TV Reviews : ‘Guy’s Way,’ ‘Bittman’ in ‘Cinemax Experiments’

Here’s a boffo billing for a Vegas lounge: Guy DiSimone and Bobby Bittman.

These two fictional greasy nightclub entertainers are the focus of two “Cinemax Comedy Experiments” that take a double-barrelled poke at the excesses of American show business.

The shows approach their subjects with remarkably different attitudes. “Autobiographies: The Enigma of Bobby Bittman” (Saturday at 9:30 p.m., with additional play dates on Tuesday, next Friday, April 24 and 28) is savage; “I’ll Do It Guy’s Way” (Wednesday, April 25 and 29) is sly.

The Bittman show is an accounting of the many sins and humiliations of the sleazy comic Bobby Bittman, as written and performed by Eugene Levy, who first made Bittman famous on “SCTV.”

Using a mock-documentary style, it adds up to a scathing indictment of the no-talent “Mr. B.” His psychiatrist, his biographer, his parents, his ex-partner Buddy Phelps and Mrs. Phelps (John Hemphill and Diane Gordon, who does a magnificent slow burn), all testify about Bobby’s epic shortcomings.

There are some truly funny moments, none funnier than one in which Bobby is the victim instead of the villain: Footage of the moment when reporters tell Bobby that his bride is, in fact, a Mafia princess. Levy works comic wonders with his overgrown eyebrows.

Still, the parade of abuse seems heavy-handed for a show about a fictional lightweight. It’s almost as if Levy wants to make us dislike this guy so much that we’ll free Levy to go on to other projects.

Timothy Stack’s Guy DiSimone, the star of “I’ll Do It Guy’s Way,” is foolish but endearing, and his show, a re-run from last year, shares those same qualities. The character, originally developed for the Groundlings, is a true believer in something beyond himself--namely, Frank Sinatra and, to a lesser extent, the country that gave Frank his opportunities.

Guy isn’t in Frank’s league yet; in fact, he lives in a recreational vehicle and performs at the Velvet Wigwam in Sparks, Nev. But he can dream. “I’ll Do It Guy’s Way,” shot on location with surprisingly lavish production values, follows Guy and his sidekicks (including Jon Lovitz) through a day of trying to make those dreams come true.

Also on Cinemax this month is a rerun of another “Comedy Experiment” set in the world of nightclub glitz: “Viva Shaf Vegas” (April 29). Its star, Paul Shaffer, plays himself as he tries to be enough of a swinger to justify a gig at the Tropicana main room. “Viva” is more self-indulgent--and a half hour longer--than the other shows, but it’s good for a few laughs.