by Souris, Vartan Ho #4

Michael plays Michel Valentin, a French chef who is a friend/competitor of Bradley Cooper's Jack Bourdain. After Michel steals a recipe from Jack, Jack retaliates, and what ensues is an ever-escalating war of pranks and one-upsmanship. Complicating matters is the fact that Michel seduces Jack's antagonistic head waitress, Mimi.

Michel is basically a caricature of a stereotypical Frenchman: he's sexy, he's scruffy, he's hedonistic and he's arrogant. It's a very naughty and un-Vaughn-like role, and Michael has a blast with it. I think this could be a revelation to those (misguided) individuals who say that Michael is a boring actor or that he doesn't have a range beyond Vaughn. The episode is hysterical, and Michael is extremely and wickedly funny in it.

Although the role is rather over-the-top, so is the tone of the entire episode. The show is not exactly comedy verite. Michael embraces the larger-than-life aspects of the role without chewing the scenery. He's very much in charge of the role. And, of course, he does it with a French accent.

Because it's a half-hour show, don't expect to see a huge amount of Michael compared to some of the regulars. He has about the number of scenes you can expect from a guest star on a sitcom. His character is out of the picture at the end of the episode, but they leave open the possibility that he could return to be a recurring thorn in Jack's side if the show makes it to the end of the season.

There is, of course, the requisite in-joke shout-out to Michael and Bradley's time together on "Alias." And, BTW, I still love Nicholas Brendon. Xander was always my favorite Scooby.


© Souris, Vartan Ho #4

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