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New Christian Slater vehicle dandy for TV movie, but may not have staying power hit series needs
By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer
Published on Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is now in its second century of intriguing readers and inspiring producers, with the latest example coming to NBC at 10 p.m. Monday.
My Own Worst Enemy finds Christian Slater playing two men in the same body, one an unassuming middle-class guy named Henry Spivey, the other a violent super-spy named Edward Albright. After Edward has completed his secret missions, his memory is replaced with those belonging to Henry, so there is no danger that he will spill secrets — or, I suppose, accidentally kill someone.
But in the series premiere, the wall between Henry and Edward begins to break down, with Henry appearing in a perilous Edward situation and Edward popping up in the middle of Henry's life. That creates problems for the secret agency where Edward works, and for Henry's family, including wife Angie (Madchen Amick). And, as the premiere rolls along, we see how elaborate and complex the ruse around Edward is, and how much could crumble in Henry's hands.
In a lot of ways, this recalls the elaborate recent British drama Jekyll, in which Jekyll and Hyde also began to intrude on each other's life.
But there are only so many tricks to be played in this story, and My Own Worst Enemy does not seem to have found any new ones.
Instead, it settles for being a rather implausible action show shackled to a consideration of what gives us our identity. The latter is especially evident when the show reveals that Edward is not the only one leading a double life.
Slater is quite effective as both Henry and Edward, taking pains not to make Henry too meek or Edward too scary — although, this being Slater, he can convey ample menace with little visible effort. The supporting cast includes some good performers, among them Alfre Woodard and Mike O'Malley.
Still, after watching the first episode, I was at a loss whether I wanted to see a second one.
It already seemed that the show was exhausted, with the only available path involving repeated scenarios where Henry has to get out of an Edward jam and Edward has to stay connected to his inner Henry. As a two-hour movie this might have worked. As a series, it looks like a dead end.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://www.ohio.com. He can be reached at 330-996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is now in its second century of intriguing readers and inspiring producers, with the latest example coming to NBC at 10 p.m. Monday.
Get the full article here.
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