Tom Jolliffe reviews the pilot episode of Jean-Claude Van Johnson…
For The Muscles From Brussels, Mr Jean-Claude Van Damme, the notion of sending himself up is nothing new. Many stars may find the idea of mocking themselves as too much for their ego to handle, but Jean-Claude (despite often being accused of having no small ego himself) has happily played the fool in the last few years. It started with the surprising JCVD, in which he played an exaggerated version of himself caught up in a Post Office Heist. It remains the most critically acclaimed film of his career and a film that struck a chord with critics and on the festival circuit.
After that Van Damme never quite managed to escape direct to video action hell, albeit with his brief cinematic comeback in The Expendables 2. Again that film was a complete send up of the genre that brought fame to each and every one of the huge cast. Still, what Van Damme showed in JCVD which only his fans had seen in spurts in straight to video action thrillers (that would bypass the attention of any critics of a high profile) was that he can actually act. In JCVD he gave his most complete, rounded, interesting and complex performance. It was dramatic, touching, heartfelt and personal. Unfortunately interesting offers after that weren’t forthcoming. People watched, were impressed, but indie studios didn’t appear (we can’t account of course for things he turned down) to come out to offer JC a chance to branch out as more of a character actor. Kicking and punching remained his remit.
Whilst most of his films bypassed the attention of anyone bar his ever tiring but dedicated fanbase, he got a little attention for his adverts, notably of course the Coors ads and the Volvo truck ad (which went viral). But of course it was a gag. A riff. To kids it was a guy they know largely from gifs and memes, or from the front cover of a VHS or DVD in their dad’s collection. Much like Chuck Norris, Van Damme’s “fame” was beginning to become more about memes and adverts than the films he’d appeared in.
This brings us now to a new potential avenue as Van Damme looks to branch out into a successful TV with the Amazon exclusive show, Jean-Claude Van Johnson. The show itself is JCVD, meets Coors Ad, meets Tropic Thunder. It’s a send up of the man himself as well as Hollywood and spy shows. Van Damme, once again playing an exaggerated version of himself, is a past his prime actor who no longer makes the pages of Variety. Little do the public realise though, that he also sidelines as a secret agent, using films as cover to undertake dangerous missions (under the codename Johnson).
The pilot sets about introducing JC’s double life, and rocky relationship with his ex (played by Kat Foster). Van Damme has retired but when he finds out his ex is on a mission to Bulgaria he gets back in the game intent on partnering with her and winning her back. There’s not too much detail given into the mission itself, it’s pretty perfunctory and rather more a set up for Van Damme to take the mickey out of himself and fight some bad guys (who insist on challenging him one at a time, in case they accidentally run into each other!).
The pilot could have been a little more elaborate in terms of sub-plots really. The main riff is of course about the man himself, with no small amount of in gags toward the obscurity of his modern films. Fans of Van Damme will also enjoy watching him perform a lot of his classic signature kicks, even if they’re done so with tongue firmly in cheek. The pilot is definitely amusing, aided with the involvement of Peter Atencio (Keanu, Key and Peele) as director and producer. Production values are decent and it looks good but you would expect so given this is from Ridley Scott’s production company.
So is there promise for a full series? Reviews seem largely solid and the premise will allow for plenty of humour if handled right. There’s a danger this could be an advert gag stretched out too far, but they need to make the secret agent sub-plot more engaging for one thing and the support cast more interesting. There’s also plenty of scope to include some nice cameos, perhaps from fellow action legends like Dolph Lundgren or Steven Seagal (if his ego allows). Personally I would welcome the series. It would engage Van Damme more than just churning out half hearted video on demand action films. He’s really good in this. He’s funny and he’s given the direction to pull a good performance.
Tom Jolliffe
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https://youtu.be/b7Ozs5mj5ao?list=PL18yMRIfoszEaHYNDTy5C-cH9Oa2gN5ng
Originally published August 20, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
