If there are two things I love, it's the 1980s and satire. If there are three things I love, it's the '80s, satire, and Christian Bale. And if there are four things I love, it's the '80s, satire, Christian Bale, and riding coattails of my well-connected friends.
It should come as no surprise, then, that this amazing parody video of one of my favorite satirical '80s Christian Bale films of all time (American Psycho) starring a quintessential '80s musician (Huey Lewis) produced by my Funny-or-Die-front-page friend (Ben Sheehan) made me extraordinarily, embarrassingly, over-the-moon happy. Because the fifth thing* I like is really pointed, gory, Tarantino-y violence in movies. So basically this whole thing is just a video suggested by an algorithm of things I like. Okay I get it, Ben, you really want to be on the Boomstick. Enjoy:
If you like that, check out more of my musings on American Psycho and how it could've been a Tarantino vehicle. And check out more of Ben's videos on Funny or Die, or here on the blog.
*I also really like food.
Arrested Development Season 4: The Return
A long, long time ago (back in August 2010, you guys, who can even remember that far back?) I wrote a post about the cancellation of Arrested Development where I made some pretty shocking statements. I love AD, I seriously love it; it's magical and quirky and fast and witty and very nearly as close to perfect as 22-minute blocks of comedy have ever been. But, I pondered that, by the end of the series, it was too inside-jokey and too self-referential to ever allow new viewers to jump on board. Indeed, if you missed a minute -- much less an episode! -- you might miss the genesis of an intricate, layered long-form joke, repeatedly revisited to your perplexity. (On the necessity of watching all of the episodes in strict order, creator Mitch Hurwitz apologized, "turns out I was not successful in creating a form where the setup follows the punch line.") Indeed, it's a frantic, meandering, "over your head" type of show, which is why it has garnered such an infatuated, culty following of repeat viewers, but it's also why it had struggled to exist on pre-DVR network television.
With its inside jokes and its crazy momentum (didn't the whole show always feel like it was spiraling ever faster, its pace quickening like the third act of a French bedroom farce, destined to end with a smash of actors in disguises running out of slamming doors?), I worried that Arrested Development just couldn't sustain itself for much longer without sacrificing its faultless, endlessly quippy quality. I worried that fans would lobby to bring it back, only to have it tailspin in an over-hyped cable season of compromised comedy, too-high expectations, and inability to jump back on board (pun -- see series finale!) where they left off. With a show that moved so fast and ended neatly and abruptly, I worried that starting back for a single season would feel less like an epilogue and more like chasing after a moving car full of people you used to love, never quite able to hop on.
So, with Arrested Development: Season 4 premiering THIS SUNDAY, I thought I'd reevaluate my concerns: I think this just might actually work. The reason it might, to the delight of all of us, is the thing that none of us saw coming back in 2006: Netflix original programming. The idea that Netflix (and Hulu, and other independent subscription services) could produce and develop original shows based on more sensitive metrics of smaller pools of audience demand just wasn't feasible at the close of Arrested Development; we all relied on networks and Nielsen ratings and broadcasters whose goal was to sell the most ads to the broadest, blandest audience. The landscape of television, and how we watch television, has changed so dramatically even in the seven or so years since AD has been off the air, and it has morphed into an environment that's ripe and supportive of exactly the type of viewing best suited to AD: the binge and repeat. Netflix is nothing if not King of the couchathon. (Though Hurwtiz does caution viewers not to completely overindulge; with a show this rich and crammed full of jokes, watching the whole series in one sitting risks undermining the humor by pure over-saturation) Where AD failed at piecemeal, disjointed, once-per-week (and often unreliably weekly) broadcasting to a wide, sometimes unfamiliar, unwilling, confused audience, I believe AD will thrive brilliantly in its new tapered, targeted, instantly-gratifying streaming home on Netflix. I think the Bluths may have finally found their nerdy, needy niche.
In these last remaining Bluthless hours, you guys can watch the trailer, take the Superfan Quiz, and tell me how you're feeling about the premiere:
With its inside jokes and its crazy momentum (didn't the whole show always feel like it was spiraling ever faster, its pace quickening like the third act of a French bedroom farce, destined to end with a smash of actors in disguises running out of slamming doors?), I worried that Arrested Development just couldn't sustain itself for much longer without sacrificing its faultless, endlessly quippy quality. I worried that fans would lobby to bring it back, only to have it tailspin in an over-hyped cable season of compromised comedy, too-high expectations, and inability to jump back on board (pun -- see series finale!) where they left off. With a show that moved so fast and ended neatly and abruptly, I worried that starting back for a single season would feel less like an epilogue and more like chasing after a moving car full of people you used to love, never quite able to hop on.
So, with Arrested Development: Season 4 premiering THIS SUNDAY, I thought I'd reevaluate my concerns: I think this just might actually work. The reason it might, to the delight of all of us, is the thing that none of us saw coming back in 2006: Netflix original programming. The idea that Netflix (and Hulu, and other independent subscription services) could produce and develop original shows based on more sensitive metrics of smaller pools of audience demand just wasn't feasible at the close of Arrested Development; we all relied on networks and Nielsen ratings and broadcasters whose goal was to sell the most ads to the broadest, blandest audience. The landscape of television, and how we watch television, has changed so dramatically even in the seven or so years since AD has been off the air, and it has morphed into an environment that's ripe and supportive of exactly the type of viewing best suited to AD: the binge and repeat. Netflix is nothing if not King of the couchathon. (Though Hurwtiz does caution viewers not to completely overindulge; with a show this rich and crammed full of jokes, watching the whole series in one sitting risks undermining the humor by pure over-saturation) Where AD failed at piecemeal, disjointed, once-per-week (and often unreliably weekly) broadcasting to a wide, sometimes unfamiliar, unwilling, confused audience, I believe AD will thrive brilliantly in its new tapered, targeted, instantly-gratifying streaming home on Netflix. I think the Bluths may have finally found their nerdy, needy niche. In these last remaining Bluthless hours, you guys can watch the trailer, take the Superfan Quiz, and tell me how you're feeling about the premiere:
Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square
So, I have this whole gun control/economics post I've been laboring on, but I scrapped it to bring you something way, WAY more important.
