Very belated, I would like to share a few thoughts on this years "most anticipated new show," Fox's Wednesday night addition, Glee. I quite liked the pilot, when it aired at the beginning of the summer, but I wasn't really sucked in until the second episode which aired last week. Glee is created by Ryan Murphy, who brought us Popular and Nip/Tuck, and a lot more of his biting humor was present in the second episode than in its PG predecessor.
The adult roles on the show are Will Schuester, played handily by Matthew Morrison (whom I recognize only from an episode of Ghost Whisperer that I watched by accident) as a passionate and optimistic loser. He has a lot going for him, but many obstacles between him and happiness. One such obstacle is his neurotic wife Terri (played by the always-welcome Jessalyn Gilsig - another Nip/Tuck presence), whose financial woes, hysterical pregnancy, and controlling behavior make me wonder how she and Will ever got together in the first place. I think they were supposed to be high school sweethearts, which just makes it even more tragic.
In stark contrast to Terri, there is Will's coworker Emma, the school's obsessive compulsive guidance counselor. The adorable Jayma Mays (Heroes! Ugly Betty!) is wonderful in this tight-lipped but hilarious role of the girl who's hopelessly in love with a married man, but adult enough to know better.
Will's ultimate foe is Sue Sylvester, as played by Jane Lynch, whom I want to accompany me everywhere in my daily life, I am such a fan of hers. She is absolutely wicked to the core, and brings her negative energy to her job as the "Cheerios" cheerleading coach. As the school funds are balanced precariously between her team and the fledgling Glee Club, her one mission is to bring Will down, but I think he is hardy enough to hold his own against her. Sue also has about 90% of the show's best lines, and I heard Jane Lynch (who is a wonderful improviser) say in an interview that she never feels the need to improve on the script.
The kids are, frankly, less interesting. Our main girl is Rachel, who is awesome. She's played by Broadway star Lea Michele, who originated the role of Wendla in Spring Awakening, which I think is inspired casting. She's so much more talented than most of the primetime teen show actors, and her voice is incredible. Her character is such a hilarious exaggeration of an archetype that it's just like a giant wink to the audience the whole time. She's desperate to become famous, and in her mid-teens, feels she's almost too old for success (embarrassingly, I totally empathize). She'll be ruthless in her pursuit of fame, but is dealing with nerdiness, insecurity, and a desperate crush on Cory Monteith's Finn, the bumbling jock with a bitchy Cheerio girlfriend and a wonderful voice.
The other kids in the show are just cookie cutters, and I really think that this needs to be worked on. Mercedes, the plus-sized black diva; Artie, the paralyzed nerd; Tina, the stuttering Asian-American Hot Topic customer; Kurt, the effeminate gay kid; and Quinn, the Christian blonde Cheerio who is Finn's girlfriend. There is pretty much no depth to these supporting characters beyond their stereotypes, and if any one of them is going to get fleshed out, it is likely to be Quinn, which I think is a disservice to the rest of the diverse cast.
I am very excited to tune into the show's third episode tonight, which I think will feature more of Gilsig. Also, I would like to remind everyone of last week's best exchange (paraphrased):
Emma: Rachel, are you throwing up in there?
Rachel: No.
Emma: Then what's that next to you?
Rachel: The girl who was throwing up in here before me left that there.
Emma: Rachel...
Rachel: I tried throwing up, but I couldn't! It's like I have no gag reflex or something.
Emma: You may find that comes in handy later on.
I hate to laugh at bulimia jokes, but I do anyway.
Finally, if you are wondering about this post's cryptic title, I am worried about this show. It is unique, and hilariously well-written, and has a rabid fan base. And it's on Fox. If that network does to this show what it did to Arrested Development, Firefly, Futurama, and Family Guy (for a time), then I think many "Gleeks" will be very disappointed. It's currently on just before SYTYCD, but in a few weeks, that show will be switching to a 2-hour format, so where will that push Glee? Friday night at 10pm or something horrible, I'm sure. I am not optimistic about it's chances if it moves around without a solid lead-in.
