John Pasquin is a capable family-comedy director whose strongest work is on television. Roseanne is the clearest reason we rate him; the films are less convincing when sentimentality and familiar formulas take over.
Fi1m perspective
In Roseanne (1988), money worries remain serious even while the family trade sharp remarks. We warmed to it because those pressures matter to the comedy, rather than being brushed aside once a joke arrives. Sara Gilbert’s performance is a particular pleasure, and the programme is worth returning to for its actors. This is the kind of family comedy that gives us confidence in Pasquin.
He directed an episode of the first season and the whole second season, later returning for the 2018 revival. That involvement matters, though it would be foolish to credit one director with everything we admire in the programme. The constant exchange of sharp replies can also become wearing, particularly when we want a little more room for the warmth. The money worries help by giving the family something serious to contend with between jokes.
Pasquin had moved from theatre to television in the early 1980s, and Home Improvement (1991) added producing to his directing work. Tim Allen became a regular collaborator, across both television and films. Much of Pasquin’s work has been in multi-camera sitcoms, where keeping the tone consistent across episodes is an important part of the job. We value that steadiness, although it gives us less reason to seek out everything bearing his name than to follow a programme he helps make work.
The Santa Clause (1994), his feature debut, carried the Allen collaboration into family films, allowing adult humour into a child-friendly premise. Its sentimentality is the caveat. Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) continued the partnership, without giving us much reason to revise our preference for the television work. Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005) illustrates the more formulaic side of his films.
Last Man Standing (2011) kept him working with Allen over dozens of episodes. The sustained collaboration makes sense for a director whose strengths include getting a programme’s tone right and keeping it there. Start with Roseanne, allowing for the occasional wish that this family would let a remark pass unanswered.
Biography
John Pasquin is an American director of film, television and theatre. He trained at Beloit College and Carnegie Mellon University and began directing Broadway and Off-Broadway productions in the 1970s and early 1980s.
He moved into television in the early 1980s, directing episodes of series including Family Ties, Growing Pains, thirtysomething and Roseanne (one episode in season one, all of season two, and the first four episodes of the 2018 revival). His producing debut came with the sitcom Home Improvement in 1991, on which he also directed numerous episodes.
Pasquin directed the feature films The Santa Clause (1994), Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), Joe Somebody (2001) and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005). He is married to actress JoBeth Williams.
