Report Card---"August Osage County".

A while back, I did a Report Card on the play "August Osage County" when it appeared on Broadway.  I thought it was slow, talky, long, and took a whole  lot of time to get where it was going.
But when it got there, it was worth the wait.
The film version is a whole different animal.
It came flying right out of the gate.
The playwright was also the screenwriter, so apparently he was very open to criticism.
I think he won a Pulitzer Prize with the play, so he probably didn't have to take shit from anybody.
Except maybe Meryl Streep.

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

Extremely.  From the opening bell.
A+.

Compelling even?

Perhaps the definition of the word "compelling"".
A+.

Is it controversial?

Very.
A+.

Is it a story worth telling?

It always was..
A+.

Is it good storytelling?

Great storytelling, considering what it  used to be.
A+.

Is it well written?

Extremely well written.  Great dialogue.
A+.

Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?

Mostly.  Streep is at the top of her game.  But I thought Julia  Roberts, good as she was, was miscast.
The character she plays is described by other characters as aging, destined to be ugly and losing her looks.  Julia Roberts looked fantastic.  Something seemed amiss.
A.

Is it too long? Too short?

It never seemed long, which was a major accomplishment.
A+.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

It's still a  bit theatrical, . but yes, and yes.
A.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

I didn't  remember the play that well, so it was not predictable, and surprised the hell out of me, on several levels.
A+.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

You are overwhelmed by it.
A+

Is it funny?

Quite often.
A.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

If that was the only way to see it, definitely.  Particularly with a full audience.
A.

Is it impressive ?

Stunning.
A+.

Overall grade: A+.

I think Streep already has my vote in her pocket.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and; Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Report Card---"Enough Said".

"Enough Said" is a romantic comedy drama that stars James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss.
It was Gandolfini's last film.
He died during shooting.
You really can't tell.
It borders on being a chick-flick, but stays within the borders.
It is very warm, entertaining, interesting, and thoughtful

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

Very.
A.

Compelling even?

I wouldn't go that far.
B.

Is it controversial?

To a minor extent.
B.

Is it a story worth telling?

Absolutely
A.

Is it good storytelling?

Very. It is relentlessly interesting.
A.

Is it well written?

Extremely well written.  Not quite Aaron Sorkin level, but close.
A+.

Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?

All of the above.  Particularly if they had to do gymnastics to cover Gandolfini's posthumous scenes.
A+.

Is it too long? Too short?

Just right.
A.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

Considering that the premise might seem far-fetched, totally, and totally..
A.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

The ending was a bit predictable, but nothing else along the way was. 
B+.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

The story was quite intriguing, and I thought a lot about Gandolfini.
A+

Is it funny?

Quite often.
A.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

I needn't have left the house, but that's me.
C.

Is it impressive ?

Quite.
A.

Overall grade: A.

This was the best possible way to remember Gandolfini.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and; Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

Report Card: "Dallas Buyers Club".

Yes folks, it's that time of year again.
The studios have sent me their screeners with care.
So it's sure that my report cards soon will be there.

For the uninitiated, Report Cards are my way of reviewing films or plays as I witness them. attempting to give the reader as little plot information as possible to be able to make an informed judgment as to whether or not he or she should make the effort to see them.
I do this because I go out of my way every year to be avoid being bombarded with clips and other reviewers' plot summaries so I can be surprised by what I see.
I also try to present you with a screenwriter's point of view.
Something most reviewers are incapable of providing.
If you agree with what I have written after you see any of these films, Report Cards can be a valuable tool for you.
That's my intent.
So, unless something far more fascinating to write about comes along in the next few weeks, this space will be bombarded with Report Cards.

The first film is "Dallas Buyers Club""
It stars Matthew McConaughey.
Every year, it seems to be in somebody's deal to appear in every movie.
This year, it's Matthew McConaughey.
I've seen about five films so far, and he has been in three of them.
The film is about the rise of the  AIDS epidemic in the 1980's.
All the way back to Rock Hudson.
The ad campaign, from what I've seen of it, is quite violent.
This is a bit of a mislead.
There is maybe a minute-and-a-half of violence in the whole movie.
And minor violence at that. 

