With the release of “I Spy: The Movie” I think that it is safe to say that Hollywood has scraped the bottom of the barrel
when it comes to movie remakes of old television shows. (And I thought that “Car 54 Where Are You?” was as low as they could go.) Soon, however, I bet that they will begin to mine 80s television shows to put on the big screen. While there might be some shows that will make a good transition, I’m sure that there will be many that will fail miserably. Of course, since this is Ralphland and we’re talking about Really Bad Ideas, we’ll focus on-
Really Bad Ideas- TV Remake Insanity!!
Who’s The Boss: The Movie!: Fading “Cute Actress” Meg Ryan stars as Angela Bower, a working mother with little time to care for her aging but sex starved mother (Debbie Reynolds) and her way too cute son (Jonathan Lipnicki). She hires the tough talking Tony Micelli (Tom Hanks) after a cute misunderstanding at the Nanny agency. (She thinks he’s the stripper she’s hired for her mom’s bachelor party… don’t Meg and Tom’s characters always “meet cute” in these movies?) Tony moves in with his even tougher talking daughter (Christina Ricci) and not only brings order to the house, but sweeps Ms. Bower off her feet and down the aisle. The film ends in Central Park with the camera panning away, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan staring dreamily into each other’s eyes and the strains of a Harry Connick, Jr. song filling the air.
Jeopardy! The Movie: Desperate to be loved and to win an Oscar, Jim Carrey takes on the role of Alex Trebek, a smarmy know it all game show host whose grating on camera demeanor hides darks secrets at home. You see, Mr. Trebek is only trying to protect himself from love. But little does he know that love is about to come knocking! He becomes smitten by a complex, sultry contestant (Played by Angelina Jolie) that he begins dating against the wishes of his producer and best friend Merv Griffin (Played by Nathan Lane). Despite the rough patches that threaten their budding relationship, this couple is guided down the aisle by fate and syrupy Celine Dion songs. Even though the movie is factually wrong in practically every way, it becomes a blockbuster to the chagrin of Alex Trebek, who considers a lawsuit against the movie’s producers. Despite the massive Oscar campaign mounted by the studio, Mr. Carrey again (deservedly) goes home without an Oscar.
