Thanks again to everyone who came out to The Supreme Court's sketch show last Saturday. Another great show. Another sell-out crowd. I am so grateful for the support of my friends and family...
But enough of this gooey sh-ow of emotion. Here's what I wore:
Somebody's going away for the summer - and that somebody's a big boy who needed new clothes + Tinton Falls Outlets w/ Memorial Day Weekend Sales = New Threads. The pants are Tommy Hilfiger $21.24, shirt Kohl's (yeah, I said it) Urban Pipeline $15. Shoes VINTAGE MANNY VOZOS VANS (complete with homegrown small toe-area tear that allows for proper ventilation). Thanks Mary, I love you.
Within the trailer for Judd Apatow's latest film, Funny People, I detect a slight choice in marketing copy that I think is an attempt to seperate Apatow's written/directed films from the many similarly-vibed & casted comedies that have been coming out since he broke out with The 40 Year Old Virgin (some involving Apatow in a producing or co-writing capacity, others two degrees away or more).
The Tell-Tale Caption: The Third Film from Judd Apatow Director of "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up". This caption is presented right before the first dramatic turn of the trailer, as The Postal Service's "We Will Become Sillouhettes" kicks in, cueing "this isn't raunchy, this is real" feelings from audience members who buy it.
I think this trailer is trying to jump ahead of the pack and say hey, look, we can be better. I hope it will be better than the rest of the pack including Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man, Pineapple Express, Superbad, Role Models & Step Brothers, but it's got to prove it's more than a collection of clever jokes and fun personalities wrapped around the same tired cliches. This formula (which has been covered before by others) is the same for most, and Apatow isn't the first or the last to latch onto it: The Slacker-Done-Good has been in play forever, since Jackie Gleason and the entire sitcom genre.
The difference lately is the casual comedy, funny to hang out with vibe that the extended ensemble of these movies offers.
Regarding both types of movies, I enjoy how these movies take the cliche moments and plots and turn in funny scenes with their distinct improv/pop culture reference/shlubby hero comedy - but I don't think they need to include the exact moments of cliche in them, bc they're still cliche.
For example, in Sarah Marshall, when Peter and Sarah face each other in the lobby of the Hawaiian resort, both realizing the awkwardness to come and both refusing to lose ground in the 'love-is-a-battlefield' square-off, that movie's magic girl*, Rachel (Mila Kunis) goes out on a limb to book Peter the deluxe suite for free (another unexplained bit of magic). This scene allows the plot we know is coming to go into action, but all it does is point out how flimsy it really is - same as the falling in love scenes between Heigl & Rogen in Knocked Up or the third act dope-done-good montages in both of those films.
*The Magic Girl (n. a beautiful, young, intelligent lady who is both above the typical materialism of other girlfriends, able to eat hot dogs and drink beer, and happens to be attracted to sloppy, overweight losers who don't have jobs, and is usually criminally unaware of her hotness. ie: Mary, There's Something About Mary, Allison, Knocked Up, Jules & Becca, Superbad, etc). This character type is as essential to these comedies as the shlub himself.
The exception to the Magic Girl rule is Mrs. Judd herself, Leslie Mann, who is not only one of the gang but is above the gang with her ability to filet co-stars with her sharp tongue. Her performance in Funny People is perhaps the one I am most anticipating, since she does so wonderfully in smaller roles that I think she'll ease into leading lady territory very well. She and Sandler have great bickering chemistry in Big Daddy (though she wasn't his belle in that movie, that was Joey Lauren Adams). Mann as the one who got away is ripe for heartbreak and of all the slob wishfulfillment that comes with these movies, I hope they don't scrimp on the reality of how hard it is to break up a marriage and give the two an easy happy ending. A hard-earned happy ending would be acceptable but hard to pull off.
The helpful dose of magic in these films offsets what could be really heady circumstances for the protagonists. Themes like teenage sexuality, unplanned pregnancy, unemployment, and now terminal illness (not to mention extreme Peter Pan syndrome) are made entertaining by the lightest nudge from bitter to bittersweet. "Marriage is like a tense, unfunny version of Everybody Loves Raymond, only it doesn't last 22 minutes. It lasts forever." - Knocked Up.
