Song of the Day: Passion Finale

Passion is a musical that took me a long time to like.  Initially when I saw it, I couldn't believe it was a Sondheim musical.  It was so unlikeable with characters that seemed so one-dimensional and incredibly selfish.  The music was a bit repetitive, though at times staggeringly beautiful.  Passion has grown on me a great deal and now it is one of my favorite Sondheim musicals. It's repetitiveness, selfishness, and unlike ability serve a purpose and the show itself says a lot about Sondheim as a person and an artist and his views on life and love. To me, Passion is like Sondheim's response to an Andrew Loyd Webber musical.  The ending to Passion is incredible and probably one of the most moving moments in musical theater history.  I recently got to see the Chicago Shakespeare production of Passion a few months ago and it was an incredible experience.  It was done as a very intimate and small black box production, which is just the way it should be done.  The only part of it I didn't like was Georgio.  I have never liked any Georgio that I have ever seen because I feel they all play it too safe.  No one is willing to take risks with the character.  No one is willing to make him truly vile and unlikeable.  In a sense no one is willing to make him human, instead he just becomes a vessel for the story.  It's a role I'm dying to get my hands on so I can turn it on it's head.  Hopefully one day I'll get to.  Enjoy.

Note of Interest: This was the last original musical of Stephen Sondheim's to ever play on Broadway.  Now we sure do get a lot of revivals.  But this is also the last Tony Sondheim ever received for best score, though he did get a lifetime achievement award at the Tony's this past year... and they sure did a piss poor job with it too.

A little off topic, but then again it is my blog...

Tonight I switched on the Democratic National Convention coverage on CNN, curious to see what all would take place.  The first few hours were a little dull with not much to write home about, but then Teddy Kennedy gave an emotional and passionate speech where he swore that he would be on the senate floor in January to continue his fight despite being diagnosed recently with brain cancer.  He also had strong words about why he believed that the democrats needed to elect Barack Obama as president.  But the speech that really got to me was that of Obama's wife, Michelle.  To be blunt, the speech was moving and inspiring and made me cry because it struck home.  It was the perfect way to end the evening and it represents why I believe in this campaign and why I will be voting for Barack Obama in November.  I promise not to get political often on this blog, but this was something I felt I needed to share.  It's the kind of speech that is inspiring because of it's honesty and integrity.  Obama and his family are just like us in so many ways and they are patriotic Americans who have had to struggle during their lives to get to where they are.  They are Americans and though I am probably the most cynical American I know, this is a moment where I was proud to be an American and be a democrat.  Different people have different beliefs and this is a monumentally important election for both parties.  I want everyone I know to vote in this election.  Fundamentally it does not matter to me who you vote for as long as you make your voice heard and stand up for what you believe in.  I may not agree with you, but I can respect you.  I believe in Barack Obama and his vision for where he wants to take this country.  And I look forward to the day when I may be able to call him my President.  Here is Michelle Obama's extraordinary speech - 

"As you might imagine, for Barack, running for President is nothing compared to that first game of basketball with my brother Craig.

I can't tell you how much it means to have Craig and my mom here tonight. Like Craig, I can feel my dad looking down on us, just as I've felt his presence in every grace-filled moment of my life.

At six-foot-six, I've often felt like Craig was looking down on me too…literally. But the truth is, both when we were kids and today, he wasn't looking down on me. He was watching over me.

And he's been there for me every step of the way since that clear February day 19 months ago, when – with little more than our faith in each other and a hunger for change – we joined my husband, Barack Obama, on the improbable journey that's brought us to this moment.

But each of us also comes here tonight by way of our own improbable journey.

I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend.

I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president.

I come here as a Mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world – they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future – and all our children's future – is my stake in this election.

And I come here as a daughter – raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue-collar city worker and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me. My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, and her intelligence reflected in my own daughters.

My Dad was our rock. Although he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in his early thirties, he was our provider, our champion, our hero. As he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, it took him longer to get dressed in the morning. But if he was in pain, he never let on. He never stopped smiling and laughing – even while struggling to button his shirt, even while using two canes to get himself across the room to give my Mom a kiss. He just woke up a little earlier and worked a little harder.

He and my mom poured everything they had into me and Craig. It was the greatest gift a child can receive: never doubting for a single minute that you're loved, and cherished, and have a place in this world. And thanks to their faith and hard work, we both were able to go on to college. So I know firsthand from their lives – and mine – that the American Dream endures.

And you know, what struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine. He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did. Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves. And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.

And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children – and all children in this nation – to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.

And as our friendship grew, and I learned more about Barack, he introduced me to the work he'd done when he first moved to Chicago after college. Instead of heading to Wall Street, Barack had gone to work in neighborhoods devastated when steel plants shut down, and jobs dried up. And he'd been invited back to speak to people from those neighborhoods about how to rebuild their community.

The people gathered together that day were ordinary folks doing the best they could to build a good life. They were parents living paycheck to paycheck; grandparents trying to get by on a fixed income; men frustrated that they couldn't support their families after their jobs disappeared. Those folks weren't asking for a handout or a shortcut. They were ready to work – they wanted to contribute. They believed – like you and I believe – that America should be a place where you can make it if you try.

Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about "The world as it is" and "The world as it should be." And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and settle for the world as it is – even when it doesn't reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves – to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn't that the great American story?

It's the story of men and women gathered in churches and union halls, in town squares and high school gyms – people who stood up and marched and risked everything they had – refusing to settle, determined to mold our future into the shape of our ideals.

It is because of their will and determination that this week, we celebrate two anniversaries: the 88th anniversary of women winning the right to vote, and the 45th anniversary of that hot summer day when Dr. King lifted our sights and our hearts with his dream for our nation.

I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history – knowing that my piece of the American Dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me. All of them driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work. The same conviction that drives the men and women I've met all across this country:

People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift – without disappointment, without regret – that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they're working for.

The military families who say grace each night with an empty seat at the table. The servicemen and women who love this country so much, they leave those they love most to defend it.

The young people across America serving our communities – teaching children, cleaning up neighborhoods, caring for the least among us each and every day.