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

Extremely.
A+.

Compelling even?

Occasionally.
B+.

Is it controversial?

Quite.   Questions of morality jump out at you from all over the place.
A+..

Is it a story worth telling?

Absolutely
A.

Is it good storytelling?

Very. It starts a little slow and depressing, but really snowballs after that.
A.

Is it well written?

Very well written.
A.

Is it well cast? Well played?, Well shot?

All of the above.
A.

Is it too long? Too short?

Just right.
A.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

Yes, and yes.
A.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

Nothing predictable.  I was quite ignorant about the subject,  and the particular aspects of it that they got into, and found it to be a very positive  education.
A+.

Do you think about it after you've seen it?

There is quite a bit to chew on.
A+

Is it funny?

When it tries to be, which isn't often.
A.

Would it have been worth the thirteen bucks it would have cost to see it in the movies?

I could have waited to see it on HBO..
C.

Is it impressive ?

Quite.
A.

Overall grade: A.

This is a very impressive film.
We're off to a very good start..

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books ,"Show Runner" and it's sequel,"Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays" and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are not
e-books. But they are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings lined up for those, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one. If you'd like one of the paperbacks, personally autographed, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.

And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

"Oklahoma!" And "Top Banana"

These two Broadway shows have never previously been linked in any way.
But they actually had a great deal in common.
Films made from these two shows were both major abominations.
With "Oklahoma!",  I'm not referring to the 1955 film that starred Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones.
This version was quite acceptable, even though much of the humor was lost.
It was a quite sincere rendition of the show, much like the NBC "Sound of Music" was quite sincere.
What I am referring to is the 2011 filmed version done by the Royal Nationall Theatre of Great Britain, which starred Hugh Jackman, and a bunch of other Brits.
What I learned before I saw this production on PBS by seeing other live performances of it is just how FUNNY the show is.
And how audience-dependent it is for it's laughs.
"Oklahoma!" is a show that was always audience dependent.
Agnes DeMille, the original choreographer, was interviewed about the original production, which took place in 1943.
She talked about how the show's audience was always filled with soldiers and sailors, about to be shipped out to most-likely meet their doom.
It reminded them of what they were fighting for.
The audience contributed mightily to the success of "Oklahoma!"
In the Hugh Jackman production, as good as it was on so many levels, they created the pretense of there being a live audience there to witness it.
You saw them filing in.
The overture started, and you never heard from them again until the final curtain calls.
The cast played it for all the laughs that were there.
They got no laughs from the "audience".
There was no applause from the audience after any musical number.
It was missing in action.
And I do mean "missing".
It was an obvious attempt to create the illusion that there was a live audience.
The critical reaction was praise for bringing out the "drama" that existed in the text.
But no criticism for letting the comedy fall flat as a pancake.

""Top Banana" was a somewhat different animal.
The filming was done completely on the cheap.
They simply went into the theatre where it was being performed, and shot a very theatrical performance of the show.
The only problem was that there was no live audience.
It was as if they filmed a dress rehearsal in the middle of the run.
It was about burlesque, and you could tell that many funny things were supposed to be happening.
I mean, it had Phil Silvers in the lead, and all.
And even so, some of it was hilarious.
But some of it was painfully terrible.
Not helped at all by the lack of an audience.
There was an occasional "stock shot" of an audience applauding, but that didn't fool anybody.
Why weren't they laughing?
Some shows are simply audience dependent, and without them, why bother?
Like I said, "The Sound of Music" at least stayed true to itself.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

One More Mountain To Climb.

