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If you were anything like half of the folks on the internet then you were looking forward to Betty White hosting the Mother’s Day episode of ‘Saturday Night Live‘. The sexy senior, who has FINALLY been getting the respect she so surely deserves, brought it this Saturday. Originally when Lorne Michaels and Co. caved into the interweb demands from the public and gave White a chance to host ‘SNL’, it turned out she wouldn’t be alone. Perhaps to avoid tiring the 88-year-old comedian with a hosting responsibility, a slew of former SNLers came back with a fully focused ladies night over at 30 Rock. Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph and Molly Shannon came back to the place they once called home to participate in the special SNL, alongside comedy legend White. But if you were paying attention Saturday, and it seemed that everyone tuned in, it was proven that age ain’t nuthin but a number and White could hold her own until 1AM. White was the focus of almost all the skits this weekend and I can’t think of one that didn’t score big in the laughter category. Personally, I can’t remember laughing that hard for an hour and half straight in a very long time. And apparently I wasn’t the only one since the May 8th episode of SNL scored its highest ratings in a year and a half, making it fall just short of the historic pre-’08 election episode.
See SNL – all you need is Betty White and a few of your former cast members to bring the funny and the ratings. While there wasn’t a bum skit in the bunch, I can’t possibly post every video from that night. So here are my top 5, in no particular order, as well as the funny skits that were actually cut in dress rehearsal. More on Betty White Brings the Funny and Ratings to SNL after the JUMP
Ahhh….the ladies are back. The new Sex and the City 2 trailer has landed online and its full of crisis, puns and an overall obliviousness to the economic downfall that has taken place over the past few years in the U.S. But no worries folks, there are shiny dresses, beautiful sets and most importantly, a performance [...]
There are various reasons why people become the subject matter of documentaries. For Michel Gondry, his aunt Suzette, with her colorful stories and years as a teacher were enough to spend 5 years with her as the center of his acclaimed documentary, THORN IN THE HEART, which will be released on April 2nd.
What began as a simple look at his aunt, prompted by his son Paul’s interest in her life, who was a teacher in France countryside from 1958-1986, turned into a painful look at compounded family secrets and strife, specifically between Suzette, her deceased husband and son Jean-Yves. Through vintage super 8 family footage, candid interviews and typical Gondry imagery, we get to venture into the director’s life, with little follow up analysis.
I was lucky enough to sit down with Gondry for a round table chat about the film and it’s effect on both his professional and personal life. Gondry’s work usually lies in the surreal, a constant battle for the viewer not knowing if what they are seeing is real or a dream. His subject matter and story telling always relies on whimsy, so it was refreshing to see that the sense of whimsy was not lost during the production of this doc. More on Review: Michel Gondry’s ‘Thorn in the Heart’ after the JUMP
I have to admit that when I first heard about ABC’s latest comedy, “Cougar Town“, I almost barfed. Beyond vehemently hating the little nickname that was given to women over the age of 40 who still want to have sex, I also didn’t want some cheesy “Desperate Housewives” type show to ruin the careers of Courtney Cox and Busy Phillips. There was the typical anti-anti-feminist blog posts, weak reviews from critics and an overall fear of liking something with such a silly title holding me back from watching the show. But as luck, and a misstep with my DVR would have it, I ended up catching two episodes and honestly, fell in love. It was quirky, something like a “Scrubs” but without the ridiculous dream sequences and Zach Braff, and it felt authentic. I figured out that the name was just mocking what an attractive and newly single woman in her 40′s would be dealing with and Cox is perfect as Jules. The show is filled with delicious banter, innuendo and the sort of hijinx a woman coming to terms with being single again would have to deal with. Christa Miller is hilarious as Jules’ long time best friend and next door neighbor Ellie, who is attempting to live vicariously through our newly single star, but making sure she stays classy. And that brings us to Jules’ assistant and much younger ally in dating Laurie, played by one of my favorite Apatow alums Busy Phillips, who seems to butt heads with Ellie on just about everything. Travis (Dan Byrd), Jules’ son, her ex Bobby (Brian Van Holt), Ellie’s husband Andy (Ian Gomez) and her fellow single neighbor Grayson (Josh Hopkins) round out the major players in this comedy that is increasingly more about what makes your friends your friends than say sexy single ladies dating younger men.
As the season has progressed, the story lines have become more well rounded, developed and have picked up a much smarter tone, while remaining a goofy comedy. And last night’s episode brought us the much chatted about “Friends” reunion of Cox and Lisa Kudrow, who played a forceful, no nonsense dermatologist Dr. Evans in the little town of Gulf Haven. The two have such wonderful comedic chemistry together it was refreshing to see them sharing screen time once again, not to mention Kudrow back on TV where she belongs. Check out a clip from last night’s ‘Rhino Skin’. More on Won’t You Take Me to “Cougar Town”? after the JUMP
Have seven minutes? If so, please check out the beautifully crafted tribute video edited by Kees van Dijkhuizen, who compiled all of the 342 films that were released this year into a seven minute video. He created a similar project last year, but I prefer this year’s edit, from the choice of represented scenes to the [...]
This week’s episode of Mad Men was just bursting with goodies. The London office decided to pay a visit to New York, announcing a restructuring and the idea that most people forget that Roger Sterling actually works there. Lane, the latest transplant from England is informed he did so well trimming the fat that he was [...]
I am sure that during my nearly 30 years on the planet Earth I have repeatedly said how great it would have been to live in the past. Either for some lame reason like seeing Led Zeppelin live or an admirable one for being part of the women’s rights to vote movement, I have fondly looked at life in olden times as a lovely thing. But after last night’s episode of Mad Men, I take back all of these things and thank my lucky stars that I never had to experience life before 1980. In fact, any women who had to be an adult before year 1979 is personally invited to punch me in my ovary as reparation for my ill advised statements.
Every once in a while, a television show will surprise you and that is just what Mad Men did last night. While its nearing the half way mark for the third season, there has been a great deal of complaints about non-fulfilled story lines, like Peggy and Pete having a baby, and just the overall slow pace this season has been on. But apparently Matt Weiner knew that he couldn’t continue at this pace for too long and ramped it up last night. The Drapers welcomed child number three into their lives and I have never seen anything scarier. Just moments of watching the torture Betty endured within a hospital before pushing out an 8lb pound baby from her hoo hoo was enough for me to invest in any medical advances there are. Don sat within the waiting room while a younger version of the 1960′s man seemed to be terrified over his wife’s difficult birth and the lack of information he was getting from the hospital and thanks to the usual Draper tricks, the young man was comforted until his good news was announced. During Betty’s labor, she was filled with mind-numbing drugs, ignored by nurses and seemed to be terrified about what was about to happen to her. In her altered state, she “visited” with her deceased parents, and was warned by her mother to keep her mouth closed and by her father to be happy with her station in life. It was incredibly depressing all around and reiterated the fear that women have during a time of their life where hormones are cranking and when they seem to have little control over their lives. More on Mad Men Recap – Thankfully I Never Had to Endure the 1960s after the JUMP
Last night, I had the opportunity to catch my new official music crush, Tweak Bird. The two-piece band opened for one of my favorites, Big Business, at The Mercury Lounge and they killed it. Hailing from California, by way of Illinois, the brothers, Ashton and Caleb merge the droney knock you on your ass [...]
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