Sexism, sexy cars, and one of the best Mad Men episodes ever

Have to note - spoilers here so stop if you haven't seen it - that this week's episode of "Mad Men" is clearly one of the best in the whole series: the episode centers on the Jaguar account and the lengths to which, or depths to which more accurately, the team is willing to go to win this big account: the head of the Jaguar dealership lets the sales team know that he'll make it impossible for them unless they set up for him a night with the office beauty - a B-52 I think he calls her - Joan. This is repulsive - far worse than garden-variety sexism that exists throughout the agency and throughout the culture - it's just plain pimping and prostitution. And it's amazing to see how everyone goes along with this, and how the writers and producer Weiner make this credible and complex and interesting. This episode examines sexism and exploitation in many facets, without every getting didactic or polemical - just explores these themes through excellent writing and acting: Megan hoping to begin her acting career but realizes her dreams may be thwarted by the expectations of her husband, Don, that she'll be there for him every night (and apparently she loses a part because she's not sexy enough); Peggy feeling belittled by Don, who wants her to remain forever his protege and in his thrall - and she actually gives her notice (not sure how they can carry through with this) and Don is weirdly moved. Also, the Jaguar campaign itself - selling the car as like a "mistress." And most of all Joan, who has to wrestle with this decision - pushed along by some of the partners who each has his own selfish motive - and if so at what price. Very interesting twist in the plot as Don at first doesn't believe she slept with the scum, and, when he realizes that she did, has no faith that the agency won the account because of the best pitch - which completely taints the victory for him - episode ends with him miserable, Peggy walking out, everyone else joyous. There's so much going on in this episode - and especially when you think about the 5-year arc of the whole series and how the role of women in business and society was changing so rapidly over that course of time, from 1960 to 1965.

Why House of Lies cannot compare with Mad Men et al

Basing this on the first episode only (I'm not watching any more) but could there be a worse show on TV than "House of Lies"? This Showtime so-called comedy is ostensibly about a team of management consultants based in LA who catapult into various companies in trouble and give brilliant advice that turns the companies around. The team of 4 is led by a a sexy, smart buy - I don't even remember his name - who breaks the stereotype: he's a black man in an unconventional role, though unconventional only to a point. He's smart, sure, but cynical to the nth degree and completely obsessed with sex: in the half-hour episode he has quite graphic encounters with three women, none of whom means a thing to him, they're disposable objects for him (and for the show) - but he's also hitting on the girl on his team and of course it's only a matter of time for that. Anyway, there is not a single believable moment, character, or situation in the first episode - none - unless you believe that the entire management world is full of sex-obsessed, crude driveling idiots. I'm no fan of corporate culture or of management consultants for that matter - some are good, some are phonies - but the behavior in House of Lies is just utterly ridiculous. To give just one example, the team, on break from their meeting with the client, in which they appear to do nothing other than spout platitudes at a board meeting and try to pick up the receptionist, heads for a break - which they boast they'll bill to the client - at a strip club, which leads to various lurid encounters, ha ha. Compare with The Sopranos or The Wire, which had the honesty to recognize that strip clubs are mob-controlled and that the women are pretty desperate and often addicted - not Beyonce-like models who can charm corporate directors. In fact, compare this show with Mad Men - MM works so well because, whatever contempt we may have, and even the characters may have, for the advertising industry, they take their work serious and do it well - whereas in House of Lies no one takes anything seriously, neither the consultants nor the client, it's all just a big joke and a big scam. There's material in this topic for a good comedy or a good drama - but HofL is not it.

