Holiday Movies

How many toiletry kits does one man need?

-- Sinbad (Jingle All the Way)

Merry Christmas! It's holiday movie season. Here's a rundown of what I've seen so far on tv this season and my opinions as an adult re-watching these beloved holiday classics (and some random Lifetime Movies).

Jingle All the Way

     My mom claims she's never seen this movie before, but I am pretty sure she took me to see if when it came out in the mid 1990's. This is the story of a dad (Arnold Schwarzenegger) that's too busy to care about his family until he has to get the season's hottest toy for his son (Jake Lloyd, little Darth Vader in the early Star Wars movies). He ends up fighting Sinbad (playing a mailman) and a variety of others (elves and a cast of characters including Sabrina's Principal Kraft Martin Mull as a Radio DJ and Phil Hartman as a neighbor who is too friendly with Arnold's wife).

Notes: Bad parenting! What kind of company has a party for the employees right before Christmas and doesn't invite spouses? My favorite part is Arnold chanting the names of the reindeer in the street. 

Amusing Buzzfeed post

Home Alone/ Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
     Little Kevin McAllister (Macauley Culkin) gets left at home by his extended family in a Chicago suburb at Christmas.  Nobody can get back to  him and he fends off two robbers (Joe Pesci and Daniel  Stern) using a TalkBoy recorder and some old movies. Then, he boards the wrong plane the next year and checks into the Plaza like Eloise. 

Notes: 
    This kid is a genius! Things like this could only happen in a post TSA-crazed world. Child protective services would definitely have this family on watch after the first incident. My favorite moment is when Kevin's mom (Catherine O'Hara) hitches a ride from Miami to Chicago with a polka band led by John Candy. I'm also left wondering how a family with so many kids can afford this beautiful house. Furthermore, check out the hotel staff in HA2: (Tim Curry, Rob Schneider, Dana Ivey) for some laughs and mischief.



The Santa Clause/SC2/SC3
     Tim Allen plays a divorced dad (Scott Calvin) trying to give his son a better Christmas than his mom and new stepdad, played by a cocky Judge Reinhold. Please note, this is the first movie I saw JR in, as a child, before going  back to enjoy his glorious 80's roles. Surprise, Santa falls off their roof and as soon as Scott puts on the suit,e he delivers presents all over the world. Wait, he just became Santa and she has the same initials? Yes. As the next year progresses, the toy salesman starts to transform into Santa, much to the horror of his friends and delight of his young son.

Notes: I love a young David Krumholtz (N3mbers, 10 Things I Hate About You)  as the wise old Bernard the Elf. I really enjoy the first Santa Claus movie and the second one was almost tolerable too, but by the third one, I was begging to be set free.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

     Chevy Chase does some of his finest comedy as Loveable dad Clark W. Griswold in this holiday hell tale. The Griswolds host their parents, in-laws, great aunts and uncles and crazy Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) and his family, only to discover there are no Christmas bonuses to cover the down payment on their new pool.

I own this shirt!

Notes: 
In this version of National Lampoon, Clark's teen kids Rusty and Audrey are played by Big Bang Theory's Johnny Galecki and this year's tv chameleon (Wayward Pones and Secrets and Lies), Juliette Lewis. I also realized this year that Clark's Grinchy boss is played by Bill Murray's brother, Brian Doyle-Murray, and I kept seeing good ol' Bill Murray mannerism throughout the scene. Favorite moment: Aunt Bethany reciting the pledge of allegiance as a way of saying Grace before the overcooked turkey dinner and Beverly D'Angel as Clark's Wife Ellen informing the swat team this was their first hostage situation and they were not sure how to do it right.

The Christmas Gift (2015)
This new Lifetime movie was allegedly based on a real story. It focused on reporter Megan (Michelle Tractenberg), who was a poor orphan living with her aunt. Megan received a gift when she is about 10 from Wesley, a rich child who wanted to being joy to unfortunate children. Fast forward about 20 years and Megan is a newly dumped reporter trying to land a big story, and she comes across the notebook she received from Wesley. She tracks him down and he is still a good Samaritan, running a home for orphan kids. She introduces herself to write a story about the center, leaving out her connection to Wesley. As luck would have it, Wesley's dad is purchasing Megan's aunt; nursing home to build new condos.

Notes: This movie went on for a long time. There were a lot of scenes that could be cut out to move the story along. Of course, it comes down to Megan's integrity and her need to find happiness. Also a facet of the Lifetime genre, everyone gets a happy ending. I might have liked this more with a different actress and Michelle Tractenberg can be pretty flat in her line delivery. Also, Megan doesn't seem to care very much about her aunt (who raised her as an orphan), so I'm not sure why is she so upset (not very emotional at that, she just says she is upset a lot) that she's going to have to look for a new nursing home? Maybe she could stay for dinner when she goes to visit her aunt or something nice like that?


Love Under the Christmas Table
This movie was available on Hulu plus so it saved a trip to the Redbox. That being said, it has a lot of potential to be an enjoyable romp. I am a huge fan of Danica McKellar from The Wonder Years, and her dad id played by Scott Patterson (Luke from Gilmore Girls) and his love interest is Lea Thompson (Back to the future). But the main story is about Danica's Kat meeting her dad's friend's son each year at a lame Christmas party from about age 5 to 30. Sam stays in town to deign furniture with their dads' business and Sam leaves to become a successful reporter.  Both Kat and Sam have an inability to realize they love each other until he builds a cardboard version of their future house and proposes, under the table their dads first built for the kids to eat at during Christmas dinner.

Notes: I was sick when I watched this movie so I wasn't too picky, but it became brutal after a few scenes of Christmas over and over again. It was a mercy killing. At least two couples found love at the end as Sam finally accepted her mom's death from her childhood and proposed on behalf of her dad to his best galpal.

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The Coat of Many Colors

  I wasn't sure what to think of Dolly Parton's NBC movie, The Coat of Many Colors. The song is not my favorite one (I love 9 to 5 and Islands in the Stream) I also sat through their recent production of The Wiz and was a lot more interested than I was in some of their other live musicals, so I kept an open mind. I was pleasant delighted by the tale of a strong Southern family who rely on each other  and their values to get through hard times (drought, infant mortality, a bully family).

