Call My Agent 1.1 - Money

Call My Agent - Money

Genre : Drama / Comedy / Satire
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer : Dominic Wilkins
Cast: Lesley Manville, Caroline Dhavernas, Rainn Wilson, Brian d'Arcy James, Gilles Marini and Cuba Gooding Jr.

Plot: The three employees of the Jones talent agency, mourning in silence the loss of their previous owner, Tom Jones, who passed away about two weeks ago. They heard that his daughter will take over at the agency, despite the fact that she was never involved in it and wanted nothing to do with it until her father passed. They are nervous to meet her, hopefully things won’t change much.

Miranda Jones (Lesley Manville), dressed head to toes with designer clothes, enters her black SUV and asks her driver, Francois (Gilles Marini) to get her to the Jones agency. She grabs her purse and puts on her sunglasses, surfing on the web to find information about her employees, but the agency’s site is currently down. She lets go that it’s a terrible way to start. François opens her door and offers to help her carry her stuff inside, but he refuses, even when he insists. She opens the door and takes a quick look around. She says out loud that the offices are small and ugly, she needs to change things around here. She glances at her staff and she tells them to cheer up a little bit, it’s not a funeral home here. She points at the woman and she wants to see her in her office.

Andrea Martel (Caroline Dhavernas) welcomes Miranda to the Jones agency and she tells her that she enjoyed working with her father very and she hopes it’s the start of a great relationship. Miranda cuts her off and she says to cut the crap, their relationship will be purely professional, she has no intention to be friends with her secretary. Andrea says she isn’t the secretary, she’s an agent. Wilson (Brian d’Arcy James), over there, is the secretary and Robert, or Bob (Rainn Wilson) is the other agent around here. They are a small agency, but Tom’s reputation was so great that they were able to grab a few high profile accounts. Bob and her share the accounts, as they think team work is better for the agency and that’s what make them stand out. Miranda says it’s all good and she wants a little bit of time to herself and she will talk to them in a little bit, giving her time to settle.

Right out of the office, Andrea shares her first impression with her colleagues, saying she seems like a stone cold bitch, but it doesn’t seem like she will be messing with their business. She comes out of the office and presents herself, Miranda Jones. She had no intention to take over from her father, but it was written in his will that in order to get the inheritance, she had to take the reigns of his agency and she did… for the money. It doesn’t change the fact that she will make sure they do their job and they do it well, otherwise, they’ll have a problem and she’s not someone you want to mess with. Wilson raises his hand to ask a question and she says if it’s a personal question, he can keep it to himself and he lowers his hand. She says that can go on about their day and she will ask them if she needs anything. Wilson offers to help her find things in her office to start working and she accepts. While he walks in her office, he whispers “wish me luck” to his colleagues and Bob laughs and replies that he’s going to need it. 

When they are alone in the working area, Bob asks if Andrea told Miranda about the rivalry they have between them and she says that she’s sick of this stupid rivalry and she told Miranda that they are a team and always work together. Robert is baffled, they will keep getting on each other’s nerves and will annoy the other all the time, it makes no sense and it won’t last. He says that if they ever have to eat together she will be so grossed out that she won’t ever want to work with him again, always calling him disgusting and disturbing, so that’s why he will call the client and they will meet for lunch instead of here.

Miranda asks Wilson what it is they really do around here and Wilson asks her if she’s really serious, they are a talent agency. The are agents. She asks him how much she will make in a year working here and he tells her that her father didn’t earn all that money selling ice cream on the corner of Main and 1^st, if she knows what he means. She doesn’t understand the metaphor, and she says she doesn’t understand how common people talk. She wants a number, now. He’s the secretary, he should know. She says her motivation is down the drain right now, so he better cheer her up. He finds the last annual report and points a number to her and she finally takes off her sunglasses, asking him how she can do an even better job than her father. He innocently asks her if she likes money and she angrily replies that of course she loves money, but she never worked in her life and now he has to show her. Wilson says that she should just sell the agency and keep the money, but she reminds him about the will and that she really has to work at the agency. Wilson says it would be better if she just does nothing and they will take it from here, besides, they were able to keep the place running while Tom was sick. She says it’s the perfect plan and asks him to go out, as she starts to shop online.

Andrea and Bob are waiting for their client in silence, when he finally shows up; Cuba Gooding Jr. (Cuba Gooding Jr.). Bob welcomes him with a customized handshake and Cuba asks why he brought Ms. Smartypants over there and Bob says that her manager forced her to do it, because Andrea is so bad she needed counselling from the best and Cuba agrees that Robert is indeed the best. Andrea cuts to the chase and she tells Cuba the reason for their meeting, they got him a new part. Cuba asks how much it will pay and Andrea says that it won’t pay much. Andrea says that it’s a juicy part in a drama and Cuba says he’s sick of doing these types of films. He already has his Oscar to his name and he was nominated for an Emmy a while ago, he’s tired of these needy roles, he wants big paychecks now. Bob says he’ll work for Damien Chazelle and Cuba says that we’re talking now and Andrea can’t believe why he agrees with Bob. He says it’s a juicy part in a drama called American Playboy and he’s sure it’s going to be a good movie. Andrea says it’s the part of writer Alex Haley in a film about Hugh Hefner’s life. He says it’s all good, but he likes Snow Dogs, Boat Trip, The Fighting Temptations, Norbit, What Love Is, The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends, that’s the kind of films he wants to do, it pays very well and it’s so easy, almost no work required. Bob asks for a high five for getting him these parts and he receives one. Andrea says it’s too late, the contract is signed and both of them can’t believe it, it was Bob who got him the role. They will head back at the office and will negotiate the terms of the contract with Last Resort Films.

Back at the office, Wilson is completely overwhelmed by his two jobs and he can’t take it anymore. When Bob and Andrea arrive with Cuba, he asks Bob to help him, but he refuses, but he keeps insisting, so he leaves Andrea with Cuba. Bob doesn’t work even if he’s with Wilson, he prefers to watch Cuba arguing with Andrea about his salary, saying his classic “Show me the money” line. Bob asks Wilson where Miranda is and he says she won’t do any work and it’s better that way, she only cares about the money. Desperate, Andrea reaches over to Bob to ask him to come and talk to Cuba for him to accept the role. Just as he gets up to go, Miranda’s door opens and she struts down the corridor and she talks to Cuba. Bob races over to his desk, but when he arrives, Cuba is signing his name on the dotted line. He kisses Miranda’s hand and he runs out of the agency screaming that he loves them through the glass window. Bob asks Miranda how she convinced him to sign and she says she just told him how she enjoyed his work on films such as Norbit and Snow Dogs and she told him he should do more movies like that. 

They are all flabbergasted by what just happened and Miranda leaves the office getting into her car driven by her foreign driver, François. Wilson, Bob and Andrea sit down and wondered what just happened and what will happen to this place now that Miranda is in charge.

I feel like Call My Agent will be too dependant on its guest stars and not allow its main characters to develop, with the show jumping from guest stars to guest stars without much intrigue and it bothers me, because it has more potential than to just to that

The pilot struggles to find its way, that is until Cuba Gooding Jr. shows up and steals the entire episode. The show has yet to give its main characters much characterization, but there's enough of a set-up at the end of episode to keep me interested in seeing the next episode

"IWhile the pilot episode might not have been great, it still manages to intrigue me and make me think that this show has potential. The cast seems to have fun and if all the guest stars are has energetic and willing as Cuba Gooding Jr., we may be in a joyful ride.