Glee airs Wednesday nights on FOX at 8pm.
Showing posts with label Firefly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Firefly. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Thursday, June 7, 2007
richard reid a laugh riot? he is now!
You can read about my expectations for Judd Apatow's current box office hit Knocked Up here, and I am pleased to report that the movie actually did exceed my expectations! I like to guess what tone a movie is going to take by the trailers that are shown right before it, and the pre-show experience was a little bit of a red herring this time. Trailers were for the standard teen comedy fare (including Superbad, which I am excited for...), whose audience Knocked Up certainly appealed to, but the characters and the situations they got into were so believable and well-crafted, that I think older moviegoers could have had as much fun watching it as teenagers could.
On a message board I frequent, someone said that they liked how the film portrayed both sides of a conflict evenly, without vilifying either side. I thought this was a great way to express what I liked so much about the movie. It is true that not every argument has a right answer or party, and I was glad to be reminded of that by the interactions between the two couples. That alone was enough to make me, as a viewer, feel like a friend to all of the main characters. I didn't want to pick sides, because I sympathized with everyone. It may not seem like much, but to be able to appeal to male and female audience members equally using humor is something that I am very impressed by.
Secondary and tertiary actors Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Harold Ramis, and Kristen Wiig were excellent. Ramis was perfectly cast as Seth Rogen's father, and Wiig is one of SNL's best assets right now (do a YouTube search for "SNL" + "Body Fusion" or "Sloths" or the eponymous "Dick in a Box," and you'll see what I mean). Her comedy is borne out of restrained displeasure, and it gets me every time. Paul Rudd - who, first of all, has gotten way better looking with age - played such a good counterpart to Leslie Mann, because they seemed so polar even though they were realistic enough to have shades of each other's characters in themselves. I just wish they could have used Firefly's Alan Tudyk a little more.
I think Apatow uses weed humor as a bit of a crutch, when there are always plenty of other elements to his stoner characters that could elicit laughs. I thought the celebrity nude scene humor was awesome, and just the sort of quotable fare that will make this movie last. The ribbing among Ben and his friends was just too funny. Too, too funny. I'm cracking up a little bit at work right now, and I'd hate to draw attention to the fact that I'm blogging on the clock...
Katherine Heigl was beautiful, and played the vulnerable yet capable character very well. I thought she emoted at all the right times, but wasn't simply a hormonal mess. At a couple of points she was a little too reminiscent of the character of Izzie Stevens, whom I've grown to dislike, but it's hard to say if that's more my fault than hers.
There were a couple of points at which I wondered how audiences at large would react to the possibly pro-life sentiment displayed by the film. Neither of the main characters really considers abortion or adoption, and the two supporting characters who suggest the former option do it so cruelly that I would think few audience members could sympathize with them. I think this is interesting in light of how common alternatives to keeping an unplanned baby are displayed in the media, compared to how much more common it is for Americans to raise their unplanned kids. I was glad to see that Apatow didn't force Ben and Alison to have a shotgun wedding in order to appease those put off by the premarital baby-making, because I don't think it would have made much sense for the characters.
B.J. Novak's cameo was well-played, but my giddiness at the prolonged presence of real-life doctor and ...sensual... comedian Dr. Ken makes me want to leave you with one thing:
On a message board I frequent, someone said that they liked how the film portrayed both sides of a conflict evenly, without vilifying either side. I thought this was a great way to express what I liked so much about the movie. It is true that not every argument has a right answer or party, and I was glad to be reminded of that by the interactions between the two couples. That alone was enough to make me, as a viewer, feel like a friend to all of the main characters. I didn't want to pick sides, because I sympathized with everyone. It may not seem like much, but to be able to appeal to male and female audience members equally using humor is something that I am very impressed by.
Secondary and tertiary actors Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Harold Ramis, and Kristen Wiig were excellent. Ramis was perfectly cast as Seth Rogen's father, and Wiig is one of SNL's best assets right now (do a YouTube search for "SNL" + "Body Fusion" or "Sloths" or the eponymous "Dick in a Box," and you'll see what I mean). Her comedy is borne out of restrained displeasure, and it gets me every time. Paul Rudd - who, first of all, has gotten way better looking with age - played such a good counterpart to Leslie Mann, because they seemed so polar even though they were realistic enough to have shades of each other's characters in themselves. I just wish they could have used Firefly's Alan Tudyk a little more.
