THE GOOD WIFE Fans "Recipients" of Another Great Installment

Article originally written for Seat42F.

Thank you for your advice. All options are open to me, and I’ll make a decision within 48 hours.

That’s the repeated refrain on this week’s installment of THE GOOD WIFE on CBS, “Undisclosed Recipients.” Alicia (Julianna Margulies) has won the State’s Attorney election, but that is just the beginning of her problems. She tries to play open and honest with everyone, donors and her partners at the law firm alike, but it doesn’t work too well. It’s time for her to start being a politician, and Eli (Alan Cumming) makes that very clear to her.

As much as one roots for Alicia to stand up to influence and do the right thing, it’s easy to see why Lemond (Mike Colter) and Redmayne (Ed Asner) think they should have influence over her. They did pour a lot of support into her campaign with the expectation of getting something in return. Alicia may not have agreed to terms, but she did take the money. She could have refused or made a stink about it, but she wouldn’t have won. Perhaps THE GOOD WIFE goes too easy on politicians and the influence of money, or perhaps they are just showing that even the best person is put in a difficult position within this broken system.

Eli provides a way out, backing up the stereotype that politicians are slimy liars. He tells her to deflect and appear to appreciate advice she won’t seriously consider. This works on Redmayne, and it works on Castro (Michael Cerveris), who is looking for professional respect. A variation of this also works on Alicia’s partners, whom are trying to lowball her in buying her out of the firm. But I don’t think it will work on Bishop.

Bishop isn’t a part of that world. He isn’t a public figure in the same way the rest are, preferring to dwell in the shadows. He also uses violence to fight, not words, giving him a different set of tools. Redmayne may forget that Alicia doesn’t choose who he wants, but Bishop won’t overlook Alicia refusing to call of an investigation on him. She could wind up hurt, or worse.

Alicia needs assistance in dealing with Bishop. I think it’s time she brings Eli and Marissa (Sarah Steele) fully into the loop here. Perhaps she puts them at risk by coming clean, but both have been very valuable advisors, different sides of the same coin with varying opinions. If the brain trust of these three can’t figure a way out of this, I’m not sure no one can.

The other thing that happens in “Undisclosed Recipients” is that a hacker leaks the firm’s emails because they are representing a client suing a file sharing site. Because these people let off steam, and also because they work with people they don’t always like, there are many damaging comments made that now come to light. Cary (Matt Czuchry), Diane (Christine Baranski), David Lee (Zach Grenier), Kalinda (Archie Panjabi), Lyman (Jerry Adler), and just-returned-from-New York Julius (Michael Boatman) all succumb to infighting over this. Alicia is spared only because the released emails are from the time of her campaign.

It’s interesting to see dirty laundry brought to light in this particular environment. The type of job and the sort of people who do this work create a much more tumultuous atmosphere than in most offices. Not everything said is what the authors are really thinking, though some of it is. I think it reminds us that we all find ways to work with people we don’t agree with or like, and we can’t condemn others for being no better than ourselves. It’s quite a thought-provoking story, as much as it is a juicy, dramatic one.

That Finn (Matthew Goode) lets comments Alicia pre-emptively admits to making about him roll off his back shows that he’s a different type of person that the rest of the cast. Or he just trusts Alicia more than he would most people, her actions speaking louder than words. He would be a great ally for her to have, a reasonable, logical individual who cares about her. I hope he takes the job as her deputy. Marissa, too, shows no judgment as she reads Alicia’s messages, so she also needs to stick around, given her considered take on the world (though it’s worth noting none are about her).

I also don’t think THE GOOD WIFE has seen the last of these emails. Alicia’s are not released, but they could be, as the hacker says they have two years’ worth of stuff. Given Alicia’s new job and how much more damaging this could be to her in the high-morality role, it seems too tantalizing a bait to not toss in the water. Expect this to come back up at some point, whether it’s sooner or later.

Once more, THE GOOD WIFE gives us excellent, engaging plot with authentic, layered characters in a very real situation. It rips from the headlines, but also stays true to the individuals created. I can find no flaw with “Undisclosed Recipients,” another excellent hour from the stellar series.

THE GOOD WIFE airs Sundays on CBS.

THE GOOD WIFE Goes "Dark"

Article first published as THE GOOD WIFE Review Season 6 Episode 13 Dark Money on Seat42F.

CBS’s THE GOOD WIFE returned from hiatus this week with “Dark Money.” Alicia (Julianna Margulies) faces the bad side of her campaign as she and Prady (David Hyde Pierce) compete for a big money donor. Meanwhile, Lemond Bishop (Mike Colter) cashes in his favor with Kalinda (Archie Panjabi), and Diane (Christine Baranski) and Cary (Matt Czuchry) defend Colin Sweeney (Dylan Baker) in a defamation lawsuit. Nothing huge happens in the mythology of the show, but it is another excellent installment.

Any episode with Colin Sweeney in it is most welcome, and when Baker gets to play dual roles, also portraying an actor hired to play a version of him in a TV show, well, that’s just icing on the cake. He is a supreme creep, the type of person one never wants to meet in real life, but the same eccentricities that make him a scary psychopath also help paint him as a fascinating television character.

