So…here’s the thing…we don’t have cable, or ‘regular’ tv, we have a bunch of streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, just to name a few, and PSM gives me grief because I also like YouTube.
There are shows we watch together on Netflix, Hulu, Paramount+, and Peacock, there are things we watch separately, there are things we watch together on Plex, but for some reason, I still like to watch clips, movies, and tv shows that I can only find on YouTube, I can’t help it!
For example, just before I started talking to you, I was watching a series I like on YouTube, but now…when we finish talking, I am going to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race on Paramount+. But… there are things you just can’t find on the other streaming services, so I look to YouTube. Also…YouTube has shorts, or mini series, some of the same content you find on TikTok, it crosses over, but I don’t have to deal with TikTok.
I can also search for almost anything on YouTube and find it, or at least a snippet, you can’t do that with the other streaming services, not everything is there. Don’t forget the music, the videos, rare, out of date content, and sometimes I find some new and fun things. I created playlists to save things to for later. And admittedly, I have a lot of holiday movies saved on YouTube and I am not afraid to watch them throughout the year!
There, I’ve said it. I like YouTube and you can’t stop me!
I was saddened, yesterday, to learn of Carl Weather’s passing on Thursday, February 1st, he was 76 years old. There also isn’t a cause of death listed yet.
There were so many more projects he was a part of, those are the ones that spoke to me more than anything else. He could be serious, funny, charming, goofy, all while probably knocking your lights out!
One thing I learned while looking up Carl Weathers to talk about him to you is that he played one year in the NFL, as a linebacker for John Madden’s 1970 Oakland Raiders!
The tributes that were pouring in online were touching and sweet, just knowing him seemed to enrich people’s lives and although I didn’t know him outside of a screen, you really felt what he was trying to share and convey, and I think I would have liked to sit down with him and be treated to that amazing smile!
A great Apollo Creed line: Apollo Creed versus the Italian Stallion. Sounds like a damn monster movie.
And another: Stay in school and use your brain. Be a doctor, be a lawyer, carry a leather briefcase. Forget about sports as a profession. Sports make ya grunt and smell. See, be a thinker, not a stinker.
Pretty good advice if you ask me. And on that note, good nigh Carl Weathers.
Well, I can also say worth it, loved it, enjoyed it, great story, fun to watch, laughed, cried, felt all the feelings, and we want to know what happens next. Well…we sort of do, because there was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory [2005], and there was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory [1971] [A very good year, if I may add!] And now…Wonka [2023].
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder was or is the story of how Charlie wins a golden ticket to take a tour of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Then, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Jonny Depp is the same premise, but we get a glimpse into the man behind the chocolate and you get to see a little of his childhood and what made him who he is. Interestingly, this version, Wonka, staring Timothée Chalamet is more about how he got his start with dreams of opening a shop, with the help of some friends, and butts heads with the ‘chocolate cartel’. In Johnny Depp’s version, he had issues with his dad, Timothée Chalamet was very much loved by his mother. Hmmm…
We know Timothée Chalamet is Willie Wonka, and he was terrific, but the rest of the cast, oh my! Olivia Coleman as Mrs. Scrubitt, an evil and vile woman! She was fabulous and I love her no matter what she’s playing! Tom Davis was Bleacher, an equally repulsive character, I can’t say I’m very familiar with his work, but he was icky in this, so well done!
The ‘Chocolate Cartel’, fabulous idea and description, were played by Paterson Joseph as Slugworth, Matt Lucas as Prodnose, and Matthew Baynton as Fickelgruber. I love Matt Lucas, I’ve loved him since first seeing him in Little Britain! If you haven’t seen it, look for it, it’s a sketch comedy show staring Matt Lucas and David Walliams. I will tell you, it’s tough to watch sometimes, and you will either love it or not, not a middle of the road kind of thing, but I love it! Matthew Baynton, I love in Ghosts, the UK version, among other things.
Keegan-Michael Key played the cheif of police, he is a funny actor and I have enjoyed watching him since his days on Mad TV! Jim Carter played Abacus Crunch, fitting name for a number cruncher, I know, that’s the point! Many of you probably know him from Downton Abbey, but I’ve been a fan since Haunted Honeymoon! Rakhee Thakrar was charming as Lottie Bell, who worked for the phone company, and I have a feeling that won’t click for anyone younger than me! ha ha Calah Lane was charming as Noodle, one of the other main characters who becomes very close with Willie Wonka and helps give him purpose and to achieve his dreams.