Nostalgia and Film Noir: The Big Heat

If you can get past the long-dated conventions of 1950s American studio film noir productions - the stagey dialogue, particularly in the domestic scenes, the obtrusive orchestral score - Fritz Lang's 1953 noir drama "The Big Heat" is really pretty good entertainment: a good cop investigates the suicide of a bad cop, crosses a mob boss who runs the city - boss's gang bungles an assassination attempt and kills the cop's wife via car bomb, and the cop seeks revenge and redemption. Not a deep or meaningful film in any serious way, the heavies weigh a ton and the good guys are stiff as boards and the end is a little too pat with the weakling cops summoning up their courage and the mob moll dying in a scene worthy of apotheosis - but the story moves right along and includes a few good eccentric minor characters and an especially good very early appearance by Lee Marvin as a sadistic mobster. The films set forth a trope that many other crime films followed, at least for many years: the one good man taking on the forces of evil, all by himself. Over the years, this idea has become harder to accept, and recent films tend to be much more nuanced, with the good guys more deeply flawed and the mobsters more humane, or at least more complex and complete. But The Big Heat is a good throwback and kind of fun to watch - a fantasy, an old belief that the wrongs of the world can be righted. It's no coincidence that this was done in the post-War years - and Lang I believe was a refugee from Nazi Germany - when the cops fail to back up the hero, Sgt. Bannion (Glenn Ford? too old for the part, by the way) - Bannion summons his brother-in-law and his Army buddy friends: they took on Hitler, and they're confident they can take on the mob as well. A real nostalgic throwback to the days when we felt American values and qualities could rectify all that's wrong in world.

Left side of the Road Trip : British humor

The 2010 (?) British co-called mockumentary "The Trip" - which, as A. points out - isn't really a mockumentary at all but just a comic movie in which the two lead actors play themselves - is hilarious at times an, if you're willing to put up with a lot of dead spots as the two leads, Steve Coogan and Rog Bryden I think are their names, improvise and ad lib and hack around sometimes to good effect and sometimes not, then you'll enjoy the movie - I did, to a degree. As A. also pointed out, you kind of need the dead spots to make the whole thing work - and it does work, to a degree, but could have been so much better had they taken more care - that is, shot a lot more footage - and used only the best stuff. The story: two London actors, one (Steve) reasonably successful but still frustrated that he's not in the top tier and the other far less known and more of a standup than a dramatic actor - take a week-long trip through the British countryside to try out various high-end restaurants on some kind of magazine assignment. They never take notes or write anything, so the premise is kind of abandoned right from the start - but it's a chance for these two guys to get into a lot banter during many dinners at which they dine on what's supposed to be very cutting-edge cuisine but seems ridiculously pretentious and at times inedible. The highlights are the conversation, near the end, when they discuss what if: if you could be sure your kids would be healthy and happy, would you give up all your awards? Doesn't sound funny, but trust me it gets there. Also, very funny take on movies and play speeches about leaving for battle at the "break of day." Why not at 8:30? -ish? Very funny. Unfortunately, lots of the movie involves the two guys tormenting each other with impressions, some OK some much less so, and with lots of competition. What would have made it a better movie would have been a real dramatic arc - truly learning about one another, about themselves, and at the end each being of becoming a different person from the guy who started out. There's a hint of this - but not enough. Will remind you in various ways of My Dinner with Andre - though more overtly comic - and of Sideways - though with less of a plot line. A pretty good movie, very British humor - also reminded me of Withnal & I - obviously never became a hit in the U.S. Please, let's not remake it here wit Ben Stiller (who has a cameo) and Adam Sandler, OK?

Still one of the best documentaries ever

Erroll Morris's "The Thin Blue Line" (1988) still stands up as one of the best of all documentary films - a powerful yet understated evisceration of the unjust conviction of drifter for the shooting of a Dallas cop in the 1970s. Morris had great access and uses a series of on-camera (and one on-tape only) interview with the convicted guy, with the guy who fingered him (a a 160year-old accomplice who went on a to a long career in crime and eventually murder), the lawyers, investigating cops, prosecutor, the witnesses who so obviously gave false testimony - even the judge. He also uses some archival material (mostly stills - family photos and some news paper clips) and a few scenes of re-enactment, mainly demonstrate how the testimony from the witnesses was obviously concocted. Very basic plot line is that two guys meet up, cruise around, cop stops them (for headlights out), and one shoots the cop in cold blood. The Dallas cops and prosecutors find the car and ID the two guys in it; cops are so eager for a conviction they don't care which guy takes the fall - when the 16-year-old turns on the other guy, the whole system falls in line: they try to get a confession, they put out awards for witnesses (a few come forward, obviously tempted by the $), and ultimately railroad one of the men to a death sentence, later commuted. Guy was not freed till after film was released; should have cost people, including the idiot judge, their jobs. Morris later made the excellent Fog of War, another understated and devastating documentary most done through intense, close-up, on-camera interviews.

