TV junkies Anna Chan and Ree Hines dish on the latest boob-tube news, from what happened on your favorite shows, to casting rumors, sneak peeks and more. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more TV and entertainment news. Contact us
Ben Stein, who famously played Ferris Bueller's economics teacher in the 1986 classic comedy, "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," wasn't asked to spoof his much-repeated line in the Honda Super Bowl ad -- but he thinks he should have been.
Stein told a TMZ reporter that "it was a good ad, but I should have been in it."
In the ad, Broderick recreates many of his scenes from the film. Instead of Stein staring out at a zoned-out economics class droning "Bueller ... Bueller?", the ad featured an unknown actor droning "Broderick ... Broderick" as the actor picks up his car.
"They had a guy imitating my voice, they should've had me in it," Stein told TMZ.
Stein offered a solution to soothe his ruffled feathers, but he's a little mixed up on brands. "Just my humble opinion, but I think they used my voice, they should give me a top of the line Toyota -- I mean, Honda!"
Stein was also asked what he thought of the occasionally rumored "Ferris Bueller" sequel, featuring a fortysomething Broderick. "I want to be in it; I want to be in anything," he said.
Would you watch a "Ferris Bueller" sequel, or should Hollywood leave well enough alone? Tell us on Facebook.
Interspersed in between the commercials for products shown during the Super Bowl were a half-dozen for major movies coming our way this spring. (Sorry, Bat-fans, no "Dark Knight Rises.")
Here we've ranked them in our order of enjoyment.
"The Dictator" Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat character is hard for some people to take because he's fooling clueless real people, and some viewers squirm in sympathy. That's not a problem in "The Dictator," in which the only real people who are mocked are the infamous dictators themselves. Baron Cohen plays the all-powerful leader of a fictional country called the Republic of Wadiya. The trailer is brief, but the joke at the Kardashians' expense is pretty fun, as is the race scene. (May 11)
"The Avengers" "Avengers" fans, you didn't just stop with the 30-second ad shown during the Super Bowl, right? Surely you followed the URL given at the end of the ad and sought out the longer version? Those of us who can't wait to see the Avengers Assemble got a little goosebump or two during the Super Bowl version when Tony Stark called Steve Rogers "Captain." But those who went to the URL listed at the end of the ad got an even better line, when Loki tells Stark "I have an army," and Stark blasts back with "We have a Hulk." Here's that longer version. (May 4.)
"The Lorax" Confession: At first we thought Danny DeVito's eternally crabby voice was going to drive us away from "The Lorax," but we're kind of getting used to it. The colors and shapes in this Dr. Seuss adaptation are a delight, and the "that's a woman?" joke is straight out of Louie from "Taxi." (March 2)
"Act of Valor" Hard not to be fascinated with the Navy SEALs, especially these days. The scene with an aerial view of the American flag being snapped over a casket is breathtaking. You don't get much of a sense of what the movie's about other than SEALs doing their brave duty, but that's kind of the point. (Feb. 24)
"G.I. Joe: Retaliation" From real American heroes, to Real American Heroes (TM). Yes, those are dueling bald tough guys Bruce Willis and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson." Jay-Z quoted as if he's Shakespeare and Cobra flags being unveiled at the White House highlight this one. (June 29)
"Battleship" Why is no one making the "B-15! You sank my battleship!" joke in the "Battleship" trailer? Oh, we know, because they're taking it seriously, which only makes us fear this could be as bad as "Battle: Los Angeles." Really, it's better to keep your aliens hidden if they're going to look this dorky. Yes, that's Rihanna who says "Boom." (May 18)
This ad aired during the first quarter of Super Bowl XLVI.
"Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace" in 3-D This gets our award for most misleading trailer of the night. It starts off with a bunch of scenes from the original trilogy, which isn't being re-released into theaters, before finally admitting that it's for the first of the prequels transformed into 3-D. These are NOT the droids we're looking for. (Feb. 10)
"John Carter" Oh, "John Carter," we do not have high hopes for you. That is all. (March 9)
Nebraskans, you're one up on the rest of the nation. You, and only you, were shown the most-talked-about local-only Super Bowl ad during Sunday's game.
