Change Your Image
teddyhose
Reviews
Carol & The End of the World (2023)
Bells and Whistles
I love Martha Kelly and wanted to see her at her best in this leading role. But while I appreciate the message, emotional crescendos, and unique character design, boy does this series posit a very all-or-nothing, - as someone said in the user review here titled "Boring and superficial" - "American" way of interpreting life.
It does feel very much for the type of person who most American media and ads cater to, the person whose life is either work or play in a polarized sense, and assumes the same for everyone else who maybe don't fit that same mold. It wants to be diverse but falls on outdated tropes, as Black characters are either the service person in a throuple, the sassy coworker, or Somalian pirates, for example. It wants to be enlightening, but the setup is a little too, again, polarized in presenting all-or-nothing characters and situations. So it has to drag you way down first to then enlighten you with some type of healing message, which feels like an infomercial with a dramatic display of inconvenience in the "before" scene, followed by the person's life changing by the "after" product being sold. "Is this you?" Not really.
The last episode (not a spoiler) centers on a Scrooge-type character building a report on how feeling is suspicious and nefarious, and it's like really? Ok, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Animal House, Brazil, etc. Wannabe. Again, it feels kind of outdated in its setup of a cold, unfeeling world.
There's just too much sensationalizing of emotion here for me, instead of believable, realistic nuance, besides a few strong moments like the climax of the hiking sisters episode, for example. Some of us know how to be sad without making it so on the nose, and that's how we deal with it, with a dark or self-deprecating humor for example. It's what makes comedians like Martha Kelly or Conan O'Brien so lovable and relatable. It feels like the creator chose her for that element, but didn't really know how to allow it to take the lead.
No, he had to make the literal end of the world happen so he could cheer everyone up at the end. And that's giving, dare I say, toxic positivity vibes, tbh.
Joe Pera Talks with You (2018)
Adult Swim Evolves
I like how I was not ready at all for Joe Pera Talks with You on Adult Swim, waiting for the Too Many Cooks-like twist or to find Pera coming out of character in an interview somewhere on YouTube. Like the Rickroll, where what started as a joke turned into Rick Astley tour dates for a new generation, Adult Swim seemed to have recognized it was time for something genuine.
It goes without saying that Joe Pera marked a turning point. Whereas Adult Swim tended to go for offbeat, grotesque, and/or brash humor, Pera hit the reset button to keep the program evolving.
It reminds me of how Miles Davis did the same with a restrained, ambient approach to jazz, adding space to the scene after a wave of fast-paced, fluttering notes a la Charlie Parker and the like. Slint leaned into the heaviness of spoken word and bassy tones, toward the end of the 80s hardcore punk era with bands barking through guitar distortion. Even in ancient Greece, sculptures fluctuated through fantasy and realist periods through their grandiose vs. Lackluster poses.
Once the loud performers exhaust their audiences, the quiet ones cautiously walk on stage to remind them to visit the people they are beneath the ringing in their ears. That would be one Joe Pera.
How I Met Your Father (2022)
The Cool Kids Trying to be Witty and Niche
Granted I'm only 2 episodes in, and recognize it sometimes takes more for a series to take shape, it often feels like HIMYF is striving to be what HIMYM was with lines that feel like the actor is looking at the camera like "Right guys?"
HIMYM made references to bands like Sonic Youth and Pavement. For HIMYF so far, it's Train. To me, this is indicative of how with these two different groups of friends, one is more geeky and niche so you get more specificity and definition, while the other is top 40 so just kind of your usual overheard lunch conversation in Midtown Manhattan. At least Jesse, the quirky bachelor to root for in the show, has some of that vulnerable, geeky weight to his character, and therefore to me is the most interesting.
HIMYM is for sure a tough act to follow, being that it was something that came from nothing, so was fresh and original then. HIMYF just doesn't have the same specialness to it, and like any good sequel needs not to depend so much on its predecessor and become its own thing.
Explained: Country Music (2021)
Great Insight
This might be my favorite episode of Explained and I was in one! I really appreciate the research that went into it, mapping out the origins of evolving music styles laid out in beautiful graphics. I love the way this episode points out how basically the American working class, whether Black or White, is the soil from which country and hip hop grew and found a lot of crossover, as much as they are conventionally taken to be opposites, more or less. I didn't know the banjo originated in West Africa, for example.