The mix of heart and raunch is a tightrope - one bodily function joke too far and you've dehumanized your characters (Zach & Miri might have done this) Even the benchmark, the Farrelly Bros' There's Something About Mary doesn't occur in as real a world as the Apatow films, but it's a fun world and sometimes better presented then the narrow-visioned world of the A-world, where no one ever needs to work.
Most Apatowian films are fun enough diversions from other derivative dreck being released. No, snobs, they are not reinventing the wheel, but they are fun movies and sometimes even elicit great emotional response. (David Wain's Role Models transcends the label - with an ending made of pure bliss - it is strongly connected because of Paul Rudd starring and writing, but he was a Wain-man before becoming Apatowian). The difference being non-directed Apatowian films are usually more silly, high concept (Talledega Nights or Zohan) and lack the sincerity and I-don't-have-all-the-answers admission that keeps his movies honest.
Funny People is one my most anticipated films this summer and I hope it does well and is up to my expectations.
It's too bad beautiful young ingenues haven't fallen for shlubby sketch comics from NJ, but then again, Judd hasn't read my new script yet...so we'll see what happens in a few months.
NBC has finally gotten their act together and renewed Law & Order for a record-tieing 20th Season:
On Fridays in the fall, the enduring drama "Law & Order" will return
for its record 20th season (tying "Gunsmoke" as the longest running
drama series in primetime) and will lead off at 8-9 p.m. (ET)
while "Southland" follows at 9-10 p.m. (ET), building a great crime block.
Unfortunately, My Name is Earl and Medium were cancelled. Other switcheroos were pulled and they've booked a Thursday night timeslot for SNL Update prime-time specials. (during a non-election year? that makes me nervous...don't dilute the brand)
The full text of the Press Release can be found here.
Hey, friends, in case there are friends who read this who were also in attendance last Saturday at the People's Improv Theater for our first show as The Supreme Court, I wanted to extend my thanks for your ongoing support and attendance at out events.
The show was a rousing success and I hope it's just the beginning of many great shows, at the welcoming P.I.T. and other spaces. (If you know of any place...)
I'm axiously awaiting some photos to come in from the show and I'll post some highlights here when they come in.
There's some photos and a video from the show available here.
If you're interested in seeing our stuff, check us out at the link above.
You can also buy tickets for THIS SATURDAY'S show here.
Once again, Bruce and co. rocked my socks off...This time, and for the first time, while I was in the pit!
Through a serious of fortuitous circumstances a very dear friend of mine, code-named Alexis, had a ticket for me to go to this show. I was instantly in.
For starters let me say that as a reference I'm using the Backstreets website - a great site for Bruce fans.
The three hour show was a high energy festival that incorporated classics, rarities and new stuff. The Boss also took requests from home made signs that made it into the arena, including a bitchin cover of Expressway to Your Heart by The Soul Survivors.
Setlist:
Badlands
No Surrender
Outlaw Pete
She's the One
Working on a Dream
Seeds
Johnny 99
The Ghost of Tom Joad
Raise Your Hand
Expressway to Your Heart
For You
Rendezvous
Night
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
The Promised Land
The Wrestler
Kingdom of Days
Radio Nowhere
Lonesome Day
The Rising
Born to Run
* * *
Hard Times
Jungleland
Land of Hope and Dreams
American Land
Dancing in the Dark
Rosalita
"For You" by request was slower than I like and less hustler-rambly as the old version...probably my least favorite of the stellar set, so still a great crack at the song. Rendezvous-into-Night was a treat during the request portion of the show. I love that he's pulling signs out of the crowd and whipping out old B-sides or soul classics. I want to see them do the Detroit melody live soon.
The second song of the encore, Jungleland, the finale of the Born to Run album, was incredible and provided the kind of out of body experience we often hear about occuring at shows that hasn't happened to me in a long time. The crowd was in the palm of the band's collective hand during this song and Clarence's majestic sax solo was storytelling and sexy. Yes, sexy at 70, especially with his braids and Macho Man style hat & trenchcoat w/ tassles and flares combo.
The image that I will always associate with an E Street show is turning away from the stage at any point (especially house-lights-up "Born to Run" or "Rosalita") and seeing seas of thousands dancing and waving in time.
"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture" - so just check their show out the next chance you can. Which will be soon! - May 21 & 23rd before they take off for Europe.
Who is Pete Seeger?
And why should you care?
