In praise of ‘The Comeback”s brilliantly awkward Valerie Cherish
Hello, hello, hello! If you’re asking yourself, “who the heck is Valerie Cherish, and is she one of the cast members of Hot In Cleveland?” then my answer to you is, “No, she is not and you must start watching The Comeback on HBO!”
The Comeback has well, come back! The good news (aside from the obvious) is that first timers can easily become insta-fans! Personally, I recommend watching season one in an all out binge but if you are already feeling the stress of a 98% full DVR, you can still follow the show by just jumping in at the beginning of season two on HBO right now.
One of the many reasons why you definitely should be watching The Comeback is Lisa Kudrow (aka Phoebe Buffay from Friends). Lisa Kudrow does an AMAZING job of portraying Valerie Cherish, a sitcom actress who hit fame in a ’90s sitcom I’m It and is trying to stay relevant in a youthful and fickle Hollywood. Valerie, like all women, has her faults, but she is a character with such a good heart, you can’t help but to love her for so many reasons including:
She always enters a room with a smile.
No matter what her emotions just went through, or what craziness has just ensued, when she walks into a room filled with people, she radiates positivity. Research shows that by just smiling, you could actually become happier. So take a cue from Valerie and turn that frown upside down!
Not only does Valerie always walk into a room with a smile, but she also has the ability to find something complimentary about everyone she meets. I’ve bet you’ve never thought to say a room “smells pretty” before, have you? The crazy thing is that all her compliments feel sincere.
She’s persistent.
Whether it is to kill someone with kindness in order to win him or her over, get the line just right – I don’t wanna see that! – or to persuade someone to join her team, she’s not a quitter. Live by Valerie’s words, which are “there is no such thing as a definite no,” and go after what you want!
She forgives.
It’s not the easiest, but Valerie can do it and we should too. Valerie looks for the good in everyone and even in those who have done her wrong. She can move past their transgressions. She believes people can change and gives them the benefit of the doubt. Even if that person was a complete a-hole, no-good. . .Sorry! I don’t want to give away any spoilers.
Talk to Andy Cohen and he can tell you that Valerie is proactive rather than reactive. She doesn’t wait for the network to come to her but rather she grabs some college students, a few cameras and puts together her own pilot presentation to bring to them. Valerie creates opportunities —wise actions we should all look to emulate.
Dyana Goldman moved from New York City to Los Angeles to pursue a career in sitcom writing. You can find her most weekends hiking in Runyon Canyon, taking sneaky photos of your dog, or at the Melrose Place Farmers market, making a meal out of free samples. While living in LA she has worked on several shows, including Entourage, Happy Endings, and Growing Up Fisher. She received baseball hats as crew gifts from all of those shows, but none of them fit on her child-sized head. She has a blog that she sometimes writes on at Write Turns and Wrong Ones and you can follow her on Twitter @DyanaGoldman.
