Full disclosure: I love Will Arnett. Frankly, I don't know many people who don't think he's hilarious and wonderful and has the perfect family. But this relationship -- mine and his, not his and Amy Poehler's, obviously -- can only be one-sided for so long; I've been giving him chances to have a new and interesting character in a funny and likable series for years now, and every time he sorely disappoints. Maybe it's not fair to blame him for his failures in the past few years, but it seems like every job he takes, he refuses to play a different character. In Up All Night, there are pangs of change and a small glimmer of hope that he'll finally broaden his range, and if he learns from his former mistakes, he'll be golden. Here's our advice:
Quit Playing Gob
There will always be a place in our hearts for Arrested Development, especially considering its language has seeped into our vocabulary, but come on! Give it a rest with the GOB act, already. From the self-obsessed idiotic Ennis Hofftard on Sit Down, Shut Up to the flat-out replica who was Running Wilde's Steven Wilde, we've seen enough of the selfish man-child routine. The immaturity has got to go, especially now that Arnett's a father (both in reality and on NBC). I know he's more than just a pretty face and voice, which I hope to see for a long, long time on network TV.... with spicy club sauce.
Chemistry is Key
If you're going to have a love interest -- especially a wife -- there's got to be a real spark between the characters. One of the downfalls of Running Wilde was the complete lack of chemistry between Steven and Emmy (Kerri Russell). Need proof? Look at the "Best Man" episode if you don't believe me: It was arguably the highlight of the series, and that's because you could actually see a real connection between the two characters... also, there were some pretty good Renaissance puns. But the only believable romances we've seen with Arnett have been horribly unsuccessful (remember Jack the exhibitionist and Miranda on Sex and the City?) and/or underplayed (have we even met Devon Banks' partner on 30 Rock?). We're glad to see that at least he made a real commitment with Christina Applegate's character on Up All Night.
Give Up the Bromance
Okay, okay, we get it: Arnett and David Cross are buds. We respect the buddy love and give props to Mitch Hurwitz for trying, but Running Wilde and the inexplicably not cancelled Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret have taught us that the two of them should not be on TV together unless there's an extremely strong cast around them. Arnett should take a page from Cross' Mr. Show former co-star Bob Odenkirk and cut that cord... and if he's offered a role on Breaking Bad alongside Saul Goodman, for the love of Gus, take it!
Show Us the Amy
Our biggest request is that Arnett and his fantastic wife keep appearing on each other's shows. Her stint on Arrested Development as Bride of Gob, and his work as Chris (the creepy guy who gave Leslie Knope an MRI) on Parks and Recreation have proven that they can make on-screen magic. Were it not for how much we love Adam Scott, we'd be disappointed that Will isn't playing Ben Wyatt. And if we could have any inspirational web series for young women back in our lives, it would be Smart Girls at the Party, in part so that we could watch Will and Amy dance at the end of every episode.
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