Allow me to be the last one to comment on NBC's production of "The Sound of Music".
Also, allow me to be the last to take a dump on Carrie Underwood.
It's not that I have anything against country music singers.
And it's not that I have anything against country music.
Let me amend that.
I have plenty against country music.
With the exceptions of Willie Nelson, Asleep at the Wheel, and the very recently departed Ray Price.
All are, or were, wonderful.
And I have nothing against country music stars appearing in Broadway shows.
Reba McIntyre was terrific in "South Pacific" and ""Annie Get Your Gun".
She has an enormously positive personality.
But I would never think of buying or even listening to any of her albums.
So it's not the genre.
And Carrie Underwood sings like a bird..
And she was totally responsible for this sumptuous production of this really good show to appear in Prime Time, somewhere other than PBS, where young kids were most likely exposed to their first Broadway musical.
This is all a very good thing.
What mitigates it all to some extent is that Carrie Underwood cannot act her way out of a paper bag.
She recites every one of her lines as if she was trying to remember them, or if they were being read off of cue cards.
Her eyes were completely vacuous.
This is a major setback.
Much was made of going back to the original play, restoring all the songs that were cut from the movie.
But even there, accommodations were made to fit Ms. Underwood.
They retained one of the songs from the movie, arguably the worst non-original song, "Something Good", and still dropped one of the  best original songs, "An Ordinary Couple"
I think that decision was made because it was best suited for a more mature woman like Mary Martin.
You know, someone who can act.
There were two directors:  The TV director, calling the shots, and the performance director.
The physical production and shot selection were handled superbly, so no blame can be laid at the TV director's doorstep.
Just about everyone else in the cast was wonderful, but the performance director must be judged by his weakest link.
Or maybe it was political.
He simply didn't want to get into it with Ms, Underwood about how much she stunk.
But all in all, it was a an event worthy of everyone's attention.
It was live.
There was a great supporting cast.
I was particularly taken with Laura Benanti as the Baroness, who eventually loses the Captain to Maria.
Benanti was so appealing and likeable and three-dimensional, and Underwood was such a lox, that I actually developed a rooting interest for Benanti to end up with the Captain.
Unfortunately, that was short-lived.
They made no bones about there being no live audience, even though it was a live event.
They were true to themselves, and did not suffer for it.
Unlike two other Broadway shows that attempted productions in other media, and suffered mightily for their efforts.
More about that next time.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne and Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

The Saga Of "Ticky Tock".

Woody Guthrie once wrote an recorded a song called "Ticky Tock".
That's not what I am referring to here.
I mentioned after seeing the preview to "The Sound of Music" that there were charlatans in the Metropolitan area of New York who took advantage of kids in our neighborhood, convincing their starstruck mothers that their kids had the talent to send them into the stratosphere, if only they had a little coaching, which these crooks would provide.
This led to the mass auditions and rejections of these moppets for the original production of "The Sound of Music", which starred Mary Martin.
But there were other charlatans out there.
Those who took advantage of very young little "composers and lyricists", convincing them that for a fairly hefty fee, they could get their compositions published and recorded by major artists of the time.
Two such "composers and lyricists", actually I don't know who contributed what, were these two ten-year-olds named Debbie and Diane.
Their composition, which we in the neighborhood heard incessantly, was a little ditty called "Ticky Tock".
As I'm sure they had never heard of Woody Guthrie, and since I have heard his "Ticky Tock", I can assure you that they were not the same song.
I will attempt to recreate Debbie and Diane's "Ticky Tock" as best I can, considering that you can't hear the music on paper:
                                                                         
