The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour (2004) (TV)

User Rating:

2.4/10   

Director:

Gary Halvorson

Writers:

Mike Bender (writer)
H. Jon Benjamin (writer)

Release Date:

11 April 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music

Plot:

America's favorite young married couple, Nick Lachey & Jessica Simpson, multi-platinum artists known from their hit MTV series...

Cast

Nick Lachey	...	Himself / Various Characters
Jessica Simpson	...	Herself / Various Characters
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Timothy Anderson	...	Associate choreographer
Johnny Bench	...	Himself
Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds
Hunter Gomez	...	Young Justin Timberlake
Paul Greenberg	...	Various
Laivan Greene	...	Mouseketeer
Tara Nicole Hughes	...	Dancer
Taylor Hurley	...	Young Britney Spears
Olga Kay	...	Juggler (as Olga Karavaeva)
Jewel Kilcher	...	Herself (as Jewel)
Haley King	...	Mouseketeer
Mr. T	...	Himself
The Muppets
Nicki Prian	...	Mouseketeer
Kenny Rogers	...	Himself
Brandon Wilson	...	Mouseketeer
Tara Wilson	...	Dancer

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Tenth Planet Productions

Quotes:

Self: What's the matter, Christina? I thought "Words won't bring you down!"

Movie Connections:

References "MMC" (1989)

A Painful 43-Minute Laugh at Nick & Jessica's Expense

Remember those television variety shows from the 1960s and 70s? The producers and writers of the "The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour" certainly do. They've dug deep into television's archives to mimic the kinds of skits, patter, and songs that popped up on programs hosted more than 30 years ago by Sonny and Cher, Tom Jones, Dean Martin and other singers.

Although the variety show is no longer popular, many of those old shows remain entertaining today. The same cannot be said of "The Nick & Jessica Variety Show." The hosts are the main problems. Jessica Simpson is an average singer with an overwrought style that will either make you laugh or squirm with embarrassment. This woman simply has no idea how ridiculous she looks, and this program, unfortunately for us, provides plenty of opportunities for her to prove it. A duet with the singer Jewell is especially painful to watch.

Nick Lachey has a better voice than his wife Jessica, but given the comparison, I'm afraid that amounts to very faint praise indeed. He appears mostly in hammy duets with Jessica or lame comic pieces with almost forgotten, third-tier celebrities – Kenny Rogers, Johnny Bench, and Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog.

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey are best known for their MTV show, "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica." Whatever the merits of that program may be, (I've never seen it), don't waste your time on this claptrap unless you want to have a 43-minute laugh at Jessica and Nick's expense.

3/10