Category: blog

Laura Linney In THE BIG C – Keep Watching

Cancer is funny…at least it is in Laura Linney’s new show on Showtime, THE BIG C. Linney (You Can Count On Me) plays Cathy, a high school teacher that’s diagnosed with incurable melanoma. Funny, huh? Well, throw in a boyish husband (the fantastic Oliver Platt, so, so love him!) and a truly bratty son (Gabriel Basso) and you have an interesting premise for a show – mainly because Cathy chooses (at least for now) not to tell her immediate family of her diagnosis. This makes the audience believe she is brave in the face of adversity….or maybe just stupid?

Here’s the thing – Linney’s performance is as magnificent as you think it should be, but after viewing the first show it is unclear how Linney can sustain her character’s newfound bravery and not continue to make the other characters on the show seem really out of touch.

It is an interesting choice on the writers’ part to create a story arc of internal conflict. It’s difficult and is probably the reason they have to come up with more “brave” actions to demonstrate Cathy’s new attitude, e.g. giving her student Andrea (Gabourey Sidibe) a good talking to after arriving late to class. Unfortunately, Andrea’s dialogue is lacking in depth, making her for the most part, a bit too cliché.

The pacing is great for a half-hour show. Lots of information is given in a non-expository way, and Cathy’s crazy brother Sean (John Benjamin Hickey) could pan out to be the most interesting and the most comedic. Even though Oliver Platt’s biting into an onion as an attempt for reconciliation is pretty hilarious…and touching.

Tuning in again won’t be hard. Although classified as a comedy, the show has a lot of dramatic push, particularly when you take into account the subject matter. But it’s the extraordinary performances that allow THE BIG C to occupy a slot at the top.

Lisa Bloom – Fanning the Tabloid Fire

Women who want to learn to think for themselves should not read a book on the subject by Lisa Bloom Attorney at Law.

According to Publishers Weekly:

Agent Laura Dail sold North American rights to a book by Lisa Bloom called Think! A Modern Girl’s Manifesto for Staying Smart in a Dumbed Down World. Bloom is an attorney and legal analyst for both CBS News and CNN, and frequents the TV circuit—she’s appeared on everything from The Early Show to Anderson Cooper 360 and is also a recurring fixture on The Dr. Phil Show. In the book, which Roger Cooper and Georgina Levitt at Vanguard acquired, Bloom, a Yale Law graduate, cautions women against paying too much attention to tabloid media. As Dail explains, she tells them to “toss out dusty old myths and dangerous distractions, and start thinking for themselves again.” Vanguard is planning a spring 2011 publication.

The whole announcement seems really hypocritical to me. Lisa Bloom writing a book on how women should avoid tabloid media? Really? I guess I wouldn’t have a hard time with this if every time I turned on the TV I didn’t see Lisa Bloom’s expertly made-up mug pontificating her opinion on almost absolutely everything and everyone. WTF? She’s part of the tabloid feeding frenzy. Every appearance she makes on The Insider, Dr. Phil, CNN Showbiz Tonight adds fuel to tabloid fire. Even the people she chooses to represent (Michael Lohan) are guilty of whoring themselves out for as much fame as they can achieve. And there she is – in the center of it all.

Instead of reading a book by Lisa Bloom, give your time to great literature and truly wonderful female characters that although flawed (who isn’t?) think for themselves. Gone with the Wind. Little Women, O Pioneers! Out of Africa. Eugene Onegin. The list goes on…and on…and on.

True Blood Recap – Bravo, Denis O’Hare!

Oh, how I am loving the storytelling on True Blood this season. I cannot brag about this show enough. SPOILERS INCLUDED. Particularly the new additions…James Frain as the demented Franklin, the magnificent Denis O’Hare as Russell Edgington, and the incredibly underrated Alfre Woodard as Lafayette’s crazy mother Ruby Jean. Sure, last night’s performance was generally a recap on stuff the audience already knows – mainly Eric’s gripe with Russell and the telling of it to the “authority” and the exasperating “heaven-like” world that somehow allows Bill to walk around in daylight. Why? We’ll have to tune in again. Annoying? Yes!  This annoyance hangs around because of the unfortunate problem of having some story lines more interesting than others and the need producers feel to stretch these stories for as long as possible. It was the bump in the road True Blood hit last season with the character of Mary Ann.

