On The Lot: Episode 13 (Fox Television)

POSTED BY , 01 August 2007

At this point, it’s nice, because "On The Lot" can finally breathe. Yes, it does know it won’t return after the final episode, but it at least knows it will make it to the final episode. Does that mean it can give the finger to selling out and let the filmmakers do whatever they want? Hell no. This week’s episode, which calls itself "road’" week is merely advertising for the shows top sponsor, Ford. There’s also the inclusion of a celebrity (sort of) with Jerry O’Connell appearing in one of the shorts.

This week started off with a surprise, well, at least to me it was. The bottom two contestants were Lipovsky and Hunt -- two audience and judge favorites. Now, whether Lipovsky was really a bottom contestant is only something Fox knows, but I’ll pretend like reality TV doesn’t cheat. As I have pointed out before, Canadians cannot vote, which means Lipovsky never has the hometown advantage. Hunt ended up going home, which I didn’t really expect. He’s energetic and likeable, and he’s made a string of good films. Somehow Epperson managed to come out on top. Considering Epperson’s home town, I’m convinced the same people responsible for re-electing Bush were also responsible for Epperson’s victory.

Anyways, in case I didn’t make myself clear earlier, this week is road week. This basically means that every film has to involve a car. It’s safe to assume most of these cars will be the Ford Escape. With its spacious interior, leather seats and affordable price, it’s no wonder why the Escape was featured.

Driving Under the Influence (Adam Stein)
Stein’s return to dancing is a favorable one, mainly because he revolves a charming and relateable story around it. A touch of fantasy helps, along with Stein’s usual unique direction. If there’s any reason to dislike it, one could point out that Stein doesn’t do anything with the interesting characters he introduces.

Back Seat Driving Test (Sam Friedlander)
Boldly directed, with hints of personality, Friedlander’s film didn’t do much for me. Maybe it’s the fact that it seems to lag, or that the entire thing isn’t funny. Friedlander at least gets decent performances out of his actors, which is something he usually manages to pull off.

Bonus Feature 2 (Zach Lipovsky)
Lipovsky pulls a stunt by making a sequel to his unpopular film last week. Whether it’s Lipovsky trying to redeem himself, or prove to Steven that he can direct the next "Jurassic Park," he does sort of succeed. Adding to his characters, rather than everything around them, definitely helps, along with putting them in a fairly entertaining scenario. His actors do surprisingly well, manage to squeeze out a little chemistry, and even make terrible dialogue somewhat work.

The Move (Jason Epperson)
A complete failure in every aspect, Epperson once again offends his audience; this time, their intelligence. What starts as a rather wooden and stiff example of forced dialogue ends up being something even Christopher Nolan wouldn’t do. Epperson throws a curve ball and gives us a twist ending. The only thing is, it’s not an ending, just a terribly unfunny joke.

Road Rage 101 (Will Bigham)
Bigham has slowly become one of my favorite contestants on the show, mainly because he’s showed a regular style, rather than trying to sell out to the audience. His film this week is a somewhat off-and-on experiment, which ends up mostly being on. Exploring road rage, Bigham throws out some metaphors, some fantasy and some life lessons.

Considering I thought Friedlander was going home last week, my confidence has been shattered. Like Lipovsky, I’m going to try and redeem myself by predicting next week’s loser. While Epperson deserves to get the ax, his fan base seems to think otherwise, and will more than likely keep him on. It’s most likely between Friedlander and Lipovsky. filmmaking, steven spielberg, on the lot, adam stein, jason epperson, zach lipovsky, will bigham, sam friedlander, andrew hunt