Saturday, December 6, 2014

Zoned Out: The Misfortune Cookie

If it's Saturday, it's...
In this Tale, a Critic learns that being a jerk can be bad for your health.  Should I be worried?
A Food Critic- Elliot Gould- is proud of his record.  He has given no Restaurant a good Review and many of them are now closed.  He has no guilt.
He even has a fake, miniature Cemetery on his Desk to celebrate his track record.
He's told to try a new place- Mr. Lee's Chinese Food.  He orders alot, but eats pretty much nothing.
In spite of that, he gets a special Fortune Cookie that seems positive.
It actually works out well for him.  He gets a Police Reward for bumping into a Criminal and finds a lovely lady.

The problem: he still gives the place a terrible score, angering Mr. Lee.
He gets another Fortune Cookie- this one is much less rewarding (at least for him)!
Sure enough, he suddenly feels super-hungry and goes to eat.  He can't satiate his hunger- he is now in his own personal Hell, leading to him becoming a part of his faux Cemetery Set.  The End.
This is another one of those ones that feels like a Classic Twilight Zone Segment.  You've got a simple premise to play with, a key Guest Actor and a good Twist.  Gould plays the part well, making you really want to see him get his comeuppance.  As a Segment and not a Full Episode, he doesn't really get any nuance to his Character.  You do get to see him be happy- when the Cookie comes true-, so he does appear to not just be a Cartoon Character.  He is quite a jerk though.  The Story plays out quickly- given its short running time, it has to- and doesn't waste any time.  It is a darkly-funny one, which is something I obviously like.  As I get more into this Show, I begin to question its bad reputation.  If nothing else, we get a cameo by the man who was in everything in the 1980's- Al Leong...
Next week, I begin a 3-Part look at the 1985 Christmas Episode.  First, a lady gets her Christmas wish via...a Copy Machine?  Stay tuned...

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