Sally Hawkins was absolutely perfect as Willie’s mother, I have admired her work for a long time, but one of my favorite roles is the mother in Paddington, is she typecast in that role? Rowan Atkinson as the dirty priest, oh he was delightful in his wickedness! It’s still jarring to hear him speak, sometimes, even though, my first introduction to him was as the Blackadder, oh wow, takes me back! Hugh Grant as the Oompa-Loompa, Lofty! It was fun seeing some of the actors in Paddington in Wonka, and it helps a little that it was directed by the same person, Paul King, who was also one of the writers, could be why it had a not so unfamiliar feel.
Just like in the other movies, you honestly can’t tell where the movie is filmed, it feels like Europe, it feels like a city in the US, who knows. Some things made sense, some things didn’t, but isn’t that fantasy and the joy of not having a clue?! Slightly indicitive of all three movies, and I’m ok with it.
As we were watching the movie, it was a musical, and there were some great song and dance numbers, I was wondering if they would be making this into a Broadway musical, it definitely has the makings. It actually looked like it was backwards, that this had been made from a Broadway musical, not the other way around, I’m curious to see what happens! There was a great and catchy soundtrack, but…PSM and I were waiting on certain songs. They played some of the traditional songs as background, but not the full song. Oompa Loompa for one, but the big one…Pure Imagination PSM and I were holding our breath, as I said it was part of the soundtrack in the background, until towards the end, then we held hands, let out the deep breath we were holding and the tears started to flow. All good.
Overall, I can’t recommend this movie enough, it’s whimsical, hopeful, charming, cheeky, clever, sweet, inventive, smart, sounds like Willie Wonka himself…Enjoy!
Got up liesurely, it was about 7am, or a little before. I wasn’t quite prepared to get up and officially greet the day, so I decided it was time for a momm-puppy cuddle session, another good thing. I went downstairs and got the dogs out of the crate, tried to sneak past PSM, trying not to wake him!, and got them upstairs and on the bed.
We settled in and Bee did her thing of circling the bed and settling in and falling asleep almost before her head hit the bed, Ruby did the same, stretched out and proceeded to try to lick my arm clean, no thanks. We were snuggled in for about 2 hours, we cuddled, watch some tv, not even sure what we watched. I say we, but we know the truth, it was really the dogs in control!
Got up eventually, took them to Stover Dam Park for a walk, they absolutely love it there! I chose the wrong footware, go figure, I wore my Chucks, which was fine for most of the park, a few areas were a bit wet, mushy, muddy, and slightly puddley [I made that last one up!] It was a teensy bit chilly while we were there, about 31 out and it was supposed to snow at some point and as we were leaving, here come some flakes, not much though.
Back to the house, feed the dogs, grab our Java Journey mugs and off to Ancester Coffeehouse & Creperie, which happens to be attached to Schnitz Creek Brewery, different. We ordered the drink of the day for PSM, something waayyy too sweet for PSM, but he’s a trooper, did you see…it came with one of those hearts in the foam! and chai latte with oat milk for me. Yummy, not a lot of variation on the chai lattes, in terms of crazy taste, each one is a little different, but ultimately, I usually enjoy it.
I ordered a savory crepe, the Secret Garden, and PSM had a egg and sausage bagel. While we waited, we were chatting, I said hello to the little boy at the table behind us, and I liked his glasses. We started talking with the parents and all of a sudden, the dad says “PSM?” Go figure, they work together! That was fun! We chatted with them for a while, about work, the town they live in, the town we live in, and the Java Journey, how much fun things like this are.
Our food came, y u m! We will definitely go back! Well, actually…to get another stamp we have to go to their other location, not a bad thing! We chatted some more and as we were sitting there, the brewery was taking over the tables around us, they opened at 1130am, and guess what time it was. PSM said we could finish our food and drink and move straight to the brewery!
After the brewery, we realized we needed salad fixings for the week, motorcycle cleaner, and we were contemplating going to a movie, so we headed in that direction, stopped at the Grocery Outlet, one of our favorite grocery stores. They have a good selection, some interesting items, a decent vegan selection, and not very expensive, a win-win! After the grocery store, we decided to check another coffee shop off our list…Sydney Roasting Co.
