Last week’s season premiere of Season 3 of the hit AMC show, Mad Men, delivered on its promise of whetting our appetites just enough to have us waxing nostalgic about why we fell in love with the show in the first place.
Where Season 2 suffered from that second season plateau/slump that have befallen many great shows, Sunday’s exploration of Don Draper’s psyche and his relentless unyielding to rise above the multiple identities he cloaks himself in to complement his mood du jour teased us with the promise of a season where we’ll get to see more Draper, and subsequently more of Draper’s past revealed. And let’s face it. Don Draper is why we all watch this show. The man oozes self-assurance, confidence, and the know-how to navigate the treacherous waters of this world with the right balance of acumen - both in business and in people. He knows why people tick and just how to get them to yield to his agenda, whether it’s in the boardroom or in the bedroom.
Per usual, the show balances the heavy (glimpses into Don Draper’s humble beginnings and his unwanted birth and Don realizing that one of his co-workers is gay when he catches him with this pants down) with lighter fare (the hysterical pitting of 2 Account Managers against one another for title of “Head of Accounts” - when both are convinced they’ve solely snagged the title) and throws in the absurd just to make sure we’re all still watching as intently as before.
No, this is not a direct quote from VP ticket Sarah Palin, but might not be far from the truth after reading the “personal, private” blog of Palin’s pregnant daughter’s boyfriend’s blog.
In his blog, Levi Johnston, a high school hockey player from Alaska and our favorite foot-in-the-mouth Baby Daddy, writes about Palin’s daughter, Bristol, and her considering an abortion just days before her mother found out and McCain nominated her.
In his sensitive blog entry Abort! Abort! Abort!” Levi pleas for funds to abort the baby and asks for where the nearest abortion clinic is. Even better someone calls Bristol a “hoor” while another commenter calls Palin out as a total hot “MILF.”
Seriously though, Obama couldn’t have wet dreamt himself a better outcome than this…Parody or not. I prefer to think of it as art.
Rarely do I read a magazine article these days that really intrigues me unless it’s a movie, book, or TV review and those don’t entirely count. Those aren’t the “real” pieces of journalism - the ones that launch TV shows, spin exposes, and get the same degree of exposure as one episode of “Law & Order.”
A few years ago everyone was up in arms about James Frey and his fictionalized memoir. Oprah banned him from her studios and banished her support of his thriving business - the one she practically built overnight. A public backlash ensued. Frey’s account was built, after all, on a foundation of lies and if nothing else, America likes its truth. Even when it’s spoon-fed with every known artificial sugar substitute on Earth. About the time that everyone was roasting Frey (sorry couldn’t help the pun), I came out in defense of him. Read More…
If you’re a Lost fan, it’s hard imagine what next after a season finale which featured never-before-seen previews of the life after the island (yes, they do manage to get off somehow); a climactic showdown between the show’s two bitter rivals/archenemies; the death of a beloved, yet flawed character who left us with a fateful message or one that’s construed as such anyways; and a possible pregnancy forcing the Jack/Sawyer/Kate love triangle storyline to its near breaking point.
With build-up in tension like that, it’s easy to see the rationale behind ABC waiting 8 mos to launch a new season of their most popular show and even more so why there was no way the premiere could hold a candle to the fireworks that ignited back in May.
Still, my biggest pet peeve about the Lost season premiere on Thursday was the lack of imagination and forethought into the characters’ development. And most of all, this overplay of the same 2-dimensional theme that the island holds some magical force which perpetuates good and that once you’re off the island you become dysfunctional and your entire sense of equilibrium gets shifted off-kilter to the brink of insanity.
Case-in-point: the anti-burly Hurley aka Hugo. Read More…
More proof that he writers’ strike is putting a serious dent on the availability of celebrities for late night appearances on talk shows: A guest on her longtime boyfriend, Jimmy Kimmel’s talk show last night, Sarah Silverman had a seriously scandalous confession to make to her honey.
I’ll give you a hint: While Jimmy Kimmel’s home drinking diet snapple, Sarah is [insert blog subject header] on the bed and on the floor.