Actor Will Ferrell stars in a spot for Old Milwaukee beer that was only seen in the Cornhusker State (and, according to Deadspin, only in one small part of it). In it, the star of "Old School" and "Anchorman" is seen striding through a golden field wearing doofusy blue shorts. When he finally stops, he's thrown a can of Old Milwaukee, and as he opens it and starts to say the brand's name, he's (intentionally) cut off.
The ad is just one in a series of goofy ads for the beer that only aired in a very few states. The Quad-City Times reported back in November that Ferrell approached the brand as a "big fan of the beer and thought it would be fun to make the commercials."
Some thought the cut-off ending was unintentional, but Adweek links to Ferrell's earlier Old Milwaukee ads, one of which cuts off abruptly just as the Super Bowl ad does.
Update: Were the fourth-quarter ads as exciting as the game? Scroll to the bottom to vote.
Update: That's the game. Eli Manning got the job done and Tom Brady couldn't work one final miracle. Giants 21, Patriots 17. Stick around. We'll do a vote on the ads in this 4th quarter post and then recap the entire game's worth of commercials.
Update: Two-minute warning. The Giants are driving like this Cadillac ad. ... Does Danica Patrick still work in the Go Daddy ads? On a night when Adriana Lima is selling everything from flowers to Kias, we'd rather see Patrick behind the wheel of something.
Update: A phone! With a pen! Or is it a tablet? Not sure, but Samsung frees the hipsters stuck in a line waiting for the next big thing (from some other phone or tablet maker) with its Galaxy Note.
Update: Adriana Lima is getting a lot of work tonight. This KIA ad featuring a guy's dream -- juiced by a little extra gold dust from Mr. Sandman -- taps into all the necessary male cliches: Racecar driver, supermodel, Motley Crue and giant sandwich requiring loggers to saw it in half. ... And speaking of all of that -- monkeys!
Update: Here Weego! Bud Light makes up for that Platinum bottle with a cool dog ad built around their usual premise of having dogs serve people beer at parties. Weego is going to give Mr. Quiggly a run, we think.
Remember to vote: Scroll to the bottom of this post for links back to the previous quarters. All of those posts have votes.
Update: Finally. We were just wondering where Ferris Bueller was. This ad easily stole the week-before-the-game hype contest. It clocked in much longer in previously reviewed versions. A close game makes it look like a smart buy for Honda in the 4th quarter ad gamble.
OK, one quarter of football left to play. By my estimation the race for ad of the night so far has to be between Jerry Seinfeld with Acura, Camaro's new grad, Clint Eastwood for Detroit pride and the Volkswagen chubby dog. Tell us what we're missing on Facebook.
The NFL evolution ad that aired just before the 4th quarter opened is really well done. Cool vintage footage.
Update: Scroll down to the bottom to vote for your favorite halftime ad.
Update: Clint Eastwood brings the first goosebumps of the night. Can't beat that voice. Can't beat the message about bringing America back in the "second half." Last year, Eminem sold us on the pride of Detroit. This year it's Clint.
Update: If you haven't heard yet, "The Voice" is coming back. This ad got some laughs for bringing back the ever-popular Betty White. We miss those Snickers days already.
Update: LMFAO got a little taste of the halftime spotlight. Here they are in a Bud Light ad before that:
Update: Strike a pose everybody, here comes Madonna. Feel free to talk about the Material Girl's performance on Facebook. ... And check out this Toyota "Life Stories" ad, along with Will Arnett pushing Hulu Plus:
We've made it through two quarters of football and a bunch of car and beer ads. You can go back to the first and second quarter posts and vote for your favorites of the first half. I like Chevy's new grad Camaro ad best so far. It's not overproduced, it's funny and no babies talk in it. And I like it because picking Adriana Lima's Valentine's Day ad just seemed too predictable.
We'll stick around here and keep an eye on the ads they use around Madonna's performance.
Update: What was your favorite third quarter ad? Scroll down to the bottom to vote.
Update: Budwesier is back with a decade-by-decade history trip. I like this one. It might be the best of the beer ads so far tonight.
Update: Yes! It's Jerry Seinfeld in all his glory trying to get his hands on the keys to the first Acura NSX. Does Jerry still hold up? We think so.
Update: I need a new couch. Thanks, Toyota, for this Camry reinvention ad. ... More polar bears ... John Stamos doesn't want to share his Oikos Greek yogurt. And he pays for it with a headbutt that looked like something out of that last Giants drive.
