Cynical Cinema

Paramount Home Entertainment is releasing, on September 23rd, Season One of a series I never knew existed until now. But it’s a great one. This American Life is a TV series based on a Chicago public radio show hosted by Ira Glass. Glass reprises his role as the host of the show for television, and he’s funny enough and serious enough to make this program bizarrely compelling. It’s a show that travels around the United States meeting interesting people. Kind of like Wayne Rostad in On The Road Again. Only funnier and more interesting. Each episode of the show centres around a particular theme, although “theme” appears to be a word used rather loosely.

From the very first story we hear on the very first episode, we’re hooked. A woman tells a story about the time she peed on the school bus when she was a little girl. It’s a great way to grab the attention of an audience, and this TV show had mine all the way through Season One. They go through slaughterhouses, visit cloned bulls, and get a behind-the-scenes look at a hot dog stand in Chicago that brings out the absolute worst in people. This show is both charming and compelling, and I’ll bet you can’t watch just one episode.