Ilana Donna’s new video is sure to give some amount of thought to the validity of psychic networks, but really how much of your future do you want dictated to you? In short, is there any consolation to be found in knowing your fate or is there something to be said about a the element of the unknown when it comes to romantic entanglements?
Ilana Donna is back (after a very long hiatus) going undercover to find out exactly how two men from the South can be gainfully employed as “dating coaches” (er, um pick-up artists) in the cynical metropolis of New York. Watch and be amazed as our lovely vlogger, Ilana transforms from skeptic to smitten kitten in this video clip, guaranteed to get all gals (and guys) guessing. What really happened next?
Way back in the day (like high school), I used to watch Dawson’s Creek and enjoy the delightful Michelle Williams. She went on to bigger onscreen success (Brokeback Mountain), a stylish makeover, and a hunky, devoted, talented actor who wanted nothing more than to spend time with his beautiful wife and their little Matilda. Hey, at least the kid’s name isn’t Apple.
Well, flash forward 2 years and Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger have called it quits, citing the usual “growing apart” bit. Whatever the reasons, I want to see this couple back together. Like yesterday. There’s been enough tragedy for one week. Can’t we just all get along for once?
Amaldo.com vlogger Ilana Donna steps it up a notch this week with her pop culture round-up, once again giving us All the news that’s fit to capture on video including talk of Spice Girls reunion, Nicole Ritchie’s fertility, and Lindsay Lohan’s latest DUI. And for naysayers proclaiming you read all this in last week’s “US Weekly,” when’s the last time you saw Spice Girls hit single “Wannabe” sung freestyle?
Wait. Did I or did I not use “freestyle” correctly here? Eh. Who cares. Just watch the video, k.
Victoria Beckham didn’t waste any time capitalizing on her hubby’s deal with the LA Galaxy to further catapult her career as a professional celebrity. Her Monday night special, Coming To America, testified to that. And although the special picked up decent enough ratings for the silicone-breasted bronzed kewpie doll to get a repeat performance tonight on NBC, the show didn’t manage to do much in the way of swaying American populace opinion of the star. In other words as a publicity agent, the show failed miserably in that people still consider her to be a self-involved bitch. On the flipside, execs at NBC were so impressed with her that they decided that not only will they re-air the special tonight, but have her host the whole Thursday night line-up on NBC. To include extra Beckham footage, NBC hauled ass back to the Beckhams and managed to secure some interstitials in time for tonight. Victoria was said to be most obliging. GO figure!
We’re all so relieved that Rebecca Romijn has moved on to greener pastures with Jerry O’Connell. Not to kick a man while he’s down, but O’Connell seems much better suited to the former model/actress.
I went to see Director Judd Apatow’s latest flic, “Knocked Up” last night. I’d been looking forward to this film since about the time of “Freaks & Geeks” so you can imagine the level of anticipation built up in the past eight years or so. Ok, so that’s an exaggeration but since “The 40 Year-Old Virgin,” I’d taken note of this Apatow guy and when I finally imdb’d him and realized he was behind such creations as “Fun With Dick & Jane” (which i absolutely loved), “Freaks & Geeks,” “Anchorman” and even a guest spot on “The Critic” (Jon Lovitz at his finest), I declared that quite possibly he was one of the most pop culturally unheard of comedians-to-date, considering his level of contribution and accomplishments.
But back to “Knocked Up”…
I like Seth Rogen as still-makes-love-to-his-bong-at-the-ripe-age-of-23 slacker Ben Stone. He’s likable enough and seems to balance out Katherine Heigl’s more restrained and uptight/conservative Alison Scott who realizes she’s preggers eight weeks after having unprotected sex with Ben. “Just Do It” isn’t apparently just a Nike slogan after all.
Did I mention Heigl’s Alison also lands a cushy job as a Ryan Seacrest-esque interviewer on an E! show? You’d have thunk the pregnancy might throw a wrench into all this, but don’t worry it doesn’t. That’s Hollywood for you. Not the actual Hollywood. The real Hollywood would have yanked Alison off air at about month 2, not waited till her eighth month of pregnancy to tell her how much her pregnancy will boost ratings and they don’t mind her not disclosing to them the fact she’s due in another month or so.
