STRANGER THINGS 2 REVIEW

Article first published as TV Review: STRANGER THINGS 2 on Seat42F.

 Caution: This review contains light spoilers from the first three episodes of season two.

Netflix’s 1980s-set sci-fi horror Spielberg-esque hit, STRANGER THINGS, is back for a second round! Similar to a movie series, it’s being titled STRANGER THINGS 2, which seems appropriate, given the feel of the program. Like before, it features a scant number of episodes (nine this time). But also like before, this makes for a concentrated, intense story about weird occurrences in a small town. All of your favorite players have returned, plus a few new faces, and the quality seems to have been maintained. The stakes have even risen a bit.

The action picks up roughly one year after the events of the first season. Will Byers (Noah Schnapp) is still haunted by his time in the Upside Down. Mother Joyce (Winona Ryder) hopes these are just flashbacks, as Dr. Owens (Paul Reiser, Married) seems to indicate. Will’s brother, Jonathan (Charlie Heaton), is there to help his brother through. But Owens may have ulterior motives, working with the government agency that has kept a tight lid on the alternate dimension, forcing all who know of it not to tell anyone, and it soon becomes clear that Will is being warned of a new, bigger threat.

Meanwhile, Will’s friends all have their own things going on. Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) is interested in the new girl in town, video game master Max (Sadie Sink, American Odyssey). Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) has an odd pet. Mike (Finn Wolfhard) has some serious emotional issues. Nancy (Natalia Dyer) isn’t sure she’s made the right choice in staying with Steve (Joe Keery). Even Joyce has a new steady, Bob (Sean Astin, The Goonies).

These are all interesting stories, some more than others, but they do an important thing. As much as I liked season one, the story was concentrated on a few members of the large ensemble, with others regulated to supporting status. In STRANGER THINGS 2, the plot is more balanced, incorporating more of the cast on a regular basis. There are more moving pieces of note, which makes for a denser story. This isn’t a knock on season one, which made the right choice for the initial outing. However, it’s a satisfying development for the sequel, now that the world is more established.

It’s also nice that Barb figures into STRANGER THINGS 2. Yes, she’s still dead, and I don’t think it likely that she undergoes resurrection. She was the also-missing in season one, someone who caught audience attention, but didn’t have much traction on screen. A subplot involving her parents, who have still not been told of her death, is moving and heart-breaking, giving more meaning to everyone’s favorite redhead downer.

Many fans tuning in are probably most curious about Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who we last assumed was hiding out in the woods. She is, courtesy of Jim Hopper (David Harbour), protected and hidden from friends and foes alike. While I don’t mind this in of itself, it is made better by the flashbacks to show what happened and how it happened between Eleven and Hopper in between seasons. This better informs the relationship between the cop and his sort-of-adopted-daughter, as well as the motivations both are facing now.

I think STRANGER THINGS 2 totally lives up to year one. It’s enticing, well-made, beautifully produced, and has fine performances, including the newcomers, who easily slide right in. It deepens a complex mystery, and both scares and touches you at the same time. The wonder and charm have been retained, even while what is terrifying has gotten more so. As important, it remains grounded. There are plenty of places for this show to go, and I’m happy to be along for the ride.

STRANGER THINGS 2 is available now on Netflix.

Growing Up Among RED OAKS

Article originally published as RED OAKS Review on Seat42F.

Amazon’s newest half hour series is called RED OAKS, and it premiered today on the streaming service. Set at a country club in 1985, it’s a coming-of-age sex comedy, just like many of the movies of that era. In the summer before college, several teenagers hang out and hook up, mentored by adults who are not the best role models.

The protagonist of RED OAKS is David (Craig Roberts, Submarine), who bristles against his dad’s (Richard Kind, Spin City, Gotham) desire for him to become an accountant. Looking at the messed up marriage of his father and mother (Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing), David sees a life he doesn’t want, and so gets a job as an assistant to the tennis pro at the club, Nash (Ennis Esmer, The L.A. Complex).