People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters – and sons – can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.

People like Joe Biden, who's never forgotten where he came from, and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again.

All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do – that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.

That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.

That is why I love this country.

And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us – no matter what our age or background or walk of life – each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.

It's a belief Barack shares – a belief at the heart of his life's work.

It's what he did all those years ago, on the streets of Chicago, setting up job training to get people back to work and afterschool programs to keep kids safe – working block by block to help people lift up their families.

It's what he did in the Illinois Senate, moving people from welfare to jobs, passing tax cuts for hard working families, and making sure women get equal pay for equal work.

It's what he's done in the United States Senate, fighting to ensure the men and women who serve this country are welcomed home not just with medals and parades, but with good jobs and benefits and health care – including mental health care.

That's why he's running – to end the war in Iraq responsibly, to build an economy that lifts every family, to make health care available for every American, and to make sure every child in this nation gets a world class education all the way from preschool to college. That's what Barack Obama will do as President of the United States of America.

He'll achieve these goals the same way he always has – by bringing us together and reminding us how much we share and how alike we really are. You see, Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party – if any – you belong to. That's not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us – our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future – is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree.

It was strong enough to bring hope to those neighborhoods in Chicago.

It was strong enough to bring hope to the mother he met worried about her child in Iraq; hope to the man who's unemployed, but can't afford gas to find a job; hope to the student working nights to pay for her sister's health care, sleeping just a few hours a day.

And it was strong enough to bring hope to people who came out on a cold Iowa night and became the first voices in this chorus for change that's been echoed by millions of Americans from every corner of this nation.

Millions of Americans who know that Barack understands their dreams; that Barack will fight for people like them; and that Barack will finally bring the change we need.

And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love.

And as I tuck that little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they – and your sons and daughters – will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming. How this time, in this great country – where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House – we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.

So tonight, in honor of my father's memory and my daughters' future – out of gratitude to those whose triumphs we mark this week, and those whose everyday sacrifices have brought us to this moment – let us devote ourselves to finishing their work; let us work together to fulfill their hopes; and let us stand together to elect Barack Obama President of the United States of America.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America."

If you want to see her speech for yourself (and you should) go to cnn.com. 

Obama/Biden 08

Song of the Day: Everybody's Got the Right

Sorry for getting this up so late today, but I was at work all day and ever since I've gotten home i haven't been able to turn off the Democratic National Convention broadcast on CNN.  So I thought that today I'd post something kinda relevant - a song from the political musical Assassins.  It's the closing number of the show and I believe it speaks directly to what is happening right now in our country once again.  It's a great show and one of Sondheim's finest works.   Enjoy and if you're interested turn on the DNC broadcast.  It's good stuff so far.

Song of the Day: Wicked Little Town

Today's song of the day is Wicked Little Town from the film version of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.  I love this movie and this musical and John Cameron Mitchell gives the performance of a lifetime in it.  How this guy was passed over for awards consideration is still beyond me.  This song in particular always gets to me every time I hear it and I found it appropriate as I will be leaving San Antonio and returning to Chicago on Thursday.  Enjoy.

The Films I Love: Eyes Wide Shut

In 1999 the world lost one of the greatest filmmakers who had ever lived.  His name was Stanley Kubrick.  His dream was to change to face of filmmaking and to change the way we all look at movies.  And for all intents and purposes he succeeded.  This was the man who brought us Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and finally Eyes Wide Shut.  I have a love/hate relationship with Kubrick.  I find his films fascinating and his techniques bizarre and often times brilliant, but his sense of narrative is maddening and many of his films (even those equated as masterpieces) stumble through their long winded third acts.  Kubrick was never content to tell a story the way most filmmakers did.  At times in his films he abandoned conventional narrative altogether to deliver a surreal and otherworldly experience, case in point - 2001.  Many of his films are simply a series of events or set pieces that Kubrick forces the viewer to make sense of.  Sometimes these events seem to have little to do with what has come before in the "story" and the only thing tying them together are the protagonist.  He uses symbolism, long takes, drawn out dialogue, pauses, classical music, and most notably - silence - to make his points.  In a Kubrick film almost nothing is as it seems.  He doesn't know how to be straightforward, which is both his greatest strength and weakness.  

Eyes Wide Shut is a brilliant display of all of Kubrick's gifts as a filmmaker and also his shortcomings.  It is a fitting final piece of the puzzle in his filmography and perhaps even answers many questions about the filmmaker himself.  Eyes Wide Shut is Kubrick at his utmost peak as a filmmaker.  Nothing he could have ever done would have topped it.  For me it is the greatest film he has ever made.  Many people would scoff at that.  I wouldn't blame them either because Eyes Wide Shut is a hard film to like or really even care about, but it is fascinating and it paints an interesting picture of the human psyche when it comes to sex, love and relationships.  What makes Eyes Wide Shut so spectacular is it's humanity.  Kubrick has been accused of being a cold and calculated filmmaker with little or no interest in real human emotion. He has been called a man of ideas instead of feeling.  I would argue that he has always been in search of how to best convey humanity through his ideas as a filmmaker.  And here his ideas are fully realized into a picture of disturbing power because of how human it really is.  Eyes Wide Shut represents the sexual passion and urges inside of all of us.  It represents the ultimate human perversity.  It is a scathing statement on how we as people operate on a sexual level.  It's the kind of film that only Kubrick could have made.

From the marketing to the finished product, Kubrick had people fascinated by Eyes Wide Shut. It is his only film to open at Number 1 in the box office.  Part of this had to do with the fact that people wanted to see what the fuss was about.  The film had been shooting for years and spent an entire year in editing.  Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman (who were husband and wife at the time) signed a contract that was open ended and stated that they could not leave the project until Kubrick decided to release them, however long that may be.  The trailer for the film was devilishly provocative and yet told you absolutely nothing about the films plot, but everything about what the film was about.   Kubrick had two of the hottest and sexiest stars at his disposal and many thought that Eyes Wide Shut would be a sexually perverse and steamy story about married psychiatrists who sleep with their patients.  This, of course, proved to be false (to be fair that would have been interesting subject matter in Kubricks hands as well).  The speculation was wild and it didn't help that reports were coming out of a supposed orgy scene that had to be digitally altered due to it's graphic nature.  Then people actually saw the movie.  There were many who passed it off and said it was a film about nothing and that it went nowhere.  And there were those who still flocked to the theater because it was Kubrick's last film and the man had died a few short months earlier.  There were those who loved the film and thought that it represented the best of Kubrick.  And even those that despised it wasted a lot of precious ink do denounce the film for either its boringness or obscene content.