Both Heigl and Rogen perform well, but it’s the film’s ensemble supporting cast - Paul Rudd as Alison’s brother-in-law Pete, Leslie Mann (Apatow’s wife) as Alison’s sister Debbie, and about every SNL and “Freaks & Geeks” regular including the very funny Kristen Wiig as Alison’s bitchy co-worker Jill, that round out the cast and truly make this film float.
The dialogue is genuinely poignant, funny, bright (and pithy at times) and Apatow clearly has a strong grasp on how people actually communicate with each other in a way that evades a lot of other writers and directors of his generation. So I can appreciate this deeper level of insight that Apatow brings to his films, but not so much the situational comedic aspect.
This is where I have my major beef with comedies and “Knocked Up” in particular - the bridge between remaining relatively grounded in depicting life’s ironies (of course following the “exaggeration” motif of most comedies) and opting for these ridiculous and almost absurdist backdrops within which to do so.
David Edelstein of New York Magazine pointed out in his review that he’s happy to see the triumph of the fat druggie nice guy (I’m paraphrasing a bit here) winning the hand of the voluptuous fair blond maiden of his dreams, but when are we gonna see the fat girl with the hot guy in a serious romantic comedy of sorts of the caliber of “Knocked Up”? And don’t even get me started on “Phat Girlz”…
Apart from this, what are the odds that Pete and his wife Debbie make enough money to support their very pampered, but unhappy lifestyles? Why is money never really an issue for any of these people? Apart from Ben being a broke, unemployed guy who bums a crib off Alison’s sister and finally decides to get a job as a web designer in an office in an effort to “grow up” the issue of money never really is a critical matter within the movie. And how long did it take Ben to get a job and a nicely furnished apt? Oh, about the time it took Alison to deliver the baby and for him to assume more of an alpha male role in the critical delivery moment at the hospital where Ben tells Debbie to bugger off. Finally.
Oh, don’t get me wrong here. I’m not totally dissing/panning the movie. It’s just money is an issue for any couple starting out and especially one with a new baby so why can’t we deal with that in a more realistic way? Why must we skirt the issue by hiding behind creatively convenient family members with guest houses and pools and bourgeois lifestyles who can afford to spend all the time in the world talking about how marriage is like an unhappy, tense version of “Everybody Loves Raymond” but it lasts forever.
I get that rich people have their issues too and even the point that they are “real” people too whose feelings can/should be validated. Call me a party pooper (I’ve been known to live up to this), but sometimes I just don’t feel like indulging in their pity parties.
What’s up with Amy Winehouse lately? From being one of our blog’s favorite songstresses (together with Regina Spector) to showing up drunk to interviews and concerts, and smacking her bitch, er husband, up, Amy seems to be moving a bit too fast. Take it easy Amy. You’re still young, and not a superstar yet, and remember, what goes up high, inevitably hits the ground with a thud. And a loud one at that.
Jason Priestley is all about watching his former “90210″ alum co-stars’ careers go down the D-list celebrity tube. He just don’t wanna be anywhere near that sinking ship anytime soon. [Reality TV World]
First comes fame. Then comes money. Then comes nose job. Then comes domestic partnership for “DWTS” Karina Smirnoff and “Extra” boy toy Mario Lopez. [People]
Is it Sanjaya or Liberace? (said by judge Bruno to which contestant?) [Entertainment Weekly]
If everyone performed “perfect 30s” last night, how’s this show any different than “Thank God You’re Here”? [The Mercury News]
Wait. So you mean to tell me Bruno Tonioli is straight? Or just over-compensating by pretending to be hot for Laila Ali? Or perhaps just European. [Orlando Sentinel]
Last week’s season premiere of Season 3 of the hit AMC show, Mad Men, delivered on its promise of whetting our appetites just enough to have us waxing nostalgic about why we fell in love with the show in the first place.
Victoria Beckham 
We’re all so relieved that Rebecca Romijn has 
Jason Priestley is all about watching his former “90210″ alum co-stars’ careers go down the D-list celebrity tube. He just don’t wanna be anywhere near that sinking ship anytime soon. [