unsolicited criticism
Another Musical
Isa told me that her friend invited her to see him perform in a musical. I said sure, get the time and place, and we’ll be there. Sunday rolled around and we trekked out to the valley to see the show. As luck would have it, I was treated to yet another all-white performance of […]
The Millionaire Matchmaker
There’s a new show on Bravo about a dating service for rich men. I’ve checked it out a couple times, and it’s pretty watchable. Patti, the matchmaker, isn’t content to just set people up, she needs to fundamentally change the flawed millionaires, bringing in teams of experts, as necessary. She’s personally offended when these men […]
Knocked Up versus Superbad
I met Judd Apatow in 1997. I’d just written a script that he liked and ultimately helped me set up. The studio didn’t meet his terms as a producer, so he ended up backing out of the deal, but he didn’t do anything to screw it up for me. He was a class act. At […]
A Night at the Movies
Last night Bernie and I went out to the movies. I’m happier watching screeners here, but Bernie sometimes likes to go out, so we left Isa with the babysitter and off we went. The theatre was fine. The floors had just been mopped, the screen was large and clean, and there was no chewed gum […]
"Friday Night Lights"
Everyone is always telling me to see this show. “You have to see Friday Night Lights. You’ve never seen Friday Night Lights?” They said it was a little jewel, and I believed them. Friday night, I watched for twenty minutes. Here is what I saw: Boys squaring off in fights. Men menacing boys. Men protecting […]
Sitcom Scenes I Hate to Write, Part One
There are certain set-ups that don’t lead to anything good. “Box canyons,” writer Don Reo used to call them. “We’re in a box canyon!” Best you can do is get out. I carry with me a mental checklist of such scenes. Sometimes the set-ups themselves are inherently flawed. Sometimes it is possible to fashion a […]
Zeroville by Steve Erickson
Steve Erickson is a writer who lives in Topanga Canyon and has a huge cult following. His latest book has a main character who’s obsessed with film. The book itself has more interesting ideas about movies than I’ve read in years. Everyone has something to say about movies. Steve Erickson will happily sacrifice a character […]
Schlolastic News
While out stumping for her mother the other day, Chelsea Clinton refused to answer a nine-year old Scholastic News reporter’s question. I don’t really have an opinion either way on that, but I’m really glad Scholastic News has been brought up. Isa brings that drivel home weekly, and I’m shocked that teachers think it’s an […]
Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol
This is my favorite version of the Dickens classic, songs by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill, featuring the voice of Jim Backus. There’s supposed to be a framing device with Mr. Magoo getting ready for the show–but it was sometimes cut to make room for more commercials. Too bad, if that’s the case. This bit […]
The first ten minutes
It’s good to know that the first ten minutes of Juno will be trying. I don’t go to the movies that often, and the Spectrum usually has as many as four or five films of potential interest. When I go, I take note of the starting times, which tend to be staggered by ten minutes. […]
Jack Silbert, curator