Update: I knew I should have paid attention in my Italian language class in the 8th grade. That's not Adriana Lima, and that doesn't matter. I liked this Fiat 500 ad when I saw it earlier this week. I still do. ... Oh, the good old Coke delivery guy buying Pepsi on the sly, and there's Regis. Not bad.
Update: Patriots get another touchdown to go up 17-9. I'm still thinking about that little kid in the pool. I haven't left my desk in two hours.
We're back for the second half of football and the final stretch of ads. We watched that Madonna performance, but Clint Eastwood stole the show with an ad just before the end of halftime. Make sure you get on over to Facebook to talk about Clint and everything else.
Update: Patriots get a touchdown before the half and lead 10-9. Scroll down to the bottom to vote for your favorite ad from the second quarter.
Update: Slingshot baby! Well played, Doritos. ... This must be babytime because here are the E*Trade kids. You guys still likes these talking babies after all these years?
Update:That's not David Beckham! "Give and you shall receive," Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima tells us in a Teleflora ad for Valentine's Day. ... And that's followed by Mr. Quiggly beating the greyhounds to the finish line in his little red Skechers. Let's rewind that Teleflora ad.
Update: I love this Chevy Sonic ad featuring Rob Dyrdek, the pro skateboarder who had his own show on MTV for a while, "Rob and Big." It's the Super Bowl -- go big on the stunts, I say. Do you have a favorite car ad so far? Tell us over on Facebook.
Update: David Beckham in his skivvies for H&M. How will that not be a hit with the ladies?
Update: Here we go with Volkswagen Beetle, an early favorite for ad of the night. That overweight dog just has to get through the doggie door so he can chase the new Beetle. We love it. But we're not sure why it cuts back to the Star Wars cantina. It's just an odd segue. ... Those Coke polar bears are playing football. I'm sure my 5-year-old would love the look of these.
Update: I can barely sit through this ad for TaxAxct.com where the little kid has to pee. Must. Get. Bathroom. Break. Remember, we're discussing all of this over on Facebook.
Update: I love this Camaro ad where the new grad receives what he thinks is a new car from his parents. Apparently he didn't know that micro-fridge was stocked with Bud Light Platinum. ... Budweiser, Clydesdales in harness, recalled the halcyon days when Prohibition was repealed. For without beer, there could be no Super Bowl. ... Doritos finally weighs in with a man striking a deal with his cat-assaulting dog to keep his mouth shut on who was responsible for Fluffy’s disappearance in exchange for a bag of nacho-cheesy goodness. Dumb guys -- yet another Super staple.
The 2nd quarter is under way here in Super Bowl XLVI and the Giants are leading 9-3. Remember to go back and vote on the first quarter post for the best ad from those first 15 minutes. We liked the Best Buy ad and and Chevy's Silverado ad was pretty good, too.
Update: Scroll down to the bottom of the post to vote for your favorite ad.
Update: That's the end of the first quarter. We'll get a vote together.
Update: It's 60 and sunny where I am, so these Coke polar bears definitely feel out of season. ... This Chevy Silverado pickup ad gets in a nice shot at Ford as the post-apocalyptic dudes share some Twinkies. Maybe they can wash it down with Bud Light Platinum.
Update: The Giants are dominating early. Cheers them with another Bud Light Platinum? I'm already tired of that new bottle. ... There's that new brown M&M. I'm not eating that thing. ... This Best Buy ad is pretty cool. Nice nod to the Alec Baldwin Words with Friends airplane controversy.
Update: All hail! Elton John's chugging Pepsi while sitting in judgment of reality-esque singers. Flavor Flav gets a laugh here.
Update: And here come the first ads following the kickoff and Giants' opening drive and punt. Bud Light gets it started with a fancy blue bottle for its Platinum beer. Yum? ... There's that Audi #SoLongVampires ad. Have we had enough of vampires yet or does that still work for you?
Update: The Patriots just won the coin toss. Woo!? Hyundai folks are singing the theme from "Rocky." We'll call that a car ad, even though there hasn't been a kickoff yet.
Quick! Get your face out of the Cheetos bowl. We're off and running with Super Bowl XLVI and the battle for advertising supremacy. Remember to visit us on Facebook to cheer or heckle what you see along the way. Also, look for a vote in these posts at the end of each quarter. And after the game we'll recap it all and let you crown a commercial champion.
