REVIEW OF "TRACEY TAKES ON...": AMERICA, Feb. 24 1999

by Roger Reini (rreini@wwnet.net )

America -- what a country. And on this week's "Tracey Takes On...”, we get to hear what her characters think about America.

In the first of this week's two long sketches, Ruby tells of the days when she was romantically linked with Senator Joseph McCarthy, and how her daughter Desiree is involved in this. In the other sketch, Fern has an unexpected encounter with a Jewish mobster, one whom she's encountered before, as we see in flashbacks from the '60s and '70s. In the short bits, Kay celebrates her good fortune in being in America, Erin has harsh words for America (the band, that is -- specifically, the lead singer), Birdie shows off her old baton routine, and Sheneesha praises the quality of the carry-on luggage carried on by Americans.

It's somewhat unusual to have all of the long sketches involve flashbacks. But so what? They were both excellent sketches. The sketch involving Fern and the mobster (a barely recognizable Jeffrey Tambor) was even rather touching, as it turned out that he had been watching out for her and Harry's interests over the years -- and all of that coming from a good deed done by Harry for him. Never mind that he was brandishing a gun at the time.... And it was gratifying to see Ruby in a flashback, something that I feel has been overdue for some time.

RATING: 3 bells.

NEXT WEEK: Hype.

Review Copyright 1999 R. W. Reini

01/18/97 - Roger reviews "Tracey Takes On...": SEX(***1/2)