If and when you should find the time, check out the DVD commentary of Sideways.Paul Giamatti, always the indie darling who seems to make everyone and everything better with every role he takes, has a ball with this one. But it's Thomas Haden Church who steals the show. When it's over, you will immediately think that Church's career may be the worst example of Hollywood typecasting.
The most exposure I had of Church before Sideways was unfortunately Wings, a superlatively forgettable show starring Tim Daly (a man looking to set the record for failed ABC shows within a three year time frame).
Basically, Wings was Taxi set in a small airport in Nantucket with Thomas Haden Church playing the role of Andy Kaufman. If there was anything the show offered, it was Church (with a little Tony Shalhoub sprinkled in). While the show was absolute formulaic crap, Church displayed a keen sense for comedic nuance and timing even when his lines on paper offered none.
With the commentary, you are treated to a hilarious back-and-forth between Giamatti and Church. I watched it alone, late at night, and was audibly laughing my ass off. With Church, most of all, you want to know this guy.
Inter alia: The Sopranos is over. Yesterday, I finally met another person who couldn't give a fuck about the show. I've seen probably seven episodes (second season, mostly).Maybe it's because I felt burned by the investment I gave to Six Feet Under. Maybe it's because so many more people found it so much more watchable than the supremely better show The Wire. Maybe it's because I never bought the causal relationship between being a murderous psychotic and honoring tradition/family while attempting to mitigate the resulting guilt by having a fucked-up relationship with his therapist. Funny/interesting but only at first.
It's nothing moral, just seemed sloppy, like the writers intentionally provided this wide-open setup in order to avoid a cohesive and thought-out story arc. In other words, Six Feet Under. Oh, the haphazardness!
4 comments:
I've heard nothing but GREAT things about 'the Wire'. I plan on watching it on DVD from the first season on.
That said, the reason Sopranos was always my favorite show was because of Gandolfini and Edie Falco. It began and ended with them. They are incredible actors (and, you know me - I don't hand that compliment out easily).
It was the rare show that I felt the acting exceeded the writing, and yet, I still loved it. And the writing wasn't bad, either. I'll stack the first four seasons of Sopranos with anything in the past ten years.
For me, it just came at a bad time, right around the peak of my hatred for 'Six Feet Under', yet I still suffered through the pain.
And I can't discount the fact that, of the people around me - work, etc. - that loved the show, I hated them all and they wouldn't shut up about it.
I'm going to give it a try.
On 'The Wire', when you're ready, I'll lend them to you. You will be awestruck.
I really liked Six Feet Under until it got weird for weird's sake. I still watched, but, after a bit, I can't stand watching miserable people. SOMEone needs to be SOMEwhat happy at SOME point, right?
Yep! For me, it was the 'bird in the kitchen' episode, but the silliness was building up to that point. It was a brilliant crescendo leading to superlative suckitude. I felt personally offended.
I will say the series ended nicely.
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