Call My Agent 1.8 - Backlash

Call My Agent - Backlash

Genre : Drama / Comedy / Satire
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer : Dominic Wilkins
Cast: Lesley Manville, Caroline Dhavernas, Rainn Wilson, Brian d'Arcy James, Gilles Marini, Bill Nighy and Alden Ehrenreich

Plot:

All the employees of the Jones Agency are dressed up and are patiently waiting for the biggest star they ever booked to come in their office. Bob (Rainn Wilson) shaved, Wilson (Brian d’Arcy James) combed his hair, Andrea (Caroline Dhavernas) put some makeup on and Miranda (Lesley Manville) pampered herself. They sit anxiously and they finally hear someone knocking at the door. Miranda and Andrea argue about who should go open and they both go. Miranda opens it a little and is extremely disappointed to see who’s there. It’s not their star, it’s Mark (Bill Nighy), their loan shark.

He tells them that he knows about the award they won the other night and he knows about the star they booked, so he comes for his money and he is not leaving until he gets his money back. Wilson thinks fast and he doesn’t want Mark to be there when the star arrives and he remembers Mark being a germaphobe. He spits on his hands to “clean” a spot on his jacket and he rubs them together thoroughly. He grabs the envelope with the check in it. The sum may be large but it is not enough to cover the loan. He rubs the envelope in his forehead and kisses it goodbye, before forcing it into Mark’s hand and shaking the other intensively. He turns around as the others are amused by Mark, who’s completely disgusted. Wilson cleans his hands with sanitizer in front of Mark. Mark asks for some but he tells him that they don’t have any for him. He leaves angry, but partly satisfied that they paid back a bit.

They all sit down again and wait for their star to arrive. Miranda gets too nervous and she calls her driver / lover / masseur Francois (Gilles Marini), telling him that she needs a doorman at the agency and she would kill for a back rub right now. A while later, the door opens, but it’s just Francois in a suggestive leather doorman outfit. Bob is offended and he says they are not working in a sex shop and it would be disastrous if the star arrives right now. Miranda couldn’t care less and she has her massage oil bottle in one hand and a towel in the other. Wilson tries to get it from Miranda while Bob argues with the sexy doorman to change into a more reasonable outfit. Andrea’s focus is on her cellphone, on which she reads a news and she starts to panic. She tries to get the attention of the others, but she can’t, because of all the cacophony. The door of the agency opens and everyone turns around to see Alden Ehrenreich (Alden Ehrenreich). Their jaw drops to the floor.

They profusely apologize to the young star for the situation and they hide Francois in the bathroom, Bob is pretty sure he didn’t have the time to see him. They welcome him to the Jones Agency and they give him an awkward little tour of the place, all the while Andrea is still stuck to her phone. Just as Miranda was starting to openly flirt with Alden, Andrea gets up her chair and gets on her desk. Wilson feels the urge to tell Alden that it’s his trick. She tells something that even Alden doesn’t know and it goes like this: With a salary of $2,000,000 for his latest film; Girl/Girl, rising star Alden Ehrenreich, the third-billed actor of the film, reportedly more than double what both female leads make combined. What makes it even worse, is that the agency who negotiated the contract; the Jones Agency; recently accepted an award for their outstanding work for gender equality in Hollywood. More details to come.

Bob tells Andrea that she should have asked for less, but Andrea really wanted to get paid and she thought that landing them this account would make them bigger, thanks to Alden, who can simply smile at that. They don’t know what they are going to do about it. Alden, on his end, says that he thought about it and he decided to give the difference between his salary and his co-stars to an organization fighting for equal pay in Hollywood. He already knew about that and that’s what he came over to tell them, so he was surprised to see them so happy to see him. Miranda’s phone rings and she answers it. She seems devastated by what she’s told. The organization called and because of the controversy, they want their money back, but they don’t have that money anymore. Alden feels like this is awkward and he waves them goodbye, leaving them disgruntled. Miranda opens the bathroom door and fetches Francois, she really needs that backrub.

The group is still trying to find a solution. They remember about Miranda’s inheritance, but they can’t seem to find a way to make her have it before they would be forced to close down due to lack of money. All this backlash will hurt their reputation, but Andrea and Bob are confident that their client will stick with them no matter what. To help them stay in operation a while longer Wilson volunteers to give up his salary and Bob too. Miranda, well, she doesn’t get paid and she doesn’t know it, so it’s going to stay that way. Miranda gets out of her office, revigorated by François’s mean back rub. They all stand in a circle and as they look outside, they see a swarm of reporters coming. They know the agency’s fate lies in the palm of their hand. They all breath in and out together and head for the door.

Call My Agent uses the most out if its guest stars, but don't let it distract you from the fact that the main cast of over-the-top characters are also very well developed and have a lot of chemistry.

It took a few episodes to get the engine running, but once Dominic Wilkins and Jason Reitman found their footing, the show kicked up to another gear and thankfully the cast is as game as them in their unique look at the Hollywood delirium.

"It took a few episodes for the show to find its tone, and then it took a few more episodes for it to develop its characters, but by the end of the first season, it understands exactly what it is. Call My Agent has become a clever satirical show that uses its all-star guest actors to poke fun at Hollywood conventions, and exasperate its increasingly eccentric main cast. I can't wait to see what writer Dominic Wilkins and executive producer Jason Reitman come up with for season two