The last thing Eyes Wide Shut is, is boring.  From it's opening scene to it's final moments Kubrick drags you along and makes you wonder just what the hell is going on.  He structures the film as a thriller with supposed murder and intrigue along the way.  But in reality he uses this as a device to explore the human psyche.  He is much more interested in the films sexual undercurrents.  But his thriller style does prove to have a point - sexual desire and obsession can be dangerous and deadly.  It represents a thematic destruction of human relationships.  Our bodies are governed by biological needs and Eyes Wide Shut spends most of it's screen time exploring this idea.  What is so interesting though, is that there is very little sex in the film.  There is plenty of implied sex, but the only real sex scene is the orgy itself, which is shown at a distance.  We the audience are the observers in this strange world that Kubrick has painted just as Tom Cruise's character is.  We are seeing through his eyes.  The fact that there is so little sex is what makes the picture truly disturbing.  It doesn't need it.  Cruise gets so close to sex over and over again that each time it becomes more dangerous and sinister.  There is nothing sexy about Eyes Wide Shut.  If anything the film is a denouncement of America's (and perhaps the worlds) fascination with sex.  In the world we have today sex itself has become a dangerous weapon that cannot be wielded lightly.  Eyes Wide Shut is an exploration of what happens to those who do. 

Eyes Wide Shut - The best video clips are right here

Enough cannot be said about the acting, direction, and cinematography.  It is all painstakingly perfect.  Kubrick's perfectionism is right there on the screen for all of us to see.  Kidman and Cruise chemistry ignites the screen.  They are a believable couple and Kubrick was smart by casting people who were actually married in real life.  If the film had anything to do with their marriage deteriorating I do not know, but I can certainly imagine it didn't help.  Eyes Wide Shut explores subjects that most of us don't want to deal with in relationships especially infidelity and desire.  It is a series of vignettes strung together with a loose plot line and underlying meaning.  With Eyes Wide Shut Kubrick took his own formula for filmmaking and perfected it.  At the end of the movie I finally understood what Kubrick was trying to do all those years and why he made so few movies.  His films consumed him and because of that Eyes Wide Shut was a fitting end to his legacy.  It represents everything Kubrick has ever wanted to say about us and the way we live (in my opinion, I will not pretend to know this great man's inner most thoughts and feelings).  He did change the way movies were made and how we see them.  There will never be another Stanley Kubrick and there will never be another Eyes Wide Shut.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Dir. Stanley Kubrick

159 min.

Zero Academy Award Nominations... what a shame.

Song of the Day: The Movie in My Mind

Apologies for not posting a song of the day yesterday.  I was at work from 10 in the morning till about 11 at night so there wasn't any time for updating the blog.  But the one thing I did accomplish yesterday was talking to my friend who just got back from Japan who now has a callback for the role of Gigi in Miss Saigon!  The show is being put on at the Drury Lane theater in Chicago in December.  To celebrate her callback I am posting the character's song from the show - The Movie in My Mind.  Miss Saigon is one of those productions I would love to have seen the original staging for.  I saw a touring version of the show and a lot of the splendor had been cut out of it.  I've heard the helicopter landing alone was worth a visit to Broadway back in the early 90's.  I got to see a projected one... great.  I'm not all about spectacle theater, but at times it can be very effective - Phantom of the Opera (a show i despise, but the Vegas production's staging is astounding) and Les Miserables being two great examples of this.  I believe back in it's day Miss Saigon was another.  Enjoy.

Review: Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Woody Allen's latest is a fiery and sexy film about love and lust with a stellar cast more than suited for Allen's classic neurotic, smart, sophisticated, intelligent and distinctively adult dialogue.  Barcelona provides a seductive backdrop for this tale mixed with bohemian free love and more uptight New York sensibilities.  It's a film that dives deep into the spirit of love and sex and what it means to follow your hearts desires.  Love isn't sensible in any way and Allen's script illustrates this perfectly by portraying two completely different leading ladies who both fall for the same man.  This man happens to be Juan Antonio, a passionate painter who propositions Vicky and Cristina (childhood friends) to a weekend of food, wine, sights and sex in a neighboring Spanish island.  From there the two women's life styles clash with one another and their surroundings as they begin to fall in love with this wild and sexy bohemian spirit. 

What makes this set-up so interesting is that the casting is so pitch perfect.  Vicky, portrayed by Rebecca Hall, plays the uptight neurotic New York woman.  She's intelligent and stuffy and at times you have a feeling that she is playing the Woody Allen role in the film.  It's refreshing seeing this role go to a woman instead of a man and it shows that Allen's neuroses are pretty universal and are not defined by sex or gender.  Hall gives the role some nuances that are missing from most "Allen" roles, especially in the second half of the film when her heart is pulled by both what she knows is right and what she knows could lead to disaster. Cristina is played by Allen's latest muse, Scarlett Johansson.  In Allen's past films I felt he never really knew how to use Johansson appropriately.  In Match Point (a film I loved) she was used as the sex pot, but with her manish voice and slightly typical looks it was a strange choice.  In the end you bought into it because there is something remarkably different about Johanson when compared to most other women working in film today.  In Scoop she was supposed to be plucky and comic, but the film suffered due to her unconvincing performance.  But here as the would be free spirit with conflicting emotions, she works quite well.  Cristina doesn't know what she wants out of life and simply goes wherever the wind takes her and then later quickly discovers she may have made a mistake. She is the perfect catalyst to explore the films central conflict, which is between Juan Antonio and his ex-wife...

