I first heard about The Other Two when I was browsing HBO Max (before it became Max), but didn't really give much thought to it other than "Oh, Molly Shannon is in this." I actually forgot the show existed after that, but then saw a post from one of the Neo-Futurists I'm friends with on Facebook because she was on an episode (she plays Sheila in season three). I thought, "Okay, I should probably check it out." Then I saw an article blasting Elemental for doing something similar to what Disney did in one of the third season episodes and that sealed the deal for me. I am SO glad I finally got around to watching because it was such a fun and hilarious series. There are times when it takes a serious turn, but there's a good balance overall. It reminds me of Arrested Development and has little hints of Reboot and a few good doses of Curb Your Enthusiasm. I love the satire and how it never takes itself too seriously. And, of course, I love all the LGBTQ+ rep. One of the main characters is gay, so it's there in spades!
The Other Two is about two millennials who are trying to make names for themselves in their careers and just not getting there. Cary is an actor who gets bit parts on commercials and TV series, if he's lucky. We first see him auditioning for a commercial where he has to look like he's smelling a fart. Brooke was a dancer at one point in her life and now she's not really doing much of anything. We first see her trying to sneak out of an apartment she's squatting in. Their thirteen year-old brother Chase is a pop star who was discovered on YouTube and now they're trying to benefit from his fame. Molly Shannon plays their mom and her main focus is on Chase's rise to stardom, which she also ends up benefitting from.
I love so much about this show and I'm sad that there won't be a fourth season, but I'm glad the writers knew that in advance and gave it some good closure. It shines a light on "the industry" in so many comical ways. There are a lot of great supporting characters and tons of celebrity cameos. I love that the two main actors are completely new to me. I've never seen Drew Tarver (Cary) or Heléne Yorke (Brooke) in anything before, but now I want to see them in something else. Cary reminds me of Jason Bateman in Arrested Development, but gay. Brooke reminds me of a young Meg Ryan in some ways. (Fun side note: Heléne's birthday is closer to my daughter's than Kathy's birthday was to Pat's. You have to watch the show to get what I'm talking about.)
Fair warning: The Other Two is VERY raunchy. Lots of sex, nudity, and mature content all over the place. If you're new to the series, do NOT watch with kids in the room. Also keep in mind that some material is offensive on a Curb Your Enthusiasm level. It's not PC for sure. There's one point where I thought they took something a bit too far, even though it still came off as funny in the context of the scene.
Check out this trailer if you haven't seen the series yet, and then stop right there because there will be spoilers below. If you have seen the series, you may proceed...
Thoughts with SPOILERS...
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Cary and Brooke are essentially flawed in so many ways. I wanted to share some thoughts on both of them. As insufferable and/or cringey as they could get sometimes, there was a Zack Morris effect in play, since they're both protagonists and you want to see them "win" as a result. If the show was narrated through anyone else's point of view, you'd probably get so annoyed with Cary and Brooke. Like imagine seeing the show through Curtis and Lance's eyes. I'll wait.
There you go.
Thoughts on Cary:
I like Cary and how openly gay he is throughout the series. I feel like he keeps getting screwed over with his career and that has led him to make some really drastic and stupid decisions. His love life could use a tune-up too. I felt bad for Jess, since it seemed like he really was into Cary and Cary bailed as soon as he got spooked by that level of emotion. And he should have dumped Lucas as soon as he found out about the method acting. Cary also needs to keep his competitiveness and schadenfraude in check when it comes to his friendship with Curtis because that really did come back to bite him. There were other times I just really felt bad for him. Like I just wanted him to catch a break. Through Cary, we get to see how difficult it is to make it with an acting career. And I appreciate that. I also found his wanting to watch people watch him totally relatable.
Thoughts on Brooke:
Brooke is definitely relatable, especially on the career front. I totally felt for her with how she kept dipping her toes in the industry and trying to figure out what she was actually good at. And in season three, she was just so lost. I honestly don't think it's that hard to do good in some way or another, but Brooke was so focused on trying to prove something to the world, or at least to Lance. I was actually impressed at the amount of patience Lance had for her. Especially when she couldn't figure anything out for herself and took it out on him. Somehow, he was still there for her even after their big fight. I was also impressed that Brooke taking the fall for Chase and Pat somehow translated into something big for her career.
Sometimes I felt like Brooke and Cary were two ships passing in the night and other times I really liked their sibling dynamic. I'm glad they were both able to take a step back and reassess where their lives and careers were going.
Favorite supporting characters:
Pat: Obviously, since she's played by Molly Shannon. I also appreciate her kindness and vulnerability.
Streeter: I didn't know an agent could be so dumb, but Ken Marino does it so well with this part. I love how earnest he is too.
Lance: He's too "good" for Brooke, but he still adores her and is so devoted to her.
Curtis: He's generally a good friend to Cary and I feel bad that he doesn't get that in return. I also love that he calls Cary out on his BS.