Courtesy of NBC

    Little Dolly was played by the delightful Alyvia Alyn Lind, who sticks to her principles when people make fun of her coat of little rags. Country singing darling Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland was truly delightful and honest as Dolly's mother Avie Lee, vocalizing with her children and teaching them how to love their neighbor and themselves. Her counterpart is the NYPD's finest, Ricky Schroeder, whose Robert Lee Parton could not find the faith to join his family in church until he thought about the afterlife and the possibility of being alone after his family moved on. It's worth a watch on demand if you haven't seen it yet, and it's based on a true story. 

CW Gets Golden Globes

It's finally happened, the CW has managed to get it's programming into legitimate award categories! I'm so excited my Monday night jams Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin scored nominations for the Golden Globes! Both Gina Rodriguez (Jane) and Rachel Bloom (Crazy Rebecca) are nominated for best actress in a tv comedy or musical!

Fresh Off the Boat

     It took me a hit-and-miss watching of the first season, but I now officially am a fan of ABC's Fresh Off the Boat. Season 1 began in February and a full season 2 kicked off in September. The family sitcom is based off Eddie Huang memoir of the same name, about growing up in Orlando in the 1990's with traditional Chinese parents. Eddie is a middle schooler who loves gangsta rap and his mom's best friend, Honey. Eddie's two adorable younger brothers Emery and Evan are very wise, young souls and give sage advice beyond their years. Mom Jessica (Constance Wu) is cheap, wants the kids to work hard, and ends up making people's lives more difficult. Completing the family are grandma Huang, who only speaks Mandarin and doesn't get along well with mom, and father Louis (Randall Park), a true believer of the American Dream.

     The family moved to Orlando from a tight-knit Chinese community in Washington, D.C. for Louis to open an all-American steakhouse, Cattleman's Ranch. His oddball staff mean well, but often get the family into more financial woes during the first season. The restaurant faces many struggles as they try to draw anyone in, and get them to order something besides water and soda. As a special not, The League's Paul Scheer plays waiter Mitch. The show's 90's nostalgia is one of the reason I think I connect to it. When Eddie's school throws a Fall Ball, his dad insists on teaching him and his boys to how dance. The boys think they're taking a girl to the dance, only to find out the girls had chosen someone else in the group as their date (which led to a tense roller rink group date). When Eddie is broken up with said girlfriend, he plays BoyzIIMen's End of the Road on repeat until the whole family sings the song. Jessica competes with her sister for who mom loves more, including a mad run to a store on Thanksgiving eve.

     The show has also had notable guest appearances by NBA players and singers of the time including  Scotty Pippen, DMX and Shaq as the proprietor of Shaquille O'Neal Motors. Jessica keeps demanding to speak to the top executive at the car dealership, finally begin shown into the office of Shaq himself. In tonight's episode, The Real Santa, Jessica tells the boys that Asian Santa is the real Santa and ends up dressing up in a suit to encourage her sons to study hard and get into good schools. I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store. Maybe an episode about Chinese New Year?

Don't Hate "The Player", Hate the Game

     As I predicted in September, NBC's The Player has been cancelled, which once again means Must-See TV has fallen by the wayside at the peacock network. I didn't follow the show after episode 1, but I think a big part of their downfall was showing on Thursday nights opposite ABC's "Shonda Thursdays," specifically the gut-wrenching, heart pounding triumph, How to Get Away With Murder.  I did see Alex Kane as a sympathetic character, after all, he did just rekindle his relationship with his sobering ex-wife Ginny, only to have her murdered hours later. On top of all that, he was considered as a suspect in the murder, and playing "the game" was his only hope to get himself cleared and kind out what really happened to Ginny.  But the show had a lot of action packed into each scene and some very layered conceits set up, so it was not helped by things like Thursday night football or an earlier lead in of Heroes:Reborn and James Spader's retirement fund, The Blacklist. In a eperate post, I have to explore how this show is still on air because I'm pretty baffled. The show's 9 episodes ended with several twists and many questions, which can be found here.

Samantha Mumba Lives!

     My friend and I recently pondered what became of 2000's two-hit wonder, Samantha Mumba. She brought us the Now compilation classic hits like Baby, Come on Over and Gotta Tell You, and then disappeared. Good news! She recently had a baby this spring, and she is singing again!

     Samantha performed at an anniversary opening of  large shopping mall/marketplace in Orlando, and she wasn't alone. The Artegon Marketplace event was hosted by Joey Fatone (or as my family calls him, Joey fat one, from a long-ago N*SYNC video joke) and Aaron Carter was also there! All is well with the old 90's crew!

2016 AMA Post-Performance Recap

     There were many great (Luke Bryan and  Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild trading verses) and many odd (Megan Trainor and Charlie Puth trading saliva) performances at this year's American Music Awards, and no, I'm not talking about Jennie Garth's odd "I'm not sure what I'm doing here, but I'm such a nerd and I'm married to a musician" act.

    No,  I'm also not talking about Jennifer Lopez's nostalgic dance through the songs of 2016, or Celine Dion's gorgeous tribute to France, or the Pentatonix giving a vocal tribute to Star Wars.

     Somewhere in between all of that was the true standout performance of Alanis Morissette and Demi Lovato singing Alanis M's 1995 angsty girl hit, You Oughta Know. I'm very convinced (mostly by Dave Coulier from Full House) that song is about him. As we now know Carly Simon's You're So Vain is about Warren Beatty, it's only a matter of time before this mystery is unraveled).

     The reason this performance was so bizzare it led me to ask, did they know they were singing the same song? Alanis started singing onstage alone, looking great 20 years later. Then Demi answered after a little while, and they continued to cross the stage, passing each other, never acknowledging that the other one was onstage, making eye contact or singing the song with each other. See below.

Book Club: Let's Get Chatty With Mindy K

     I'm starting a book club with some dear friends and I can't wait! We're reading Mindy Kaling's second book Why Not Me? I can't wait to dive in! This book is a follow-up to Kaling's first book, 2012's Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me (And Other Concerns).

The creator of Hulu's successful The Mindy Project finds a way to bring her everyday Hollywood problems and childhood traumas to the audience with humility and grace.

Britney Comes Back to TV, a JTV Special

     In Monday night's Jane the Virgin, the show had a special guest star, none other than Britney. I began this episode being super excited to see the Brit, but I was quickly let down and disappointed.