Javier Bardem is PERFECTLY cast as the painter Juan Antonio with the broken heart and misguided notions about love.  In fact, I have never seen Bardem be so charismatic and lighthearted as he is here.  It's just such a relaxed and, here comes that word again, SEXY performance.  Sitting in the theater I couldn't help but fall in love with Juan Antonio myself.  But it is his ex-wife played to perfection by Penelope Cruz who pulls the rug out from under everyone.  Cruz is on fire as the passionate, yet crazed ex-wife who is still very much in love with her ex-husband.  I have always thought Cruz was an actress with potential who has just never quite gotten there, but here she really makes it work.  From her first scene to her last you can see the layers of vulnerability going on with this character and the intense passion that lies beneath her weathered exterior.  It's a great performance and it comes in at just the right point in the film when things start to slow down a bit to throw some much needed spice into the mix.

The film is expertly photographed Javier Aguirresarobe who makes the city of Barcelona a character within the film inhabiting almost every single frame.  Allen always manages to work with some of the best foreign cinematographers and Barcelona is no exception.  Combine this with Allen's best and most insightful script since Hannah and Her Sisters and his own sure-fired direction - what you have is one of the best films of the year.  

Much has been said about how in recent films Allen has lost his way as a filmmaker.  My response to this is that Allen never lost his way... in fact I believe we have lost ours.  Allen has always been a classic filmmaker inspired by foreign directors such as Godard and Bergman and his filmmaking style has reflected that.  He has always written adult scripts with high-brow dialogue and an old fashioned sense of narrative.  And we as an audience were always willing to accept this all the way through his 1980's work.  But once we got to the 90's audience patience for Allen's sense of comedy and the way he wanted to tell a story began to wane.  Now in the 2000's we have almost no patience for it at all.  We are so used to high concept, little substance Hollywood types of films that we cannot even begin to comprehend a film that relies so much on people simply talking.  And there is a lot of dialogue in most of Allen's films.  Allen matured as a filmmaker throughout the 70's and 80's, but once he hit the 90's he found his style and voice and he hasn't deterred from it's since and we have grown tired of it.  But Allen's filmmaking is so pure and simple it reminds one of how movies used to be made and what movies used to be about - story and character.  We as moviegoers have largely forgotten about these two things instead focusing on flashy camera moves, big special effects, sex and violence to carry us through.  I'm not defending all of Allen's films, but if you look at his filmography of late I would say his work in the 2000's is on par with what he did in the 90's.  Think about it, in the 90's he gave us Bullets Over Broadway and Husbands and Wives.  Two of his best films.  He also gave us Manhattan Murder Mystery and Mighty Aphrodite, which is on par with Small Time Crooks and Hollywood Ending form this decade. Critics tend to be unfairly cruel to Allen when he makes a movie these days.  But he makes one film a year and sometimes even two.  Not all of them are going to be masterpieces... but look at the masterpieces he has given us - Annie Hall, Manhattan, Broadway Danny Rose, Hannah and Her Sisters, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Bullets Over Broadway, and Husbands and Wives.  Now look at the GREAT movies he has given us - Sleeper, Interiors, Zelig, Radio Days, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Deconstructing Harry, Sweet and Lowdown, Match Point and now Vicky Cristina Barcelona.  Any director would kill to have that many good films in his/her filmography.  So in short, lay off Woody Allen people. The man deserves respect as an artist.  And go see Vicky Cristina Barcelona.  One of the best films of the year.

Song of the Day: Some Enchanted Evening

Back in March when I was in New York the revival of South Pacific was in previews and I was dying to catch it.  Unfortunately it was already sold out way past opening night.  I had a feeling this thing would be an enormous hit with critics and audiences especially since it hadn't been seen on Broadway in decades.  I have never been a huge fan of South Pacific, but it's score is probably one of the most iconic ever put on a Broadway stage.  Here we have the gorgeous Kelli O'Hara and renowned opera singer Paulo Szot singing the most famous song form the show - Some Enchanted Evening.  Enjoy

Note of Interest: There were rumors circling that a revival of My Fair Lady would be hitting Broadway sometime in the near future with Kelli O'Hara in the lead. Now that is a production I would LOVE to see.

MAKE IT STOP!!!!

The studio is now going to be releasing Mamma Mia sing alongs to theaters.  This insanity has to stop.  Mamma Mia is perhaps the poorest excuse for a movie musical since the release of The Producers remake.  But it's worse than that.  Almost all of the acting is cringe worthy (including the great Meryl Streep, the choreography is childlike (I'm no dancer and I could have done that shit in my sleep), the script is horribly cliche, ABBA's songs barely fit into any kind of plot within the film and often times are there just to have another song, Pierce Brosnan sounds like he's dying when he sings, the ending is beyond ludicrous, and for the first time ever during a musical I just wanted everyone to shut the hell up before my ears started to bleed. This is a bad bad movie and the last thing we need is a sing along version.  You know why this is selling tickets?  Because old folks love ABBA and Meryl Streep.  The two together are golden to them.  You know what? I dont give a shit.  This is a big step backwards for movie musicals.  If you all miss ABBA so much release a concert of them.  Get a reunion going, film it and release it.  But please spare us musical lovers from complete shit like this.  I'm begging you studio heads. PLEASE!

Song of the Day: War is a Science

I just got done doing a production of Pippin back in April, with a sort of repeat concert excerpt in May.  It was a great experience and probably the most fun I have ever had doing a musical.  I played King Charles and after watching this video from a recorded production of Bob Fosse's Pippin I am extremely grateful that I didn't watch it in advance.  I clearly had a very different take on the character than what was originally designed and I'm glad my director allowed me to go there.  Pippin isn't a great musical by any means, but it's a fun one and a ball for character actors like me to sink their teeth into.  Enjoy.

Note of Interest: I'm playing with the idea of posting some clips of my work up here on this site, which would probably include this role.  We'll see how it goes.

