St. Louis Flavor on NBC's The Office

     As many of your know the beloved United States version of The Office is in its last season.  I can say I have been an on and off viewer since its start in 2005, but nevertheless from all the reruns they play now I have honestly seen every episode and know this series quite well.  I am from St. Louis, MO, a city which three different cast members from the show have in common.  Jenna Fischer, Phyllis Smith, and Ellie Kemper who play Pam Beasley, Phyllis Vance, and Erin Hannon respectively.  Its very uncommon to hear this many Saint Louis natives to be in one show, so here are some super fun facts about these ladies and Saint Louis.

Jenna Fischer aka Pam Beasley/Halpert attended Catholic all girls school Nerinx Hall.  It is located in Webster Groves in Saint Louis.  I first saw Jenna Fischer in Judd Apatow's "Undeclared" where she played a minor part as a popular college student.

Phyllis Smith aka Phyllis Lapin/Vance is from Lemay, Saint Louis which is basically south St. Louis.  She is also a former St. Louis Cardinals cheerleader and a frequent supporter of the Fabulous Fox Theater in St. Louis.

Ellie Kemper aka Erin Hannon is from Kansas City, MO.  She actually auditioned for the show "Parks and Rec" but instead received a call back to replace Pam as Dunder Mifflin's new receptionist.  She attended prestigious John Burroughs High School where "Mad Men" star Jon Hamm was her drama teacher.  Talk about getting what you paid for.

JM

Kevin Spacey: King of All Assholes

Kevin Spacey...a god nevertheless, is a very talented actor with two academy awards under his belt. He has a knack for being aggressive towards women, seems to always be in control, and most importantly an asshole.  Sometimes I find myself wondering if he is the best character asshole on the silver screen. I first want to look at his work in American Beauty where he arguably won an Oscar for being an asshole. He is basically going through a mid life crisis where his work and family gets mixed with his new hobbies younger girls and smoking weed. Not a bad transformation.

Anyway everyone loves a good “ I quit my job story”, why shouldn’t this be any different?

1. Him purposely losing his job
2. "I jerk off once a day in the men's room fantasizing a life that doesn't closely resemble hell."
3.Conning the company for a severance package +benefits
4. Threatening to report the company to the IRS for fraud because and an executive bought "pussy" with company money
5. Threatening the consultant, Who is gay, for sexual harassment
6. Leaving with a smile on his face

After he quits his job he feels that he still needs to contribute to society in some way.  So he applies at a local fast food restaurant. (Actually a Carl's Jr.) From then on he only fantasies about his 18 year old daughters hot friend and smoking pot.

Later on...

Hey everyone loves a good, 

" I caught my wife cheating at a fast food restaurant drive-thru window story"

               Let's see this one play out...

Amazing.  From this point in the movie on, the dominoes all seem to fall his way. The end of the movie is to good to give away.

See Also: Other Kevin Spacey asshole appearances: A Bugs Life as Hopper, LA Confidential as Jack Vincennes, 21 as Mickey Rosa, and The Usual Suspects as Verbal.

Freaks and Geeks, Apatow, Rogen, Segel

From left to right name and characters names respectively: Martin Starr as Bill, John Francis Daley as Sam, Samm Levine as Neil, Linda Cardinelli as Lindsay, Seth Rogen as Kenny, James Franco as Daniel, Busy Phillips as Kim, and Jason Siegel as Nick.

Freaks and Geeks was a short-lived show created by Paul Feig and produced by Judd Apatow.  The focus is a Michigan middle-class family and the hilarious antics that occur in high school.  Its main look is the everyday life of the Weir family but mainly the children Lindsay & Sam.  At school the two groups the geeks: Sam, Bill, and Neal and the freaks: Lindsay, Kim, Daniel, Nick, & Kenny.  Throughout the course of the show many hilarious guest stars often appear such as: Ben Foster, Rashida Jones, Jason Schwartzman, and Shia LeBeouf. Judd Apatow is no stranger to comedy today.  Not only is he the hottest thing named Judd since the Judd Nelson, but Apatow is the man behind comedies such as Anchorman (2004), Knocked Up (2007), and Pineapple Express (2008).   He is very successful and has a great eye for talent to put in his crazy roles.  He develops his actors just like a sports franchise would nurture a glorified prospect.  Here I would like to explore some of Judd's so called prospects.

Rogen Present Day

                                 Seth Rogen

Seth circa "Freaks and Geeks"
portraying  Kenny Miller

Judd and Seth Rogen are no strangers look at their history.  Obviously Freaks and Geeks launched their relationship but there are other obvious works of genius.  Present day, Rogen, has blossomed into a pure comedy symbol.  In Freaks and Geeks he plays a more of a secondary role but for some reason Apatow made his a center-piece for his future comedic phenoms.

•  Freaks and Geeks (1999 TV Series)   
• North Hollywood (2001 TV Movie) 
• Undeclared (2001 TV Series)  
• Anchorman: (2004)   
• The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005) 
• Superbad (2007) 
• Knocked Up (2007) 
• Step Brothers (2008) 
• Pineapple Express (2008) 
• Drillbit Taylor (2008) 
• Funny People (2009) 
• Adventureland (2009) 
  (Note: This only includes films and television series...shorts and guest appearances are not included.)

Segel in Freaks and Geeks
portraying Nick Andropolis

A more recent Segel

Jason Segel

Another one of Apatow's prospects is Jason Segel who played the role of Nick Andropolis. Although i loved Segel in Slackers (2002) he didn't really bloom until 2008. Segel didn't have as early of success as Rogen but has really proven himself since Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  At first, i saw him as the friend of Seth Rogen in the film Knocked Up. Then it seemed that Judd wanted to give Segel a lead of his own, Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Segel and Apatow

• Freaks and Geeks (1999 TV Series)
• North Hollywood (2001 TV Movie)
• Undeclared (2001 TV Series)
• Knocked Up (2007)
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)
• Get Him to the Greek (2010)
• Five-Year Engagement (2012)

(Note: This only includes films and television series...shorts and guest appearances are not included.)

All three of these men work together in Undeclared (2001) which I am currently watching and so far is hilarious.  Will leave feedback.