Lucas Lambert Moy: I love how he commits to each of his characters, much to Cary's chagrin. And then how he gets lost when he doesn't have a role and his Australian accent comes out.
Shuli: I love Wanda Sykes and she's so great in this role.
Chase: He's the backbone to this show. It's fun watching him and seeing how fame affects his life.
I probably listed all the main supporting characters at this point.
Favorite funny moments:
* Brittlynn being eleven years old, but Brooke thinks they're the same age.
* Cary sending a live picture of his butthole and then it goes out to everyone.
* The father and son who are really a gay couple, and the "straight son from Kansas".
* Globby!
* The fake Applebees.
* Streeter thinking everyone has diarrhea on the plane.
* The AIDS play. Need I say more?
* The song for winning at the high school reunion, which sounds like "The Ants Go Marching One by One". The episode had a Romy and Michele appeal to it.
* Pat trying to evade her security staff.
* Jackie Hoffman as the Chase decoy.
* Brooke thinking an old man was pretending to be a sick pre-teen girl and then accusing the grandmother of the same thing.
* Chase's gay brother song
* Brooke stepping in as a backup dancer but trying to get everyone to not dance all sexy in front of Chase since he's a teenager.
* The farm where former girlfriends of celebrities go to stay safe. I loved the video with Ann Dowd.
* Streeter treating his breakup with Pat like a divorce.
* Brooke trying to recruit talent at a kid's birthday party
* Cary shadowing nurses at the hospital and finding out that there were other actors there doing the same thing.
I also liked some of the conceptual stuff in season three, such as people being invisible if they're not in the industry and the Pleasantville situation with Emily Overruled. Really clever and funny.
Actors I recognized:
* Alison Rich as Melanie. She was Valley Girl Erica on The Goldbergs.
* Nadia Dajani as Mackenzie. I remember her from Sex and the City.
* I was surprised about David Lascher playing Mackenzie's brother in the series finale. I knew he looked familiar but wasn't sure why. I think the last time I saw him was on Blossom ages ago. Or maybe in that movie where Melissa Joan Hart kills her parents and blames it on Jeremy Jordan (the pop star, not the Broadway actor).
* Jackie Hoffman as the Chase decoy at the dance (as mentioned earlier). She's a great comedic actress. I actually saw her perform at Second City Northwest when I was a teenager. (Nia Vardalos was performing with that group too.)
* Fin Argus as Lucas, since I recently saw him in Queer as Folk.
* Noah Galvin as the gay guy who is pretending to come out to his "dad." He's engaged to Ben Platt and he also played Evan Hansen at one point. And he narrated one of the characters on the audiobook of What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera.
* Tuc Watkins, who played the fake dad of Noah Galvin's character. (I think he also played Brooke and Cary's dad in a flashback scene.) I remember him from Desperate Housewives, but I also saw him on Uncoupled.
* Marcia DeBonis as Kathy. She's been in a lot of small roles on other shows I've watched.
* Greta Lee as Genevieve (Brooke's dance school rival). I saw her on The Morning Show.
* Josie Totah as Elijah in the school dance episode. This was before her transition though. I most recently saw her on the Saved by the Bell reboot.
* Beck Bennett as the "pilot" Brooke was sleeping with. He was on Saturday Night Live.
* Heidi Gardner, also from SNL, as the woman who is helping Pat get high at Chase's birthday party.
* Dana Delaney as Emily Overruled. I think the last time I remember seeing her was on Desperate Housewives.
* Ann Dowd as the lady on the video about sending teenage girls to live on a farm. I haven't really seen her in much but I recognized her right away.
Some cameos I loved:
* Bowen Yang doing an impression of Cary after the butthole incident.
* Lukas Gage in the AIDS play episode, where Cary is trying to get him to give up the porn role. I even love the reference that was made to his role on White Lotus.
* Aidy Bryant. I can't remember what she did, but I just love her anyway.
* Jordana Brewster as the woman the gay-baiter had dated in the past.
* Debi Mazar on an episode of Pat's talk show. I also loved her on Younger.
* Ben Platt, who was supposed to perform at the Night of Undeniable Good.
* Kiernan Shipka as the celebrity Chase gets pushed into marrying before he hooks up with Pam Snot.
* Patrick Wilson, who was trying to help Cary during Watch What Happens Live.
Questions:
Why did Brooke give up her chance to work with Alessia Cara while Cary gave up the family trip to go work on Night Nurse?
Who played the girl who was singing "Ring of Keys" from Fun Home at the school dance in season one? She looks so familiar but I can't find her on IMDb.
If you made it this far, you've obviously seen the series. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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Last month, my daughter had her Bat Mitzvah. We had a party to celebrate her coming of age and she made a speech about her parsha (Torah portion) at the celebration. She totally slayed it and made it even more interesting with her theatrical personality. It was a really nice celebration and I look back upon it fondly. My older son provided the entertainment with the improv troupe he started at his high school. That was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed it.
