Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Stacey Colbert (Debra Messing) is a neurotic Jewish freelance writer in New York. She is desperate to get away from her nagging mother after getting dumped by her fiancée. Her sister Amanda (Nadia Dajani) is happily married to sweet, clueless accountant Eric Moyer (Greg Germann). They set Stacey up with his selfish, unscrupulous, superficial, and materialistic co-worker Ned Dorsey (Thomas Haden Church). It is fire and ice. When his boss plans to give away his expected promotion of Creative Director to a family man, he quickly invents a fiancée to marry. Stacey needs his apartment and he needs a wife. What could go wrong? In the second season, they plan to divorce while he partners with Amanda in her muffin shop.This is Debra Messing's big break on network TV. She has great charms that is equal to the scoundrel Thomas Haden Church. The obvious move is for Ned and Stacey to get together. The pilot should have planted better seeds for that relationship to grow. There is a lot of combative chemistry but they slow-roll the coupling. They may as well be Will & Grace. They need more heat at the start which would translate into better friction throughout the show. Otherwise, the four leads are solid sitcom players.

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** One of my favourite comedies- Ned and Stacey. It is funny and entertaining, and I am impressed by the fact that each character has his/her own individual character: Ned being self-centred and arrogant; Stacey being kind and tough; Eric being immature and weak; Amanda being aggressive and clever. It is a pity that the programme ended with Ned losing his job and Stacey finding a new apartment- not a happy ending. I have enjoyed watching this programme and would like to praise all of those involved in the programme for their magnificent effort.

Ned and Stacey is the hetero version of "Will and Grace". Except it's actually funny. The premise is virtually identical, platonic co-habitation, the roles are virtually the same. Everything is played for laughs, no serious undercurrents, no position to take; just go for the joke. Neds self-absorption, Stacey's contempt for Ned, Amanda's contempt for humanity, Eric's sad-sack befuddlement, it all just works. They did an entire show about the down-on-his-luck Mr. Beveldere, for God's sake! Any real TV fan has to admire that. I can only imagine that the show was killed only because Thomas Hayden Church was just too far over the top for most people. I thought he was great but everyone I talk to absolutely *hated* him. But slap in Eric McCormack (who is undoubtedly a better actor, just too understated to really be funny), slap on a gay aspect to get some press and make it look like a different show, and problem solved.

Ned and Stacey is my favorite show! There's nothing better then Ned, Stacey, Amanda and Eric to brighten up a dull day! Ned and Amanda are my favorite characters. I love their wit and sarcasm, especially when they argue over the muffin shop. Of course, my favorite episode is the now classic "Loganberry's Run" where Ned tries to introduce the bizarre loganberry muffin to the Amanda's Amuffins menu. Throughout the episode, he obsesses over the muffin and tries to convince Amanda to make it in every way he can. I'm very depressed over the fact that this show didn't last as long as it should have. Thomas Haden Church is an excellent actor, so excellent in fact that I have developed a crush on him. I love Ned Dorsey!