Nash is probably the most interesting character on the show. Nearly forty years old, he has managed to use a failed turn as a pro athlete to carve out the life he wants at the club. He’s not exactly a good role model for David, but he does occasionally give good advice, and at least he cares about his charge.

RED OAKS is rounded out by other familiar personality types. Paul Reiser (Married, Mad About You) is terrific as the angry club president. Alexandra Socha (The Big C) is his daughter who turns David’s head, despite the fact that David is in a relationship with a yoga instructor played by Gage Golightly (Teen Wolf). There’s David’s schlubby friend, Wheeler (Oliver Cooper, Californication), the jock, Lefevre (Nick Bailey, A Most Violent Year), and the jock’s girlfriend that Wheeler wants, Misty (Alexandra Turshen, Boy meets Girl). Plus, there’s an older jerk who will probably steal away David’s girl played by Josh Meyers (The Awesomes), brother of Seth.

If that sounds like the cast of an 80s movie you love, that’s because RED OAKS is designed to slide right into that genre. It isn’t making fun of those types of movies like Wet Hot American Summer does; it is one of those movies, just in episodic form. The characters take themselves seriously and the plot is earnest. And, by comparison to its peers from twenty years ago, RED OAKS is pretty good, even if it doesn’t do anything to set it apart from those other works. It’s neither better nor worse, which is pretty good.

The main story will probably be about the sexual activities of the younger characters. After all, they are at the age where they are finding themselves and, in the case of the sheltered or dorky guys, finally getting to interact with the opposite sex. That David already has a girlfriend he sleeps with actually sets him a little apart from what one might expect, but his personality still fits within the virgins that generally appear in pieces like this.

Given that subject matter, don’t expect to watch this one with the kids. Amazon is not bound by the FCC, and thus can show the boobs and such that the movies did. I don’t think RED OAKS will get particularly raunchy, and don’t expect orgies of the likes you might see on certain HBO shows. It also lacks violence and has less profanity than many in the genre. So it’s got a relatively tame approach, but there is nudity.

I haven’t yet decided if I’m going to watch RED OAKS past the first episode. Because it doesn’t break the mold, I kind of feel like I’ve already seen it. At the same time, there are not any glaring flaws (other than David’s girlfriend both professing how perfect they are and looking at someone else), and this cast does make me care about the characters. So whether you should tune in or not really comes down to how much you enjoy this particular premise.

RED OAKS’ first season is now available on Amazon.

Re-MARRIED

Article originally published as TV Review: 'Married' - Season Two Premiere on Blogcritics.

Some series like to start their seasons with a big opener. FX’s Married is not one those programs, nor does it need to be. The quiet, depressing, amusing, realistic look at marriage is all about the characters and the way their complex relationships are portrayed. They do not need big stories or ratings-grabbing stunts to make it good.

It’s funny that, considering what I just said, the first episode of season two is called “Thanksgiving.” Traditionally, sitcoms have used holidays, especially that one, to do splashier plots. Married constantly subverts what one expects from a family comedy, though, and this season premiere is no exception. It isn’t actually Thanksgiving in the episode, and while the set up is familiar, the way it plays out is edgy and unexpected.

I liked season one a lot, but it took some time to get settled into what it was. As Married begins its second run with “Thanksgiving,” though, it’s clear those rough edges have been smoothed out. The half hour both feels at once totally in sync with the previously installments, but also more polished and solid. Fans now understand Russ (Nat Faxon) and Lina (Judy Greer) a lot better, and this knowledge definitely colors how we see them interact. This union has its ups and downs, but there is real love there, and they do make a good team.

I have to take a moment to admire Greer and Faxon’s skills. When the casting was first announced, I was familiar with them both, but usually as second-rate players, so I assumed they would be here as well. This is not the case. Given good material that seems perfectly tailored to them, they have both emerged as worthy stars. I admire both the nuance and the realism in their performances, and their chemistry is fantastic. I think my favorite part of Married is just watching the two in a scene together, which never disappoints.