Song of the Day: I Am Changing

When Dreamgirls came out a couple years a go I was pretty impressed with the film.  I thought it had an exceptional cast (minus Jaime Foxx), solid direction, inspired choreography, and beautiful orchestrations of the now infamous songs.  But the best thing about it was probably the fact that it wasn't scared of being a real movie musical, silliness and all.  I never really jumped on the Jennifer Hudson bandwagon.  I thought she was extremely affective in all of her singing scenes, but her straight acting scenes fell a little flat.  It didn't matter though and it still doesn't.  Effie is primarily a scene stealing role through song.  It's a showcase for a great singer and Jennifer Hudson is a great singer.  I had said long before the film ever came out that whoever played that role would end up winning the Oscar.  And I was right.  But for all the noise made about Effie's signature number And I Am Tellin' You, I personally thought that I Am Changing was the real star making number for miss Hudson.  She performs it impeccably and it is my favorite moment in the movie.  Enjoy.

Note of Interest: Personally for me the real star of Dreamgirls was Eddie Murphy in the role that should have won him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that instead went to Allen Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine.  If you want to see the original Effie, Jennifer Holiday, singing I Am Changing click here.  This woman is such a parody of herself now.  It's kinda sad.

Song of the Day: Bitch of Living

It's time for another bad song.  I've been too kind lately by posting really good stuff.  So, now I'm posting crap.  Well at least I think it is, but I am in the extreme minority on this one.   I can't stand this show.  I think the concept is interesting, but poorly executed and completely inconsistent.  The lyrics can at times be poetic and at other times completely amateurish.  And don't even get me started about the shows supposed "choreography" that managed to win a TONY.  I think people of my generation love the show because of how hip it is trying to be and because it fuels teen angst.  And don't you know thats what sells these days.  Enjoy...

blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.  blah blah blah blah blah.... jesus i love these lyrics!

Dark Knight Celebration

In July I posted the Joker Interrogation scene video from The Dark Knight, but it got pulled from youtube hours later.  I've been searching all over the net to find the scene as it is my favorite in the film.  And today, I FOUND IT!  So, since I'm sure we are all celebrating The Dark Knight becoming the second highest grossing film of all time today I will post the video.  Enjoy.  Hopefully it doesn't get pulled again.

The Films I Love: Dick Tracy

I first remember seeing Dick Tracy back in 1990 when I was five years old.  At the time I loved the film for it's bright colors, flashiness, fun and weirdly grotesque characters, well staged action scenes, and Madonna was in it.  It was a great comic action film that was far more lighthearted than Batman, which had come out the year before.  It was also a film that I could watch with my parents and they would enjoy it as well, but for different reasons.  One of the biggest reasons for their enjoyment of the picture was Al Pacino and Warren Beatty - two stars of the screen that my parents had grown up with and admired for some time.  It wouldn't be till years later that I would discover all the great work that these two actors and sometimes filmmakers had done.  In a way Dick Tracy was a sort of introduction to them for me.  It was also an introduction into the world of comic filmmaking.  Now when I look at Dick Tracy I see it through different eyes than when I was a child, but one thing still remains the same - I love this film.

I remember a few years ago when Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's Sin City came out. Everyone praised the film for being the first to actually look like the comic it was based off of.  Oh how short term everyone's memories must be.  If Dick Tracy features no other cinematic highlight (it has many), one cannot deny that it looks exactly like the comic from which it is based.  The art direction, production design,  costume design, and make-up design are all painstakingly recreated from the comic and given a hyper-stylized cinematic depiction on the screen.  The world that director Warren Beatty creates was unique at the time because it adhered to the groundwork laid out by the comic, but Beatty was able to combine that vision with his own and paint Dick Tracy on a very large canvas.  In this respect the film is extremely ambitious in every artistic detail and as a result it received multiple Academy Award nominations for it technical crew.  Sin City may look exactly like it's comic predecessor, but that is also what keeps the film down.  The directors have no room for cinematic interpretation, Warren Beatty had plenty.

Dick Tracy sports an eclectic cast of characters that are all in some way a bit deformed and wild looking.  You have Lips, Flattop, Prune Face, Little Face etc. and all of them are delightfully silly while also disturbingly scary.  But there are also "normal" characters for the audience to connect with including "the kid" and Dick Tracy himself.  Warren Beatty is perfectly cast (directing himself) as Dick Tracy because of his iconic status as a movie star, but also because of his dead-pan everyman appeal. He is the rock in the film for the audience to fall back on and gives a nice counter balance between all the wild villains and general wackiness happening within the world of the film.  Dick Tracy also has the classic temptress role given over to Madonna in what is probably one of her most memorable screen performances.  That's not exactly because her acting is great, in fact much of the time it leaves something to be desired since everyone around her is so skilled.  She is memorable because of the songs that she is given to sing and because of the seductive costumes and warm lighting that Beatty bathes her in, not to mention her last act twist that gives her character a whole new edge.  It's one of the few times where Madonna was appropriately used in a movie and to generally great affect.

Speaking of songs, one of the things that I have grown to admire about the film the older I get is it's use of music.  Stephen Sondheim was brought onto the project to write various numbers for the club scenes in Dick Tracy, most of which were to be sung by Madonna (He had previously written the score for Beatty's Oscar winning REDS).  But Beatty isn't content by keeping these songs in the background.  Instead he weaves them in and out of the entire picture and they very much become a character in and of themselves providing commentary on the actions and motivations of the characters and events.  It's a brilliant move by Beatty and it is completely unique to this comic movie.  As a result, Dick Tracy becomes a sort of comic action musical.  Sooner or Later, which is Madonna's big number in the film, won the Oscar for best song.  But for my money the best song in Dick Tracy is a duet between Mandy Patinkin and Madonna titled What Can You Lose?  It comes at a perfect spot when everything seems to be going to hell in Tracy's life and the story is coming to it's eventual climax.

And even after all the film's technical and musical achievements won me over, it was ultimately a performance that would make Dick Tracy unforgettable.  That performance comes from Al Pacino as Big Boy Caprice.  To me, this is the last great performance that Al Pacino ever gave.  It's silly and stylish, but hardly one note.  Big Boy is a villain that you love because how much of a moronic brute he is.  His interaction with Tracy and Madonna's character Breathless, is at times hysterically funny.  This film also marked the time when Pacino started using his now infamous screaming fits on screen. Looking at Dick Tracy now it seems that Pacino may be up to his usual shtick, but at the time it was fresh and memorable.  His performance along with Beatty's direction gave credibility to what could have easily been seen as a silly, but stylish comic action picture.  

