Veep

Julia Louis Dreyfuss is one of the funniest actresses around. We all remember her as Elaine on Seinfeld. She was a standout in that role and we all can name certain scenes from the show that we remember with a smile.

She also earned acclaim in The New Adventures of Old Christine a CBS sitcom that had limited viewership but several accolades.

For the month before the premier of the HBO Series VEEP we saw previews and certainly with the talent of Dreyfuss one had high hopes.

And in the series Dreyfuss is funny. She still has the ability for physical comedy that few can match. An expression, a gesture, these are things she does as well as anyone.

The show though needs a great deal of work. Designed as a vehicle for Dreyfuss to play a Vice President, and perhaps as an inside joke on how little power the Vice President has the show could be much better than it is. Firstly it is vulgar in a way that is not needed. It should be no surprise to think that people curse in the halls of government. Still this show seems to take it too far to a point where it seems extreme. The characters are crass and not overly likable. The dialogue on the show is witty, and rapid fire but thus far we have no real connection to the characters.

Perhaps we are not supposed to. Perhaps the show is designed to show the superficiality of the figures in our government. In that it might succeed. It is hard however to see this as a show that HBO will be picking up after this season.