“Thanksgiving” finds them visiting Lina’s mother, Janice (Frances Conroy, American Horror Story), who is no longer mentally all there. Janice lives with Ed (M.C. Gainey, Lost), who is not Lina’s dad, but has been with Janice for well over a decade. Lina worries that Ed might not have Janice’s best interests at heart, especially when the topic turns to sex. Is she right? And whether she is or not, what is she in a position to do about it, and does she have a right to overrule Ed? Aging parents are a topic many a married couple has to deal with, and I like Married‘s grounded take.

While Lina and Russ are the central characters of married, AJ (Brett Gelman) and Jess (Jenny Slate) are also main characters. Often, while they’ve had tiny subplots, they’ve been regulated to supporting people, coming in far distant in importance from the leads. “Thanksgiving” fixes that, giving them their own, fully fleshed out, interesting B story. It does not relate to Russ and Lina at all, Jess actually has to learn something, and we get to see them both as separate individuals, a welcome development. Plus, there are hilarious little moments for Shep (Paul Reiser) thrown in, making me wish he appeared just a bit more.

Married isn’t the perfect show. Some will find it too serious to be considered a comedy, even though that’s what it bills itself as. However, this is not much different from what HBO and Showtime sell as sitcoms, and while Married is confined to the limitations of basic cable, it certainly has more leash than a show on the Big Four. It expertly finds that middle ground, still funny like the general public might expect, sometimes laugh-out-loud levels of such, but also displaying the depth and talent that the premiums do. I’m very satisfied with its return, a marked improvement over the already-good freshman season.

Married returns Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET on FX.

Time to Get MARRIED

Article first published as 'Married' Season Finale Review on Blogcritics.

FX’s Married brings its freshman season to a close with “Family Day.” Everyone goes to visit AJ (Brett Gelman) in rehab for Family Day, where he is supposed to apologize for how he has wronged them. Instead, things devolve into a five-way bicker fest as the various adults who make up the cast begin taking out their frustrations with their own lives on those around them. Luckily, the venting actually helps them release their tension and get on track for a happy ending.

I have to be honest, I tolerated Married more than I enjoyed it for most of this season. FX is a terrific network, and Married is paired with the absolutely fantastic You’re the Worst, so I almost watched it out of reflex or default than any actual desire. Plus, I find it much more difficult to give up a half hour series than an hour-long one, as it just didn’t seem like a big commitment to stick with it through its ten episodes. But it’s depressing as hell and makes the viewer feel bad about themselves, so it’s much harder to get into than other fare. It can be barely be called a comedy.

Somewhere along the way, it slowly grew on me, though. It’s not that my marriage is anywhere near as bad as the one at the center of the series; I’m not beaten down. But there’s both a slight satisfaction in seeing a couple worse off than you, and the optimism sparked in select moments that prove even a seemingly-terrible union can still work, that makes Married eventually attractive.

The more I watch Married, the more I’m convinced that Russ (Nat Faxon) and Lina (Judy Greer) are actually much better off than they appear to be. They are in a very rough patch in their lives, struggling financially and stressed out because of their three young children. Russ wants his old life back, and so does Lina, but she’s the more responsible of the pair, soldiering on under the current circumstances, whereas Russ look for tiny outs, and frequently takes them. Because of the misery of dealing with these factors, they work out their anger on one another far too often, and that’s what makes them look like they’re falling apart. But every once in awhile, we get a glimmer of what brought them together in the first place, and it sure feels like that they’ll get back to that happiness once these outside influences are dealt with and go away.

Because of this, I’ve become very fond of the characters. Faxon and Greer are great, as they have been in other projects, and they do an authentic job of developing two characters that are more realistic and complex than most on television. They make themselves sympathetic, even when you’re understanding why their spouse is ticked at them. They’re real people, in look and in action, and that sells the show.