Well, for those of you who don't know (and I didn't know until this show came up): Pete is an American folk singer and political activist. He has been active in many causes including the environment, civil rights and anti-war causes.
Some of the most popular songs he's written are "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?", "If I Had a Hammer (The Hammer Song)" and "Turn, Turn, Turn" - a big hit for The Byrds in the 1960s.
He's got a hell of a story, you can read up on him HERE. The show was a fundraiser for Pete's Hudson River Sloop Clearview Project - aimed at keeping the Hudson River clean and providing activities and opportunities for children all around the NY area to enjoy and preserve the river. Some (I think most) tickets were $19.19 to commemorate the year of Pete's birth.
The show had a monster line-up of guest performers (all working for free) including:
Bruce Springsteen, Arlo Guthrie, Dave Matthews, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, John Mellencamp, Ani DeFranco, Kris Kristofferson, Tom Morello, Rufus Wainright (unbilled surprise), Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds), Ben Harper, Steve Earle & many more who I am disrespectfully not including... Most played 1-2 songs, all labor, work, spiritual, folk, revivalist tunes.
Joan Baez led a great version of "Jakob's Ladder"...Dave Matthews nailed "Rye Whiskey"...Ritchie Havens killed it on "Freedom" - I must look up more of his music. Bruce came out last and performed his song "Ghost of Tom Joad" and recalled how Pete Seeger was an inspiration to that song and the labor/hard times feelings were something the Pete was connected to. He described him as "your grandfather...if your grandfather could kick your ass."
Also awesome was a cameo by Oscar the Grouch on the song "Garbage." (Makes sense.)
As I mentioned earlier, I didn't know Pete Seeger before this event (minus some of his songs). I was fun to celebrate anyway, and as the night went on I got more and more into it. I wasn't fully immersed in the hero worship of him nor the hyper-liberal politicals sometimes expressed (Pete himself is super-lib) but it was still groovy.
Bring them Home - Tao Rodriguez-Seeger, Warren Haynes, Band of Horses' Ben Bridwell and Tyler Ramsey, Drive By Truckers' Patterson Hood and Preservation Hall Jazz Band
These videos and many more from the event can be found (at least for now) at this YouTube page.
These last few days my cup runneth over with quality entertainment.
I sure would like to tell you all about it.
Saturday - Rutgers' Cabaret Theatre Spring 2009 Directors' Scenes Sunday - Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday Celebration at Madison Square Garden Monday - Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band at Nassau Colliseum
Directors' Scenes
A few of us converged on New Brunswick to see this collection of shorts. My very good friend Diana Fiegeles wrote and directed "The Fortunate Recreation of a Tragic Love Story." It was a stand-out of the bunch, presenting a modern, savvy romance in a post-Shakespeare narrative with enough references to keep the Facebook generation and the Academics grinning throughout. The cast was quick and confident and owned their roles. Congratulations to Diana her cast!
Other scenes included a confusing adapation of "The Last Supper" (apparently a 1995 film) that got lost somewhere between black comedy and moral righteousness, a pretty good version of "The Zoo Story" (memories of the SHU production crept back into my head, perhaps unfairly to the latest version). Also fun were "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" from Avenue Q and two fun in the school house shorts ("Doug & Devra Meet the Teacher" - kinda meandering, but saved by its funny leads and "Baby with the Bath Water" which reminded me of Wayside School is Falling Down). The only clinker was the scene of "Drums in the Night" by Bertoit Brecht (which apparently means opaque, boring and pretentious).
A showstopper ending of 'One Day More' from Les Mis (I know, seen/done it all before, but it was still awesome). Production value was minimal but the performers were so into it, it was infectious. Great home-grown theatrical ending.
The space is small but comfortable and seems to be well-maintained and cared for by the students who work there. If you get a chance to check something out there, you should.
The Cabaret's website seems to be down, but you can find info by calling (732) 846-2134.
Last month, at my family's Easter celebration, most of the boys and man-children, including yours truly, took to the yard for the annual baseball w/a racquetball and whiffle-ball bat game. First base is the aptly placed Red/Yellow children's car that everyone (but me) had as a child. Second base, a hand on the demented soccer goal and third, the tree stump by the bushes. This unofficial contest is full of those ageless rites of childhood untampered with by modern times. Things like steady batters for older cousins who sway the team's strength, pinch runners for surgically operated on backs, "hey run inside and get me a water", and, my personal favorite, the grunts, whines and insults of pre-pubescent males taunting each other and crying out when their team falls behind.