Dick Tracy is not looked at as favorably as it was when it came out.  Many critics cited it as a unique vision and step forward for comic filmmaking.  Now in the wake of all the summer comic blockbusters in the past ten years, Tracy seems dated and old fashioned.  But I still look at Beatty's film as landmark in comic filmmaking and a unique adaptation of a comic story.  In fact, I would list it along side of the original Superman and the most recent Dark Knight as one of the best comic films ever made.  If you haven't seen Dick Tracy I would recommend giving it a look.  If you have seen it, but haven't looked at it in a few years then I would suggest you pick it back up.  It may just put a smile on your face and make you remember how blockbusters used to be a sort of cinematic art form and not just the moneymaking whores of the industry as they are today, minus The Dark Knight :)

Dick Tracy (1990)

Dir. Warren Beatty

105 min.

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Sound

Winner of 3 Academy Awards including Best Art Direction, Best Make-Up, and Best Original Song

The Dark Knight Becomes the 2nd Highest Grossing Film in History

It's official.  The Dark Knight has surpassed Star Wars to become the 2nd highest grossing domestic film of all time.  The question now remains how much more money can The Dark Knight make?  Can it break Titanic's box office all time dominance, or come in just below?  Right now I'm thinking it's going to come in just below Titanic, but don't count The Dark Knight out.  It has already broken almost every other record set before it.  After four straight weeks atop the Box Office it has finally fallen to the number two spot with Tropic Thunder reigning supreme this weekend.  What's really ironic is that the same weekend that The Dark Knight outgrosses Star Wars to become the second highest grossing film, it also comes out on top of the new Star Wars animated film at the box office.  Oh, how Lucas must be hating Christopher Nolan at the moment. Bravo! Dark Knight.  And keep on truckin'. 

Song of the Day: What Can You Lose?/Not a Day Goes By

Today's song of the day is a bit of a hybrid.  It's two Sondheim songs arranged together and sung by the beautiful Audra McDonald.  The first song is What Can You Lose? from the film Dick Tracy, which Sondheim wrote a few songs for.  The second is from Merrily We Roll Along, which is one of Sondheim's biggest musical flops, but the score is pretty well loved.  It's a powerful combination of songs and one of them just happens to tie in to my Films I love articles, which will be updated today.  Enjoy.

Song of the Day: Finishing the Hat

To counter yesterday's song of the day I am posting what is probably the greatest song that Sondheim ever wrote and the reason for that is because of how personal it is.  Finishing the Hat is from Sunday in the Park with George, which just received an outstanding revival treatment this past season from the Roundabout Theater Company.  It's a show about art and artists and how difficult that life can be.  It's an inspiring show to many a musical theater fan because it touches our heart and makes us look at our dreams and aspirations realistically while telling us to continue chasing them.  I cannot think of another piece of work in any medium that has captured the joys, triumphs, and heartbreaks of being an artist of any kind so vividly.  I've yet to meet a true artist of the musical stage who doesn't list Sunday as one of the greatest shows ever written.  Finishing the Hat is the ultimate embodiment of what Sunday is all about.  Sondheim lost the Tony for score to Jerry Herman for La Cage Aux Folles, but it was more than made up to him when Sunday won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.   I'm posting two versions below.  The first is the original George from Sunday - Mandy Patinkin and the second is from the revival version of the show starring Daniel Evans.  Both were nominated for their performances but walked away empty handed.  A shame really as they are both brilliant.  Enjoy

Note of Interest:  the head of my department at Columbia College is Sheldon Patinkin who just happens to be Mandy's cousin... pretty cool huh?

Song of the Day: I Am What I Am

I'm posting this at 1235 in the morning because I wont be around all day on Friday to post much of anything.  Today's song is I Am What I Am from the musical La Cage Aux Folles by musical stylist Jerry Herman.  This became a sort of gay anthem in the 80's during the AIDS crisis.  It's a poignant song that is inspiring without being trite (which is an accomplishment considering its Herman).  Jerry Herman is a composer of simple tastes, but he also wrote some of the most memorable and well loved Broadway scores of all time.  Here he has the great George Hearn helping his music along.  Enjoy.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince DELAYED

Yep, thats right.  The geniuses over at Warner Brother have decided to delay the film until July of next year... and their reasoning?  I'll let them tell you in their own words.

"Our reasons for shifting 'Half-Blood Prince' to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment. Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers' strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films-changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of. We agreed the best strategy was to move 'Half-Blood Prince' to July, where it perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer."

"The release date change does not alter the production schedule for this or future Harry Potter films. Post-production on 'Half-Blood Prince' was completed on time, and the studio's release plans for the two-part 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' will not be affected by this change. We know Harry Potter fans are eagerly anticipating seeing the final chapters unfold onscreen. In fact, the good news for them is that the gap will now be shortened between 'Half-Blood Prince' and the first part of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.'"

So basically what they are telling us is that the film is basically done and that they are not moving it to improve the picture, but instead so they can make more money... ARE THEY FUCKING KIDDING????? This movie would have made plenty of money in November.  Hell they could release it in January and the film would still make hundreds of millions of dollars. Basically this is a move to bring the film's release date closer to that of the final part of the series so the wait isn't so long... and to make some extra cash since it will be summer time... like they need it.  To me, this is just a bad idea.  Releasing Half Blood Prince this year would have ensured that people would be eagerly awaiting the final installment (or two since its being split in half) of the series.  Now with the film moved to 2009, a full two years after the release of the final book, excitement may start to wain... Now I know that these books and these films are a phenomenon, but now that the book series is over many fans have moved on to greener pastures, which include the new obsession with the Twilight vampire book series.  Franchises like this come and go, and many may say that Harry Potter is forever and they might be right. But in the end Warner may end up losing a bit of money.  I hope they use this opportunity to make the Half Blood Prince better.  They have a full extra 8 months.  Re-shoot some shit, make the fx better, spend a long hard time on editing decisions.  In short, make this worth while for the fans... because if this film comes out and it doesn't live up to the hype, people are going to be pissed.  Do be greedy Warners just because The Dark Knight became much bigger of a hit for you than you originally thought.  Do the right thing and make this a great movie.

