Summary
The Studio finds a just-right balance in Episode 3, delivering the cameos but also the comedy in a big, smart way.
I was a little mixed on the two-part premiere of The Studio. You can’t blame me, though. Those were two very different episodes, with the first feeling scatty and overstuffed and the second feeling a bit too insular. Episode 3 is, I think, a perfect balance between the two, involving everyone in the core plot and putting the cameos to work in embellishing the comedy, rather than being the point on their own.
It all works, and works brilliantly, complemented by some truly great moments of physical comedy and pitch-perfect line deliveries, especially from Kathryn Hahn, who has some tiny throwaway moments that are absolutely golden. It’s still early days yet, but this has to be The Studio at its best, right?
Anyway, “The Note” revolves around a new movie from Ron Howard titled Alphabet City, starring Anthony Mackie and James Franco. The episode begins with Matt and the gang screening what is almost the final cut, and loving every moment of it until a protracted, experimental sequence at the end throws everyone for a loop.
The consensus is clear – the “motel sequence” has to go. It should be a simple matter of Matty giving Ron a note to cut the sequence, which is justifiable on multiple levels; it’s so long it’ll limit the number of screenings, and so confounding it’ll ruin word of mouth. It doesn’t fit.
Predictably, Matt is too cowardly to upset Ron Howard. Initially, I suspected this was another instance of his desire to make great movies rubbing up against his mandate to make profitable ones, but that’s not quite right in this case. Even Matt hates the motel sequence. His problem is a more personal one.
It’s later revealed that Matt has previous with Ron Howard. In the early days of his career, he was invited to a friends and family screening of A Beautiful Mind. He made the mistake of giving a note suggesting that the film should make it clear to the audience that Paul Bettany’s character – spoiler alert – is imaginary. It’s a profoundly stupid suggestion and was rightly ridiculed at the time, but Matt has held onto it ever since, so the idea of giving Ron another note is triggering for him. It seems like Ron can’t remember the initial incident and likes and respects the version of Matt he thinks he is, so Matt can’t risk that. But someone has to give him the note.
Quinn initially volunteers, but she’s stunned into compliance by the presence of her favourite actor, Anthony Mackie, who’s also a producer on Alphabet City. Then Patty turns up and makes it all worse by being performatively complimentary about the motel sequence, which is apparently deeply personal for Ron, an ode to a dead cousin. In other words, the worst possible scenario.
Seth Rogen and Ron Howard in The Studio | Image via Apple TV+
In a very funny stretch of The Studio Episode 3, Matt sends Sal to give the note while pretending to have recently lost a cousin himself, but he falls for Ron’s heartfelt defence of the scene. Luckily, a lifeline is presented in the form of Anthony Mackie, who also hates the sequence and has been waiting for Matt to tell Ron to cut it. This argument is very funny, but it also leads to what looks like a solution – Matt will give Ron the note and be fully supported by Mackie. Predictably, none of this happens.
When Ron suggests making the motel sequence the centre of the marketing materials and Mackie enthusiastically supports him, Matt knows the responsibility is on him to deliver the note. But Ron chooses that moment to reveal that he does remember Matt from the incident at the screening for A Beautiful Mind, and takes the opportunity to regale the entire room with a humiliating recounting of it. Matt, furious, delivers the note on Alphabet City much more forcefully than intended, leading to an argument and then a fight that destroys half the office.
But it’s all okay. The Studio Episode 3 has a pretty happy ending, with Matt and Ron both apologizing to each other and the motel sequence being cut, but not without a parting threat from Ron that he’ll destroy Matt if he ever crosses him again. But in this industry, that’s a win.
Speaking of which, so is “The Note”. It’s very funny all the way through and keeps the cameos both limited and functional, building to meaningful character moments that keep the fictional characters the focal point of the drama. There are some real laugh-out-loud moments in this, from Seth Rogen’s run up the stairs to Kathryn Hahn’s ranting – “He should not be burdening audiences with catharsis!” – and her hilarious “never forget” line while showing a poster mock-up depicting a silhouette of the Twin Towers. If this kind of thing is what The Studio has in store for the remainder of its run, it could end up being one of the best shows of the year.