As tradition would have it, I made a top ten list for her during my speech, just like I did for her older and middle brothers. I'm not waiting until her thirteenth birthday to share this, as it's not until early next year.
1. She loves to read. I’m thankful to have kids who enjoy reading. She and I have a lot of similar tastes in books and I am more than happy to share novels that I loved when I was growing up. And I know we're going to "fight" over who gets to read Dahlia Adler's new book first. :) (Side note: I ended up reading it first.)
2. She’s really funny. I’m sure she picks up a lot of humorous bits from her siblings and from Jeff, but she definitely makes me laugh a lot, especially when she adds her own twists to what she already knows is funny.
3. She’s smart and does well in school. While middle school is a new experience for her with lots more homework, she has been getting As consistently throughout her first year there.
4. She’s a great conversationalist. She always wants to “converse” with me and loves asking questions, which ends up leading to more questions.
5. She likes to draw and is really good at it! When I was her age, I had this big pad of paper on my desk and I would draw on it all the time, as well as in my school notebooks. She is the same way and she likes sharing her artwork with me. She also likes drawing inside everyone’s greeting cards. (Her Zadie inspired that.)
6. She has a strong moral compass and it’s important to her that people behave ethically.
7. She is kind and loyal to all her friends. Friendship is important to her and she never wants to jeopardize that.
8. She loves musical theater. I enjoy taking her to see shows and then hearing her sing the songs from her favorite musicals. She did Imagination Stage camp last summer and had a blast and she’s excited to go back again in a couple weeks.
9. She still wants to spend time with us. If you knew me at 12, I was not that way with my parents and usually kept to myself. (Sorry, Mom and Dad.) However, she always wants to have quality family time and she also loves our mom-and-daughter days out. (Especially if it means going to Bath and Body Works and getting Starbucks.)
10. She is one of the sweetest and most genuine people I know. If everyone had her personality and attitude, the world would be a much better and happier place to live in.
I want to wish Mazel Tov to M. You are an amazing daughter and I am so lucky and thankful to be your Eema. I know you have a lot of great things coming to you in life and I can’t wait to see what those will be!
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I kept hearing buzz about Somebody Somewhere. It was recommended a lot in a Schitt's Creek fan group. Then Jennifer Weiner recommended it. I also saw some posts from my friends. So I decided to give it a whirl. And I'm SO glad I did!!! If you have not watched yet, here are some reasons you'll want to check it out. And if you are a fan like me, go past the trailer for some thoughts with spoilers included.
Somebody Somewhere is basically about a woman living in a Midwestern small-town suburb/rural area. Her sister passed away and now she feels unmoored. With the help of some friends, she tries to find herself again. I'm just giving you the basics since there's so much more to the story. Also, keep in mind that it is pretty crass, especially in terms of the language being used. The c-word is thrown around a lot. There's also a bunch of toilet humor. None of that bothers me, but I wanted to give a fair warning. However, it's worth getting through the crass stuff to experience the heart of the show. I really just love everything about this show and can't stop thinking about it. I wish each season was longer than just seven thirty-minute episodes.
I hadn't really ever seen most of the actors, but there were a few familiar faces scattered about. One of them is in season two and I only vaguely remember this actor from Will and Grace. (You'll see...) I like that it was mostly actors who were new to me. They all did a great job as an ensemble cast.
I just wish it was available in a way so that everyone could watch it.
Reasons to watch Somebody Somewhere (there are more than 10 this time):
1. It's funny! I definitely laughed out loud a lot from each episode.
2. Sam's friendship with Joel is everything. It reminds me of David and Stevie's friendship on Schitt's Creek and makes me wish that my gay best friends still lived around the corner.
3. Sam's voice. I don't know what it is, but the lower tone is just soothing to listen to. Especially since her sister (the other one who is still alive) sometimes sounds like Karen from Will and Grace. I enjoyed hearing her sing too.
4. Two words: Fred Rococo. You'll see... (Fred is the best. Seriously!)
5. It has so many emotional highs and lows and you just feel like you're on this ride with Sam the whole time.
6. It's so honest and genuine. People are flawed and no one holds back from being who they are.
7. Mike Hagerty plays Sam's dad. I mostly remember him from Overboard and Friends. He's really good in this role and just so sweet too. Even though Mike passed away, they didn't kill him off on the show. (This is not a spoiler, but it's also good to know if you don't want to watch him die all over again on a TV series.)
10. The cozy small-town feel. While it's not always great that everyone knows everyone else's business, I can also see why it appeals to Schitt's Creek fans (like myself) so much.
11. Everyone is so likable! Well, almost everyone. There are a couple of characters who are meant to be unlikable. But they are small potatoes and only indirectly affect Sam's life. There is one character I didn't like at first, but I now love.
