Phallic Phailure: Why HBO's "Hung" Left Me Limp
Okay, okay, I promise that the title of this post is the first and last dick joke I'll make today. That having been said, don't expect the same courtesy from the new HBO show "Hung", which takes every opportunity to make juvenile penis jokes (sample joke: the get-rich seminar that inspires Ray to become a man-whore is led by a guy who encourages the audience to find their "special tool" that will help them succeed).
Now, I'm not going to get into a big debate about prostitution, how it's portrayed in Hollywood, why joking about having a pimp isn't funny, etc etc. For me, I hear "comedy + man whore" and think, "Yeah, I will watch that." So, I tuned in to the pilot episode last night to check it out.
The general premise of the show is this: Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane, a.k.a. "poor man's Aaron Eckhart") is a down-on-his-luck guy who happens to have a massive schlong. So he decides, as one does, to put his giant penis to good use as a male prostitute. Aiding him in this is Tanya (Jane Adams, a.k.a. "Niles' wife who he dumped for Daphne on Frasier"), who offers up her services as a pimp.
The pilot episode spends most of its time setting up how Ray ends up as a male prostitute. We find out that Ray is in financial trouble, has a shrew of an ex-wife (played by Anne Heche, who is looking... not so hot these days), and has recently suffered through a house fire that has forced him to live in a tent in his backyard as he struggles to find the money to pay for the repairs to the house. We are also reminded several times that Ray has a big dick, since... duh, that's the title of the show.
Long story short: Ray runs into Tanya, a former one night stand, at a get-rich-quick seminar. They have another one-night stand, there's a big stupid fight where Tanya is annoying and Ray is a prick, yadda yadda yadda, but the end result is that Tanya inadvertently inspires Ray to give male prostitution a try. He fails miserably - in the one moment that really kicked ass, we see the client peer through the keyhole at Ray, decide he's not worthy, and then reject him via a note slipped under the door with a 50 dollar bill clipped to it. Tanya pops up again, Ray shares the story with her, and she offers to help him market himself better. We leave the pilot episode with Ray agreeing to take Tanya on as his pimp.
Things I liked:
Episode 1 grade: C+
Now, I'm not going to get into a big debate about prostitution, how it's portrayed in Hollywood, why joking about having a pimp isn't funny, etc etc. For me, I hear "comedy + man whore" and think, "Yeah, I will watch that." So, I tuned in to the pilot episode last night to check it out.
The general premise of the show is this: Ray Drecker (Thomas Jane, a.k.a. "poor man's Aaron Eckhart") is a down-on-his-luck guy who happens to have a massive schlong. So he decides, as one does, to put his giant penis to good use as a male prostitute. Aiding him in this is Tanya (Jane Adams, a.k.a. "Niles' wife who he dumped for Daphne on Frasier"), who offers up her services as a pimp.
The pilot episode spends most of its time setting up how Ray ends up as a male prostitute. We find out that Ray is in financial trouble, has a shrew of an ex-wife (played by Anne Heche, who is looking... not so hot these days), and has recently suffered through a house fire that has forced him to live in a tent in his backyard as he struggles to find the money to pay for the repairs to the house. We are also reminded several times that Ray has a big dick, since... duh, that's the title of the show.
Long story short: Ray runs into Tanya, a former one night stand, at a get-rich-quick seminar. They have another one-night stand, there's a big stupid fight where Tanya is annoying and Ray is a prick, yadda yadda yadda, but the end result is that Tanya inadvertently inspires Ray to give male prostitution a try. He fails miserably - in the one moment that really kicked ass, we see the client peer through the keyhole at Ray, decide he's not worthy, and then reject him via a note slipped under the door with a 50 dollar bill clipped to it. Tanya pops up again, Ray shares the story with her, and she offers to help him market himself better. We leave the pilot episode with Ray agreeing to take Tanya on as his pimp.
Things I liked:
- Thomas Jane is an appealing lead.
- While his kids looked nothing like him, I appreciate that they're a little chubby, and the son is a total goth kid. In other words, they look like real teenagers for once.
- The adventures of a man-whore has a lot of comedic potential.
- Setting the show in Detroit is a brilliant idea and perhaps future episodes will show more about how the financial crisis has really destroyed that city.
- Ray is kind of a dick. The show constantly references what hot shit he was in high school, like that's supposed to give him some sort of right to be awesome for the rest of his adult life. His main grievance with his ex-wife's new husband seems to be that the new husband used to be a dork in high school. I'll quote Mo Ryan from the Chicago Tribune here: "Back when he lettered in three sports and was a prospect for the major leagues, Ray 'tasted and came close to greatness,' as he puts it in a voice-over. So?"
