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Reviews
Janeane Garofalo (1997)
The genius of Garofalo
I remember seeing this on cable, and being totally blown away by her perspective on life, such a far ranging view I seldom hear from either guys or women. Maybe a bit like Seinfeld, in that he says things that everyone sort of feels, but doesn't really articulate much. There's some book I was looking at a while back about how to cultivate one's "lateral thinking". I suppose it means looking at things in a way that doesn't follow logically from what went before, but is equally, if not superior in it's findings. I think that's what comics do to make us laugh so hard at their apparently simple musings on the mundane. Their views don't sound intellectual {informed, wordy, unintelligible}, but, unusual. Janeane summarizes an entire event, like the typical cliché of the summer blockbuster movie, gay pride parade, or dog show, into a few descriptive statements. George Carlin was also this direct, especially in his debut album, "take-offs and put-ons". We all think society is cruddy and could be much better, and these people are really adept at painting a picture of this place quite accurately through words. It can one -if nothing else- to pull away from the chaos and concentrate on what really matters (their own life).
Mr. Mom (1983)
One of the best (and unique) comedies I've ever watched
I remember this one from my youth, before Keaton blew up in Batman and Beetlejuice, he was big in Mr. Mom, and Gung Ho. Mr. Mom as a comedy to me had a very unique and warm touch to it because while it both captured a new (at that time) slapstick style of family comedy, it also showed a more human, less refined side to the world of parenting. As a young boy, I could see just how difficult it could be for a man to grasp taking over the role of a mom. I think it helped that the movie trailer at the time perfectly illustrated Keaton's character's dillemna, in addition to the obvious film title. Quick scenes with total chaos erupting involving household mishaps, astray children etc. Perhaps an even greater bit for me is how the filmmakers portrayed the quirks of suburban life the way it felt then. It doesn't offer any commentary on the way things are, but injects so many funny little scenarios into the plot that could only take place in the suburbs. For me, there is no question that this work has more depth than say, Vacation. Vacation for me was awkward to watch, because it seemed to constantly excuse bad behavior as being funny. In Mr. Mom, the plot relies more on the complex world that Keaton finds himself in, as does his wife. It is funny not only because of the slapstick comedy, but because it makes life seem quite bizarre when the gender roles are reversed.
The American Girls (1978)
Wish more 70's shows were on the air in Canada
The thing that amazes me most about reviews for old shows like this (especially one said to be a "rip-off" of Charlie's Angels)is that anybody even remembers this stuff at all. I can honestly say that in Winnipeg where I live, there have been very little instances of the 70's sitcoms and hour-length stuff ever being shown on our airwaves. I see so much airspace devoted to reality shows, and stuff I can't even begin to relate to, and every once in a while a sort of trashy biography show about the actors from an old TV show I haven't seen for years like Three's Company, Family Ties, or Diff'rent Strokes. Capitalism just bewilders me. Some of the TV from the past, regardless of a critical point of view, defined an aesthetic of a certain place in time. I would have much preferred to have access to shows like The Incredible Hulk, 6 Mill. Dollar Man/Bionic Woman, Mork and Mindy, Muppet Show, Fantasy Island, Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley throughout my youth, but they were all taken out of reruns in the early 80's. Along with a lot of other 70's style TV trends, this stuff just disappeared when 80's pastels and fluorescent post-new wave fashion sense removed all traces of the older look and feel from our lives. I don't expect TV stations to buck the trends in audience tastes and such, but I think if the world was more receptive to the tastes of even the minority, perhaps there could have been some sort of outlet similar to a library where people could still access these older shows before they were reduced to faded memories. Because to me, that world, from the late 70's, the way people looked, acted and dressed, was the real world to me then. I've sort of spent my whole life (I'm 31 now) searching for peace of mind, and happiness, and I'm always left wondering why people in our culture are so restless, so willing to accept change. I admit that it's sort of lame to pine over largely manufactured culture, but I see revivals all over of things from the past all the time. It just seems like no one ever wants to bring back 70's TV up here. I sometimes think that it is my life that is meaningless, cause I was born in a largely forgettable era, apparently. Like I realize the fashion sense of entertainers gets outdated rather quickly, and can even be awkward for some people to watch. But the message, the spirit of the writers and actors doesn't deserve to be locked away for decades so no one can see it. No wonder it looks so strange to us to see it after so many years. We have had no access to it since! I mean, if I had TV from all eras, from all places over the globe, I would be less shallow, more accepting of humanity in all it's different appearances, and perhaps more willing and able to get the underlying message in each TV program. To what the writers and actors are trying to convey. Instead I find myself at age 31 feeling like an outcast, an alien, because everything in pop culture keeps updating itself to something different, and I'm pretty much the same person I was before, and moving backwards, if anything. HELP
Wired (1989)
I'll give you the truth if you can believe it
I saw this in high school with some friends. Having seen many of the 70's Saturday Night skits in reruns, and read the book earlier, I knew what to expect. The lead actor did a better job than the critics at the time said, and the other actors as well. The bottom line though, is that the movie is anything but funny overall, unlike John's work, so not necessarily something fans of his might enjoy. An earlier commenter here suggested a film more like like Man in the Moon would have been a better way to draw the person in to John's comedic vision, instead of only the almost surreal, drug-centered view. Most important for me to state here, is that I think since it was based on a best-selling book, which was about the tragedy of John's drug problem, the story was just a downer. The book left me wondering how Bob Woodward (who along with Carl Bernstein exposed President Nixon's Watergate cover-up) could have bashed the people of Saturday Night so harshly, almost as though he felt there was nothing but dark tales to give his readers. I think in retrospect, it shows that a person who paints a picture people want/feel compelled or drawn to see can be as slanted as he/she likes as long as they push the right buttons. Or... who cares as long as it sells. Ironically, this movie was bashed by probably many of the same newspapers and media outlets who said great things about the book. For different reasons of course, ie. bad acting, bad script, but I urge anyone who sees the book at the library etc. to flip through the book and judge for yourself what this well praised piece of work does to the characters of everyone on the Saturday Night cast, as well as Carrie Fisher, it really could have been written by Albert Goldman (the guy who trashed John Lennon after his death in really bizarre ways). Bob Woodward might have gotten some criticism over this unkind portrayal, but I don't remember hearing any of it from the well-known media critics and newspapers. So whatever, I give the movie 5 out of ten, for its content, acting and message, and I give the book 0 out of ten for ruining the image I had of all my childhood heroes. I don't hate drugs, but they were all shown to be like weirdos, sexual deviants etc. I mean, if you want character assassination, it's like doing a book or film on a president and showing them getting a blow job, or snorting coke or something, rather than what people praised or already largely know. The purpose is to change people's view of that person, which this film and book were meant to do. Both film and book were an ugly expose, much like the old shows, Geraldo, A Current Affair, and all their offspring (you know who you are). I mean, I know he had a drug problem, but it was a f*ckin' tragedy, a huge loss to North American culture, and the guy dissected his life like it was an autopsy, nothing else, like he was doing a report to someone only concerned with alleviating someone else's guilt. Like, how could such a comedic talent die in such a strange way? So they get the authority on expose, Woodward (where was Bernstein?) to find out What_Went_Wrong. Maybe the film wasn't off base then, for having this whole surreal morgue Naked Lunch-style theme to it in parts. I think people should try and do an expose on Woodward. I saw him last year on Larry King, and he looks like a wrinkled fish, (nothing like redford who played him in All The President's Men). Who is this guy anyway? A Reptoid? CIA? Freakish Gaylord? Perhaps we'll never know...