12. There's no body shaming. Sam sometimes will make fun of herself, but she also is confident enough to sit around in a T-shirt and underpants while her friends are over. It's refreshing and keeps the triggers away.
13. Sam is so relatable. I just felt so connected to her the entire time.
14. It's being renewed for a third season because it's just that good! I'm going to go through withdrawal waiting for season three though. I miss this show so much already!
Fun side note: In one of the episodes, I recognized the first improv teacher I had at Comedy Sportz. So cool!!! (The last time I saw him was at my bachelorette party, over 19 years ago.)
Have I sold you yet? If not, check out the trailer here:
SPOILERS:
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Favorite characters:
Sam: Obviously! Such a great lead character. I said this earlier, but I definitely found her relatable in so many ways. I really liked when she put people in their place and said what she was thinking. She was also a good sister to Tricia, even though Tricia could be passive-aggressive toward her sometimes.
Joel: At first, I thought he was going to be annoying, but after a few minutes, I realized how great he truly is. He's just so incredibly kind and I couldn't see him even hurting a fly. I loved when he went out in the storm to get the dog. His friendship with Sam was just so much fun to watch and I loved everything about it.
Fred: As I said before, Fred is the best! He has such a great personality and I love how he's always so friendly and fun to be around. He has the best sense of humor too. I love how sweet he is to his wife, as well.
Tricia: I didn't like her for the first couple of episodes, but then she grew on me and I started liking her a lot. I felt so bad about her situation with Rick cheating on her with her best friend. I was cheering her on when she told Charity off and when she made those pillows. I like how she started to appreciate Sam more and show that she cared about her well-being. I was also surprised that she's my age, since she looks way younger.
Ed: Sam and Tricia's dad is so wonderful. I just like everything about him. The way he dotes upon his wife made me think of how my grandpa was with my grandma. Even when he wasn't on season two, I still felt his presence.
Least favorite characters:
Charity and Rick. That's all. Charity a lot more than Rick, only because she kept making things worse for Tricia afterward with all her stupid lies and not taking any responsibility for what happened. Grrr...
Honestly, the mom was a piece of work, but she also was an alcoholic and beyond help after she had her stroke. It just hurt to find out that she wouldn't let Ed come to see her. I wonder what will come of her being at the place in Wichita.
Is it just me, or was anyone else confused by how much time had passed between the first and second season and all that had happened during that time? Like when did the mom have a stroke? Why was Joel suddenly renting out his house? Did Tricia's store close down because of what happened with Charity and Rick? Why were they getting rid of the stuff in the barn? I felt like there were missing pieces I was trying to fit into some puzzle. (If I missed something and someone wants to answer any of these questions, I would appreciate it!)
I really liked "Choir Practice" and I wish they had continued it even after Joel confessed to the priest about lying about what it really was. I thought they were setting up the barn as a new "Choir Practice" venue, but then it seemed like nothing ever came of it. When Sam first went there, it made me think of when I first started going to Rocky Horror. Everyone was just so friendly, welcoming, and accepting. I felt like I truly fit in somewhere for the first time and I can imagine Sam felt the same at "Choir Practice."
I wish Sam would have confronted the girl who slandered her in her book. That would have been fun to see.
If you have made it this far, tell me what you love most about Somebody, Somewhere.
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At first, I was hesitant to watch Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. The trailer wasn't grabbing my attention enough. However, a friend had posted about it being good, so I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did! While I've always been a Grease (and Grease 2) fan, this show blows both movies out of the water. It's so progressive and it touches upon real issues, even while being set in the 1950s. It's like a cross between Glee, Degrassi, and season seven of Riverdale. And it's a musical too. A 10-episode musical, to be exact! Each episode has a few song and dance numbers. Most of them are fast-paced, but there are a few ballads too.
I hadn't seen any of the actresses on this show before, but after looking on IMDb, some of them had small roles in other shows I've seen. The one familiar face is Jackie Hoffman, who is also currently on Only Murders in the Building. She plays Principal McGee, who is actually an assistant principal during this time period, which is a prequel to Grease. She is perfect for the role and has some great moments. I actually saw her perform a long time ago at Second City Northwest, along with Nia Vardalos of Greek Wedding fame.
Along with being progressive, I love that there's a lot of diversity and that an LGBTQ+ storyline is included.
Take a look at the trailer and then give this show a try! It's so worthwhile. After you're done, do not go any further, as there will be SPOILERS for everyone who has seen all ten episodes.
SPOILERS below.
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Overall, I really enjoyed this series. There are a few things that I wish had been done differently, but I will write about that soon enough.
Thoughts on the four main characters:
Jane: She sometimes came off as a goody-two-shoes, but I like how empowered she became when she connected with the three other girls and formed the Pink Ladies. I also appreciated some of her badass moves in response to how Buddy's group was treating her. She was annoying with the love triangle and I wish she had just picked someone.