"When my baby left me,
I didn't know what to                                                                                        
do
   oo
       oo
           ooh                                                                             
When my baby left me, I was sad and                                                                             
 blue                                                                                                                                                                    
         oo                                                                           
              oo
                   ooh            
So I looked at the clock, said "Ticky Tock"
 Ticky  Tah
                   ah
                       ah
                          ock
When my baby left me.....(and then the whole thing was repeated.  Over and over.)
It never ended.
It was a song without end.
It's like it was on a loop.
Now you might think that the lyrics to "Ticky Tock" were inherently stupid.
And maybe they were.
But so were many hit records at the time.
What was more inherently stupid than "Ooh ee, ooh ah ah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang"?
Not much, but at least it had an ending.
Ticky Tock's lack of one did not stop at least one shifty entrepreneur from getting Debbie and Diane's mothers to part with a significant amount of cash to see their budding geniuses handiwork wind up on the hit parade.
It never did.
But it has lived on in our memories.
Whenever my wife, or my sister, or I say a sentence that ends in the word "clock"
One of the others can be counted on saying "...said 'Ticky Tock'?"
My sister, when she was eight, actually came up with an absolutely appropriate ending to "Ticky Tock"
She sang "So I looked at the clock, said 'Ticky Tock", and started all over again."
This was to the tune of "Pick myself up, dust myself off..."
Pretty hip for an eight year old.

Next time I'll offer up my two cents plain on the actual production of NBC's "The Sound of Music",
which I saw a few days ago
Be on the lookout for it. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne and Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******

The Gift That Was Nelson Mandela.

I know.
I said I'd be writing about more charlatans exploiting the "talents" of the kid in my neighborhood in 1959.  And I will.
But in the interim, Nelson Mandela died.
He was truly one of the great men.
And he lived a full 95 years.
All right.
So half of them were taken away from him by locking him up in prison.
But how many of us get 95 years and all that acclaim when you're still alive?
And he deserved all of the tributes he got on all of the Sunday "talking heads" shows.
As a result, he posthumously provided me a gift that I'll be eternally grateful for.
See, when this occurred, I was in severe Tivo overload.
Both HBO and Showtime had two boxing events that occupied over eight hours of Tivo space.
This was on Friday and Saturday night. 
Each night took up eight hours..
And on Sunday, there was going to be seven hours of NFL Red Zone Football.
Plus the NFL Sunday Night Game, for which I had to set another five hours.
Plus all the Sunday" talking heads" shows: "This Week with George Stephanopoulis",  "Meet The Press", and "Face The Nation".
Well, not all.  I don't  make any effort to watch or record "Fox News Sunday".
And my Tivo was pretty much clogged before all of this programming took place.
Now, I don't know about you, but I watch the "talking heads" shows for one reason, and one reason only: 
For the arguments.
I want to see Democrats and Republicans going at each others' throats.
But because of Mandela dying when he did, it turned all those "talking heads" shows into tributes and love fests for Mandela for more than half their collective allotted time.
Some even more.
By all sides.
Yes, I know that Bill O'Reilly took this opportunity to stick to his guns and call Mandela a Communist.
But that wasn't on Sunday, and I don't watch him anyway.
Even Ted Cruz had kind words for Mandela.
And it's come back to bite him in the nuts with his base.
And now, the partisan rifts have opened up all over the place.
The point is that I don't watch the Sunday "talking heads" shows to see tributes, and everybody agreeing with each other.
So I was able to zip through at least half of the content of all those Sunday talk shows.
This gave me the security to know that I was not going to even approach my Tivo limit.
I actually reached Tivo solvency.
With Nelson Mandela's help.
I wish he could have been around to see it.
In any case, he has made me eternally grateful.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

My books, "Show Runner" and it's sequel, "Show Runner Two", can be found at the Amazon Kindle Store.
Along with the newer ones, "The Man Is Dead", and "Report Cards".
You can search by typing in my name, Cindy Williams, Laverne & Shirley, The Odd Couple, or Happy Days.
Check them out.
You don't need a Kindle machine to download them.
Just get the free app from Kindle, and they can be downloaded to an IPhone, IPad, or Blackberry.
The paperbacks, "Mark Rothman's Essays", and my new novel, "I'm Not Garbo" are available for people without Kindle.
I have many readings and signings remaining, and the thing about Kindle is you can't sign one.
If you'd like one, contact me at macchus999@aol.com.
And now, we've got my reading of my "Laverne & Shirley Movie" screenplay on YouTube.

******