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Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Report Card---"Maggie's Plan"

  "Maggie's Plan is boring.  It is a chick-flick.
It is a boring chick-flick.
Maggie is played by a complete uninteresting unknown, at least to me.  (Greta Gerwig)
She wants a child, but she doesn't want to be in love.
Any idea where this might be going?

On to the scoring:

Is it interesting?

Never.
F.

Compelling even?

An absurd question.
F.

Is it controversial?

Only about the various options for conceiving children these days.
C.

Is it a story worth telling?

Not the way they tell it..
C.

Is it good storytelling?

If it was, it wouldn't be so boring.
F.

Is it well written?

It is undistinguished.
C.

Is it well cast? Well played?

The peripheral actors, (Bill Hader,  Maya Rudolph) are given far to little to do. 
Ethan Hawke is rather good.  But there is a big hole where a star ought to be. Julianne Moore, who is not Julianna Margulies, does a rather unconvincing European accent with a decent sized part..
I just watched Hader on Seth Myers last night, and he plugged everything in sight, but not "Maggie's Plan".  That should tell you something.
B-.

Well shot?

All right..
B+.

Did the director put such a personal stamp on it so that no one else could have made it?

Only in the sense that it had to have been directed and written by women.
C-.

How long does it take to establish the film's locale and time period?

Immediately.
A.

Is it too long? Too short?

Way too long.
C.

Is it believable? Do you care about the characters?

I suppose, and not at all..
B.

Is it predictable? Does it surprise you?

The ending takes a surprising and unsatisfying turn.
F.

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

No.
C.

Is it funny?

No sense of humor is on display.
F.

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

Not any bucks.
F.

Is it impressive?

Never.
F

Overall grade: D.

Not the worst thing I've ever seen.  That's the best thing I can say about it.
I wish I had something better to report on, the first time out.

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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".
They are all compilations of blog entries that have since been removed from the blog.
So this is the only way you can find them.
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@comcast.net

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

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Hi. I am, according to my Wikipedia entry,(which I did not create) a noted television writer, playwright, screenwriter, and occasional actor. You can Google me or go to the IMDB to get my credits, and you can come here to get my opinions on things, which I'll try to express eloquently. Hopefully I'll succeed. You can also e-mail me at macchus999@aol.com. Perhaps my biggest claim to fame is being responsible, for about six months in 1975, while Head Writer for the "Happy Days" TV series, for Americans saying to each other "Sit on it."