I think Apatow uses weed humor as a bit of a crutch, when there are always plenty of other elements to his stoner characters that could elicit laughs. I thought the celebrity nude scene humor was awesome, and just the sort of quotable fare that will make this movie last. The ribbing among Ben and his friends was just too funny. Too, too funny. I'm cracking up a little bit at work right now, and I'd hate to draw attention to the fact that I'm blogging on the clock...
Katherine Heigl was beautiful, and played the vulnerable yet capable character very well. I thought she emoted at all the right times, but wasn't simply a hormonal mess. At a couple of points she was a little too reminiscent of the character of Izzie Stevens, whom I've grown to dislike, but it's hard to say if that's more my fault than hers.
There were a couple of points at which I wondered how audiences at large would react to the possibly pro-life sentiment displayed by the film. Neither of the main characters really considers abortion or adoption, and the two supporting characters who suggest the former option do it so cruelly that I would think few audience members could sympathize with them. I think this is interesting in light of how common alternatives to keeping an unplanned baby are displayed in the media, compared to how much more common it is for Americans to raise their unplanned kids. I was glad to see that Apatow didn't force Ben and Alison to have a shotgun wedding in order to appease those put off by the premarital baby-making, because I don't think it would have made much sense for the characters.
B.J. Novak's cameo was well-played, but my giddiness at the prolonged presence of real-life doctor and ...sensual... comedian Dr. Ken makes me want to leave you with one thing:
Saturday, June 2, 2007
movie magic
When I first began this blog a few months ago, I was musing about what it is about cinema that is "the magic of the movies." Though I had concluded it had something to do with the illusion caused by light shone through static images, I recently proved to myself that that is only a part of it. Last Friday night I went to the AMC theater in Burbank, whose walls are festooned with the slogan, "where the people who make the movies, see the movies," and settled in to watch Waitress. I didn't think much of the popcorn smell and cushioned seats that we're all so used to, but when the lights went down and the screen lit up, I realized just how long it must have been since the last time I saw a movie in theaters. I'm such a bad film studies major sometimes. Come to think of it, I think the last one I'd seen was 300. That is way too long ago.
Sidenote: there were many excellent trailers shown before the movie began, but one that particularly caught my attention was for Evening. Based on a novel by Michael Cunningham, and starring many of the same actresses that were in the adaptation of his moving homage to Virginia Woolf, Evening looks even better than The Hours. It has the same focus on mothers, daughters, long-lost remembered romances, generations, and sadness, but what can I say? Claire Danes has a much more prominent role this time, so I am bound to think it's better! Also, her love interest is played by Patrick Wilson, and their chemistry has already proven captivating...
The opening credits of Waitress set the tone for the experience to come. It is so clear how much love Adrienne Shelly and her D.P. had for the film and its characters, as is evidenced by the beautiful portrayal of pies. Our main character, Jenna, was raised by a mother who loved making pies, and carries in herself that same passion. The pies in the film are caressed and kneaded and made with the most spectacular panoply of colors and fillings. It actually made me go home and make a very simple pudding pie. Because Jenna and her pies are so inextricably linked, it is a pleasure to see Keri Russell's radiant onscreen presence treated with the same care and closeness as her pastries.
Performances were excellent across the board, as Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, and Shelly were always pleasant to watch. But the most incredible performance for me had to come from Andy Griffith. Portlier now than I ever would have thought he'd be, he cut such a perfect figure as Joe, the crotchety old pie-shop owner. Ruddy cheeks above a snug bowtie, white, wing-like eyebrows, and a maw that never stops flapping. He was perfectly cast. Other perfect casting was on display with the minor characters of Ogie and Cal. Jeremy Sisto, as Jenna's abusive, smothering husband Earl, must have done a great job, because I keep thinking of the Six Feet Under alum as a greasy creep, which keeps me from wanting to compliment him too much.