One of the best from Showtime: Homeland

A few words on the Showtime series "Homeland," which, based on the first episode, is an exciting and taut story about an American prisoner rescued from Iraq who has "turned": or at least that's the suspicion of a CIA operative in the States (Clare Danes). Excellent set-up of the dramatic situation and good quick sketch of the key characters and the crises they are facing: the returned prisoner tormented by his experiences in captivity (including - spoiler here - fact that he was forced to beat fellow prisoner to death - wasn't that a main plot point in a recent movie? Brother?); prisoner's wife who's been having a long relation with his best friend Marine buddy, assuming he's long since dead; wise CIA intellectual (Mandy Patinkin) who's Danes's "rabbi" but also knows he can't completely trust here, most of all Danes herself, who apparently screwed up in some serious way when posted to Baghdad and suffers from various maladies including an apparent addiction to prescription Rx - the flawed heroine (a bit of a Showtime trope there - Nurse Jackie , q.v.) - Though some of the set-up is not credible - the idea that even a rouge CIA team could have access to the returning prisoner's house to put in surveillance equipment seems way beyond the pale, for example - other elements play very well, including a very tense opening sequence in Iraq. A series worth keeping an eye on - hope it's available soon on disc.

An anti-buddy film: Reversal of Fortune

The 1990 movie "Reversal of Fortune" makes a number of best films lists, and surprisingly I'd never seen it, despite the R.I. connection (though clearly film not shot in R.I. other than the background aerial footage during credit sequence). Movie, about the von Bulow attempted murder case appeal, feels a little dated (and not just when we see the lawyers poking away on clunky word processors or talking on wordless phones the size of boots) but to its credit the filmmakers do a great job building a narration about a complex case with a lot of subtleties and legal trivia and ephemera: it's one thing to do a book or movie about a criminal trial - there are billions of great trial films - but an appeal is another matter: they're not presenting evidence, witnesses, testimony by victims or perps - it's all about finding flaws in the original trial that will persuade the justices to reverse the verdict. The only people talking will be the lawyers, and they're not looking for new evidence, just for legal miscues. Given the difficulty, Reversal does a great job - helped a lot by Jeremy Irons's terrific performance as an insufferable Claus von Bulow (total phony - he added the von to sound more aristocratic - in fact he's just a bounder). The movie is based on defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz'z book of same title, so of course it makes Dershowitz (also insufferable) into a hero, the brilliant scholar and leader of a crack team of law-student acolytes - and the defense team is like a Cambridge fraternity, all chummy in a big rambling house where they eat communally and shoot hoops, etc - a painfully obvious contrast to VB's life in a mansion. Best scene is probably VB joining the legal eagles for a Chinese dinner. Of course Dersh figures out the big angle while playing basketball, and of course he persuades the skeptical student to stay on the team - all movie cliches - but the movie does offer some good, thoughtful dialogue (monologue really - the students are just throwing Dersh lines) about the criminal justice system and why he takes on a case of someone whom he is pretty sure is guilty, whom he knows is anti-Semitic, and whom he pretty much despises. One of the strengths of the film is the cliche it avoids: Dershowitz and von Bulow decidedly do not become movie buddies.