Turns out, we don’t actually have to bring the mugs with us, as long as we have the passports, we are good to go. Good to know! We orderd a chai latte for me with almond milk for me and whatever frozen, overly sweet drink for PSM. I tried it and agreed for the first few sips, it tasted like coffee ice cream, which I used to love, but 4 sips in…coffee, no thank you! We hung out, enjoyed the atmosphere, added this place to the list of places we might come back to! Loving this whole Java Journey thing!
After finishing, well almost finishing, our drinks headed to Auto Zone, unfortunately, they didn’t have what we needed, oh well, but..the movies await! We went to the local Regal Movie Theater to watch Wonka. LOVED IT! I’ll write another post about it, it was charming! We laughed, we cried, we just really enjoyed it!
After the movies we went to 7th Street Bar & Grill, one of our new favorite hang outs. It looks unassuming on the outside, inside, it’s not big, but it’s nice. They have two pool tables, a bunch of booths and tables, and a nice bar, we’ve only sat at the bar. My only issue with this place…the bathrooms are ffffrrreeezzzinnnnggg! I would say, if you can skip it in the winter, do it! Go in the summer, it will be great! I had a veggie burger and PSM had a reuben. One of the footbal playoff games was on, the Greenbay Packers were trouncing the Dallas Cowboys, on their own field, ouch. PSM started talking to a few people at the bar who could talk football, I was ok with that!
At some point, I headed home to take care of the dogs and left PSM in his football element. Dogs fed, toooo cold and windy for a walk! Took care of a few things around the house, started to talk to you and PSM called and said he was ready to come home. Off I went to pick him up, back home, change into sweats, hang out and talk to you while PSM watches some more football downstairs. Sounds like a win-win! Oh, I also ordered something for my art studio, can’t wait for it to get here!!! It’s all coming together, I can’t wait to share pics and updates!
Tomorrow the demo starts on the kitchen! If you have the day off tomorrow…enjoy! If you have to work…I hope it’s an easy day for you. Whatever you do…Happy Monday!
It wasn’t the worst movie, by far, and it wasn’t the best, by any means. It was ok, but you know it’s not great, in my opinion, when you start to wonder how much longer and looking at your watch.
Now…I’m a comic book fan, and I’m a superhero fan, and I’m a superhero movie fan, and I’m a D.C and Marvel girl, I won’t choose which one I like the best because they both have good and they both have bad, they both have characters, movies, and stories I like.
I loved the first Aquaman, I loved Aquaman in the Justice League movie, I just didn’t love the second movie, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, PSM and I agreed. I love most of the cast: Jason Momoa, especially in this role, he has a new costume for part of the journey…c’mon, seriously, poor PSM, his arm must be bruised, can’t help itI I love Nicole Kidman, she’s a bad arse in this role! I love Patrick Wilson, he plays a great bad guy, and in this movie, he was still a bad guy, power hungry, like in the first one, but he can fight, the banter between him and Aquaman/Arthur was great, quick witted barbs, brother stuff. I like Randall Park, one of the few D.C./Marvel crossover actors, one of 20 to be exact, out of the hundreds of actors, it’s a rare group to be a part of! Temuera Morrison, who doesn’t love Chief Tui from Moana!? Martin Short, I knew his voice the moment his character spoke! Dolph Lundgren, Drago from Rocky IV and Gunner from the Expendables! And lastly, John Rhys-Davies, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, Princess Diaries 2, and Aquaman, just to name a few, that voice! An amazing cast! Oh, how could I forget Topo, the wicked, scary smaht octopus, who in the comics was his constant companion, but in the movie, his new-to-him, travel companion on the mission to find Orm, since he couldn’t have comms to speak with Atlantis, what an awesome cephalopod!
The story…opening wasn’t great, it was ok…seeing Aquaman as a husband and dad, but they were living at the lighthouse almost all the time? Cute with his son, Arthur Jr, awesome when you see they share some of the same gift when it comes to communicating with the fish, I thought there might be more of that…but more domesticity than action.
A lot of the movie felt like pieces were taken from other movies. I got Star Wars, AT-ATs, Jabba the Hutt, the fight scene between Luke and Darth, or the fight scene between Yoda and Dooku, or the fight scene between Darth and Obi Won, mostly because of the fight scenes with the tridents. The Mos Eisly Cantina, and one of my favoritest bands Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes ok, mostly Star Wars, oh, and Dr Who, sorry if you don’t agree, that’s what it felt like.
