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Sometimes you come across a piece of television so flaccid that it invites nothing more than the laconic commentary "Why bother?"
Viewers, may we present the latest lifeless entrant in this category: Tonight's up-close-and-personal peek at New Brunswick pop star Roch Voisine, the CBC special Kissing Rain.
Now, obviously, if you're not a fan of Voisine -- he of the chiselled features, well-moussed coif and dewy-eyed love ballads -- you'll be far better served if you tune into The Simpsons and avoid this 60-minute mix of concert and "interview" footage altogether.
If you are an admirer of the man and his music, Kissing Rain does offer some slick live takes on six or seven Voisine tunes -- the title track, With These Eyes and St. Annie Of The Wild Blue Eyes, to name a few -- all rendered with appropriately soulless restraint on a Montreal soundstage that looks like it was pilfered from the set of MTV Unplugged.
But I have a hard time imagining even the most ardent fan sitting through the special's interview portions -- conducted with all the wit and vigor of a late-night infomercial pitchman by talk-show host Sonia Benezra on the streets of Voisine's adopted home town of Los Angeles.
With unbearable unction, Benezra coaxes a steady stream of Seventeen magazine-grade fodder from the handsomely stubbled singer (who, to his credit, doesn't always seem entirely comfortable being on the receiving end of her inanities) and emotes painfully along with him as he sings and strums an acoustic guitar in his massive ski chalet of a home.
Here are some of the more earth-shaking revelations you'll encounter: Mother Voisine is " a great, cool chick." Roch has a special someone in his life, but he doesn't feel ready to put his career on the back burner to make a marriage work just yet. He has a dove named Powder, respects his fans and recently snared a hole-in-one on a California golf course.
There. Do yourself a favor and flee into the kitchen between numbers.
SUN RATING: 2 OUT OF 5