This go ‘round, things start off with a prosecutor, Selma Krause (Julie White), trying to prove a show didn’t use Sweeney’s likeness, then morphs into yet another case of someone trying to show Sweeney killed his wife. With Sweeney’s current spouse, Renata (Laura Benanti), a woman as unpredictable and self-absorbed as her husband, tossed in as a wild card, there are many interesting back and forths as the case shakes out, each side taking a turn in the lead.

I don’t know if The Good Wife will ever see Sweeney convicted, but “Dark Money” is as close as the show has ever gone to saying he did it. Part of me wants Sweeney to get his just desserts, but part of me is glad he gets away with things because it’s our heroes who represent him.

Alicia has been getting in touch with her dark side, too, even as she tries to stay out of Sweeney’s business, a position he isn’t happy about. Instead, she meets with a Koch-brother-type, Guy Redmayne (Edward Asner), who wants to support her because he thinks Prady is gay and he doesn’t like “faggots.” In his own way, Redmayne is just as despicable as Sweeney, even if Redmayne has never killed anyone. Because Alicia has to deal with him, she is torn up inside, realizing the high cost she’s paying by going into politics.

I think Alicia will be able to live with herself, though. It’s true that she doesn’t like doing what she’s doing and she has a good cry afterwards, especially after Prady makes her sympathize with him again. However, this is all for a reason, and Alicia wants to win. Having come this far and knowing everyone else is just as deep in the mud, she feels this is the game she has signed on to play. Similar to being a lawyer, entering politics is impossible to do over any period of time with a clean soul.

Can she still be a good person, though, if she does bad things? Her daughter, Grace (Makenzie Vega), seems to think so, and I’m inclined to agree. People can’t be judged by every single action they take; they have to be considered as a whole person. Overall, Alicia does far more good than bad in this world.

The final of the trio of stories finds Kalinda tasked with playing chauffer to Bishop’s son, Dylan (Eric Ruffin). Bishop has his reasons for enlisting Kalinda and those play out, but that’s not nearly as interesting as the accidental circumstance Kalinda finds herself in when she sees a bully being mean to Dylan. Kalinda handles it, but Bishop finds out anyway.

Bishop is a scary dude, which is why Dylan doesn’t want Kalinda to tell his dad what happened. When faced with the situation, though, Bishop calmly calls the bully’s father and asks him to talk to his son. There are no threats, veiled or otherwise, and no physical punishment is dealt out. It’s frustrating to Bishop not to use every tool in his arsenal to protect his loved one, but he knows it’s better for his son if he shows restraint. He is many things, including a good father.

This doesn’t make Bishop a likeable character by any means. Like Redmayne and Sweeney, he isn’t someone you’d want to be friends with. Also like them, he’s rich. I think there’s a commentary to be noticed here about the trio of villains in “Dark Money” and how they tie into the stories of our main characters, who are not bad people.

“Dark Money” leaves the viewer with much to ponder, and in between serious moments, Marissa (Sarah Steele) drops in to lighten the mood. Plus, there’s a terrific West Wing reference. This is a recipe for a great television show, and I’m constantly amazed at how THE GOOD WIFE thrives on a boring network like CBS. Thankfully, the channel seems to let them do their thing their way.

The Good Wife airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.

Too Big to Fail is too good to fail

     HBO's newest TV movie is Too Big to Fail, a tale of the 2008 financial crisis in the United States, based on the book of the same name by New York Times financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin. Events follow real life, as Henry Paulson (William Hurt, Damages, Into the Wild), Timothy Geithner (Billy Crudup, Almost Famous, Watchmen), Ben Bernanke (Paul Giamatti, John Adams, Sideways), and their staffs try to prevent the next great depression. After bailing out Bear Sterns, Paulson is determined not to do the same for Lehman Brothers. He gathers the heads of the major investment banks, trying to push them into a private sector solution. When deals fall through, Paulson lets Lehman go bankrupt, and the economy goes from bad to worse as a result. The government employees scramble for another solution before a chain reaction cripples the country.

     Adding to the realism are actual news clips from the time, showing the real politicians and reports as the financial system gets worse and worse. These are not actors, played up for dramatic effect. These are real people reporting real stories. And Jon Stewart, ripping John McCain a (deservedly) new one.

     Is it a fair and balanced look at the fall of 2008? That's debatable. The writers have an opinion and a slant, as any dramatic work must, and so there is some bias towards certain parties. But there is also some grey area and debate, and so Too Big to Fail tries hard, and mostly succeeds, to at least give most everyone the benefit of the doubt. Or at least consideration that issues are complicated.

    The sprawling cast is top notch. There is a lot of star power, many in small roles, such as Ed Asner as Warren Buffett. Yet, not a single actor stands out as being inferior to the others. If anything can be said about HBO's films, it's that they do not shirk on casting. Each actor and actress shows a depth that really brings the characters, which are closely based on real people, to life in an authentic way. Most are matched quite well in looks, aided by expert makeup, though Crudup probably least physically resembles his counterpart, of the primary three.

