Back from a jam-packed weekend, with lots to talk about. On Friday, I was lucky enough to attend the KROQ April Foolishness show at the Gibson Ampitheater at Universal Citywalk - featuring an insane line-up of top-shelf comedians. Saturday, I journeyed down to Culver City to celebrate the birthday of one of my Birthright Israel peeps, Ron D., and had a really fun night. Sunday, I took in a showing of ADVENTURELAND, which I will review right here, in this very post. And tomorrow, I'm blowing this popsicle stand and flying to Bloomfield by-god Connecticut for a couple days of family funtime and Passover seder-ing. That's right, I'm going East Coast from Tuesday to Sunday.
Back to the KROQ April Foolishness show for a minute - wow, what an epic night of comedy! The lineup was simply off the chain. Let me recap:
- The show started off with a montage of KROQ comedy clips featured on the Kevin and Bean morning radio show, as well as special shout-outs and pre-packaged sketches from the likes of Bob Saget, Tenacious D, Joel McHale, and more. Good stuff.
- JIMMY KIMMEL did a quasi talk-show segment, talking wiht Kevin and Bean and recalling his days as a sports guy for their show. We also got a surprise appearance from ADAM CAROLLA, doing one of his old characters from his own time as a K&B contributor.
- The first official standup act of the night was RAY ROMANO. I've never been a huge fan of his, but I must admit that Romano had some good material, even if his go-to topics of fatherhood and married life may not have been the best fit for the audience at the show. Still, not bad at all.
- The Office's CRAIG ROBINSON was up next and tore the house down, doing a set that saw the audience singing along with Robinson as he performed a random medley of hilarious tunes on his keyboard. Robinson's manic delivery and hilarious facial expressions were awesome, and he had the theater rocking.
- One of my favorites from the good ol' days of Saturday Night Live, KEVIN NEALON, was up next, and he started off a bit shaky. But ... Nealon ended with an absolutely classic bit that may be, in retrospect, my favorite material from the show. Suffice it to say, Nealon's story about reviewing porn movies for Playboy magazine was comedic gold.
- SARAH SILVERMAN took the stage and her set was vintage Sarah Silverman - that unique blend of sweet and innocent with foul-mouthed and filthy that has been her stock and trade. There was some really great material here, although the most memorable moments of Sarah's set came when she called out a heckler in the crowd, looking visibly irritated, and reminding everyone that she is probably the last person you want to annoy. In any case, Silverman had some great bits and it was awesome seeing her live and in person.
- The last time I saw him in person, he was hosting the Saturn Awards ... so this was actually my second time seeing JEFF ROSS do live comedy. The Roastmaster was in rare form, firing off jokes one after another, and even bringing Craig Robinson back out to play piano as Ross recited a couple of poems (yes, poems - but with a Jeff Ross twist, of course).
- It took me a while to warm up to him, but eventually JOE ROGAN won me over with his over the top, animated style and hilarious anecdotes. His extended bit about how tigers are dangerous monsters that we should live in fear of was funny as hell, and he had the crowd roaring in laughter.
- Finally, PATTON OSWALT closed out the show with a pretty decent set. I recognized a bunch of the jokes from Oswalt's most recent talk-show appearances, but he still had a couple of great lines. Plus, you've got to give props to the sheer geekiness of Oswalt - who else could so nonchalantly work in jokes referencing Snake Plissken and Blade Runner into his routine?
- Overall, like I said, it was an epic night of comedy, and it was awesome to see so many big-name comedians at a single show. Many if not all of the featured performers could have headlined their own sold-out show, so it was an undeniable treat to see them all at one time, in one place.
TV STUFF:
- Speaking of comedy, last night's episode of THE SIMPSONS was pretty interesting. One one level, this one had the makings of a great episode - it was very character-centric ep, featured Moe the bartender in a central role, and felt pretty old-school in terms of style and structure. The storyline, featuring Moe's foray into online dating leading to a newfound romance with a "little person" had a lot of potential. Ultimately though, while the set-up had a ton of promise, the resolution was far too jarring. You couldn't help but root for Moe despite his tendency to screw up, but as much as it seemed inevitable that he would eventually drop the ball, it all happened pretty suddenly. Similarly, the Homer-Maggie subplot was just kind of there and didn't have a ton of great jokes. If the humor had been really clicking here, then the resolution of the storyline wouldn't have been quite as important. But since this episode really invited you to focus in on the plot, its flaws were all the more visible. That said, I wouldn't mind if more Simpsons episodes were this character-focused - I'd rather have a decent ep with a great storyline than a trainwreck-style episode that's random and all over the place. And you know what, I really liked the final scene, so I will bump up my grade a notch.
My Grade: B+
- So it turns out I am really glad I stuck with TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, especially given that this coming Fridays' ep may be its last. Luckily, it seems that the show is intent on going out with a bang, as the last few eps have really cranked things up a notch. For one thing, this past Friday saw one of the most sudden and out-of-nowhere character deaths I've ever seen on a primetime drama. Derek's cold-blooded death at the hands of a hostile Terminator was shocking to say the least. Beyond that, the episode finally saw a convergence of John, Sarah, and Cameron with Ellison, John Henry, and Weaver, and set things up nicely for a potentially explosive finale. The biggest reveal the show has up its sleave is likely the revelation of Weaver's true agenda, so I'm excited to see how that plays out. I also really liked that this ep finally painted John Connor as a hero - seeing him save Savannah was a cheer-worthy moment, because it's one of the few times we've seen John step up and do more than just brood. In any case, this penultimate episode had high drama, great action, and the promise of big plot twists still to come. Man - what took them so long?