This game was no different, and, according to the contradictory rules of family sports, this athletic endeavor was done on an extremely full stomach, with those of us who are 21+ probably imbibing and, of course, an abundance of candy, chocolates and baked treats to fuel up with.
Here is where the plot thickens: The tell-tale bag of community Sweet-Tarts, family-sized, being shared by all the players and described by my one cousin, aged about 8, in a devastating reveal, as: his STEROIDS.
Stepping up to the overturned wheel-barrow strike zone with shoe-marked dust spot home plate, he shoved a grimy handful of Sweet-Tarts into his mouth and prepared for his at-bat.
Where is the innocence of the PF Flyer days? Hell, I'll settle for the seadiness of David Wells' hangover perfect game - which now, in light of all these scandals looks like the kind of trouble-making in line with what we used to condone for rascally Little Leaguers.
These are the kids who have grown up post-Canseco/Maguire/Sosa/Bonds/Palmeiro/Rodriguez/Etc./Who's Next? These Metro-area kids haven't seen punishment for thier fallen Yankee, only a micron less off a penalty than for being an adulterer and kissing a mirror in a magazine spread (also A-Rod)! The players have a responsibility to their fans and the institution of American baseball to be clean, play fair and promote healthy life-styles.
Consciously or not, these cheaters are telling the next generation of high school and college ballplayers that it's okay to cheat, to take drugs and to inject needles into your arm, because there are no consequences. If I was caught injecting anything illegal into my body AT WORK, I'd be fired immediately.
I admit, I have selfish reasons for bringing this up. I don't want my cousins looking up to lying cheaters and emulating their disgraceful behavior with candies. "Hey, come and get more Steroids before you bat!" is something I'll never forget hearing.
These players should be fired and banned. If the league had any integrity, it would institute harsher punishments and random testing. If the players don't like it, I'm sure there are some left among the up-and-coming ranks who'd be willing to play if playing meant playing clean. Let's get them in the league, and on posters and baseball cards, before there's no one left to look up to.
The other day, my sister and I braved the subway and the movie theater line (only recently am I growing to fear the simple sound of a cough) in order to sit in the audience of a preview/survey/focus group scenario for The Road a new film from director John Hillcoat (The Proposition) and starring Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron and Kodi Smit-McPhee. The movie is adapted from the novel by Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men).
If you're concerned about me revealing plot points or twists, the maybe you should wait until the reported October release date.
The movie is set in the near future and the events occur after an unidentified natural (or possibly man-made) disaster has slowly destroyed the ecology of the planet. Plants aren't growing. Animals are gone. Earthquakes occur randomly. The humans that remain are forced to scrabble for food, shelter and provisions while fighting to maintain their humanity. Gangs of cannibals are armed and roaming for victims, but Viggo's character refuses to succumb and cross the line.
He and his son, he explains, "carry the fire inside" and in doing so, continue to be "the good guys." In this world, suicide is understandable and, for many, a favorable alternative to the slow starvation and moral dillemas tied into being the last people on the planet.
Time isn't wasted in concocting shaggy-dog scientific explanations for the predicament. No viruses, no eco-terror or nuclear winter. All of those could be true, but that's not what it's about. It's tightly focused on The Man and his Son, will they survive and will they compromise their morality in order to do so?
There's an old theater saying that goes something like "If you show a gun in the first act, you've gotta fire it by the third." The creators of this movie know how to do a lot with a little as The Man (Mortensen) carries a pistol with only two bullets left: their last resort when facing certain death at the hands of cannibals or other "bad guys." Viggo knows that they're slowly rotting from the inside and starving to death, so he tries to instill a survivalism and clear sense of perception into his son before the end.
Much of the movie is spent with the men on the road, traveling down to the coast (they're vaguely east coast of USA) where they believe their chances of survival will be greater. The son was born at the onset of the new, broken world and doesn't know a world of animals, Coke and other anachronisms that seperate him from his haunted father. In one moment where the divide is evident in certain goods they fortunately come across, the Man asks "You think I'm from another world, don't you?" - and he is.
The scenes where they encounter others are economically used and pack punch. Every time we meet another one/ones, we witness the philophical conflicts facing them: Is feeding another wandering person and cleaning his wounds equal to killing yourself faster? What is justice when everyone's trying to survive?