The supporting cast of Married is much the same. Jess (Jenny Slate) and Shep (Paul Reiser) have complications in their own marriage for entirely different reasons, Jess almost trying to escape motherhood. “Family Day” is probably the most we’ve seen of them relating to one another, but while it’s not obvious, they are in a similar boat as Russ and Lina. AJ is mourning the loss of his wife, and he acts out because he wants back what his friends have. Even recurring Bernie (John Hodgman) shows off some good development in the season finale.

Funnily enough, the final scene of “Family Day” is the lightest of the season. After ten weeks of rough stuff, there’s a cookout and everyone is in good spirits. They talk about death, sure, but it’s in a joking manner. Married finally finds it’s heart, and because it waits so long to do so, it’s a well-earned pay-off.

When next season rolls around, I won’t be recording Married just for the heck of it. I will be eagerly anticipating the return of a series that I really like and is very well made. Assuming it’s renewed, of course, which sadly has not happened yet.

HBO Takes Us BEHIND THE CANDELABRA

Article first published as BEHIND THE CANDELABRA Review on Seat42F.

Grade: 95%

HBO generally does a great job with their original films, and the latest, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, which premiered last night, is no different. The movie details the relationship between famous performer Liberace (Michael Douglas) and Scott Thorson (Matt Damon), from when they meet to Liberace’s death. Based on the book by Thorson, it may feel a little one-sided, but is well presented.

Douglas is excellent as Liberace. He lived before my time, so I don’t have personal memories of the performer, but from the little bit I know about him, Douglas seems to capture the spirit and the personality. He is a flamboyant showman, insecure and addicted to being loved. He seems to find peace for a time with Thorson, but is always hungry for more attention and affection.

Damon is equally captivating as Thorson. At first, Thorson seems stiff and wooden, but over time, as he adjusts to Liberace and his lifestyle, Damon makes the man come alive, embracing a home, something he desperately wants and lacks all his life, as well as a way of living and direction. Thorson may or may not be bisexual, as he claims at first, perhaps willing to be with whoever will accept him. He does seem to care about Liberace, but Thorson also cares about being taken care of.

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA is much more than a biopic. It is the very tragic tale of two souls who have never quite found what they are looking for, but discover a kindred spirit in one another. They are both broken and damaged, and while they try to be what the other wants, sensing the similarities, they aren’t able to live up to those lofty expectations. Both scramble for something to hold onto, but are nearly impossible to satisfy.

Their love story reflects this inability to just be happy in the moment. They both make efforts to do so, but without knowing how to love themselves, they aren’t capable of being fully supportive of one another. Liberace turns to cosmetic surgery and sexual trysts, while Thorson becomes addicted to drugs, but the pathways are more alike than diverging.

Did Thorson love Liberace, or did he just want what Liberace was offering? Did Liberace love Thorson, or was he just drawn to the youth and spirit Thorson represented? These questions aren’t explicitly answered in the two hours, but Damon and Douglas give complex performances that capture the chemistry, warring emotions, and desires within the two men.

The two leads are joined by an absolutely outstanding supporting cast which includes: Dan Aykroyd as Seymour Heller, Liberace’s protective manager; Scott Bakula as Bob Black, the mutual friend that introduces them; Debbie Reynolds as Frances, Liberace’s elderly mother; Cheyenne Jackson as Billy Leatherwood, Liberace’s dissatisfied protégé; and Paul Reiser, Boyd Holbrook, Mike O’Malley, and Tom Papa in small parts that still leave an impression. All of these others may be on the outskirts of the main tale, but deserve credit for making it seem like a whole, complete look at two lives.

Special mention goes to Rob Lowe as Dr. Jack Startz, Liberace’s plastic surgeon and the pusher of Thorson’s drugs. At this point, it should hardly be surprising that Lowe can bring to life yet another eccentric oddball that feels fresh, and yet, he pulls it off again. A lot can be attributed to the facial expressions he exudes, but Lowe definitely plays a memorable role in this film.