     Appearances like this  used to be a pretty big deal back in the day, but somehow it made me feel kind of sad. The show opened with Jane taking her baby to the Maribela hotel to stalk Britney, then they got together and did a creepy dreamed-up imaginary dance sequence to one of Britney's much weaker hits, Toxic.

     Something seemed off about Britney in a way I cannot explain, like she might have been forced to do this as a favor to someone, or it was a blackmail scenario? We're way past the days of "eave Britney alone", but I have to wonder, who is she? Could is just be weird for her to act in something that's not the Mickey Mouse Club? Having seen Crossroads (never the full movie, just bits and pieces), we know she is not he best at holding down a feature presentation.

     This led to a much weirder plot where Britney had been invited to Miami to perform at a highly important wedding ceremony. Who's wedding, you may ask? Crazy Petra is blackmailed into marrying a crazy explosives salesman, Miloche.

     The episode got  downright hilarious when Jane's telenovela star dad Rohelio De La Vega (always use his full name) admits to having a feud with Britney over a Latin Grammy Awards presentation. A very serious twitter feud with some "Mean Girls-esque" banter. I did at least laugh at Britney and her dancers began walking around the hotel in one large synchronized group. Is Brit really that desperate for exposure, or am I just not in the joke?

     My favorite Britney tv appearance is when she showed up on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, teaching Sabs some dance moves in Paris. It was also kinda a weird situation,  but it worked because she really seemed like herself, just a teen pop star dancing around with a fan, and not a glambot. Alas, it was during the Drive Me Crazy phase of 199, so maybe Britney was just more of an authentic gal back then.

The Situation is a Little More Nuanced than That, or Settle for CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND

I saw an early teaser of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, one of CW's few non vampire/witch/superhero shows on the CW, before the season started. My mom immediately looked at me and asked why we were watching a musical series that wasn't even about music (re: Glee, Smash).

Still, I gave it the benefit of the doubt and tuned in for the next few episodes and...

PAUSES FOR EMPHATIC DRUMROLL....

     Josh just happens to live here! This is real estate lawyer turned crazy lady Rebecca Bunch's (Rachel Bloom's) favorite justification for moving from New York to West Covina, California because a butter commercial made her take a way too real life re-assessment.This is also the title of the first episode.

     In case you can't tell, I am into this show. The show is certainly quirky, and promises at least three musical numbers per episode thus far, and I'm betting everyone in the cast will sing at some point, including Rebecca's oddball boss, Darryl Whitefeather. 

     The story in a nutshell, plants miserable Rebecca in California after following chill surfer dude Josh Chang, a guy she dated in summer camp, back from New York to California, which is commonly known as a "Flipped Felicity". (I am trademarking this term).  She arrives in West Covnia, breezes into a law firm and gets hired at a moment's notice, since she went to Harvard and loves to remind people it's not such a big deal, and sets to work the 9-5 of getting herself into Josh's life. One of many ways she gets to worm closer to Josh is the three or so accidental dates she goes on with Josh's bartender friend, Greg, who is played by Broadway legend-in-the-making Santino Fontana (he did the voice of the prince in Frozen). After meeting Greg and hearing Josh will be at a party, Rebecca gets ready (singing the "Sexy Getting Ready Song, a true ear-worm) and shows up to the party all over Greg to make Josh jealous. As luck would have it, Josh never shows, and here begins the love triangle. Rebecca befriends many people including her psych major neighbor Heather, pep-talking paralegal Paula, and even meets Josh's yoga teacher girlfriend, Valencia. 

Wait, Josh has a girlfriend?

 Yes, that was a surprise to Rebecca too. In the course of a few short days,  (Episode: Josh's Girlfriend is Really Cool!)  she meets Valencia, befriends Valencia to set her at ease, gets Valencia a deal on a new space for her yoga studio, and makes out with her at a club, which alienates Valencia, Josh and Greg. Rebecca follows up with trying to show Valencia she's not a threat to Josh (Episode: I Hope Josh Comes to My Party!) by throwing a "casual"  house party with her paltry gathering of friends, greatly overcoming her fear of house parties that began the day her dad walked out on her mom at her birthday party. As bad as Rebecca treats Paula, she comes through and helps throw the best house party and gives Rebecca the peace to get over her parent's divorce. 

     In this week's episode (I'm Going on a Date With Josh's Friend!), Greg reluctantly asks Rebecca out to a taco festival (after an elaborate ballroom dance and tap number in black and white) and Rebecca accepts. Rebecca recently chose to become a vegan, as a drastic kickback from dating inappropriate mean and making unhealthy decisions. Things go great until Rebecca sabotages the date, running off with briskets and an unwashed vegan cook, leaving Greg and the viewers disappointed and once again confused- doesn't Rebecca really like Josh? Doesn't she seem like she is really a better fit with Greg? Rebecca apologizes to Greg after he finds the vegan dude leaving her house, but it may be the third strike for the more-than-perfect-if-they-could-get-out-of-their-own-way pair. 

     In a side story, Rebecca helps Josh with a job application for a Hawaiian themed electronics store (wow, super retro) and he looks over-qualified for the job. When Josh is forced to work in his dad's radiology lab instead, Rebecca storms into the Aloha Tech Center and demands that some Harvard book smarts and average smarts like Josh's, should not  preclude someone from selling computer games. 

Dallas, Re-imagined...Blood and Oil Do Not Mix

     I am very interested in ABC's new Sunday night soap, Blood and Oil.  Welcome to Rock Springs, Montana, a land of opportunity for some, and a land of drunken disappointment for others. I am excited to see Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford back on my TV every week.

    The first episode clearly showcased greed and its control on society. This is America baby, we're off  to the modern-day frontier- a town with the very rich, the warring Indian tribes, lots of land for sale, one hotel and bar (The Tackroom), and a clear need for a coin operated laundromat. As Crawford's Billy LeFever and his wife, Cody (Rebecca Rittenhouse) will soon learn, their dream of striking it rich as laundromat owners is not a guarantee for success. The couple are shown kindness after their car crashes and washing machines are damaged by the town's bar owner/real estate agent Jules (India de Beaufort, a notable guest star of One Tree Hill as a record executive), and a Nigerian couple (Kess and Ada) that hope to open a restaurant.

