Jason Sudeikis makes earnest advice funny by playing the man who believes it, rather than asking us to admire the joke. His warmth is persuasive, though the scripts do not always know when we have had enough encouragement.
Fi1m perspective
When Jason Sudeikis delivers another piece of advice in Ted Lasso (2020), he lets the coach mean every word. We laughed at the earnestness of his delivery even when the saying itself barely qualified as a joke. The other actors have something to respond to, which keeps Ted from becoming merely a man with a supply of catchphrases. It is a warm, well-played sports comedy, and Sudeikis makes it worth the patience its less inspired jokes require.
His earlier comic persona allowed for rather more swagger. The writer and performer from Saturday Night Live moved into film leads with Horrible Bosses (2011) and We're the Millers (2013), the latter opposite Jennifer Aniston. Those ensemble comedies made use of his timing and likeability, with room for the pushier men he has often played. The darker role in Colossal (2016) is worth remembering whenever Ted threatens to become the only Sudeikis anyone can imagine.
As a writer and co-creator of Ted Lasso, Sudeikis also helps decide how much encouragement we get. Editors Melissa McCoy and A.J. Catoline are among those who give the ensemble time to register. That patience suits his performance, though it cannot rescue a joke whose destination is obvious long before the speaker arrives. Marcus Mumford and Tom Howe's music sometimes adds reassurance when Sudeikis has already supplied enough. The actors could manage without it at those points.
The limit is clear enough: Ted's enthusiasm can be exhausting, and the programme too often carries on explaining a lesson after the scene has made its point. The ensemble earn affection that the script sometimes requests too freely. Sudeikis remains good company, but that is no reason to indulge every speech. Start with Ted Lasso, provided a few ordinary jokes will not spoil the evening.
Biography
Jason Sudeikis is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer. He began performing improvisational comedy in the 1990s with groups including ComedySportz and The Second City. In 2003 he was hired as a writer for the NBC sketch series Saturday Night Live and joined the cast from 2005 to 2013.
Sudeikis co-created and starred as the title character in the Apple TV+ sports comedy series Ted Lasso (2020–), which earned him four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. His film roles include Horrible Bosses (2011), We're the Millers (2013), Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) and Booksmart (2019).