Along the way they encounter a brittle old man, a desperate thief and many cannibals and their victims (an incredible scene - edge of my seat - occurs in a plantation home of some survivors where Viggo and son take refuge, before some dangerous men and women return)
If you've made it this far and are thinking "Boy, this sounds heavy!" - you're right. This is a very intense movie but it's also well-made. It's not just a slow philosophical ramble. There are scenes of extreme intensity and while action/violence is used sparingly, when it is used, it is done with a sure hand for maximum audience connection. In fact, despite the tone, there are some bright moments with laughs. They ease the tension and allow us to breathe and relax.
This is Viggo's showcase. He does it all in this film and is one of the small amount of leading men I can think of (Sean Penn, Daniel Day Lewis are others) who are totally committed to their character from head to toe. Every inch of him is in character and is suffering like the man, his son and their earth. The Boy, Kodi Smit-McPhee is also very emotive and looks every inch the son of Charlize Theron (memorably seen in flashbacks as the Wife). Robert Duvall is great as the Old Man and Michael K. Williams (The Wire) is haunting as The Thief. Every performance is memorable and utilitarian - no words, expressions or reactions are overdone.
We were told it was a 'work-print' and that some audio/music, effects and coloring weren't complete. With that in mind, I hope they don't try and sex it up and trim it up before release. It's a solid two hours and that's not too long.
When October rolls around, I highly recommend this movie. While I can't wrap my head around what goes into nominations and awards, I hope that the filmmakers and Viggo are recognized for their strong work in this film.
The movie is brought to you by Dimension Films, MGM & 2929 Productions. It is adapted by Joe Penhall and features music by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis.
Recently, I visited lovely Pittsburgh to witness the baptism of my newest cousin, Thomas, into the faith. Wonderful trip, maybe I'll write about it (and bad drunken dancing on my part). One thing the 6-hr drive offered was plenty of time to read. On the trip I tore through the next installment of my reading list, The Beats: A Graphic History by Harvey Pekar (American Splendor), et al.
A varied and distinguished group of writers and artists have come together for this book, a collection of short stories about the leaders and luminaries of the Beat generation, as well as some lesser known writers and lovers that were a part of the gang.
The first section of the hardcover comic book is devoted to Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg & William S. Burroughs and certainly contained the most familiar information to me, a loose Beat reader. These black & white stories are refresher/introductions to the men whose work you've probably read if you've read (if you've read Beat books). A stand-out of this section was descriptions of Kerouac's athleticism and active life (you mean he wasn't always a drunk, amblin' traveler, sipping wine and sleepily seducing women? - yes!) He spent time in the Navy, after rejecting football scholarships and helped cover up a murder. Ginsberg was the more confident of the Beats, generating his own forward-motion, taking on the US governement's assault on his Howl and any other opponent. Burroughs was a raving lunatic, moreso than the others, and actually shot a poor woman in the face while the two played a delirious game of "William Tell." They also wrote.
The second, and possibly more interesting section, Perspectives, is devoted to lesser-knowns in 2-3 page shorts. Covered in this section are "The San Fransisco Poetry Renaissance", Gregory Corso, LeRoi Jones (later Amiri Baraka), Charles Olson & sections devoted to the ladies of the Beat movement, the Jazz & Poetry connection and the City Lights book store in San Fransisco that first published and sold Howl.
Of this section, my favorites were the Beatnik Chicks story, about the often neglected, left-behind and cheated on wives who always took the backseat to the wild seeking of 'art' of their men, who would leave randomly to pursue living or ride with Neal Cassady. The solo piece on Jay DeFeo, a Beat artist, who's art killed her (she slowly poisoned herself while working on the still unfinished piece, The Rose, by using lead paint and licking the tips of her brushes to produce a point.) The story of Tuli Kupferberg, lead singer of the Fugs, who wrote bad, angry protest songs set to the tunes of popular music, were covered by the Beatles and lasted longer than you think.
This book is fun and should be considered as part of any introduction to the Beats offered in school's or for personal research. It would be a great reference too, while reading Kerouac, who often refer back to each other using pseudonyms from book to book. If you're into it, check it out.
Jack Kerouac on The Steve Allen Show in 1959
Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan and David Cross as Allen Ginsberg in "I'm Not There"