     The couple manages to buy a parcel of land from the town's old timer Clifton (Barry Corbin, a beloved basketball coach from One Tree Hill), and end up starting a friendly war with oil magnate Hap Briggs (Don Johnson). Hap comes with a lot of family baggage, including his screw-up son Wick (Scott Michael Foster of GREEK), and in episode two, we meet his business-minded daughter Lacey (Miranda Mae Rayo of Chicago Fire), both grown children from different mothers. Lacey continues to get involved with her father's driver, A.J., (Adan Canto) who has a secret to hide. Amber Valletta (Revenge and actually a real life model) rounds out the Briggs family as Carla, Hap's second wife and a former model turned shrewd businesswoman, who will do anything to protect herself and Hap's name. While Jules is happily seeing Wick, she reveals a past affair with an older man in town, who is Wick's father, Hap.  "EWWWW!"  as Jimmy Fallon says.

     What will happen once we see blood? Will Billy and wick learn to get along? Will Billy and Cody still like each other in a few weeks? Where is all of the untapped the oil located? Will Hap figure out about his son's attempts to rob him and start a fire at his oil rig? Stay tuned to see...

10 Worst Wedding Songs (And 5 Must Plays)

I have been to four weddings in the last two months and I have begun to think of myself as an expert on crowd control. Do you want all the people you've invited to your expensive life-affirming party to dance? Then don't even think of playing these songs. These are seriously overplayed or way inappropriate for a wedding (in no particular order):

10. ANYTHING INVOLVING Marvin Gaye 
(It's a crazy tie between these two) Let's get it on  (which seems to be copyright restricted on Youtube)and Meghan Trainor and Charlie Puth's Marvin Gaye song.

9. We Are Family - Sister Sledge
Sister Sledge's classic hit is great for gathering up all of your sistas and conga lining with your new best friends on a cruise ship, but it's time to move on.

8. Don't Stop Believing - Journey
i really think GLEE changed this song for me for all eternity and I've now seen too many school choirs singing this song and thinking they were super hip, so I cannot take it seriously or truly enjoy Steve Perry's pleas. I added the GLEE clip here.
Sidenote: I saw a show choir perform when i was in a high school singing competition and we thought those kids were nuts.... ho knew it would become so popular?

7. Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) - Big & Rich  
Save it for the after party! Seriously, people I love B&R's classic as much as the next country gal, but this is just not the song that scream "Let's begin our lives together."

6. Sexy (And I Know It) - LMFAO
See reason listed above. Also please note this song is played all the time in Zumba classes.

5. Your Love - The Outfield
The first lyrics of this song are about stepping out on your lover while she's out of town. "Josie's on a vacation far away, come around and talk it over.... stay the night, but keep it under covers." Enough said.

4. Blurred Lines - Robin Thicke, Pharrell, and T.I.
This song first of all, lost Robin Thicke his wife... RIP Robaula.
My parent's generation says they like the catchy beat, but when we break down the lyrics (You Know You Want It), it gets very creepy.

3. ALL SONGS BY OR FEATURING T-PAIN and/or L'IL JOHN
Including, but not limited to, I'm on a Boat, Apple Bottom Jeans, Buy You a Drank, Get Low, and many other charming titles. This also covers all songs where L'il John yells "YEAH" or "OK" in the background of songs. Save it for da club!

2. The Time (with Dirty Bit) - Black Eyed Peas
This song ruins the perfectly classic Dirty Dancing theme for one thing. Secondly, the song keeps launching into hyper speed with the "dirty bit" portion (or as my friend yelled at a BEP concert, dirty feet).

1. Beastie Boys Songs
I saw these played at a wedding. It got weird. There was a mosh pit.

PLAY US!
5. Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson Feat. Bruno Mars
Let's be clear here, Bruno does most of the heavy lifting in this song. Just try to resist getting your funk on when you hear him chant "Don't Believe Me, Just watch!" before you attempt a moonwalk or worm across the floor.

4. Grease Megamix - Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta 
This may seem borderline corny but at a recent wedding, I heard the opening strains of "You're the One that I Want" and my friend dropped what we were doing and went running to the the dance floor. It works by bringing up nostalgia, funky dance, moves and true love into one incredible song mix, which will get any party moving.

3. Shout - The Isley Brothers
I've seen some couples that don't want to have any "dance" music, per se, at the wedding, but this is  pretty close to a movement-based dance without totally calling out the movements. Plus, everyone gets close to the floor and you get a hilarious photo of the room.

2. Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 Feat. Christina Aguilera
This was the jam of late 2011. This song is a complete earworm and I cannot stay in a bad mood when I listen to it. Plus, Adam and Christina praise the Grandfather of Rock and Roll, the still early Mick Jagger.
Sidenote: I have seen my mom karate chopping along to the vocal slides while listening to this song.

1. Livin' On a Prayer - Bon Jovi
Not limited to wedding in New Jersey, this classic tale of Tommy and Tina trying to make a better life makes everyone pick up their air guitar.

Players Gonna Play

     In my humble opinion, don't bother spending your time watching NBC's The Player, a.k.a. Endgame. It seems that it work better as a movie plot. If you like the action adventure of " 24 " and the glamour of "Las Vegas" with the crime fighting of everything else on NBC/CBS, maybe this show is for you. In my advanced screening, people cheered when Wesley Snipes appeared in the first scene as Mr. Johnson, "the pit boss". He employs a pretty blonde (Cassandra) to be "the dealer" and offers Alex a chance to be "the player" in a life or death game of chance. Phillip Winchester's Alex Kane is offered 24 hours to stop a crime, allowed to only receive help from Cassandra and her online network of phone taps and cameras. Rich people around the world be on whether Kane can stop the crime, or if it will go down. Kane begins the journey because his estranged wife Ginny was a murdered as part of a crime that was part of the game. I give it two months...

Please Don't Page Dr. Ken

Let me first start out by saying, I liked community, and I liked the hangover, but I couldn't make it past the first episode of Dr. Ken. It was pretty dreadful. It's a workplace comedy with too many different personality types, it's a medical show with too many doctor,s it's a family sitcom with too any lessons needed to be learned. The one thing I will treasure for this show and remember for the rest of my life is Ken and his young song in a school talent show acting out the words to Katy Perry's Roar through mime.