Fun side note: I learned that the actress who plays her, Marisa Davila, was on an episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend a while back. Here's a song where she is featured.
Cynthia: I liked Cynthia overall. She kind of reminded me of Adam from Degrassi, but mostly in appearance. I love that she got an LGBTQ+ storyline on the show and I wish she had handled it better instead of having to make a grand gesture later on. Like maybe she could have actually talked to Lydia about how she was feeling earlier on. However, I know in that time period, it was scary to confront such feelings.
Olivia: While she has the best singing voice in the group, her tetchiness got to be too much. She was too standoffish with her friends. I also didn't like the whole plot involving her relationship with Mr. Daniels. She was already screwed over by him and she kept going back to him anyway. I'm glad her friends got her to come to her senses at the end. While I felt bad for her about things not working on with Gil, she had her chance and blew it to be with Mr. Daniels instead.
Nancy: She is my favorite from this group as she is fun and quirky and tells it like it is. I felt like she could have been utilized better. Her storylines were basically about her fashion skills or her back-and-forth interest in Potato. I feel like she could be working with more challenges than she currently is. Having said that, I loved her reaction to Cynthia's confession. And I love how she cares about keeping the Pink Ladies together.
Thoughts on some of the other characters:
Hazel: I like her a lot. She's smart, talented, and has a good head on her shoulders. I'm glad she got invited to join the Pink Ladies. She'll be a great addition to the group.
Buddy: I'm glad he grew a spine even though it took him a while. He should have spoken up about the election results as soon as he found out. I'm glad he at least confessed to starting the fight with Richie. I like his friendship with Hazel, even though it sounds like he has feelings for her now, which could complicate things for her and Wally.
Susan: I really had hopes that she would change after the episode where she sang about how she didn't really like the life she has. (It reminded me of Alyssa's song in The Prom.) She was even trying to be nice to the Pink Ladies and may have succeeded in that if her mom hadn't been so horribly awful. Then she just went back to being a mean girl again.
Richie: I thought he was an enticing love interest for Jane until he let his jealousy and assumptions get in the way of that. I love how he showed his vulnerable side to his friends and I also hate that he got expelled after the fight. I heard that the actor left the show though.
Lydia: At first she seemed intimidating, but then I liked how she helped Cynthia and I am glad she explained to Cynthia why she didn't trust her later on. It also explains why she was so guarded in the first place.
Fun side note: I recently saw someone in my neighborhood who looks very similar to her, but I didn't pick up on that similarity until watching this show. Maybe it's because of the hairstyle. Niamh Wilson played a somewhat similar character in Degrassi but had a different look.
Assistant Principal McGee: At first, I didn't like how she was so hard on the Pink Ladies. Like she singled them out and gave them all this extra work for just being themselves. However, I liked that she picked up on the shenanigans going on at the school and that she eventually saw their side of things. I love when she caught them taking a part from the principal's car and acted like she had vision problems so that they would get away with it. I also love how she told off the principal in the last episode. And it was fun that she got her own song in one of the episodes.
I also loved young Frenchie and Rizzo. The girl who played Frenchie did her voice so well! And Rizzo was just full of attitude. Dot was fun for comic relief, but it was hard to take her seriously overall. She looked like a young Jan and also reminded me of Dolores from Grease 2. I think it's just the pigtails.
Onto the music. There were a lot of songs I really enjoyed, and some that just didn't do it for me. The imperfect rhyming got really annoying and some songs just didn't carry the feel from the time period. I liked the cover of "Grease is the Word" as well.
"Carelessly": It felt pretty cheesy and I didn't like how they dragged out the word "care" in the chorus.
"Hit Me Again": Richie is challenging his friends to fist fight with him.
"Pulling Strings": It has a Coldplay feel to it and it's mostly Buddy talking about why he's too much of a coward to speak up about what his father did.
"The Hand Jive": The mneumonic device for the hand moves is what seals the deal for this one being on my least favorites list.
Also, did the year fly by the same way it does in the movie? It felt like it was just Halloween and the fall ball, and then they're having this spring carnival? Did I miss something?
I'd love to hear your thoughts on this show. I really hope there will be a second season!
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My family and I finally got a chance to see Beetlejuice when it was on tour in DC. We went on the last day of the tour, but it was a very short run here. In any case, I'm really glad we got to see it, as it was a great performance!
If you have seen the movie, you might as well forget almost everything that happened because the musical only keeps a little bit of it. If you haven't seen the movie....have you been living under a rock?!?