I expected to see the Carter Family mentioned, known to be a big influence in American pop/rock music (also taking a lot directly from Black musicians) so that's my one issue. Otherwise, I found myself emotional toward the end, recognizing that it's important to understand where people, subcultures, and really similar experiences intersect historically, especially in such a divided time as now.
Gravity Falls: Northwest Mansion Mystery (2015)
Tapping into Real World Socioeconomic Class Issues, on Both Sides
This was my favorite episode of the series so far. Pacifica is the token self-centered rich girl, but is tested on breaking that persona to save the day. The real world portrayal on the rich taking advantage of the working class, invalidating them socially while the latter asks the former to be human and keep up their end of the deal, is really beautifully depicted here. Also, the depiction of rich parents demanding their kids fall in line with their expectations, surrendering their autonomy begrudgingly to sustain a family's legacy, likewise reflects the pressures on the other side of the tracks. The depth in this one is good enough for it to be its own movie, and would get my vote for an Emmy. It actually made me a bit emotional.
One scene also seems like a reference to Evil Dead 2, and that's the cherry on top for me.
Portlandia (2011)
Hooray for a truly modern comedy!
I love this show! I lived near Seattle in the 90's, so I can totally relate to being around the bohemian culture of the Northwest. I also went to art school, lived in Brooklyn, and now the Mission District of San Francisco. Needless to say it's a breath of fresh air to have this show poke fun at the hipster/alternative lifestyle, increasingly prevalent since the airwaves first played Smells Like Teen Spirit.
The first season started strong but maybe they started running out of clichés to poke fun at, because it wasn't as funny in the later episodes. The second season came back in a strong way, but I am at the mercy of Netflix Instant so I'm still waiting for others.
Just like what In Living Color did with urban African American culture, when comedians have a sense of humor about their own (sub)culture, it's a beautiful thing and makes them human. Also like Woody Allen, Carrie and Fred are musician/comedians with the gift of timing, while knowing how to incorporate music and musicians into their bits as insiders.
Reality Bites (1994)
No sir, I don't like it.
It's like a vortex, the Reality Bites pitch video Ben Stiller's character shows Winona's is actually THIS MOVIE! The writer must've made a checklist of all of the 90's "edgy topics," then threw in some 80's "parents just don't understand" making for a very after school special like tsunami of cheese. It looks promising from the cover but it's really a Hollywood movie trying to act like an indie flick, a product of grunge being highly marketable that year. It didn't do it for me when I saw its debut at 16, and after giving it another try just now it's even worse than what I remember. I really hope future generations don't refer to this film to see what life was like back then. It doesn't come close to having the same depth John Hughes movies had the previous decade.
I guess this is Ben Stiller's directorial debut and I'm so glad he went on to do comedy instead. You can see some of his self deprecating humor when he freaks out at Ethan Hawke's character near the end.
I don't know if there is a really definitive Generation X 90's movie, I'd vote Chasing Amy if I had to pick one though.
Snuff Box (2006)
Love the bizarre/dark humor, but only had its moments
I'm a big fan of Matt Berry from IT Crowd and Dark Place, but this one wasn't quite as on par with them. The music turned me on to Berry's albums which I think are all great, he truly is an enlightened musician with infectious tunes. There is a grace to it that I don't think filters into this show's comedy the same way. I see it like when H. Jon Benjamin had his own show, I'm all for dark humor but his and Berry's humor are better off seeing some balance, instead of leaning almost completely on dark / being a dick (or maybe I'm not into that level of dark humor). I think Berry totally accomplished this in the scenes where he acts like a gentleman with a girl, until she mentions she has a boyfriend and he lashes out. That shows a bit of vulnerability which makes it believable. I'm not saying to lighten up on the dark humor, but I'd like to have seen more depth with it to keep me tuned in.
Fulcher playing the American idiot had its moments, but it got old pretty fast for me born and raised in the US, assuming maybe it'd be more funny if I was a critical Brit. This might be why Mr. Show worked better for me too, an American take on dark humor.
Back to IT Crowd, I think one of the best things about it is there is more balance with the character, Jen (who is brilliant in that show). In addition to the testosterone and geeky computer humor, Moss and Roy have to share their office with a woman with her own problems, which adds tension and levels the playing field.
Overall I'm always excited to see Matt Berry in any production, with his hilarious, ironically fine-tuned manner of speaking (whiskaaayy!). Rich Fulcher, not really sure this is him at his best for me, but I'd be interested to see his other work.