I think what pleased me the most about the film is that every time it had the chance to take a turn for the trite, it never gave in to temptation. In a movie about adultery, that's a pretty difficult thing to do. I don't want to spoil the denouement, but it managed to strike a clean balance between realism and fantasy. Certain expectable conventions were present, but they were tempered by the frank look into our characters' lives.
Though it is not directly related to the viewer's experience of the film, I think it is important to say that watching Waitress with an understanding of the awful end to Shelly's life is a bit painful. Clearly, a lot of love went into this film, and I admire so much people who are able to dedicate themselves to the one thing that makes them feel alive. As another non sequitur, I must say that it is a pleasure to see Nathan Fillion onscreen. As much as I love him as Captain Mal Reynolds in Firefly, he is much more than a one-note actor.
As the film came to a close, it became evident to me that I had really been moved by the experience of witnessing a universe unfurl itself, allowing a roomful of willing spectators to get a peek at its minutiae, only to close up and hide its future from us as we move along to our own. This is a big part of the magic of the movies, I think. Man, I just love watching them... does collective escapism make anyone else praise Xenu as much as I do?
Sidenote: there were many excellent trailers shown before the movie began, but one that particularly caught my attention was for Evening. Based on a novel by Michael Cunningham, and starring many of the same actresses that were in the adaptation of his moving homage to Virginia Woolf, Evening looks even better than The Hours. It has the same focus on mothers, daughters, long-lost remembered romances, generations, and sadness, but what can I say? Claire Danes has a much more prominent role this time, so I am bound to think it's better! Also, her love interest is played by Patrick Wilson, and their chemistry has already proven captivating...
The opening credits of Waitress set the tone for the experience to come. It is so clear how much love Adrienne Shelly and her D.P. had for the film and its characters, as is evidenced by the beautiful portrayal of pies. Our main character, Jenna, was raised by a mother who loved making pies, and carries in herself that same passion. The pies in the film are caressed and kneaded and made with the most spectacular panoply of colors and fillings. It actually made me go home and make a very simple pudding pie. Because Jenna and her pies are so inextricably linked, it is a pleasure to see Keri Russell's radiant onscreen presence treated with the same care and closeness as her pastries.
Performances were excellent across the board, as Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, and Shelly were always pleasant to watch. But the most incredible performance for me had to come from Andy Griffith. Portlier now than I ever would have thought he'd be, he cut such a perfect figure as Joe, the crotchety old pie-shop owner. Ruddy cheeks above a snug bowtie, white, wing-like eyebrows, and a maw that never stops flapping. He was perfectly cast. Other perfect casting was on display with the minor characters of Ogie and Cal. Jeremy Sisto, as Jenna's abusive, smothering husband Earl, must have done a great job, because I keep thinking of the Six Feet Under alum as a greasy creep, which keeps me from wanting to compliment him too much.
I think what pleased me the most about the film is that every time it had the chance to take a turn for the trite, it never gave in to temptation. In a movie about adultery, that's a pretty difficult thing to do. I don't want to spoil the denouement, but it managed to strike a clean balance between realism and fantasy. Certain expectable conventions were present, but they were tempered by the frank look into our characters' lives.
Though it is not directly related to the viewer's experience of the film, I think it is important to say that watching Waitress with an understanding of the awful end to Shelly's life is a bit painful. Clearly, a lot of love went into this film, and I admire so much people who are able to dedicate themselves to the one thing that makes them feel alive. As another non sequitur, I must say that it is a pleasure to see Nathan Fillion onscreen. As much as I love him as Captain Mal Reynolds in Firefly, he is much more than a one-note actor.
As the film came to a close, it became evident to me that I had really been moved by the experience of witnessing a universe unfurl itself, allowing a roomful of willing spectators to get a peek at its minutiae, only to close up and hide its future from us as we move along to our own. This is a big part of the magic of the movies, I think. Man, I just love watching them... does collective escapism make anyone else praise Xenu as much as I do?
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