"Whatever Works"; Larry David; Woody Allen

It is no secret or great surprise that I like Larry David and I'll watch/read all he does.

You see, to me, Larry David is like a soft 100% cotton, straight-lined shirt. They both beg for attention and I give in every single time regardless of how much of both I have had. There is no curbing of the appetite, so to speak.

A bit of context might be needed here. I first resisted getting into Larry David's work because the good half knew about him before I did. You see, it wasn't a case of unbridled egotism or vain narcissism on my part that stood in the way. It was just artistic slothfulness, I suppose. I already had too many things I was liking at the time and I didn't think I had enough mental space to process something new.

But, of course, I gave in. I started watching Curb and well, the rest is history. If you do a Larry David or Curb Your Enthusiasm keyword search on this blog, you'll get the point. To bring the point home let me just say that I pulled more than a few all-nighters when going over Curb seasons. Yes, Larry's definitely a strong like.

The long intro serves a purpose here. I saw Woody Allen's new film Whatever Works. Of course, I would. And naturally I laughed out loud in the theater as I tend to do in Allen pictures.

Woody Allen doesn't have to try hard to make me, B.R., the movie goer, to like him. B.R., the film reader, however might be a different story. Allen's Spiel tends to be unrelentingly consistent: life is hard, life is tragic, life is random, life sucks. So, you might as well get whatever joy you can while you're at it.
This mantra is also the premise of Whatever Works.
What makes this film particularly enjoyable is Larry David who couldn't be a better seller of Allen-isms. David's character, Boris Yellnikov, is certain he lives in a world where "Neanderthals," as he calls them, run amock and stupidity is sold by the pound. Here are some of the quotes Boris utters:

"On the whole, I'm sorry to say, we're a failed species."
"I'm a man with a huge worldview, I'm surrounded by microbes."
"This is not the feel-good movie of the year. So if you're one of those idiots who needs to feel good, go get yourself a foot massage."
And my very favorite from the film:
"If I can understand quantum mechanics, I can certainly understand the thought process of a submental baton twirler."

What else can I say other then, if you're already a Woody Allen and Larry David fan, naturally, you have to go watch this film.
In addition, it features nigh pitch-perfect playing by the talented and at-times underappreciated Patricia Clarkson and Evan Rachel Wood.

And let me not forget to mention another great character, New York City itself which is captured as lovingly by Allen as he could.

 Subscribe to HetPer

 Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast

Of Music and Michael Jackson

I was out traveling when I heard of Michael Jackson's passing.
One text message I received said, 'dude, can you believe this stuff? Michael Jackson's dead.'
So, I turn to the NY Times and the headline said that, according to TMZ, the pop star was dead. When it comes to news of this sort, TMZ tends to be right.
'Bummer,' I thought.

Then the news coverage galore started.
It seemed, (I reckon, it still does) that the world was revolving around the once formidable artist. A crash course on the artist's bizarre lifestyle, his spending habits, his various closet skeletons and whatnot were discussed ad nauseam. And the many TV stations employed yet again a litany of psychology experts, medical folk, et al., to comment on MJ's life choices.

And the rest of us who wanted to learn more of Nicholas Sarkozy's latest policies, the different elections happening around the world, or even Steve Jobs getting back to work at Apple were left news-less. This is just as good a time as any to go to the beach, I guessed, freezing lake and all. And that we did. And we swam too but I digress.

I get the sensationalizing of MJ's passing. I most certainly expected to see much media coverage as well.
I mean, didn't CNN and MSNC and co., consume themselves with 'news' Paris covering the heiress' stay at a no star hotel also known as the big house? I still have flashbacks of Mika Brzezinski's burning of so-called Paris news on the air on Morning Joe.

This is Michael Jackson and he should get a lot of coverage. His influence on music is unquestionably great. In a way, MJ expedited a cultural shift when it came to issues of music and what its text stood for, race, and even gender and sexuality.