Anyway, the titular character is only in the movie for a short amount of time, compared to how much he is in the musical. I actually liked that he had more stage time though. Justin Collette did an amazing job making Betelgeuse feel even larger than life. I just hope he's drinking a lot of tea between shows because that voice could do a number on anyone's throat. Isabella Esler was also fantastic as Lydia, and this was her professional debut. I have a feeling she will go far in musical theater. She had such a powerhouse voice and a great stage presence. I also really liked the supporting characters, especially Adam and Barbara. Delia was a lot of fun too. She added a Moira Rose quality to the way she talked. As Adam, Will Burton reminded me of an actor from SNL. (Most likely Mikey Day.) And I just loved the facial expressions Britney Coleman used to enhance Barbara's personality.
The story completely deviates from the movie aside from a few plot points and the inclusion of the "Day-O" scene. Betelgeuse starts off by saying that was going to happen. He also breaks the fourth wall a lot and makes the story feel kind of meta. While he's not supposed to be likeable, he really is for the most part and he even shows some vulnerability. There are a lot of funny lines and plenty of innuendoes. Apparently, the show was a lot raunchier in previews, so I have to wonder how much raunchier it could get!
The music is great. I went in barely knowing any of it, but I kind of wish I had listened to the Original Broadway Cast recording because I had trouble hearing some lines and would have benefitted from knowing what they were going to say. At least I can't complain about them changing anything... I also had trouble hearing some of the dialogue and some jokes got lost on me. The majority of the songs are high energy and upbeat though. Some of Lydia's songs got me teary-eyed. She put a lot of emotion into them.
The set is basically a character of its own. If this show had been made 10-15 years ago, they wouldn't have the current technology at their disposal. I love how digital backgrounds combined with furniture and props that carried the feel of the movie. The digital parts included animation, as well. It was so much fun to look at...a feast for the eyes! The bright lights were a bit much and I had to shade my eyes from them every so often.
Along with the set, the costumes were amazing throughout. Most took after the ones in the movie, as well. I loved that they had the shrunken head guy. :)
Overall, the story handled topics that the movie didn't touch, such as grief. (Given that it's all about death, you'd think that would have happened in the movie.) A lot of the musical felt more positive and upbeat than the movie though. It's also very much woke, which is fine for me. There's some political humor that I definitely appreciated.
If you haven't seen Beetlejuice on stage yet, check out this trailer. Then go no further. If you have seen it, please proceed past the trailer, as I have some questions...
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Questions for anyone who has seen it on stage already:
1. How was everyone living able to see Adam and Barbara toward the end?
2. After Lydia killed Betelgeuse (after marrying him), how was everyone still able to see him once he was dead again?
3. When Lydia first saw Beetlejuice, how did she describe him? We all missed what she said.
That's it, really. :)
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After I fell in love with A Million Little Things, I wrote about season one. A LOT has happened since then. It all culminated into a heartbreaking and incredibly life-affirming series finale. Overall, I liked A Million Little Things more than This is Us. I had more of an emotional connection to it. I don't think there was an episode where I didn't cry. (Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but still...)
I hate that things happened the way they did for Gary. He just became a father and things were looking up for him, but then his cancer came back even worse than ever and that was the end of the road. When the doctor said it wasn't curable, I knew it could eventually come to that, but I was hoping it wouldn't. Gary was my favorite character on this show and it was so hard to watch this happen to him. And somehow he kept his sense of humor throughout and also did whatever he could to make life easier for Maggie and Javi.
In spite of all this, the series finale was the icing on the cake. I cried through most of it, but it was a cathartic experience and some of the tears were happy ones too. The cover of "For Good" from Wicked really set off the waterworks even though I cried a bunch of times before that. And then Colin's little whimper at the end....
The ending of this finale was even better than the ending of the Parenthood series finale (which I also cried through). I love how they moved 15 years forward and we got to see glimpses of everyone's lives. Sophie and Tyrell were still together and expecting a baby! Theo was an adult! Katherine and Greta had a daughter! Maggie was doing okay and moving on the way Gary would have wanted her to. Javi was a teenager. Rome had a gray beard. (Some of the adults aged and others didn't. Like Katherine had white hair, but Regina, Greta, and Eddie still looked the same. Danny also barely aged.)
Since it's not only the end of the road for Gary, but also for the series, I wanted to take a look back at some of the stuff that happened over the past few years. I can't remember everything because it's been a while, but I'm sharing what I do remember. If you remember something I missed, please share it in the comments.
Best things that happened:
Maggie and Gary getting back together after a long breakup.
Maggie having a baby!
Delilah moving to France. (Even though it sucked that Eddie didn't get to see Charlie as much, I was glad to not see Delilah all that often.)
Sophie and Tyrell getting together.
Maggie getting her own podcast.
Regina starting a food truck.
Rome becoming a teacher and making a huge difference at the school.
LGBTQ+:
KATHERINE AND GRETA!!!!!!!!!! (I love everything about them being together, including the surprise proposal and amazing wedding.)
Rome helping Maddox in the situation with his father. (I'm so glad his father is accepting of Maddox being a boy now.)