There are gems in the latest episode “Everything is Broken” – primarily the schizophrenic Ruby Jean’s statement that “Maybe God loves fags,” after witnessing her son’s afterglow from Jesus. It deepens her character even more since she’s been established as a raging homophobic. But my love for this episode is the story line centering around the brilliant performance of Denis O’Hare. Russell’s descent into madness is truly extraordinary. In a matter of moments the viewer sees Russell’s grief unhinge his already mad-like tendencies and catapult him into full blown lunacy. His gathering of Talbot’s (his lover of over 700 years) remains – gross and gooey as they are- to his chest, proves that even a vampire can experience heartache – even when the heart doesn’t beat. It rivals Eric’s sorrow over losing his Maker Godric, but Russell’s rage is unparalleled. Brilliant. If the Emmys didn’t pooh-pooh sci-fi/fantasy television, I would say O’Hare is definitely a contender for next year’s award season.

My only wish is that James Frain’s Franklin could have had a moment like Russell’s. His delightfully demented performance deserves a more memorable departure. Poor Franklin. I will miss you.

But I will still tune in again. There’s only three episodes left. Like Tara says, “It’s f*cked up…crazy!”

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – Michael Cera is Irresistible

Okay – I’m going to admit it, I HEART Michael Cera. I can’t help it. I just do. Ever since Superbad I really like him. Some say his breakout role was Juno, but since that film’s writing was mostly ripping off song lyrics I have to say that it was Superbad that I first started my little crush.

Now, he stars in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World a great adaptation from the comic series by Bryan Lee O’Malley.  Directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) the movie is a little like other films that have been brought to the big screen from the comic book arena, mainly Ghost World, but this time it’s…well, really entertaining. Cera plays Scott Pilgrim who falls for the doe-eyed Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead – who you might remember from Sky High). In order to prove his love he has to fight her “seven evil-exes”.  I know…it sounds like it would never work, but it does…beautifully.

Michael Cera’s biggest strength is his comic timing. He zings his lines out with quite a punch and yet, they never feel over done or forced. I think that’s why I like him so much. Even with the nerdiness he has brought to his roles lately, he is funny. And let’s face it…there is nothing more attractive than humor.

Go see Scott Pilgrim. It’s a great escape. It’s fun. And it will make you laugh. What’s better than that?

Finally! A True Screwball Comedy Makes Its Way To DVD

For all you that own a Blu-ray player ( I have yet to to join the bandwagon…I know, its shameful.) then the recently released What’s Up, Doc? should be at the top of your list.  The 1972 Peter Bogdanovich homage to screwball comedies is my favorite Barbra Streisand film next to Funny Girl and is easily one of Ryan O’Neal’s must likable performances.

I hold this movie in a special place. After a rather difficult relocation, I found myself in an empty apartment with no radio, working TV cable – nothing to satisfy a really obsessive need for noise…or maybe it was just the need to hear voices…don’t know which. Anyway, I unpacked the rabbit ears to my portable TV and luckily it picked up the local PBS channel that was showing What’s Up, Doc? It was the perfect pick-me-up.

The plot, expertly crafted by Buck Henry, David Newton and Robert Benton, includes mayhem and romance. The story is a true lesson in conflict, pace and cause and effect. It’s when funny was just plain funny and didn’t rely on slapstick. Oh…the good ‘ol days. But mostly it’s the hilarious performance of Madeline Kahn combined with directorial sensibilities of older movies such as Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday and The Philadelphia Story that make this romp in San Francisco totally enjoyable.   A truly entertaining movie, it’s hard to believe that nothing gets blown up, no one gets shot and there’s not an obligatory boob shot to be found. Amazing, huh?