Eva Longoria goes the spoofy ‘Telenovela’ route

EVA Longoria AP

Many US film stars used to avoid acting on television, because they felt it diminished their stellar cachet.

Recently, however, more film luminaries like Kevin Spacey, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Anna Faris and Seth Green have “gone TV,” proving that the bias against it has become passé.

The latest movie star who’s opted to topbill a TV sitcom or drama series is Eva Longoria, whose “Telenovela” comedy show is banking on the viewership of millions of Americans of Latin extraction.

In her new sitcom, Eva plays a veteran telenovela star who’s separated from her similarly popular leading man-husband—and is facing career problems due to drooping TV ratings.

Her worries intensify when her producers bolster her show’s star value by adding new cast members—including her “ex,” to titillate viewers and make them watch the show on a more regular basis.

The return of her “faithless” love into her life throws her for a loop—particularly when he proves that his rumored affair with another female star, which was what pushed her to break up with him, didn’t really happen.

It is this combination of personal and career woes that makes Eva’s character feel terribly insecure, which leads to a number of excessively emotional reactions that are tweaked by the show’s spoofy script to make viewers laugh.

Additional comedy is provided by the series’ satirical take on “telenovela culture’s” overacting or passionate and lugubrious excesses.

Of course, the telenovela tradition is so “over” that it’s just begging to be spoofed—so, a good laugh is had by all!

Despite this saucily satirical approach, however, “Telenovela” still doesn’t heat and spice up as it should, due to some scripting deficiencies. First, plot developments thus far aren’t inventive or lively enough.

In addition, there’s an insufficient number of funny punch lines, and the sitcom banks too much on its generally satirical thrust to get by.

As fans of hit sitcoms know from experience, a show needs more verbal and visual humor to keep viewers laughing for half an hour. It is this sustained delight that makes hit shows—and “Telenovela” is not yet there.

But, we’ll keep watching and will write about the show again if we see that it’s improving.

Interestingly, the spoofy approach of Longoria’s new sitcom is “mirrored” on the local big screen by the recent film, “Lumayo Ka Nga sa Akin,” which is based on Bob Ong’s satirical book that “sums up” Filipino show biz’s TV-film clichés to elicit viewers’ “knowing” laughter.

Among the movie’s targets are our flicks’ “action hero” clichés and conventions, the usual “vengeance” motive and motif, local horror movies’ unscary and even ludicrous excesses—and overly “over” melodramas!