- We're supposed to feel bad for him, but really... what kind of guy can't make ends meet on a teacher's salary in freaking Detroit, especially since he lives in his parents' old house (which I can only assume is completely paid for)? Most of his financial troubles seem brought upon himself. For example, he can't repair the house, because he was too lazy to keep up with his insurance payments. He's depressed that he can't lend his son fifty dollars for concert tickets, but somehow manages to find enough money to take one of those get-rich seminars that they host in stuffy conference rooms at the airport Howard Johnson.
- He seems upset about losing custody of his kids, and we're supposed to think that Anne Heche's character is just being a big bitch about the whole thing. However, since Ray pretty much expected the kids to literally live in tents with him on his lawn (after his own negligence caused the fire that nearly killed them - too many cords plugged in, and battery taken out of the fire alarm), I'm not sure why any sane person WOULDN'T take Anne Heche's side here.
- This might be just me, but is there that big of a market for a guy whose only skill seems to be the possession of a big dick? I mean, no one really talked much about his aptitude in the bedroom. Apparently just being well-hung is supposed to be enough for most women? I would have thought something like "super skilled forked tongue" would make more sense, but maybe HBO just couldn't come up with a pithy title to communicate that...
Episode 1 grade: C+
TIP:
Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Erin Judge
Catherine Forsythe
Emily Holleman
Rebecca Sarwate
Martha Nichols
~R@~
Salon.com
Comments
Rated
I don't think we're supposed to entirely like Ray -- yet -- but we are supposed to sympathize with him while enjoying his humiliation. Who doesn't like to see the homecoming king get his comeuppance?
I get your point about seeing the homecoming king get his comeuppance... but I'm not sure that "Oh noes! I have a giant penis and now women will pay me money to ride it!!!" qualifies as "comeuppance," especially if the clients are anything like Tanya - Ray won't even have to fake interest to get them off.
Seems strange and annoying that professional sex work is assumed to be easier to do and manage than all of the other things at which this character has already failed. I wonder if that is the point, or if HBO is just going for the cheap trick of having a looser guy have looser adventures.
#2 The poor man's Aaron Eckhart? Not possible.
Aaron Eckhart is a god among humans. See Thank You For Smoking and watch him in every scene acting his butt off making one care for his character who manages to simultaneously be a sleazy lobbyist, excellent father, and lonely guy screwed by a younger woman. Not an easy task to pull off. I fell so in love with that actor in that movie.
you could even call it, "everybody wang tongue tonight".
Personally, I am going to watch several more episodes to see how it progresses.
Hmm...that would make me poor indeed, since I haven't the faintest idea who Aaron Eckhart might be.
Also? A show about a man-whore that only rates a C+ from a reviewer whom I trust and respect? What is this country coming to? This only confirms my decision to switch to Showtime, where, along with the sublime Nurse Jackie, one can, as God intended, watch a show about a a suburban mom selling pot and bearing a Tijuana drug-lord's baby.
@milanst - actually, when I think back to my military days, most of those guys had their shit together. More importantly, none of the guys I knew were clinging to their high school years as a reason for me to respect them. Mostly, I distrust anyone who says "My best years were in high school"... but that's just me.
@Floyd Elliot - the saying goes "Never judge a book by its cover". Well, when it comes to TV, I believe "Never judge a show by its pilot." The first episode was a C+ for me, but I'm going to keep watching to see if subsequent episodes improve. The idea is solid - we just need more man-whore action, less "wah wah, I was a QB in high school, why don't I have everything I want 20 years later?!".
I'll let you know if the show improves. In the meantime, yeah... enjoy Nurse Jackie, which is my new favorite show this summer. :)
Actually, I HOPE this is the issue that is developed. Otherwise, I cannot imagine where the writers will take this. I think his first customer response -- "I changed my mind" would be a common one.
More than likely sleeping with a strange man and paying him for it sounds much better in fantasy than in reality. I think that is where the pimp idea comes in handy -- Tonya IS going to have to sell him to others. Then, his rep would spread by word of mouth IF he is less of a self-absorbed prick than he seems to be...I don't know...will have to watch now to see what (if anything) happens here.
Not sure about Ann Heche yet. I'm going to give it time but not having Alan Ball as Exec. Producer hurts it. It has a good premise but does it have promise?
Rated and appreciated
- rated for your creative title!
Maybe it was the branch, mos, decade, or your gender [for me it was early '90s in an armored unit in the 1st infantry div.] but for me it was much different. Also, I was more referring to his general machismo than his constant references to when he was successful.
I understand why you are annoyed at his whining; I just find that his fall from success to failure is integral to the story. If he was a success then there would be no need to prostitute himself. Also, it was the first episode and they may not mention it much from here on out.