Liars and Saints

  "The Invite" is a showcase for Seth Rogen, who just wants to remember what it's like to have sex. Penelope Cruz has questions about Rogen's self-esteem. "Do you like yourself?" she asks. "Would you have sex with yourself?" "Yes! I'm the ONLY one who fucks me. I fuck myself often!" I get the sense that Rogen's best lines may be improvised. Having learned that his noisy neighbors like to host orgies, he tries to negotiate. "It just gets very loud. Maybe take the BIG sex parties offsite, to a motel. You know, if it's a birthday or an anniversary. Or Arbor Day...." Penelope Cruz wonders aloud which particular birthday Valentina--a favored sex partner--celebrated at a recent dinner. "Next time you're preparing to enter her," says Rogen, "you should just count her rings...." Rogen's performance reaches its climax when he tries to perform a sultry dance, then trips, falls on a stack of books, a...

The Times observes that 1999 saw the birth of both "The Sopranos" and "Law and Order: SVU." It also points out that the true star of 99's graduating class was "Freaks and Geeks." Although "Freaks and Geeks" ended early, it influenced TV through shows that can be seen as tonal "spin-offs": "Girls," "Somebody Somewhere," "Louie." (The critic doesn't mention "Better Things," but I would add "Better Things.") Correctly, the "Times" notes that F&G is *not* a show about losing, but about persevering *after* loss. If you're going to tell a story without a major gimmick, then you really need a well-defined point of view, and F&G has this. Several tiny moments show us who we are. We are all creatures who put on a brave face despite various aches and pains. Here are a few memorable scenes from F&G: *A mother plans to hand out Halloween candy with her adolescent da...