Costumes and production design are predictably flawless. At this point, if a studio can’t deliver a convincing period piece, they ought to be ashamed of themselves. What is extra impressive in BEHIND THE CANDELABRA, though, is not just what stands out, but the reality glimpsed behind the facade. Glitter in Liberace’s hair that seems shining on stage comes across as part of a silly costume in the real moments away from the audience. The elaborate home of Liberace tells as much about the character as Douglas’s acting does. Liberace’s hair piece becomes a very essential representation of the man himself. These touches make the piece.

Pacing wise, BEHIND THE CANDELABRA does drag a bit in the middle. I think it kind of needs to to demonstrate where the romance begins to wear thin and when the problems crop up. However, there is a point where I got a little tired and the plot seemed to become a little predictable before ramping up to the antagonizing end.

The characters and their story is as much about our society during a certain decade as it is the people that the movie is about. The gluttony of excess is a familiar tale, one featured on the big screen right now in The Great Gatsby, a quintessential American trait. And with the gay rights movement finally changing minds and laws all over, it’s interesting to look back at a time of ignorance and denial. Including Liberace’s Catholic faith and funeral also points to the discrepancies present in many institutions, then and now.

BEHIND THE CANDELABRA is worth watching for all of the reasons I’ve mentioned and more. It’s not a perfect film, with historical events told from a certain point of view, but it is one that conveys something important and meaningful, balancing the personal story with the larger themes. Check it out, as HBO is currently re-running it frequently.

Paul Reiser returns to television with self-titled series

     Years after Mad About You has left the airwaves, NBC brought Paul Reiser back last night in his new series, The Paul Reiser Show. The series is about Paul (playing a fictionalized image of himself) being a dad post-TV career, and hanging out with his kids' friends' dads, whom he now reluctantly calls friends. Besides Reiser, the other main characters are four fellow fathers and Paul's wife (the lovely Amy Landecker, A Serious Man), so despite the concept, kids do not appear as major screen presences. The pilot, "The Father's Occupation", delivers some funny moments, but having spoken with people who have seen more than one episode, it's apparently quite a disappointment.

     Factor number one against The Paul Reiser Show: it is incredibly similar to Curb Your Enthusiasm. So much so that CYE star Larry David (playing his CYE version of himself) has lunch with Paul in episode one and tells him he should have his own version of CYE. He does, tongue in cheek, and its The Paul Reiser Show. If you do not get HBO, or are missing David because of the nearly year and a half hiatus CYE has been on (it went out November 2009 and returns in July), last night's entry may be an acceptable placeholder, if the show maintains the quality portions of the premiere, which word is, it does not.

     The best part of last night's episode is Reiser's lunch with David, where they argue about doing a game show. Reiser isn't interested in hosting, until he learns that David is being considered, and then suddenly he wants the series. The scene could easily have been shot for HBO, with the editors even bleeping David's profanity. Will the scene appear again when CYE returns? The second best part is Reiser's actual audition for Mark Burnett's (appearing as himself) game show, where Reiser gets annoyed with the contestants and tells them so. Burnett loves it, and wants to hire him immediately. Reiser refuses, knowing he would be miserable with the gig. But his misery is the whole reason Burnett loves him! Reiser is his own worst enemy.

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     Should the show stick with Reiser and his grumpy, neurotic run-ins with others, the series would be pretty good, albeit a clone. Instead, there are the four other fathers, who try to make it into a buddy comedy. Reiser considers himself mostly seperate from them, and so it feels like two different shows are being forced to mesh together awkwardly. The four actors who play the dads, Andrew Daly (Eastbound & Down), Omid Djalili (The Mummy), Duane Martin (All of Us), and Ben Shenkman (Damages) are capable enough, but the material given to them is trite and stale. It's been done a hundred times before on other sitcoms. They easily bring to mind when Raymond would occasionally sneak away to a friend's garage on Everybody Loves Raymond. So it really doesn't work.

     Since NBC waited until April to premiere the show (originally scheduled for summer, but replacing ratings-challenged, yet hilarious, Perfect Couples), chances are not good for a long run. If you're curious, check it out now while you have the chance. The Paul Reiser Show airs Thursday nights at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC.


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