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Reviews
Anger Management (2012)
So sorry this was canceled
I have been watching Anger Management in reruns and enjoy it very much. I hated Two and a Half Men, so I didn't try watching until I stumbled upon it one night and found the writing intelligent and original, and the characters very entertaining.
Charlie Sheen's character is similar to the one he played on Two and a Half Men, but the ensemble cast is stronger and funnier. The fact that Charlie plays a loser who runs group therapy sessions in an attempt to help other losers is especially funny because it has a ring of truth. I had a mental health professional in my family, and everyone I met through her in that field had something emotionally or socially wrong with them. This show reveals the truth about those who set themselves up to tell everyone else how to live.
I especially like the encounters he has with dangerous criminals, who belong to the group he leads at a local prison. They would be frightening and dangerous in another context, but the way their lines are delivered are so deadpan, I can't help but laugh. I wish the producers would consider bringing this back.
Renaissance Man (1994)
I love this film
I recently saw Renaissance Man for the first time and loved it! I am a big fan of Penny Marshall's films and wish she would direct more often. She has a wonderful vision that can only come from a woman, yet the films are not specifically feminist. She just seems to direct from her heart and let the chips fall where they may. Her movies make me laugh, cry and cheer like a modern day Frank Capra, with a more realistic eye. Renaissance Man casts Danny DeVito as a curmudgeonly "Mary Poppins" who shows up at a military base, and changes lives with a "Spoonful of Shakespeare." Danny DeVito gives a wonderful performance as an unemployed advertising executive who winds up teaching army recruits English. He soon discovers they can relate to Shakespeare through Hamlet, and eventually takes them to see a performance of Henry V. A very moving moment takes place when a recruit recites the "Band of Brothers/Saint Crispin's Day speech to his Sargent. I recommend this film to both men and women, even if they usually don't care for military films.
Craig's Wife (1936)
Craig's Wife - who was that child?
I was watching this movie late at night and noticed that the child who played Rosalind Russell's little boy looked suspiciously like Spanky McFarland (Our Gang). He doesn't seem to be listed in the credits here, but I am certain that was him. Does anyone know how I could look this information up if it isn't listed on IMDb? Rosalind Russell is great as usual, but this movie is too preachy. Movies that are heavy handed regarding messages the creators want to get across are often unwatchable. Other movies try to psychoanalyze the characters in an amateurish way, and even the great Alfred Hitchcock was prone to attempt this in a couple of films (such as Marnie). Craig's Wife is better than most but it is still annoying. The remake, starring Joan Crawford, is more cringe inducing than this one, because of Miss Crawford's tendency to chew up the scenery in her later flicks. Nevertheless, I am happy to see so many of Ms. Russell's films are being restored and shown to a new generation on broadcast TV.
The Oscar (1966)
Great Cast Bad Acting
A movie called The Oscar would lead one to believe it is a behind the scenes look at the Academy Awards. While it is about an actor, very little of the movie deals with show business. Instead, it dwells on the dreadful interpersonal relationships of an uninteresting leading man, played by Steven Boyd (best know for his role in Ben Hur as the Roman who put spikes on his chariot wheels). With such a great cast that includes Milton Berle, Ernest Borgnine, Jill St. John, Joseph Cotton, Tony Bennett Walter Brennan, Broderick Crawford and Edie Adams, and with Edith Head and Hedda Hopper playing themselves, I expected a much better movie. But The Oscar is so over acted (typical of dramas made in the '50s and early '60s) it ranges from laughable to annoying. I can only blame the director, who encouraged the cast to chew up the set with loud voices and forced expressions every 4 or 5 minutes. The one bright spot in the film is the beautiful Elke Sommer, who delivers a performance consistent with her other films. If there is nothing else on TV, I recommend you read a good book instead.