The main reason why I'm not surprised that MJ is getting so much attention post-mortem is because it goes hand in hand with his own modus videndi. Didn't the pop star after all privilege his phantasy world over reality? It seems rather fitting than his coverage also be congruent with his viewpoints on life: Neverland over reality. I'm just not so sure that Michael was the only one to privilege phantasy over reality. If he were, he as a person and performer would be a rather tough sell. His peculiar predelictions are, to some degree, shared by many. Well, not the practices per se but the need/desire for peculiar predelictions. How else can we explain the mass appeal? Musically, he has not produced in two decades. Granted, that which he did produce is pure genius and incomparable but it was also a couple of generations ago.

As I was having these thoughts I read Bob Herbert's column on the NY Times this morning and a paragraph in there made uncanny sense to me. Herbert notes rather beautifully:

"Jackson was the perfect star for the era, the embodiment of fantasy gone wild. He tried to carve himself up into another person, but, of course, there was the same Michael Jackson underneath — talented but psychologically disabled to the point where he was a danger to himself and others.

Reality is unforgiving. There is no escape. Behind the Jackson facade was the horror of child abuse. Court records and reams of well-documented media accounts contain a stream of serious allegations of child sex abuse and other inappropriate behavior with very young boys. Jackson, a multimillionaire megastar, was excused as an eccentric."

Read it all here. Definitely worth a look.

In the meantime, I, as many music lovers around the world, felt badly for MJ's premature departure. He was more than an artist, he was out-of-this-world talented and who knows what else he would have managed to create musically. Thriller did thrill me thoroughly and for that album alone I'm most grateful to him.

RIP, MJ.

 Subscribe to HetPer

 Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast

graph per google images

Entourage, Season 5

On one of my international flights, the flight attendant looked like she was uttering something to me. Alas, my earphones were already streaming audio from my MacBook to my ears and, as far as I was concerned, no other audio mattered. I was after all watching the "Gotta Look Up to Get Down" episode from Entourage, Season 5. And, I and mine will attest, since the Sunday HBO played this months ago, I knew I was going to get hooked. This 27-minute episode is packed with literary and cultural references to aesthetics, gender, work and family dynamics, the form/content clash and so forth. In sum, it's a gem.

I remove the earphones to find out what the content of her comment was all about.
"Nice! You're watching Entourage." said the friendly flight attendant to which I said, "Yeah! It rocks."

But, you see, it's not just this episode that is ripe with rich motifs. The entire Season Five is a gem. The way Stellan Skarsgård portrays a kooky German director, or how Jason Isaacs so convincingly portrays a not-so-straight performing straight-acting fashion businessman. And on and on.

I have already blogged about the ending of the "Gotta Look Up to Get Down" episode which features one of the most tender scenes I have analyzed this year. A sensitive Ari Gold puts his emotions on display for his favorite client, Vinnie Chase, to witness.

Portraying Ari's vulnerability is what's proving to be Jeremy Piven's opportunity to show the world his acting chops and that he's so much more than John Cusack's side kick or a potential George Costanza. Ari Gold is the making of Entourage. He has a kind of range that is really almost overwhelming me every time I watch this show.

What has made a lot of my recent trips more enjoyable has been the following:

The newly released Season Five of Entourage
Steve Martin's Shopgirl, the last 6 minutes of the film
Three minutes out of Zach Braff's Garden State, the "You're in it right now, aren't you?" scene.

I'll explain.

Being a close reader by training, I have a trained (and natural) tendency to zoom in on certain snippets of texts. Close reading, I am told at home and out, is not just how I make my bread and butter, it's an extension of my nature. Ergo, focusing on certain segments in certain filmic pieces is as natural to me as griping about my Venti Macchiato coming my way lid-less and sleeve-less. Incidentally, getting easily vexed by such oh-so-menial faux annoyances like a lid-less and sleeve-less Starbucks drink is yet another side effect of close reading.

Whether you share my close reading tendencies or not, you should consider getting the newly released Season Five of Entourage.

I give it thumbs and toes up. Season Six of Entourage will start July 12th on HBO.

 Subscribe to HetPer

 Subscribe to Gendering the Media Podcast