Review: Tropic Thunder

Ben Stiller's new comedy is at times a scathing satire on the Hollywood Movie Industry, at times a vulgar laced gross out comedy, and at other times a politically incorrect commentary, but it is always, if nothing else, ambitious.  In fact, Tropic Thunder is probably the most ambitious comedy to come out of Hollywood in a very long time.  I'm actually pretty amazed that the studio had the balls to release it un-cut considering it rips Hollywood to shreds while managing to offend African Americans, mentally and physically handicapped people, not to mention veterans and Asians. But Tropic Thunder pushes the audience's buttons for a reason - it wants us all to see how ridiculous movie stars, directors, producers, agents, studios, and even the people who pay to go see the movies really are.  Gays, mentally handicapped (or retards as the film so lovingly refers to them), and African Americans are all food for fodder because of how sensitive we always treat these issues and how Hollywood continuously exploits them, consciously or not.  Tropic Thunder doesn't always work, but when it does it's hilariously insightful.  At the midnight screening I went to there were some people getting upset by the films racier material... they clearly were missing the point.  Tropic Thunder is not your typical Hollywood comedy, it's a satire of everything we love and hate about the Industry.

What makes much of Tropic Thunder special is that nobody is trying to steal anyone else's thunder (forgive me).  The cast works especially well as an ensemble, which is hard to believe given the in your face talent involved here including Ben Stiller (the king of camera mugging), Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. (who can steal a movie from almost anyone), Mathew McConaughey, Steve Coogan, Nick Nolte, and last but not least Tom Cruise.  Yes, you read that right... Tom Cruise.  And what is most surprising is that Tom Cruise ALMOST runs away with the whole movie.  He is genuinely funny and terrifying in his role as a Hollywood executive hidden away in his bunker making and breaking deals.  I've always been a fan of Tom Cruise and what makes this performance so memorable is how he (for the first time in a while) isn't taking himself seriously.  He completely lets go and inhabits this disgusting character and plays against his Hollywood image.  It's the best thing he has done in years and his screen time is just enough that it does not become overbearing.  If the movie had been bad I would have said it was worth it just to see him in this against type extended cameo... but the movie is pretty great.  

The performance everyone has been talking about is Robert Downey Jr. as Kirk Lazarus, an Aussie method actor who undergoes pigmentation surgery in order to play an African American.  You can believe the hype on this one folks. Downey is as funny as everyone has been saying and he does marvelous things with this controversial and juicy character.  What makes him avoid being a complete caricature is that Lazarus the actor is compelling and it's not that far of a stretch to see someone going to this kind of extreme for a role.  Method actors are praised for their ethic and this film satirizes the kind of love and adoration we bestow upon them.  If you really look deep down at what it is they are doing... it's pretty ridiculous and Downey exhibits this aspect of the character perfectly.  There are great moments when he himself reflects on the fact that he doesn't know why he is still in character.  He does it because he's always done it.  But what makes the performance even funnier is that this supposed great actor, Lazarus, clearly hasn't done any of his homework and instead relies on stereotypes to play an African American.  It's really funny stuff and Downey shines in the role.  He is having one hell of a year with this and Iron Man.  He still has the Soloist coming up toward years end.  I think Heath Ledger has met his biggest competition when it comes Oscar time...

Not everything in Tropic Thunder works despite the great comedic performances.  The humor here is all over the place and some of it just comes off as sophomoric.  Stiller's stint in the jungle by himself is hampered by the actors usual bag of tricks which are very been there done that.  Some of the supporting players over do it and chew through their dialogue rather than just deliver it.  Mathew McConaughey's character in theory is funny and even perhaps on the page, but on screen it just doesn't work as well as it should.  Though his casting is pretty inspired and right on the money.  And the films climax is chaotic and clunky.  But even in the moments when I wasn't really digging what was going on I still couldn't hold it against the film.  Tropic Thunder is wildly ambitious and because of that it is infectious on its audience.  You just cant help but be awed by how audacious it really is.  There were several times when I stared at the screen and thought to myself..."did they really just go there?"  Tropic Thunder "goes there" several times throughout its two hour run time and it is well worth a trip to see it.

Song of the Day: Beauty and the Beast

And continuing with my Angela Lansbury obsession - today we have the title song from the hit movie and the eventual hit Broadway Musical, Beauty and the Beast.  The movie is probably still my favorite animated film of all time.  It's a beautiful piece of work and perhaps the last great disney musical film.  Alan Menken's score is probably his best and most accomplished.  But it was Lansbury as Mrs. Potts who stole my heart away when I was a kid and still does to this day.  She brings tears of joy to my face when I hear this.  Enjoy.

Note of Interest:  If you wanna read a really great piece on the Disney film head on over to Hayden's blog where he has his weekly Thursday Top 50 Series.   You won't be disappointed.

Song of the Day: Everything's Coming Up Roses

To continue onward with my Gypsy obsession I've decided to post yet another song from the show.  This time its Patti Lupone's Tony Award performance of the Act I closing number - Everything's Coming Up Roses.  The performance speaks for itself.  This was definitely the point during the show, when I saw it, that she had me convinced.  Enjoy.

Preview: Tropic Thunder

One of the funniest and most ambitious comedies I have seen in a long time.  Review coming tomorrow.  Here's a clip.

Song of the Day: By the Sea

For anyone who knows me it's not surprise that Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is my favorite musical of all time.  I've already posted one song from Sweeney Todd as a song of the day and you can probably expect more... but I'll try to keep it to a minimum.  What inspired me to post this was my love for Angela Lansbury.  She is an amazing Broadway actress who doesn't get nearly enough respect anymore because everyone always thinks of her in Murder She Wrote.  Well I hate to tell you people, but Lansbury is a multiple Tony winner (including winning for this role as Mrs. Lovett) and also has a few Oscar nominations under her resume as well.  She is an extremely well-rounded performer and I wish she act again.  She's getting old, but I saw her at the opening night of Gypsy this past spring and she looked stunning.  Today's song is By the Sea - one of the few comedic numbers in Sweeney Todd and one of the most impossible to sing, but Lansbury makes it all look so easy.  Enjoy.