Back in September, after "my" Buffalo Bills had just finished beating the New England Patriots to improve to 3-0 on the young NFL season, I was making much different plans for today, Super Bowl Sunday.
Something happened in between then and now that was more reality based than I would have preferred. So here we are, getting ready to watch those Patriots take on the New York Giants in a spectacle played somewhere in between a bunch of commercials and on either side of Madonna singing something.
The commercials are the concern here. And if you still think the dream of the '90s is alive (when Buffalo went to four straight Super Bowls) than you probably also think you had to wait until game day to see the ads. Here in Internet land we've been watching this year's crop of ads for what seems like months, and has probably been more like a week.
You should know by now that Honda dug up Ferris Bueller for another day off and that Jerry Seinfeld is back, too, thanks to Acura. Those talking E*Trade babies will do their thing, and Volkswagen, the runaway favorite last year with that little Darth Vader ad, is dipping back into the Star Wars pool -- kind of. Around all of that there will be more car ads than you can imagine and lots of beer mixed with Doritos.
Throughout the game today we'll offer a running commentary on the ads that work and the ads that don't. We'll post the clips here and provide votes so you can rank your favorites as the night progresses. And after it's all done we'll recap and you can crown a champion among those companies that just spent $3.5 million for 30 seconds of your attention. Make sure you visit us on Facebook to chat about all of it.
Here's a sneak peek at some of the most highly anticipated ads to help you get your game face on:
Do people actually watch the Super Bowl game? Or is it all about the fancy schmancy ads?
Judging from what The Clicker readers were most interested in this week, it seems the answer is ... the ads. Or maybe it was just because the ad that got all of the attention was Honda's homage to "Ferris Bueller" starring Matthew Broderick.
The carmaker released its Super Bowl commercial online nearly a week before the big game, and readers couldn't help but chime in about Honda's recreation of the film.
"I think it is a great commercial and tribute to the movie. I'm glad I saw it, I miss some of the commercials during bathrooms breaks!" wrote reader Chris Pine Porter on our Facebook page. But not everyone agreed.
"Why so many spoilers in this day and age? I think it's ridiculous," wrote Terrie LaFerre Stripe Lamm. "Why does everyone have to always know WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN? I would much rather be watching the Super Bowl and be surprised and delighted to see this commercial than have any foreknowledge of its existence."
"Honda has defaced a national treasure and they must be punished!" said Brian Vencill.
Speaking of outrage, "X Factor" judge and executive producer Simon Cowell must've been more upset about the show not meeting his season one expectations than he let on. The Brit said prior to the show's debut that anything less than 20 million viewers would be a disappointment ... and the competition's premiere fell 8 million short.
The result? Three big pink slips for the show's talent this week. And with one of those going to his pal and former "American Idol"judge Paula Abdul (host Steve Jones and judge Nicole Scherzinger were the recipients of the other two), the story about the big casting change was our second most popular post this week, and readers couldn't stop chiming in on Facebook.
"Steve Jones = boring. I didn't watch it every week but Nicole screwed up big time and the concept is lame," wrote reader Laurie Zuaro.
"GOOD!" declared reader Dave Sylvester. "Glad Nicole is gone. Stopped watching the show after Nicole couldn't be an adult and make a decision that she was hired to do. She should be ashamed for how she handled the Rachel Crowe vote."
Rounding out the top three was the first full-length trailer of HBO's upcoming movie "Game Change" about John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign and his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. With the teaser's trailer focusing on the controversial Palin (played by Julianne Moore), the response was -- not surprisingly -- politically split.
"I don't have HBO, but I don't think I'd watch it anyway. Palin is just so repugnant," Claudia Baker wrote on our Facebook page.
"Just more liberal drivel. Not worth my time!" wrote Steve Goldman.
Hot on the heels of their Ferris Bueller remake, Honda (this time for their Acura brand) brings the heavy nostalgia for Super Bowl Sunday again.
Their latest spot, released today, features Jerry Seinfeld trying negotiate first place in line for the new Acura NSX. He variously offers munchkins, dancing holographic monkeys and (drum roll) The Soup Nazi. We think it goes on too long (though it is getting cut for TV) and, well, the guy at the end pretty much ruins everything. Your take?
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