Danny coming out. (I love the support he received.)
Worst things that happened:
The creepy teacher preying upon Sophie, and what Gary did to take care of things.
Eddie's accident and addiction relapse.
Regina getting injured in the riot and losing bits of her memory (even though that never went anywhere after the end of that season).
Regina losing her business to the pandemic.
Rome's mom suddenly dying from a stroke.
Maggie and Gary dating anyone other than each other.
The adoption falling through for Regina and Rome.
Rome's depression coming back (but Regina thought he was cheating on her).
Katherine's medical emergency (even though it was a one-off).
Maggie being stalked by someone from her past.
And the most obvious....Gary's cancer coming back and then getting worse later on.
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I also want to talk a little about the characters. I can't decide who I like the most anymore. Everyone is so great. I wasn't a Delilah fan, but she got better after she came back from France and I appreciated seeing how she helped and supported her friends.
Eddie was also frustrating for a while but in the past two seasons, he's been so wonderful and I've really liked him a lot. He's grown up a lot and it's made him even more attractive.
I used to be more ambivalent about Rome, but he was great and I love watching him and Regina together.
I also really liked the addition of Greta in the past few seasons. She and Katherine are so great together and I'm so happy for them both. Showing their names in all caps earlier in this post is a thing my friend and I would do every week after watching the latest episode, provided they were both on.
Theo used to be somewhat annoying and sounded like a little kid even when he was supposed to be twelve, but he grew up more this past season and has shared a lot of thoughts that were wise beyond his years.
The ones I listed as my favorites in the season one post are still at the top of my list, but Gary should be at the top of that list. I had him in the middle before. :)
Overall, an amazing series that I'm really going to miss! Please join me in the comments to share your thoughts on A Million Little Things.
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A friend had recommended Why Women Kill, and since we have the same taste in TV shows, I was intrigued. I'm so glad she told me about this show because it was really good! I wish there had been more than two seasons though. The series was created by Marc Cherry, who also did Desperate Housewives. It definitely has a similar feel to that show, but it's a bit campier given the timelines.
There are two separate stories between the two seasons. Season one and season two are not connected at all, except by one actor from season one who narrates season two. (He even says "yes..." all the time like Mary Alice did on DH.) However, both are fabulous and so much fun to watch!
Season one is about one house that has three different couples living there over three different time periods. The first is Beth Ann and Rob, in the early sixties. Beth Ann is a housewife who finds out that Rob has been cheating on her and decides to take matters into her own hands, in a very satisfying way. Simone and Karl are living in the house in the early to mid-eighties. The fashion at the time reminds me of Dynasty or some cheesy soap opera. Simone finds out a little secret about Karl and tries not to let it ruin their marriage before her daughter's wedding. However, she has an interesting secret of her own. Finally, Taylor and Eli are living in the house in 2019. They have an open marriage and bring a very attractive woman into their home. Things only spiral from there... There is a star-studded cast for season one, which features Ginnifer Goodwin, Sam Jaeger, Jack Davenport, Lucy Liu, Reid Scott, and Alexandra Daddario (whose brother is in season two), just to name a few. The mayor from Ginny and Georgia even makes a few appearances (but as a completely different character). I also loved the opening bits of each episode. They were done in these fun and creative ways. One of the opening bits reminded me of Little Shop of Horrors.
Season two all takes place in 1949. Alma Fillcot is also a housewife and doesn't keep up with her appearance. She desperately wants to join an elite gardening club, run by the very wealthy and snobby Rita Castillo. (If Natalie from Girls Just Want to Have Fun was an adult, that would be Rita.) Rita belittles Alma, even when she earns the respect of the other women in the club. In the meantime, there are some twisted things going on in Alma's home and Rita becomes connected to her in a very strange way that sets off a huge rivalry. Things just get out of control after that, but I won't say anything more. As far as the cast goes, I've only seen Allison Tolman once, on The Mindy Project, but thought she was intriguing. She's a great actress, especially in her role as Alma! I vaguely recognized some of the other actors, but there was a fun side appearance from Rachel Bay Jones (Heidi in the Original Broadway Cast of Dear Evan Hansen). I also found out that Grace was played by the actress who was CJ on Fuller House (DJ's rival for Steve's affections). While everyone else was mostly new to me, it was a great cast.
If you haven't seen this show yet, it's available on Paramount Plus and so worth binge watching!
Spoilers are below the trailers for anyone who has already seen it.
Trailer for season one:
Trailer for season two:
Spoilers:
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It feels like forever since I saw season one, even though it was about a month or so. I will try to remember what I can to talk about it here.
Favorite characters from season one:
1. Beth Ann: She was by far the best from this season. I love how devious she was and how she went about living this double life in order to get Rob to admit he cheated on her.
