Author: LGmgr1

The Neighbors – It’s So Wrong, But Jami Gertz Makes It Right

Let me start off this post with a proclamation of my absolute love for Jami Gertz. Ever since she first appeared on SQUARED PEGS and headlined the movie JERSEY GIRL (NOT the atrocious Kevin Smith film, but the cute David Burton Norris picture also starring Dylan McDermott – Netflix it), and starred in THE LOST BOYS I have been a big fan of the Gertz. Although I will admit I didn’t dig her last sitcom STILL STANDING – but that’s another post.

She is the main reason I tuned into the pilot of THE NEIGHBORS (Wednesday nights on ABC at 8:30 EST) and is the only reason I tuned in the next week. The plot is enormously contrived – aliens landing on our planet and for the past ten years have never interacted with humans. Unbelievable. No amount of suspension of disbelief can get me aboard that train. But the comic chops of Jami Gertz really make me pull for this show. Her timing has never been better and she has great chemistry with her alien co-star newcomer Toks Olagundoye and her totally human husband Lenny Venito.

The last episode shows promise of the show’s growth. It spoofed REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY (complete with gold lame dress) with a commentary on how silly it is to be watching television on a telephone. Think about it.

The silliness of this show might be its reason for death. Or it could be its savior. Hard to know. But until the decision is made, I’m going to keep watching and routing for Jami – and waiting until the holiday season to see her in UNDERCOVER CHRISTMAS (filmed in 2003 and usually shown on the Hallmark of Lifetime channels)  – it’s a crap movie, but she makes it shine.

Lena Dunham Doesn’t Deserve a Book Deal

Publishing world please! Show some respect. Not only have you been trolling the Internet for somewhat successful self-published authors so you may pick them up thinking you don’t have to spend a dime in publicity (never mind that those books are mostly crap, riddled with typos, and require no more than 60 IQ points to comprehend), but now you think a young lady, the daughter of very well to do parents, who couldn’t even vote before 2004 is deserving of a 3.7 million dollar book deal so she can write some utter dreck on what she’s learned about life so far? Please! As if she could possibly talk about anything that a young woman in the real world has had to deal with. Perhaps if she sticks to sexually frustrated, weight conscious, can’t bear to be alone (yes, I’m describing her terrible show GIRLS on HBO) women she’s got a chance. But for the publishing world to compare her to Tina Fey? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Let’s get this perfectly clear – Lena Dunham is NOT Tina Fey. She will never be Tina Fey. And as hard as she tries she to depict herself as someone who has come up the ranks as other very talented, funny women have she will never be in that category.

Random House and the other big houses – stop being lazy. Go through your massive slush piles and find other authors that are much more talented, and deserving of being published.

End of rant.

Pitch Perfect is Almost Perfect

Let me tell you – there is nothing like watching a movie in a theater full of middle school girls. There were so many of them to see PITCH PERFECT that a manager had to address the crowd before the movie to remind them to behave or be escorted out. Seriously? Shame nobody knows how to behave in a movie theater anymore, but that’s another post.

Now I was there not only for the a cappella music (by the way – BEST opening of a movie I’ve seen in a while – won’t say anything more in fear of spoiling) that was shown in the trailer, but to see the funny Anna Kendrick (Netflix UP IN THE AIR and see her Oscar nominated performance) and the hilarious Rebel Wilson (most famous for her recent turn in BRIDESMAIDS, but she really shines in BACHERLORETTE – see it OnDemand or in your local theater). Both women were good and made the most out of a very choppy script.

The dialogue was okay. There were some hilarious one liners that I’m sure every 13-year-old in the audience is taking with her and repeating to anyone who will listen in the hall of her school. However there was a lot of innuendo. I’m talking A LOT. Much of it was really explicit and didn’t require an enormous amount of cerebral processing. Obviously there was a huge problem keeping the script and story to a point where it wouldn’t warrant an R rating, and because of that the movie really suffers.

Overall, it was entertaining and fun and will make money. Why you ask? Because every thirteen to seventeen-year-old girl will see it and then see it again. And again. And again.

Absent No Longer

Hello to the four people who read this blog, including my mother! It’s been a long absence, but I have been busy doing a lot of life changing things – way too many to mention in this tiny space. And because I am freakishly private, I wouldn’t really share them anyway. Needless to say, I have stored up a lot to discuss and share. So, get ready, hunker down, there are going to be more posts coming!

 

Stay tuned.

Women Are Funny – But Hollywood Still Doesn’t Realize It

Women are funny, people! Get over it. Yet the entertainment industry is still so surprised that BRIDEMAIDS is funny and successful? What a crock! Now Hollywood seems bound and determined to ride this new wave of “Raunchy Female” comedies.  Anna Farris (THE HOUSE BUNNY) comes out tomorrow with a new flick WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER addressing the number of notches on her non-existence chastity belt, and how the high amount of bedfellows diminishes her chances of finding a lasting, meaningful relationship. Women talking about the consecutive number of sexual partners? This is a new comedic twist, and in a lot of women’s minds, pretty raunchy. Only sluts and skanks would talk about the total number of men they’ve slept with. Oh, wait a minute…maybe Anna Farris’ character is a slut…in her own sweet and charming way. Kind of like when Julia Roberts portrayed a hooker with a heart of gold.

Women are funny, damn it! But somehow Hollywood still will not allow them to express humor in a way that doesn’t center around what happens in or around their Who Ha – even with the success of BRIDEMAIDS. There have been attempts. The sad crash and burn of Sarah Jessica Parker in I JUST DON’T KNOW HOW SHE DOES IT.  The film is a classic failure with a story concerning the same cliches of working women that have been depicted in the highly successful 1987 BABY BOOM with Diane Keaton (Netflix it today. Keaton is absolutely delightful…and funny!). But where Keaton succeeds in depicting an entertaining story about a women who needs to reprioritize her life, SJP fails…completely.

It appears it’s still going to be a long road before Hollywood recognizes that female comedies can be enjoyable without ever mentioning the amount of visitors to her naughty place, or recycling successful storylines for jumbled, confusing, and I’ll say it…stupid, insipid yarns that just make me want to poke my eyes out with a hot fork out of sheer boredom. But I can be patient. How about BRIDEMAIDS II? Hey, it worked for the HANGOVER!