It's Time to Get Hulu: Where Else Can I See Mindy???

     Fox has sold The Mindy Project down the river, cancelling it bet keeping Brooklyn 99 and all of the guy-dominated animated show. Go figure about that choice. But have no fear, Hulu is now premiering the new season of  Mindy Kaling's show this week!

When we left, Mindy was pregnant and alone at friend Peter's wedding in Texas and her boyfriend Danny  jumped on a plane. Would they finally work out their problems once and for all? Not likely, as it looks like Danny has flown to India to see Mindy's parents. Other unanswered questions include:

• What will Mindy name her baby? 
• Who will replace Peter at Schumann and associates?
• Will the practice finally settle their grudge with the doula brothers?
• And will morgan ever do anythign right, like get back together with "cooler than thou" nurse Tamera?

Stay tuned!

TV FALL PREMIERES!

I watched over 5 hours of new TV shows from the Big Networks at the Paley Center for Media and I'll be giving updates and reports as the season rolls on. Here's the lowdown on the shows.

ABC
Quantico (DRAMA) Review t/c.
Blood and Oil (DRAMA) Review t/c.
Dr. Ken (COMEDY) Review here.

NBC:
The Player (DRAMA) Review here. There were 9 episodes and more cancellation info is here.
The Blindspot (DRAMA) Review here.
Truth Be Told (COMEDY) Review here.

CW
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (DRAMA) Review here.
Containment (DRAMA)
Review: A zombie apocalypse situation envelops Atlanta as a virus begins to effect the city. Follow the CDC, police, a pregnant girl, and a school class trapped in a hospital as things get seriously infected. This show was pushed to an April 2016 release and ran 13 episodes.
DC's Legends of Tomorrow (DRAMA)
     Review: This is part of the CW's Arrow and The Flash expansion. I only saw a 7-minute preview but I feel we should just call it Victor Garber's time jumping superhero misfits.

Old Girl, New Girl

     I am at the height of summer TV desperation. As a rule, I normally don't watch repeats of shows during the summer. I stick to limited runs and summer-only shows, just to freshen my mind and leave more time for fun.


It's time for more New Girl. I  fully understand the writers and show creates do not want to write Zooey Deschanel's pregnancy into the show. But I am seriously missing Jess, Nick, Cece, Schmidt, Winston, and Coach, who will  not be back until Winter 2016. I think the hardest thing about the new season will be the departure of Coach, played by Damon Wayans, Jr. The weirdest thing it that he was in the first episode, and due to Happy Endings (another really quirky and fun show) getting renewed, he didn't come back until season 3. Although a lot of formative episodes were pre-coach, I can't imagine life without him now. He has grown for a totally emotional cripple to Jess's close friend and co-worker. While Jess bonds closely with Winston over important things (getting a bathtub, lying about Cece's feelings for Schmidt), she and coach have a delightful discourse where she keeps wearing away at his tough outer shell, much the same way she did with Nick. The difference between Coach and Nick is that Nick fell for Jess, and Coach just learned to appreciate life more.

     I have been going back and binging the last few episodes left on Hulu, and watching the first and second seasons on DVD again. My Tuesday nights will not be the same now that The Mindy Project is moving to Hulu.

Mission Awesome

I was pleased and privileged to attend the NY premiere screening of Mission Impossible:  Rogue Nation on Monday night. The mvie was great! I'm usually more of a comedy fan, but I really enjoy a good chasing thrilling action movie, and this does not disappoint. There are some amazingly shot chase scenes through the streets of Morocco with motorcycles and a very hearty BMW, a sneaky escape from the Vienna Opera House, and my personal favorite, an underwater slide ride into a nuclear reactor's computer storage system. Tom Cruise himself and the movie's director Christopher McQuarrie popped into our theater (from the totally exclusive screening in the theater above us) to welcome us to the movie and thank us for coming! From 6 rows away, Tom looks pretty good at 53 and was very humbled to be there at the screening. The truly amazing part of the night, free popcorn and sodas at the theater.

13 Reasons I Love "13 Going on 30"

Eleven years ago, Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo starred in a romantic comedy* (kids this is a dying movie genre so you might not recognize it) called 13 Going on 30. For this movie, a young 13 year old Jenna Rink (in 1987) is having a tough time with a clique of frenemies that make the West Beverly girls look tame. They want her to turn her back on her best guy friend, Matty. With some magic glitter and a wish, she wakes up "thirty, flirty, and fabulous," and she is co-editor of a top women;s magazine with the same girl that she was trying to be friends with in middle school. Her life is pretty empty, and she heads home and reconnects with grown-up Matty... and so on. An important lesson is taught here that every choice you make as a kid can change your adult future.

Here are the 13 best things about the movie:

13. Razzles Candy
Razzles are basically pop rocks, something that gets into your mouth and makes a big sugary mess when combined with liquid. Jenna insists on getting some Razzles when she and Matty reunite as adults.

12. Bad Bestie (YOUNG) ALEXANDRA KYLE
Jenna's mean friend Tom-Tom (real name Lucy), also known in my circle of friends as "the girl that looks like little Helen Hunt", and Jenna herself (Christa B. Allen from Revenge), who is a dead ringer for Jennifer Garner. 



11. Bad Bestie (OLD) JUDY GREER
This girl has gotten so famous as playing the best friend, she wrote a book about it! (And I love her for it).  As a constant best friend/pain in other movies like (The Wedding Planner, 27 Dresses, Love and Other Drugs). Judy looks like she has resting-Beyotch face in almost every scene, even when she's happy.  She plays older Tom-Tom and says such memorable gems like: "Jenna, if you're gonna start lying about your age, I'd go with 27."


10. BRITISH BOSS
Jenna's boss is played by Gollum for Lord of the Rings. He is snippy, antsy, British, and you still can't stay mad at him. He's on the left!

9. THE THRILLER DANCE!
Naturally at an office party. Watch it here!

8. TINY DOLLHOUSE
Matty gives Jenna a home-built dollhouse with all the coolest things- MTV on the television, and that rough rockstar Rick Springfield.

7. Thirty, Flirty and Thriving
Jenna chants this phrase when she gets her magical transformation.


6. The Dude: MARK RUFFALO
I'm not sure I can even justify Ruffalo well enough. He plays the every man and the reluctant leading man to a T every time.