As always, there are great one-liners, the banter was spot on in quite a few places, some of the dialog was good, the back and forth between the brothers, it had its moments, you could definitely feel how Orm still hated his brother and loathed to be called little brother by Arthur, but they came together to fight for Atlatis and the world. The villain, Black Manta, played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, admittedly, I’ve only seen him in this a The Greatest Showman, but only remember him in Aquaman, he does play a really good villain and you know he’s a good villain when all you do is want someone to kill him! or hope he somehow kills himself! The graphics were amazing, the colors of Atlantis and other underwater worlds, give me more, please! How do I get there to see them?!
Don’t waste your time waiting for a post-credits scene that we’ve all come to expect, there is a small scene mid-credits, it won’t make or break your movie-going experience, it’s funny, but doesn’t give any insight to what might be coming next.
Apologies if this was harsh, I don’t know if was the movie or it just wasn’t the time to see it, but I have a feeling it was the movie. Although, I wasn’t crazy about Iron Man 3 and after I saw it a second time, I liked it a little more, still wasn’t my favorite, but it kind of grew on me a little more, even more when I saw how it tied into Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. So…will I run out to the theater and see it again, nope. Will I watch it when it comes out on video? Pretty sure. Right now? I’m going to watch the first Aquaman movie. Gimme a little more of that!
Did you know it’s Groundhog Day? Hopefully when you wake up tomorrow, it will be Wednesday, February 3rd! Fingers crossed for all of us!
Let me back up! Today is Tuesday, February 2, 2021 and it’s Groundhog Day. This is the day that Punxsutawney Phil, the official groundhog in Punxsutawney, PA, comes out of his hole, the temporary home he has in Gobbler’s Knob, to tell us if Winter is here to stay, well, for at least 6 more weeks, and today…Groundhog Day 2021, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and we will have 6 more weeks of winter folks. Oh joy…
“We have passed the darkness of night but now see hope and morning’s bright light. But now when I turn to see there’s a perfect shadow cast of me. Six more weeks of winter there will be!” club vice president Tom Dunkel read from the chosen scroll.
This event, which is more of a festival and celebration now, has been going on annually since 1887! Can you believe it! Well, more to the point, can you believe that this is the same groundhog that has been making a prediction since the tradition started? Yup, that’s right folks, well, that’s what the “Inner Circle” or Phil’s “Inner Circle”, identifiable by their top hats and tuxedos, want us to believe, isn’t that fabulous!
Whether or not Punxsutawney Phil’s predictions are true or not, it’s still a fun tradition to keep up and behold. This year, in keeping with Covid-19 rules, the ceremony was held virtually, well, not by everyone! Phil was there, along with his inner circle, hey, someone had to verify if Phil saw his shadow and read the proclamation. And…except for the three intimately involved…the guy holding Phil, the guy reading the proclamation, and the guy with the microphone, everyone else had a mask on, no, not Phil, duh!
I’ll be honest, as a kid, I knew about the groundhog and Groundhog Day, the tradition of the groundhog coming out and predicting the 6 more weeks of winter, or not, but I didn’t know it was such a BIG deal until I saw the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray, who plays a self-absorbed weatherman who ends up living the same day over and over and over again, well, until he gets it right.
The movie had a great cast, including Andie MacDowell, as his producer and eventual love interest, Chris Elliot is his goofball cameraman, Stephen Tobolowsky an old classmate of Billy Murray’s character and an insurance salesman with two of my favorite lines in the movie “BING!”, I know you have to watch it, and “Watch that first step…it’s a douzy”. Then, there’s Billy Murray’s brother, not movie brother, but actual brother, Brian Doyle Murray, a great character actor, Angela Paton, she’s one of those actors I don’t always remember her name, but I like seeing her. Rick Overton, who plays one of the guys in the car when Phil Connors, Billy Murray’s character drives off a cliff, Michael Shannon, who has a small role and I always forget that it’s him because had such a baby face in the movie, he was playing a teenager or just barely out of his teens and then, Harold Ramis who co-wrote, directed, and had a small role in the film.
The fun part is to watch Bill Murray’s character grow into an actual human being with all the experiences he has. He starts off, when he realizes that he’s stuck, is to do all the things we might think about doing, since he can’t get in trouble, or trouble that lasts past midnight, when the clock or day resets itself. Then he starts to take life a little more seriously, while still enjoying it. The day resets, but he doesn’t, so he has no choice but to grow. On the last day, well, the day that doesn’t reset itself is the day we get to see the new, maybe who he really was all along, just buried, Phil Connors. Who knows.