Nasty, gruesome, impossible not to watch - Mad Men

The world is not a gentle place for the characters in "Mad Men" Season 5 - where shall I begin? Don Draper increasingly concerned about the waning of his creative talent, and actually picks a rivalry with the supersmart, creative, but completely unpolished copywriter Ginzberg - who is feeling (rightly) unappreciated: Does he bolt? Roger now broken off with his 2nd, much younger (of course) Jewish (surprise) wife, but is feeling lonely and gets back with her for one fling - and she's spiteful and resentful. He claims to have been completely changed by one LSD trip - one of the less credible elements of he season. Betty Draper is moving to the fringes of the show, still a manipulative bitch, but we're building a little bit of sympathy with her as we watch this beauty struggle with her weight. Pete Campbell narcissistic as ever has a fling with the lonely wife of a very obnoxious and sexist fellow commuter, and this episode seems to haunt him - he can't stop obsessing - and most of all (and this goes for many of these sad character) he doesn't realize how fortunate he is: he's married to a lovely woman and is throwing it all away for nothing. Don's new wife (his 3rd, as we're reminded) is actually one of the most likable characters in the season - easy to write Megan off as a bimbo, and to scorn her dreams of becoming an actor, when she doesn't show any obvious drive or talent - but she proves time and again to be wise and compassionate, one of the few good people in the lives of Don's kids, especially the oldest daughter - becoming a troubled young woman who's starting to push Megan away in spite? or in fear of closeness? Joan has almost no role in the middle of this season - after a great episode in which she kicked her army doctor husband out of her life. Peggy is robably the best character in the season - always crisp and smart, totally independent, we've watched her over 5 years mature as a character (and watched Elisabeth Moss mature as an actor as well). I still love the working scenes and the team develops an ad concept and tries to sell it - one great episode involved the Heinz account and Peggy's futile effort to interest the company in her pitch. Another great one had Ginzberg deliver his own pitch for a Cinderalla campaign for a shoe company - a great pitch, that provoked Don's ire, and jealousy. One really strong episode ended with all of the main characters sitting around a table at an awards dinner, all glum and depressed, but each for a different reason. The season is uneven, but the show continues to fascinate - it's like a car wreck - nasty, gruesome, impossible not to watch.

Head of its class: Monsieur Lazhar

To get right to the point - I really loved the movie "Monsieur Lazhar" and recommend it to all, especially to my friends and colleagues in the education field. I will give a number of things away in this post, so read with caution if you haven't seen the movie - and if you haven't don't come in late and miss the astonishing opening sequence. OK: what is that sequence? You'll see kids gathered on a snowy, slushy schoolyard (Montreal, in mid or late winter), one rambunctious boy runs into the school to do his assigned task, gathering milk for the classroom, and when he gets to the classroom door finds it locked, looks in, and sees teacher's body hanging from an overhead pipe - we see it only for a second, and everyone gasps. Then the boy runs off to find adult help - and the camera is still on the empty hallway as we hear the sound of his running footsteps - maybe for about a minute that seems much longer. This terrific and understated direction is typical of the whole movie. The film is about the eponymous Monsieur Lazhar who comes in as the new teacher. There are a thousand ways in which this film could have gone wrong, heading down the direction of cliche, melodrama, or familiar turf: teacher wins confidence of tough class (To Sir With Love), teacher inspires (Dead Poets), teacher breaks the rules and conventions (Freedom Writers), and many more - but Monsieur Lazhar never does go off the rails, it seems incredibly true to life in school, and it doesn't glorify the teacher or the students - it's understated and completely credible. Lazhar we learn or figure out very quickly is an Algerian political refugee and has no credentials at all as a teacher. He takes over the classroom and is quite traditional - whereas the school itself is a bit unconventional - he has the kids line their desks in rows, teaches them the classic texts - in other words, he replicates the colonial education he'd had in Algeria. The kids rebel and he comes around - but only a little. The kids like him a lot - but with some ambiguity. In other words, he's not a great, heroic teacher - but he's a good man in a difficult spot, and he makes the right decision when one of the boys has a breakdown in the class over guilt about the teacher who killed herself. The essential conflict, set up pretty early, is that there are strict rules against touching the children, even for comfort or affection - and an implication that the dead teacher stepped over the line a little bit on this score and one of the students reported that she'd embraced him (clearly not sexual or abusive, but the rules are unclear to all - even the kids) - also clear that she did not kill herself because of this report - she'd been troubled for a long time, we learn - but the young boy (the kids are about 10) believes he may have caused her death, and he's tormented, acting out - he finally breaks down in class and M. Lazhar (the kids call him by his first name, Bashir, so the movie title is somewhat intriguing) holds the boy and comforts him - breaking the rules, but doing the right thing in the moment. Lots to think about in this film, and a great, subtle examination of character and behavior - the kids, and the adults. I can imagine a U.S. remake, unfortunately, which would no doubt screw up everything.