5. NY RANGERS
Jenna wakes up to find out she is dating a very sexy NY rangers player.

4. SLUMBER PARTY
Jenna invites a bunch of 13 year old girls over to her apartment to hang out and sing Pat Benatar songs. Their parents find no trouble with this arrangement.

3. FANTASY MAGAZINE PHOTO SHOOT
Jenna creates a fun non-model driven photo shoot for her magazine, securing a promotion some someone... (no spoilers).

2. The CLOSET
There will come a day when i can display all of my beautiful shoes on selves in a walk-in closet.

1. The Girl: JENNIFER GARNER
Because without her, this movie wouldn't be THIS movie. Her bubbly personality and innocent wonder make me long for the days when Ben Affleck was seeing another Jen.



* A romantic comedy is a story where two people (who usually don't know each other) meet in an embarrassing or cute way, fall in love (or deny it for a while until something changes their mind), fight, break up, and end up happily ever after (usually with some wedded bliss in sight). To see a more modern version of this, you can view Amy Schumer's Trainwreck as a rom-com in today's day and age.

Paint Party

   All of a sudden, I have become an insta-Van Gough when it comes to painting. I've become a convert to the popular paint nite events, where you're encouraged to paint creatively and toss back some wine while you paint. I These events are held at local bars and taught by brilliant and entertaining artists. They play music, instruct on color mixing (break out the 2nd grade color wheel for a refresher course in mixing) and drag you through a mini art lesson in the span of two hours. I went from a casual interest in painting to running out to my local craft store and buying mini canvases, acrylic paints and mini brushes. In short, I'm running out of places to hide the canvases, but I truly love it!


   This weekend, I attended a paint event in a relatively new chain, Muse Paintbar, which has begun popping up in several cities. The great thing about muse is that they are solely focused on painting, and not just selling food and beer.  Our groups were so quiet, stopping to ask about mountain peak technique, but we got right to the paint and had the instructor and two helpers there every stop of the way to fuel our artistic quests.

Keep on painting!

What's Up With Wayward Pines- w/ Spoilers

I am addicted to this show. I usually don't enjoy stories about dystopian worlds, but somehow the Matt Dillon pulled be in to his seemingly perfect town and his fight to get out of there.

     Matt Dillion plays FBI agent Ethan Burke and he  ends up in the quaint town of Wayward Pines, Idaho after a "car accident." Somehow everyone in the town ended up there after a car accident. Strange, no? When he drives out of the town, the road leads right back in again and there' a large electric fence around the perimeter.The town's rules include: always pick up the phone and do not speak of the past.

     Ethan's wife Teresa (I'm giving a shout out to Shannyn Sossamon for getting a new acting gig, it's been slow since A Knight's Tale) and son Ben end up in an accident too and get deposited in the town, and they meet a cast of characters, including Ethan's  missing partner and former lover, Kate (Carla Gugino). Kate says she's been married for 12 wonderful years to the wonderful toy maker Harold, but she only went missing 6 weeks ago from Seattle. Sound weird yet?

     Don't worry, it's about to get stranger. The town hospital is patrolled by a super creepy nurse (Melissa Leo) that wears whites for work and black leather and braided hair when she goes to the town to take care of business. The town sheriff (Terrence Howard) is going around murdering people in the town square and telling them their cars were totaled in the "accidents". Then he dies and Ethan is appointed via mailbox note that he is the new sheriff. Plus, the only school, Wayward Pines academy, is teaching more than math and science, it's brainwashing the youth to lead a new generation based on on one fact:

Here's why:(SPOILER)
     Wayward Pines is the only town left  of civilization after humans began to mutate and become "abbeys",  a wild hyena-like creature that destroy and eat everything in sight. The year everyone has woken up in is 4028, when crazy scientist David Pilcher (Toby Jones) deemed it would be safe to start the human race again. Pilcer and his sister Pamela (the crazy nurse) began kidnapping people that would be frozen in pods and awakened when the abbey infestation was mostly done and the earth would be all green again. They tried to tell people what had happened, but they all went mad and killed themselves or others (so now this is the second society of 20+ years).

     To recap, everyone was taken by 2014 (Ethan was investigating kidnappings for the FBI when he got taken himself). Pilcher and his followers woke up first and formed command center to govern the lives of people. Every conversation and movement is tracked with camera, microphones and tracking chips.Worst of all, there's no cable or music left, except for  the guy that plays piano on the radio at nights). At least there's a beer hall!

     As for the people in the 2nd society, only the teenagers are told the truth. The creepy teacher Mrs. Fisher (Hope Davis) instructs the older students and takes them into a room under the school to conduct instruction for how life will be with the first generation, a group that knows the truth about the future and has not been in the world too long to have a major freak out about jumping 2,000 years into the future.

Youre Move, Pines... What's next?

My Mommy Likes Underwear Dance Parties and Red Wine- Odd Mom Out

   I just discovered my new favorite half hour show, Bravo's Odd Mom Out. In a network long dedicated to desperate housewives of whatever city (this week someone launched a new wine), and opinionated gay fashion moguls, they're trying to make a go at real scripted television.

Author of the novel  Momzillas, Jill Kargman plays a fictionalized version of herself. At that, she is a carbo-loading, dark-joking mom of three that doesn't buy into her in-laws crazy NY rich airs. Yes, these people make the Gossip Girl trust funders look tame). I think they might be on to something here. I could not stop laughing during the first episode when Jill attend her sister-in-law's soul cycle fundraiser to end childhood obesity (giving gastric bypass to low income kids). She manages to make it to the top of the leader board, then gets stuck squatting in pain and can't get back up in the bathroom. Of course, the mommy mafia is non too kind to Jill and she has one normal friend, who is a doctor and also not well off enough to be considered  truly NY rich.

In the second episode, Jill's mother in law, brother-in-law and stick thin  pregnant sister-in-law (the fiercely peppy Abby Elliot) insist they have to change their last name to Von Weber after discovering family history on a trip to Austria. Jill and her lawyer husband protest, until Jill starts seeing the papering and perks of being a Von Weber, and the true escalated level of soul one must sell with that level of presiege (facials, burial plots with a view, better interviews for kindergartens.