The hard part is to watch him try over and over to get out of this day and then you sit there wondering ‘just how long was Phil Connors stuck?‘ Harold Ramis said “It takes at least 10 years to get good at anything,” said Ramis, “and allotting for the down time and misguided years he spent, it had to be more like 30 or 40 years.” Just ouch!
Before I leave you…a bit of Groundhog Day movie trivia before I say farewell. The movie takes place in Punxsutawney, PA, but actually, it was filmed in Woodstock, Illinois! But JJ, how do you know that!? Well, first, if you look up the movie, you can find that out, but…I happened to be in Woodstock, Illinois for a project and the people at the office told me that the town square, about two blocks away, was where they filmed the movie! OMG! Of course, I had to take a stroll. How cool is that!
Well, here’s to 6 more weeks of winter and I’m hoping the radio doesn’t wake me up to I Got You Babe by Sonny and Cher. If it does, I’m going back to bed. What would you do?
I am, of course, talking about movie trailers, vs. the trailers you live in, or the trailers you haul stuff on or in. Movie Trailers.
They really can say so much or so little and they can make or break if you are going to see a movie. There are a lot of times I can watch a trailer and know instantly if I am going to like a movie or not. And…I am usually spot on.
There are great trailers that just give you a tease, or a taste, leaves you wanting more, which is great, then there are the trailers that give you practically the entire movie, where’s the fun in that? How about the trailers that give you the best one liners? Or the trailers that give you the best one liners that never actually make it into the movie.
When I was in college, I majored in broadcasting, and one of my dreams was to one day make movie trailers. I thought, what a job that would be, watching movies and determining what would be a great hook, to bring you in and make you want to watch it vs watching a trailer and realizing you just watched a mini movie and what would be the point to go to the theater to see it.
One of the best new trailers I have seen in a long time is for Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar written by, and starring Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo. They also wrote Bridesmaids and I have to say, if the movie is half as good and funny as Bridesmaids, it will be amazing! I watched the trailer and I didn’t stop laughing, you never actually see their faces, only the tops of their heads, hands, and feet, it’s classic! They are talking about movie trailers, and what if they were in a movie trailer, they wouldn’t give away anything, especially their faces. It really is classic and clever!
There is a second trailer, Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar: Fashion Trailer, which only has them at the very end, and they are buried in sand, you only see the tops of their heads! It’s hysterical, especially what it represents and pokes fun at.
I cannot wait for February 12th, that’s when the movie comes out and they make a point of it in each trailer to mention the air date, clever. As I said, if this is half as good as Bridesmaids, Kristen Wiig will have made up for the WW84 Cheetah mess. Here’s hoping!
Ha Ha! I finally got on the Bitmoji bandwagon with everyone else about two or so years ago, I’m not even sure, I know I was still living in Hawai’i. The reason I know that is my Bitmoji has a Hawai’ian flair.
Bitmoji me’s got red hair, just like me. Short red hair, definitely just like me as of last week! Bitmoji me’s got blue lips. I have blue lipstick, and, you might not believe this, but anyone who knows me from middle school knows, I wore blue lipstick. Well, not just blue lipstick, there was purple lipstick, green lipstick, and black lipstick. And sometimes…at the same time. I would divide my lips and put one color per quarter, it was quite colorful. But, back to Bitmoji, blue lipstick.
White bikini-like tank top. I wore tank tops all the time, but I got brave and wore a bikini quite a bit, work with what you’ve got! The skirt, could be a skort, not sure. And for those of you not sure of what a skort is, it’s combination skirt with shorts in it, nice for those of us who might not want to start a fire when our thighs rub together! It’s red with tropical flowers, could be a hibiscus, looks like a Hawai’ian shirt!
Bitmoji me has slippahs like the first pair of Tevas I bought in Hawai’i, one of which Mother Nature STOLE from me! [Just so you know, I haven’t gotten over it yet, I LaLaLaLOVED those slippahs!!!] First, let me ‘splain! A slippah is what is referred to as a flip-flop on the mainland. Sometimes you can include sandals. One of my favorite signs, which we have hanging outside our front door Please remove your slippahs, but don’t take mo bettah ones on da way out! Classic!
Even bettah…check out this scene from Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, when Momma stands up and threatens all her sons wit her slippah! The whole clip is 3:11, but momma gets up at 2:30, SO worth it! I watch that scene over and over again!