My Grade: A-
- Meanwhile, Thursday's SMALLVILLE was a fun installment that was a key chapter in the ongoing Davis Bloome / Doomsday storyline. And yet, in usual Smallville fashion, what could have been a really great episode gets weighed down by a large dose of cheesy melodrama. One thing that's always been pretty lame about Smallville is how the writers use shortcuts to create miscommunication and ambiguity in the characters' dialogue. I mean, Tess Mercer - she clearly knows at this point that Clark is the "Traveller", but through hamfisted dialogue the issue was danced around to no end. Otherwise, the Davis Bloom stuff was handled pretty well, but I was disappointed in the episode's non-ending. At this point, geez, just have Davis be the rampaging monster Doomsday already. Having him return to Chloe at episode's end seems to just keep his storyline in a perpetual state of limbo, a state that Smallville is all-too familiar with. The fact is, not every villain has to be a full-fledged supporting character. Having Davis around all the time makes the wait for the knock-down, drag-out smackdown with Clark that we all want to see seem like an eternity. Still, when all was said and done this was a well-done episode. As a self contained ep of Smallville, it was solid. But you have to wonder when the ultimate payoff to all of these neverending storylines will finally come.
My Grade: B
Okay, time for a movie review ...
ADVENTURELAND Review:
- This is not Superbad. Unlike director Greg Mottola's previous effort, Adventureland is much more in the vein of coming-of-age classics like Fast Times At Ridgemont Hight. It's down to earth, authentic, and has a surprising amount of dramatic heft to go along with the comedy. The characters are not just cartoons, but instead are surprisingly well-rounded. The script is smart and understated, and the direction really takes advantage of the 1980's setting to evoke a sense of nostalgia. It's a shame that Adventureland didn't perform better at the box office this past weekend, because it really is one of the best teen movies to come along in some time, and that's saying something given the many strong entries in the genre over the last few years. But the fact is, this story of a recent college grade spending his summer working at a crappy amusement park in Pittsburgh is both a tribute to the teen movies of old and a fairly unique entry in the genre.
Again, while Adventureland has some huge laughs, they are all earned thanks to great characterization. For the most part, this isn't an over-the-top, goofball comedy - think the sensibilities of Freaks & Geeks transposed to life after high school. To that end, it's funny to see so much talent associated with the "Apatow Gang" come full circle and go back to that subtler, more contemplative storytelling style.
The wall-to-wall strength of the cast really helps to pull of Motolla's vision. Jesse Eisenberg is excellent in the lead role - a slightly less geeky version of Michael Cera, Eisenberg really captures the uncertainty and weirdness of life immediately after college. And by the way, I really like the fact that this movie, while it is a coming-of-age story and one that kind of comes in the tradition of teen movies, deals with characters who are in their early twenties. For some reason, movies seem to gloss over this period and give the impression that once you're out of high school you're suddenly an uber-confident, drama-free adult (until you're in your mid-thirties, when you become a goofy man-child ...). It was almost weird seeing a twenty-something character having to deal with things like disapproving parents, but then I thought about my own life and realized that, holy crap, I was watching the most authentic post-college movie I've seen.
Back to the cast though, Eisenberg is good, but he is surrounded by a great ensemble. Say what you will about Twilight, but Kristen Stewart is undoubtedly the real deal. Her emotions and issues in Adventureland are so tangible and real-seeming that at times it can be almost hard to watch. Stewart is quickly becoming the go-to actress to play the quintissential damaged-goods-dream-girl. Suffice it to say, she's great in Adventureland, and you have to admire the fact that her character is painted with such shades of grey, and yet you really root for her.
It's so great to see Martin Starr kick ass in this movie - his best role since Freaks & Geeks. Playing a slightly older and more hipster version of Bill, Starr is all heart here and is a great counterpoint to Eisenberg's character. Whereas Eisenberg is falling in love and having this transformative moment, for Starr, it's just more of the same old crap. You don't see that a lot in movies, and here, it's sad, funny, and refreshing. On the oppossite end of the spectrum are Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig from SNL, who provide a lot of the film's biggest comedic moments. Hader in particular is awesome as the 'stache-sportin' owner of the Adventureland theme park. Ryan Reynolds is also good as the slightly older and slightly mythical park mechanic. Then again, the movie is all about looking behind the facade and really getting into these characters, so he is not quite what he seems.
The fact is though, the movie does a great job of recreating the whole summer-job vibe. As someone who spent five years as a camp counsellor, I couldn't help but smile in recognition at certain scenes in the movie.
If there's anything that I'd hold against Adventureland it's that, sometimes, the movie wallows a bit too much in its own emo-ness. But it's a tribute to the writing and cast that, like I said, the authenticity results in numerous awkward moments that feel so real and personal that they are almost hard to watch. Shades of Freaks & Geeks, for sure. But overall I really liked the vibe of this movie, from the great 80's tunes (including YET ANOTHER shout-out to Rush!) to the finely-honed mix of drama and comedy, I really got caught up in the characters and story.
So go check out Adventureland - it is certainly not the typical teen comedy - it feels personal, authentic, and it's a movie that has a lot of unexpected depth behind its humor.
My Grade: A-
Random Note: Saw JANET JACKSON at work today - she was in a meeting in the conference room that is right next to my desk!
Random Note: 24 had better kick some ass tonight.
Random Note: Cya.
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