The main thing that sets this show apart from other sitcommy shows is that everyone has been Jill at some point, over stressed, judged, wearing a unicorn t-shirt to the gym, and her character is very accessible.

The Odd Couple

   I stand corrected. 

The Odd Couple made on the air for 4 months. In tonight's episode, the couple is attending a wedding. It appears on IMDB, the show has been picked up for a second season in January. That being said, the show is not listed on the Fall schedule. Perhaps a return in January, or a DVD release of season 1 straight to the bargain bin at Wal Mart.

Who's Not Running for President?

Yesterday, Donald Trump announced he is running...

 for President...

of the United States... 

of America... 

North America... 

(I have to pay tribute to Chris Rock's 2003 movie Head of State for this statement).

   What a truly terrifying thought. He managed in one simple speech to insult everyone in America, including his own children, whom he is pretty sure like him, even if nobody else does.

   Trump proclaimed we have never beat japan in anything, our jobs are in China, our oil is being held hostage, medicine is on the fritz. I'm looking to see if he had anything positive to say. He seemed to say he could be the cheerleader for America. I might need to watch the presidential debates this time around, this looks like it will be entertaining.... Perhaps Trump is looking for the opportunity to tell everyone in government they've been fired, like on The Apprentice. Apparently I'm not the only person who thinks so, MSNBC agrees.

Welcome Back! It's a Fuller House with Jason Marsden

It's been a while since I blogged, and for my first post back, I'm talking about the best 90's family comedy in history- Full House. In case you've been living under a rock, it's coming back! In more current news, my beloved Uncle Jesse (John Stamos), just got pulled over for a possible DUI this weekend, which greatly worried me about the fate of this winter's FH  reboot.

The episode I'm watching on Nick at Nite right now is an episode about DJ's tough choice (aptly named DJ's Choice from Season 8) between musician Viper (guitarist of Hot Daddy and the Monkey Puppets) and junior billionaire Nelson. Viper writes a song for DJ, and Nelson hires Frankie Valli to come to the park re-dedication to serenade DJ.

"(Nelson) He's a nice guy, and he pays in cash."- Frankie Valli

It's utterly over the top, which is why the episode plays so well. Much like episodes with famous guest stars (several with the Beach Boys come to mind), FH makes the guest star fit in well to the story. In the end, Donna Jo wisely chooses none of them (because I suspect she's still in love with Steve, who ended up escorting her to the senior prom).  This remains to be seen, but I believe Steve was the love of her life. Only Netflix will tell.

Back to the reason I am fascinated with this episode, dear young billionaire Nelson.
Here  actor Jason Marsden (left) plays Nelson in Full House, circa 1995:

Here he is the same year, playing Eric's best friend, Jason on Boy Meets World. Maybe he can score a drop in on the new Girl Meets World Show. 

He also appeared at the same time (1995-1997) on Step by Step as JT's best friend and Dana's boyfriend, Rich. How did this guy find time to guest star in three sitcoms at the same time? 

That's owed all to talent and a good agent. 

All photos are from IMDB.com

Paging Dr. Mindy: Let's Get A Doctor's Note For This News

I have to thank BuzzFeed for this meme. 

   
Hello everyone! I'm taking a break from my Month of Bridal Showers to expound on some terrible news. Fox has cancelled The Mindy Project! Words cannot really explain how upset I am by this...

   





     We are rocking a major cliffhanger of an episode! Danny Castellano is finally coming to become the romantic male lead we always knew he could be! I'm hoping the show might be picked up by cable or something... a la Cougartown, just two years ago. I could see this type of move working for the quirky comedy Mindy brings to TV. While still reeling from the death of McDreamy, this is more than my TV-finale bound heart can take.

Late to The Party: Or How I Became a Fan of JTV

     I recently received an email from my aunt, who said her book club screening of 50 Shades of

Gray didn't work out, so they watched a new quirky show, Jane the Virgin. It didn't end up on my fall roster, but I caught up on as much of the season as i could and I jumped in. After all, lead actress Gina Rodriguez won the Golden Globe for this show after about 10 episodes, so it must be pretty cool.

     First of all, JTV is party telenovela, part fantasy drama, and part Ugly Betty. The resemblances between this show and  long loved and far-plot flung ABC dramedy are one of the reasons I got sucked into this new show. Rodriguez, much like  Betty's America Ferrara, had a way of showing her character as a true, honest relate-able person, who happened to be artificially inseminated with the child of a gorgeous hotel magnate that will likely never have kids due to a cancer scare. Just an average plot, right?


Here are the basics:
- Jane lives with her illegal immigrant Abuela Alba (who only speaks Spanish with subtitles on the screen) and her young, hip mom, Xiomara. She is a waitress, writer, teacher, and daydreamer.
-  Jane is often found working at the Maribela Hotel, which is always close to bankruptcy.
- Jane never knew her dad until a few weeks ago, and he happens to be a rich, self-obsessed telenovela star, Rogelio De Le Vega. Watch him tweet in real time.
- Jane was engaged to a police detective, Micheal, who wanted nothing to do with having a baby.
- Gorgeous hotel magnate, Rafael, really wants to have this baby, and he is trying desperately to divorce his wife, Petra.
- Petra is crazy. Her mother Magda is also crazy.
Rafael's sister was the doctor that accidentally inseminated Jane, she was supposed to be inseminating Petra, who was keeping it a big secret.
- There's a wild criminal mastermind, Sin Rostro, who is Michael's ex-stepmother.
- Sin Rostro is also known as Rose, a former lover of Michael's sister (after she had a face-change so nobody could recognize her).
- This hotel is a prime spot for murders.

Let's see where we are at the end of the season.

Reading Into the Past- Don't Do It

   I was feeling nostalgic for the books of my youth because of this terrible Winter, and I reached for the dark and mysterious California Diaries serious from the Babysitters Club. I chose the first (Dawn's book) about 8th grade life in Southern California. For those of you trying to remember who Dawn is, she is the earthy hippie babysitter who moved to Stoneybrook, Connecticut with her mom and younger brother Jeff. After becoming friends with shy Mary Anne, Dawn and MA discovered their parents used to date in high school and dawn's divorcee mom and Mary Anne's widower father rekindled their romance and re-married each other. Dawn, like her brother before her, got tired of all the snow (who can blame her) and moved back to Cali to live with her dad and his new wife, Carol.