Note of Interest: Yesterday's song of the day was Rose's Turn from Gypsy.  Lansbury also played the part of Momma Rose back in the day and managed to win a Tony for it.  There are some clips of her performing the part on youtube.  Take a look.  You won't be disappointed.

Song of the Day: Rose's Turn

This is getting up here pretty late today, but oh well I was at work.  Today's song is Rose's Turn from the legendary musical Gypsy, which is now enjoying another successful revival on Broadway starring Patti LuPone.  I got to see the current revival opening night to a packed house and it was a breathtaking experience.  LuPone's performance as Mamma Rose is one for the history books as she completely dominates this role and the stage.  But she is also a gracious performer and for the first time ever in a production of Gypsy the roles of Herbie, played by Boyd Gaines,  and Gypsy Rose Lee herself, played by Laura Benanti, are able to blossom on stage.  As a result, all three of the leading players work in perfect harmony and each of them has a Tony Award to prove it.  Gypsy is probably one of the most perfect pieces of musical theater ever put on the stage with a fantastic book by Arthur Laurents, lyrics by God himself - Mr. Stephen Sondheim and music by Julie Stein.  The current revival is directed by Arthur Laurents and if any of you are in New York while it's playing, please make sure you see it.  I am including two clips below.  The first is from the current production starring LuPone and the second is from the 2003 Revival starring Bernadette Peters.  I'm including them both because of how unique the performances are.  They both play Rose's final number on stage drastically different, but both are fascinating to watch and have a similar affect on the audience.  While LuPone's version is a complete psychotic breakdown on stage, Peters's performance is more emotional, hesitant, and introverted.  Both ladies are true divas of the stage.  I prefer LuPone's overall arch to her character in the show and in this number, but there is something about Peters that makes this number really special.  Enjoy.

Note of Interest:  Out of all the women to play this part on Broadway (and there have been MANY) Bernadette Peters and the original Mamma Rose, Ethel Merman, are the only ones to not win the Tony for Best Actress.  Even Tyne Daily, who can barely sing the role, won a Tony for the part... and many would argue Merman and Peters were two of the best.  My vote still goes for LuPone.

Review: Pineapple Express

Judd Apatow and his gang of comedic misfits have revolutionized the comedy genre within the past few years bringing out such instant classics as 40 Year old Virgin, Knocked Up, and most notably, the comedy that spoke to a new generation of film goers, Super Bad.  And while Pineapple Express contains some of the same charm and clever vulgar dialogue of the teams past productions it lacks cohesiveness and suffers from a much longer run time than needed.  Part of the blessing and the problem with Pineapple Express is director David Gordon Green.  He is a director of small independent dramas such as George Washington and All the Real Girls which have been instant hits with critics.  By bringing him onto this stoner buddy comedy the film gains a touch of class and at times realism.  But Green doesn't know how to counterbalance the stoner comedy aspect with the more outrageous elements in the film and with the constant switch back and forth from realistic situations to pure ridiculousness, it gets hard to handle.  The problem isn'tthat Green isn't a talented director, the problem is this is his first foray into this type of film and you can feel him floundering a bit.  He lets takes run on too long and lets the boys on screen indulge a bit too much in their high as a kite antics.  What he does do surprisingly well for someone who has no experience in this area is stage hilariously violent and over the top action sequences.  I'm assuming he either had an expert DP who knew how to shoot this shit on the set, or he spent a long hard time doing some studying and drawing up lots of storyboards (further investigation shows that the DP was Tim Orr who also has little to no experience shooting action).  But the action never feels staged, until the ending violent fight scene, in fact much of the time it feels sporadic and chaotic which only adds to the hilarity. 

Seth Rogen is a great comedic actor and though his work here is not half as honest as it was in Knocked Up, he is still able to make even the most outrageous situation seem plausible.  He's a great comic everyday guy and he is someone that is easy to relate to, plus his verbal skills onscreen always come through.  He's a lovable stoner, plain and simple.  The other leading man in the film is James Franco as the drug dealing Saul. Franco is a mixed bag in the film.   At times he is spot on with his characterization of a constantly high dope dealer.  But other times he gets a little self indulgent and that's when the picture starts to sag is when we have to sit through countless pot influenced conversations and antics that really lead nowhere.  It easily could have been a much more streamlined and cohesive picture if a good ten to fifteen minutes of unnecessary pot influenced scenes could have been taken out.  I'm sure pot lovers wont mind it much, but for an everyday audience member it gets old. I'm around pot smokers all the time and if I grow tired of them in real life, god knows I'm not going to be able to sit in a theater watching them act like retards when there is a plot I want to get to.  

And that's the other thing with Pineapple Express... there really isn't much plot which is why the film is filled with so much fluff.  It's essentially a chase picture with some interesting side characters.  But really that's all fine because it is an entertaining chase picture.  There are sequences in this film that had me laughing harder than perhaps I ever have, but then there were also scenes in equal measure that just had me shaking my head.  Pineapple Express is an uneven film, but it is funnier than almost anything else to come out this year and it is a welcome distraction after the heaviness that was The Dark Knight.  I recommend the film, but with some reservations.  This is definitely on the lower end of the Apatow comedy group's films, but it still worth a look if you need a good hearty laugh or two... or ten.

Song of the Day: Revolutionary Costume for Today

Today's song of the day comes from Grey Gardens, which is probably one of the best Broadway scores to come out in years.  Christine Ebersol apparently gave the performance of a lifetime in this musical adaptation of the cult 70's documentary.  I would have killed to see this on Broadway... listening to my cast album will have to suffice.  This is a great and hilarious song and it comes from her performance at the Drama Desk Awards.  Enjoy.