dream cast: hypothetical ‘Taxi’ movie

My response to this casting can best be summed up by the following: eww.

I guess we all have our shows and movies about which we get very protective and emotional, and Taxi is one of those shows for me. I’ll give your cast some credit–a black English ex-footballer as Tony is kinda cool. And Hugh Laurie, doing his American-guy thing, could be a passable Rev. Jim, and I’ll even give you Dinklage as Louie (although Louie was NOT all about the anger). But jeezum crow–Owen Wilson as Bobby? What, because Wilson has shaggy hair? Twenty-something, incredibly narcissistic but somehow lovable Bobby? Wilson is way too old, and narcissism isn’t part of his palette. (Or, put it another way–imagine that scene you posted with Laurie and Wilson doing the “what does the yellow light mean” bit. And it doesn’t work.) A few more gripes–Zooey D. as Elaine? Whoever cast her in “Yes Man” is giving her more of a break than you are. And Izzard as Latka? Really? Latka with the unplaceable accent, mangled English, and eventually, split personality? Izzard is Izzard–cake or death, yeah, yeah, hilarious. But it’s not Latka. (Now, Sacha Baron Cohen, maybe…) I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on Ms. Tate–I see she does sketch, and apparently she’s good at it, so could be. (My choice–Ginnifer Goodwin.) And finally–Alex, portrayed by one of my only living acting heroes, Judd Hirsch. And you replace him with… some Star Trek guy? And not even a Star Trek people have heard of–guy looks like some dink at a local Trek convention. Painful. These games usually give me a smile, but this time, well… eww.