So…now you know what my Bitmoji looks like… ME! Do you agree?!
I just watched Yearly Departed. Non-stop laughter. That’s really all I have to say. Come on, you know me, do you think that’s all I have to say? Ha to the Ha!
This was a fabulous watch on Amazon Prime, it’s included with Prime, not sure how much it is if you don’t have an account, but if you do, oh please watch this! The IMDB.com description ‘Comedy special features eulogies for the year 2020 with a line-up of all-women comedians discussing everything from casual sex to beige Band-Aids and everything in between that we’ve “lost” in 2020.’
I’ve seen it advertised and watched the trailer and couldn’t stop laughing through the trailer and I can tell you that the funny parts were not only in the trailer, which is how it happens many times. How can you not laugh when it starts with ‘2020 was a triflin’ ho’! It takes place in a funeral home, opening as if it’s a true funeral, the set up, the costumes, the mourners, the funerary urn with 2020 on it.
The cast was amazing, all female, except for the funeral director, Rick Overton, he’s not credited in the cast and Sterling K. Brown, his job was to lie on the floor and look good. There are a few other cast members not credited, Cathy Chang is one, who works at the funeral parlor and has some great reactions, but I’m still trying to figure out who the rest are!!
The funeral is hosted by Phoebe Robinson, giving a great eulogy and talking to us about what we’ve lost, she also has some great lines between each speaker. She introduces Tiffany Haddish, who eulogizes about Casual Sex, moving and hysterical. Next is Natasha Rothwell, who bid farewell to TV Cops, apologizing to recent theater school workers, who missed their opportunity to be an extra on tv! Then Rachel Brosnahan, who bid farewell to Pants, with a great ending, possibly uncomfortable, to her eulogy! As the ‘dark spirit’ was lifting, Patti Harrison cried over the loss Rich Girl Instagram Influencers, harsh, but awesomely funny and on point.
Natasha Leggero lamented about Having Any More Children, ‘she didn’t have children to teach it, she had a baby to get likes on Instagram, just like everybody else!’ Ziwe Fumudoh, bid farewell to Beige Band Aids. And we finished with Sarah Silverman to Making America Great Again with a bang, ouch!
The dialog was funny and poignant and biting. The reactions were great, there were random people in the funeral parlor at different times, the main cast was static, but everyone else was here and there. There is also a surprise at the end, someone else not credit, but you’ll know who she is. The very end, during this special performance, singing Sarah McLaughlin’s I will Remember You, there is a screen rolling with all the things we have said goodbye to and will remember
Watch the credits to see how they shot the special while definitely keeping socially distant. A lot of greenscreen happening, which leads to interesting reactions, since the actors don’t always know what’s going on, someone has to tell them how to react or what they are seeing so they can figure out what they should do. For this editing, I thought they did a great job, you couldn’t tell, and I definitely look for that.
Overall, I thought this was a great treat and testament to what we went through, are going through and that what we really need, is to laugh.
[Parental Advisory [No this is not parental advisory warning week!]…if you are offended by bad language, you have been advised.]
Another triumph from Ryan Murphy on Netflix. The man has the golden touch if I have ever seen it.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t watched everything he’s done, but from what I’ve seen, he has a knack, an eye for what works and how to make a movie or tv series. The reason I haven’t see everything is that half the topics are too skooky for me, yes I said skooky! Shows like American Horror Story, Ratched, and Nip/Tuck, not my scene, a little too graphic and gory, although I did start watching Scream Queens, not sure if I’ll finish… I loved Glee and I’m loving Pose, which I’m still watching, turned on after watching Paris is Burning, it’s been quite a ride, and still the list that I am looking forward to watching is Feud. I started watching Hollywood, but I was turned off after two episodes. You can call me a prude, but to me, it was like watching a bad porno, everyone was doing everyone and I didn’t feel like there was a definite story line. I know there was, I read the plot and I was excited about the potential, but I was just depressed.
What did like about Hollywood, like most of his movies, tv shows, and the mini-series he creates or produces, are the colors, the vibrancy, the dialog, the possibilities. Along those lines, I have to tell you…I just watched The Prom, and I la la la loved it! The IMDB description says it perfectly to a T! “A troupe of hilariously self-obsessed theater stars swarm into a small conservative Indiana town in support of a high school girl who wants to take her girlfriend to the prom.”
