Even with I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry coming in first with over $30-Million once again proving that Adam Sandler really can open any movie simply by his presence, I didn't let this weekend get me down. In fact, it was one of productivity (albeit not enough) and punishment (although, not really). I deliberately chose to stay home virtually the entire time -- including skipping Saturday's Siren Festival at Coney Island. (Kalefa Sanneh's piece in today's NY Times sounds like I didn't miss much, but he also didn't mention the two bands I actually wanted to see the most -- Elvis Perkins in Dearland and The Detroit Cobras.
I did, however, get a bunch of little things done around the apartment -- especially a chunk of very necessary desk organization -- while simultaneously catching-up on a ton of TV from my ever-bursting DiVo. Now, what that means, is many little things bouncing around in my continuously-softening brain, so it's time to release at least some of them:
Hairspray came in a more-than-respectable third in the box office this weekend with an estimated $27-Million-plus, giving it the highest opening for a movie musical. I'm glad that people are seeing it, and I'm guessing that they're enjoying it. That makes me happy. Just like the film.
- Speaking of Hairspray, producers Neil Meron and Craig Zadan and star Nikki Blonsky appeared on AMC's Sunday Morning Shootout (about which I ranted a bit last September). The show is still pretty awful simply because neither Peter is any good on camera, yet I watch it somewhat regularly just because occasionally the content is interesting. Anyway, Peter Bart (I think) asked them about the resurgence of movie musicals but also why most in recent memory haven't really done well even though they came from big Broadway successes -- e.g., The Producers, Rent and Phantom of the Opera. Diplomatically enough, neither Meron nor Zadan said the most basic reason all three flopped: because they were all terrible. They did make a really interesting point which goes to explain why Chicago was successful and Hairspray should be as well: they try to produce adaptations that are re-imaginations of the shows rather than recreations of the Broadway experience. Rightly so! They're different mediums and need to be approached that way.
Speaking further about Sunday Morning Shootout, the show started with a discussion between the two Peters and Anne Thompson of Variety about bloggers, the internet and how both are affecting entertainment journalism overall. Bart managed to criticize most bloggers before pulling back and also stating that lots of us do produce good work and even professional style entertainment journalism. They're main gripe was how so much "news" is floated before any of it is ever confirmed. I don't have a problem with Bart criticizing online journalists and bloggers, pulling to some degree the same argument lots of "professional" media like to claim to maintain a feeling or air of superiority, but Peter, if you're going to do that, please stop having your own publication send out "Breaking News" alerts that are simply notices that you've posted a new column with nothing but your same old opinions? Thanks.
I love Chelsea Handler. I don't really need to say much more than that (but I will at some other point (including when I finally talk about On the Lot). Her new late-night talk show -- kind of an entertainment/pop culture-oriented Real Time with Bill Maher -- is, so far, fantastic.
I also can't turn away from VH-1's Rock of Love, although I'm sure it's more dangerous to one's lifespan than smoking. Who thought a show could have even more skanky ho's than Flavor of Love. Good on you, Casting department. Finding the next cast for Charm School should be a breeze now.
On the other hand, Scott Baio is 45 ... and Single is a total snoozefest. There's too much obvious situational set-up; Baio isn't utterly psychotic like Danny Bonaduce; and his little group of friends are (inexplicably) trying to hard to look like a bunch of 40s Friars Club/Catskills-in-the-Summer/Borscht Belt comedians. Enough with the cigars. Especially on the gold course. And the inflection. Oy.
I'm finally all caught-up with Rescue Me. I'm really disappointed in myself that I didn't latch-on to this show sooner. It's really terrific.
Also terrific: the new series Burn Notice on USA. First of all, any show with Bruce Campbell in the cast automatically deserves attention, and he's great as usual. Add the still gorgeous Gabrielle Anwar as a trigger-happy ex-spy ex-girlfriend and Sharon Gless as a pushy, cranky mother, and you've got a great supporting cast at work. (In one episode, Campbell introduces himself and Anwar to two young wanna-be-con men as "Cagney & Lacey"! Tongue firmly in cheek.) And Jeffrey Donovan very capably carries the rest of the show on his shoulders. But what is really great is this series doing very well what television is supposed to do: namely, create a season-long intrigue that is moving forward a little bit every episode while also producing a singular story with a complete beginning, middle and end within each episode. It's a formula that is increasingly lost even in some of the best shows on TV.
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