     The bankers themselves are played by Tony Shalhoub (Monk, Wings), Evan Handler (Californication, Sex and the City), and Bill Pullman (Torchwood, Independence Day), among others. They are not really the blatant villains, as one might expect. While the companies they represent do take a large portion of the blame for what they have done, the men who run them generally come across as hard workers, willing to make sacrifices. They want to save their companies, but they are also willing to make a move that benefits the system as a whole, which in a roundabout way, does save their companies.

     That doesn't mean the bankers are heroes, by any stretch of the imagination. Obviously, it is because of them and their companies that the chain reaction of disaster begins. They also pocket American tax payer bailout money, which they will only take without strings, and continue to pay out huge bonuses. The public is justified in their anger at them. But because the film is made up mainly of closed door meetings of individuals, these things are sometimes downplayed, making them seem like decent guys. Hallway rants by Paulson allude to another side of the story.

    Actually, the people who come off the worst in the film are James Woods (Shark), as the head of Lehman who hesitates to try to make more money, not realizing it's too late to save the bank, and Congress, especially John McCain and the GOP. They are all slow to act, and work against what Paulson insists is necessary. It's a battle to get them to do what has to be done, and because of them, the whole system almost goes belly up several times.

     Also looking bad are the British, who have a chance to help, but sabotage a good deal that may have saved the system at the last minute. Furthermore, they begin to freeze credit after Lehman's collapse, worsening the situation. While Europe will be deeply hurt by what happens on Wall Street, they show an unwillingness to believe that America can take them down, too.

     Asians also have a chance to step in, but choose not to. One Asian company does help buy one of the American banks, but several deals with friends in the Pacific fall through as they back away from toxic assets. And who can really blame them?

     Paulson, who is really the central character, has a staff that includes actors Topher Grace (That '70's Show, Spider-man 3) and Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City, The Big C). They try very hard to not only help their boss fix things, but also to keep him healthy, as Paulson is plagued by a lack of sleep, and looks worse and worse as the movie progresses. They are the heroes of the story, tirelessly putting their lives on hold to save the country. Whether that is true or not, the way the trio comes across makes it very easy to root for them.

     The story itself is a gripping tale of horror. What makes it even scarier is that not only is is true, but the problems shown are far from solved. A scroll at the end tells viewers that the same conditions exist today, and the economy could still easily go over the precipice, since the government has failed to act to change anything significant in the two and a half years since the events unfolded. It's a chilling realization, not one that gives any comfort.


     Too Big to Fail will repeat numerous times on HBO over the next few weeks. If you have not caught it yet, make sure to do so soon.

     If you like my reviews, please follow me on Twitter! Click here for all of my Current Season Reviews.

     Please click here to buy the book on which Too Big to Fail is based.

Article first published as TV Review: Too Big to Fail on Blogcritics.

Up, up and away

     The latest film from Disney / Pixar (Toy Story, Finding Nemo) is Up, which was recently released on DVD.  It was a cute movie, not short on humor or pathos.  But much of it did not live up to previous ventures.

     Up opened beautifully, with a long sequence featuring Carl (voiced by the wonderfully gruff Ed Asner) and his life with his wife, Ellie.  Like Wall-E, there was not talking in the beginning, just music and montage.  Pixar has proved that they do this well, and this was no exception.  Twenty minutes in, there were tears in my eyes.  All of that really set up the story, as Carl tied a bunch of balloons to his house, rather than go quietly into a nursing home, and set off to place it at Paradise Falls, a dream of Ellie's since childhood.  When several obstacles tried to prevent him from getting the house in place before the balloons lost helium, he ignored others' feelings and needs to try to satisfy what he thought of as a last tribute to his deceased wife.  It was sweet, if a bit short sighted, and that part of the movie was wholly satisfying.

     The end, too, was done right.  Carl needed to learn that others could care for him, and that he could still have a life after Ellie was gone.  While it was a bittersweet lesson, the ending again got me choked up, and things ended the way they should, albeit a lot more predictably than, say, Ratatouille, the 2007 film from the same company.  Still, making the obvious choice can be forgiven if done correctly, as the ending in this film was.  I'll even give them credit for creating a villain who was not entirely two dimensional.

     The problem with this film was the middle.  Yes, Carl needed to learn his lesson, but certain events to get him from the beginning of the mission to the end were just plain silly.  The dogs with the talking voice boxes, yes interesting and clever, but overused, especially in making Alpha's malfunction.  Some jokes were used over and over again until they were no longer amusing ("Squirrel!").  And why didn't Russell, a young boy who accidentally came long for the ride, have a worried mother mounting an all out rescue mission to find him?  The one scene we even got of her was her smiling on at the end as Carl played father to Russell.  Really?  Your boy disappears for an extended time to South America, and you're going to just let him hang out with the old man who took him?  It just shucked reality and sense a little more than other Disney / Pixar projects.  Also, the short attached to this one was quite a bit goofier, in a not so good way, as the other shorts released with Pixar movies, though it was still somewhat charming.

     Was the movie worth watching?  Yes, of course.  Pixar has yet to make a bad movie.  Will it be remembered as one of the studio's best?  Probably not, at least in my opinion.