 'Land of the Lost' or 'Doctor Who' (which Ellison has said he actually likes) have made very enjoyable, watchable programs on similar budgets. Frankly, an interesting story is the first requirement, and trivia like sets and special effects are, at best, secondary. Castigating the show for a low budget is easy. But the shows I saw were primarily enjoyable, and I liked watching them even with particular flaws here or there or a less enjoyable episode now and again.

How much of this reputation for the show is of people simply jumping on Ellison's bandwagon? He has famously trashed the series, and has every right to whatever feelings he has on the subject. But his opinion is formed on the basis of what he originally wanted, and the experiences he had while working on the project (which, as much as they are known, are simply HIS versions of events). What effect could that whole experience have had on his opinion of the show? And why should his opinion have any effect on mine, formed simply on the basis of the program itself? I wonder how many people have formed their perspective of the series based on Ellison's recounting of events and his own view of the series. How much of Ellison's opinion has built those of others? Does it have its flaws? Most certainly, sizable ones. And it is certainly a low-budget production with poor episodes. But is it the worst show of all time, as many people seem to see it? I don't think so. It is, in many ways, enjoyable.