Rian Johnson Uses Poker Face To Once Again Poke Show Business Right In The Ribs

Writer and director Rian Johnson may be a part of the Hollywood machine these days, but that doesn't mean he's above poking fun at the ridiculousness of show business. There were a lot of jokes at the expense of the rich and famous in his Netflix film "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," and now he's at it again in his Peacock series "Poker Face." (You can read our review here!) The series stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a free spirit on the run from both the law and some seriously dangerous gangsters, and several of the episodes have had fun little moments that poked fun at the weird world of showbiz. Whether the episode is following the antics of a bitter one-hit-wonder (a growling and grooving Chloe Sevigny) or an aging actress (a deliciously arch and vampy Ellen Barkin) longing for the good old days, there are plenty of little jabs at the way even a tiny bit of fame makes people totally bonkers.

While Charlie Cale is a totally different kind of detective than Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) of "Glass Onion," she is similarly unimpressed by people who think they are above anyone else. In the course of the first six episodes, she manages to put several scheming pseudo-celebrities behind bars, and it's just as satisfying as Blanc's call-out of the villains in the "Knives Out" flicks. Seeing the baddies get their comeuppance is always fun, but it's extra fun when we get to laugh at the absurdity of the entertainment industry a bit, too. 

In "Poker Face" episode 6, "Exit Stage Death," former sitcom star Kathleen Townsend (Barkin), who starred in a series called "Spooky and the Cop" in the 1990s, is trying to stage a comeback by way of local dinner theater. She asks her old co-star, Michael Graves (Tim Meadows), to join her for a performance of a play called "The Ghosts of Pensacola," and while he's extremely reticent, she manages to convince him. Graves doesn't need the money, since his new wife Ava (Jameela Jamil) is independently wealthy and has more than enough for the both of them. It's clear that both Graves and Townsend are bitter about where they ended up in life after the highs of their sitcom fame, and someone will have to pay. 

Many of the villains in "Poker Face" have been minor or former celebrities with an axe to grind. Lil Rel Howery played a barbecue magnate/radio host who wanted to protect his money and fame in the third episode, too, joining Barkin, Meadows, and Sevigny as some of the best murder mystery show villains since Eddie Izzard graced us with her presence on NBC's "Hannibal." 

One thing that unites the semi-famous antagonists of "Poker Face" is that they all want more. They had or have all they could ever want, but have lost it because of the mercurial nature of the industry and, in some cases, because they weren't really all that talented to begin with. For the actors playing these roles, it has to be a total blast to let loose and make fun of some of the kinds of people I'm sure they've had to work alongside in their own lives. Everyone has nightmare coworker stories, but imagine if your coworkers were celebrities and former celebrities who thought the entire world should cater to their whims. Yikes. 

There are still a few episodes of "Poker Face" left to go, which means there are still plenty of opportunities for Rian Johnson and the series' incredible collection of guest stars to point out the perils of getting wrapped up in the minutiae of celebrity. Much like Miles Bron of "Glass Onion" being based on a bunch of billionaires and not a single tech "genius," (although the similarities between him and Elon Musk are surreal), the celebrity baddies of "Poker Face" seem cobbled from a bunch of different badly behaved people from pop culture. That doesn't mean that you can't have some fun trying to pick out which elements come from our world, though! (Seriously, who has theories on Sevigny's metal queen?)

New episodes of "Poker Face" debut Thursdays on Peacock.