2. Karl: I felt bad for him most of the time since he was living in an era where it was taboo to be gay and couldn't openly be out about it. And then when it was discovered, everyone shamed him for it. He was a genuinely good guy and it was sad what he was going through. I'm glad Simone came around and looked after him as a friend instead of as a wife.
3. Taylor: She was all-around cool and had her act together.
4. Tommy: I feel like a cougar just for liking him, even though the actor who plays him is obviously older than 18. He was really sweet to Simone.
5. April: She seems like she'd be a fun friend to have, and if you were Beth Ann, you'd almost have to forgive her for sleeping with your husband and getting pregnant as a result.
Least favorite characters from season one:
1. Eli: He was just annoying and self-pitying. I think Taylor could do better in the husband department. I am glad he improved a bit by the end, but I just wasn't impressed by him at all.
2. Rob: Um, obviously!!! It was bad enough that he cheated, but to blame Beth Ann for the death of their child, which happened as a result of him bringing a mistress into his house. No wonder she came up with the plan she did.
3. Ralph (the abusive husband): No one likes an abusive husband in general. I love how Beth Ann used the situation to get him to kill Rob so that he'd be put away. I just want to know what happened with Mary after that.
4. Naomi (Tommy's mom): She could have talked to Simone about what was happening with Tommy, but instead she decided to make everyone's life hellish and she used Karl's illness in the process.
5. Sheila: I don't think she was that supportive of a friend to Beth Ann. I know she didn't like what was going on, but given that Rob was the one who cheated, she should have been in cahoots with Beth Ann instead of pushing back all the time.
I liked how they transferred the house between people so you could see what everyone was up to after a certain amount of time. I got teary-eyed when Simone talked about the AIDS foundation she started. And finding out that Tommy became an artist. I was really happy for Beth that she made a new life for herself and stayed close with April and her daughter. It was also nice to see that Eli survived the stabbing and it seemed like he got his life together.
I also love how everything came together at the end of season one, where it looked like they were all in the house at the same time during the action. That was really clever. The transitions between scenes were also great. Like someone would get into a car in one scene and then you'd see someone else driving in the next scene.
Season two:
It's really hard to pick favorite and least favorite characters since so many had multiple layers. Dee and Vern were the constants for the story. They were reliable narrators but stuck in some messy situations. I liked them together a lot.
Alma had the Zack Morris effect going for her. She's obviously the protagonist, but when she transforms into one of the mean women, I still wanted her to win somehow. She had such an interesting story arc. I wanted to see if she could really get away with everything she did. I also wouldn't mind having her get revenge on certain people who are long overdue for their karma. She looks like a friend of mine (she has a similar face) whom I wish she would help the most in delivering karma to someone who has horribly wronged this friend.
While Rita was a beyotch most of the time, I also wanted to see her put one over on Catherine. I actually felt bad for her when her life fell apart and she looked so vulnerable after that. So I actually enjoyed some of her scheming tactics in regard to getting Catherine off her back. As I was writing about Rita, this came up in my Facebook feed:
Scooter seemed like a caricature in some ways. Like he was attractive but he could be really stupid sometimes. I found him to be annoying for the most part.
I also didn't like Catherine all that much. I wanted to like her sometimes, but she was just embarrassing. How did she not suspect Rita of the setup with Scooter? She knew Rita was cheating on her dad and Scooter's appearances seemed pretty coincidental. Maybe she just didn't want to see the connection?
Bertie is a mixed bag. He killed all those people but then was appalled when Alma wanted to do the same. I know he had different reasons, but he still killed people anyway. Maybe they could have gotten help for their suffering instead somehow. I didn't see Maisie asking him to kill her in the first episode. Also, what did he really tell Vern. It sounds like he pinned everything on Alma before he killed himself.
I really liked Dee a lot. I wish she had been able to get a new job though. It seems like she relied on Vern for everything as soon as she lost her job. She seemed like someone who could stand on her own, so I was surprised by that. It was also dumb for her to return Mrs. Yost's items without putting gloves on or something to keep her fingerprints off them. Especially after the nephew told her the items were missing. She should have hidden them or dumped them somewhere instead.
As for Vern, I was kind of hoping he'd let everything go after Isabel's "confession". I know he was trying to stay on the right side of the law, but it also would have been interesting to let Alma get caught in the act instead of confronting her first.
There were a couple of relationships that seemed interesting for 1949. The friend who introduced me to the show pointed out that no one seemed bothered by the interracial relationship between Vern and Dee. While I'm glad no one made trouble for them, it was surprising for that time period for people to turn a blind eye. I also wasn't expecting the lesbian affair between Grace and Joan. I kind of wish Joan had just confessed to it, but it was seen as taboo in that time period. Nowadays, no one would bat an eyelash.
Overall, season two was more farcical in nature, but I enjoyed every moment of it! I was hoping for more of a twist to the story, but I was surprised by a lot of what had happened.
What are your thoughts on Why Women Kill?
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