The cast is fabulous. There are two stories that converge into one. The movie opens with a PTA meeting, the president being played by Kerry Washington, at a school in Indiana, where the root of the story begins. A girl, Emma, who is an out lesbian, wants to take her girlfriend, not out, to the prom and the PTA doesn’t think that’s right, so…cancels the prom. Plot one.
Switch to Meryl Streep and James Cordon, two Broadway actors being interviewed right outside the theater of the show they are about to open, Elenore, which is a musical about Elenore Roosevelt. It’s a musical number, apologies, it’s a musical, a movie adaptation of the Broadway Musical The Prom, based on a true story.
Let me back up. Meryl Streep and James Cordon open on Broadway and during the cast party at Sardis the reviews come in and, let’s just say, the critics said nay. Devastated, drowning their sorrows with the bartender, in glides Nicole Kidman, who just quit the show, Chicago, where she’s been in the chorus for about 20 years and had enough. Streep and Cordon realize they need to do something to up their images, so they aren’t seen as the shallow, narcists that they are. Kidman reads something on her twitter feed about Emma and her plight and they realize they need to do something. Basically, not to help someone else for some altruistic reason, but for the good press they can get. You know it will turn around, right? Que music number.
Now we’re at high school, musical number about ‘just breath’ while trying to combat and ignore the bigots around her who blame her for the prom being canceled, while in her corner is the principle, played by Keegan-Michael Key, who happens to have a crush on Meryl Streep’s character, pretty much the only person, besides her grandmother. The plan was to introduce her girlfriend to the world at the prom, dance together and kiss in front of everyone, sounds simple enough. Sure.
When the Broadway stars get to the school, they make a giant entrance and quite an impression, not great for everyone, but they are enthusiastic. They soon find out that the prom is back on, the publicity put a few people on edge. Yeah, the prom is back on. Now what? That was only in the first 30 minutes, you think we’re done? Not a chance!
It’s prom proposal day, shopping with Emma’s new fairy godfather and now, we’re at the gym, she looks fabulous. But what is not fabulous, there is no one in the gym except the principal. It was a cruel joke on Emma and her new friends. Two girls she used to be friends with, until she came out, of course, found out who her girlfriend was and along with the parents, put on a ‘secret’ prom, basically the entire school, except Emma.
Standing in the gym, a song. Come on people, it’s a musical. Emma calls her girlfriend, who isn’t quite ready to stand up to her mother, who happens to be the president of the PTA. And the truth comes out why they came to this town, for publicity, not for Emma. The truth hurts.
Then there are some touching scenes where different characters have to admit things to themselves they don’t want to admit, what they’ve been covering up for years, through acting, what makes them most vulnerable. This includes Alyssa Greene, played by Ariana DeBose, Emma’s girlfriend, who just isn’t ready to come out and Emma takes a stand and says she can’t hide anymore and it’s over. During the sad moments, there is ice cream, friends, and then throw in a great ‘Fosse’ number with Nicole Kidman and Emma, played by Jo Ellen Pellman. Then there is apologizing and groveling for some characters, and some eye opening truths for others, reforming of some bigoted ideas.
Next, Emma decides she is going to do things her way and sings on a live stream on the inter-web and touches so many lives and hearts of people who are just like her. Her new friends band together to give her the prom if her dreams, in the high school gym and the people that show up to help? Her former friends, apologizing, her former girlfriend, apologizing, and the president of the PTA, protesting.
Now it’s time for prom, the lights, the sounds, the flowers, the decoration, it’s pure perfection. The participants? Kids from all across the state who saw Emma’s live stream, people just like her, just different, her girlfriend, and then…her girlfriend’s mom who realizes and tell her daughter that she is more important to her than anything and nothing she does or says will ever change the love she has for her child. Just what we wanted to hear.
What started off as a protest and an anthem, turned into a heartwarming story of courage, friendship, tolerance, acceptance, a belief in yourself, and above all else, love. Isn’t that what it always comes down to, love? The most powerful emotion of all and with it, we can get through almost anything. Oh, and a good dance number thrown in.
Ok, so you might be getting that I enjoyed the movie. I really did. I liked the music, the lyrics, the songs, the dance numbers and when you know it’s going to be a musical, you can handle the cheesy bits, which there were, but they fit in right where they were supposed to.
I laughed, I cried, I give it two thumbs up. And as the old theater joke goes, it was better than Cats.
Peaches Prattlings 