   These California kids were a lot more "real" than those Baby Sitters. Dawn, Sunny, Maggie, Duckie and Amelia (and not Jill, she was a stick in the mud). These kids go to high school parties, they kiss people, they drink beer, and they cover their parents' secrets. In its purest essence, it was everything me and my 4th and 5th grade friends imaged 8th grade would be (in out 90210 world). Each book is written a diary entry, and I found Dawn's diary extremely whiny for a thirteen-year- old girl (THIRTEEN! YOU'RE THIRTEEN?)- The European Guy to Stacey in The Babysitters Club Movie.

(Paraphrased from the entries) ...Wah, we have to go school with the older hgih schoool kids, I'm so nervous. Wah, my stepmom is having a baby, and my dad won't lvoe me as much. Wah, we're thinking of sneaking out to a high school party and I'm so scared, plus my best friend is having a wild streak"....

   That being said, Dawn was never my favorite baby sitter (respect the boss lady), but she was supposed to be one of the more open minded sitter girls, and when she got into hanging out with the West Coast kids, she was even more of a baby than Mallory.

How to Solve a Murder -Viola Davis Style

     One of the best new shows this season, hands-down, is ABC's How to Get Away with Murder. This past Thursday, we finally got the answer to the season-long question: who killed sorority girl Lila? Now new questions have popped up and we're left waiting until the next season to figure our : "Will the Keating 5 get away with murder?" and "Who let Rebecca go?"

     Oscar winner Viola Davis leads the cast as Annalise Keating, a tough talking defense attorney and twisted mother figure to her scrappy band of first year law students. Wes, Laurel, Connor, Mikela and Asher. Despite the lessons they learn in class, these kids could not be more clueless about how to work the legal system. In their weekly cases, Annalise relies on associate Bonnie (Liza Weil, yes Paris Gellar from Gilmore Girls) and investigator Frank (Charlie Weber) to get things to go her way and to helo her clients. Due to some very complicated circumstances, Wes ends up killing Annalise's husband, Professor Sam Keating. Sam was having an affair with coed Lila, who was pregnant at the time she drowned in a campus water tower.

     My money was definitely on Sam as the murderer, although her football star boyfriend, Annalise and a shady drug dealer friend Rebecca were all equally likely suspects.  Through current events, flashbacks to the nights of Sam's and Lila's murders, we unravel a story that leaves everyone with blood on their hands. Wes only struck Sam because he was wrestling Rebecca (who became involved with Wes) for a flash drive that might prove he was guilty of the murder. The other students helped to dispose of Sam's body (minus Asher, who is so self-serving, he didn't even realize he was left out of the biggest cover-up in town). Unfortunately, Asher's trophy was the murder weapon, and Bonnie was hit on by Sam before he died, which made Annalise so disappointed in her character, they were barely speaking.

     So where does that leave us? Four of the law students must barely be passing their classes because they're covering up murders as often as they're defending the people accused of them.... and Oliver, Connor's boyfriend is one computer hacking away from going to jail for life. Annalise can finally be with her secret lover, Detective Nate Lahey, because Sam is dead. It looks like Nate might be hauled into the precinct for the murder of Sam, despite his innocence in the matter.

     As for Lila's murder, Sam instructed Frank to "take care of", a.k.a. murder Lila. Nobody knows Frank was the murderer because he is creepy, but a very convincing liar. This case may remain unsolved.  Annalise realized her students killed Sam, and in flashbacks, she told Wes what to do to cover it up, and she was really okay with her husband being murdered (a blessing in disguise?). Rebecca became so disturbed by the whole set of events (and she also takes a lot of drugs), she planned to go to the police and tell them everything. Then  the students tied her up in Annalise's basement. Before we knew it, someone let her escape.. of was she murdered to ensure her silence? In a final thought, what does "eggs 911" mean from Rebecca's last text? Who was she contacting?

The Oddest Couple

   Last week, CBS re-launched The Odd Couple. I'm not exactly sure why they did this, but based on the success of Hawaii 5-0, I guess any old show stands a chance these days if it can get some buzz going. Before the show started, I was excited about watching it. Now that I've seen the first episode, I'm not sure it will be holding my interest.

   It's a take as old as time. Two divorced college buddies that are as different as night and day end up living together and navigating the world through their differences in personality. Matthew Perry (Chandler) plays grumpy drinking Oscar and Thomas Lenin is likable as the completely neurotic and on the edge of a nervous breakdown Oscar. Felix is messy and he likes sports, while Oscar is a total neat freak that enjoys opera, arts and cooking. They make the acquaintance of two sisters that live in their apartment building, played by Leslie Bibb (Casey) and Lindsay Sloane (Emily) {it's important to note here as part of the WB network's two stars to a new project rule, both actresses were on the WB, Bibb in popular and Sloane in Sabrina the Teenage Witch}. The opening scenes followed the play version very closely, but with some 21st century upgrades  (lots of TV's, Laptops, cell phones...).

   As much as I like both actors, and enjoy their scenes in the movie 17 Again, it felt like a community theater production put to a laugh track. Only time will tell if it makes it to another season.

MLK Skiing Weekend

     One of the greatest new shows of the season is ABC's Black-ish. Anthony Anderson and Tracee Ellis Ross (Diana's daughter) lead the show as parents Dre (Andre) and Bow (Rainbow), who are only content when they try to leave their kids with a positive affirmation of black culture. Living in the hood and moving up to a predominately white suburban L.A. neighborhood causes many issues for Dre. Bow, as a child of hippie parents, often tries to split the middle between Dre's hood logic and the Joneses they now keep up with, and often comes up short.

Ski Jail

      How will the family learn more about the rich culture and heritage of America, they're ditching all of the educational programs and going to a ski lodge. Dre and Bow take two cars up to the lodge. While Bow, her two daughters and son Jack enjoy sing-alongs in their car, Dre causes drama. Dre and his buddy Charlie fight injustice on their drive to the ski lodge, or so they tell themselves. They get pulled over, and in an attempt to prove to Junior and his white friend, Dre yells at a police officer and insisting this happened only because they're black. Later at the ski lodge, Dre ends up in "Ski jail" for calling the clerk racist when trying to book massages.