If any of you knew me between 7th and 9th gradeand also now as an adult with no excuse for myself, I adore Newsies. I'd characterize my middle school love for Newsies as an "obsession," except it doesn't quite do justice to how extreme and all-encompassing of a mania I had. Now, it's been years since I dabbled in the bizarre, culty teenage-girl underground that is true Newsies fandom, but about a week ago I got "King of New York" stuck in my head and just couldn't get it out. So, as any self-respecting adult attorney person with real friends would do, I dug out my Newsies cast album (from the film not the MUSICAL which changes all the damn LYRICS) and had myself a listen.
Well, my husband caught me, and it actually turned out pretty poorly for him: we revisited a conversation that I'd let slide/blocked out/repressed many years ago during our early courtship when he told me he'd never seen Newsies. (Allowing this injustice to persist uncorrected for so many years is a testament to my mounting maturity and also 'cause my husband is super hot, y'all.) Unfortunately for him, I own the DVD (though, truth be told, I prefer my vintage VHS that I taped off of The Disney Channel back in the '90s), and we sat down andAndrew drank a whole, whole lot and lovingly watched it.
And, while of course it's cheesier and sillier and sappier and more melodramatic and ridiculous through the lens of adulthood, a lot of my opinions about Newsies remain unchanged. (After all -- didn't we all know how cheesy and unrealistic it was when we watched it in middle school? We just loved it anyway!) Today, I still love the things about it I loved when I was 14 -- the rousing dance numbers, Christian Bale dance-riding a fake horse, Bill Pullman saving the day, that one shot where you can see one of the Brooklyn guys' junk as he climbs out of the water -- and I still stand by my criticisms: it's too long (over 2 hours!), the whole Ann Margaret storyline blows, and it was mismarketed as a kid movie instead of being aimed at its true target audience, preteen girls. I thought about writing a whole post with my changed impressions of the movie, but those are pretty much it. (Other than noticing like a whole ton of super gay subtext this time around. Like all the newsies are pretty gay for each other. And David and Bill Pullman are totally gay together. And Snyder is way gay for Jack, but I think Jack's pretty gay for David, which is hard. That's the real story line.)
Anyway, THE POINT OF THIS POST is that while Rotten-Tomatoes-ing during my re-watch, I found something else that came up when I searched Newsies. It's called "Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square," and it is a "25 minute, homemade, newsies horror-film spoof, was made in 1991 on the back lot of Universal Studios during the shooting of the movie Newsies." WHAT? WHAT?!?!?!? It was written, directed, produced by, and stars the Newsies actors (including Mark David [aka "Specs"] playing Don Knotts -- again I say to you WHAT?!?!?!?!), and it is a HORROR MOVIE. This is literally the greatest thing ever, and I am just so, so glad that my AOL dial-up connection in 1999 did not allow me to find this on the internets because I WOULD HAVE EXPLODED AND DIED and my parents would've watched my "Newsies" VHS in mourning and when the tape got wonky they would've found out how much I used to rewind and pause the movie on that one Brooklyn guys' junk shot. In other words: it would've been a disaster.
But now, from the fortress of Adulthood and Real Friends, I was able to watch "Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square," that great adverbial horror movie, without fear. (But also, I still kind of exploded with happiness. Only now I have a blog to channel it into and not my Newsies newsletter. P.S. that happened. ) So, now I get to bring all of my Boomstickers this insane awesomeness for your enjoyment. Warning, it may be NSFWWE (Not Safe for Watching Without Exploding).
If any of you knew me between 7th and 9th grade
Well, my husband caught me, and it actually turned out pretty poorly for him: we revisited a conversation that I'd let slide/blocked out/repressed many years ago during our early courtship when he told me he'd never seen Newsies. (Allowing this injustice to persist uncorrected for so many years is a testament to my mounting maturity and also 'cause my husband is super hot, y'all.) Unfortunately for him, I own the DVD (though, truth be told, I prefer my vintage VHS that I taped off of The Disney Channel back in the '90s), and we sat down and
 |
| DINOSAUR!!! Because now all my favorite things are here!! |
(Who you calling gay?)
Anyway, THE POINT OF THIS POST is that while Rotten-Tomatoes-ing during my re-watch, I found something else that came up when I searched Newsies. It's called "Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square," and it is a "25 minute, homemade, newsies horror-film spoof, was made in 1991 on the back lot of Universal Studios during the shooting of the movie Newsies." WHAT? WHAT?!?!?!? It was written, directed, produced by, and stars the Newsies actors (including Mark David [aka "Specs"] playing Don Knotts -- again I say to you WHAT?!?!?!?!), and it is a HORROR MOVIE. This is literally the greatest thing ever, and I am just so, so glad that my AOL dial-up connection in 1999 did not allow me to find this on the internets because I WOULD HAVE EXPLODED AND DIED and my parents would've watched my "Newsies" VHS in mourning and when the tape got wonky they would've found out how much I used to rewind and pause the movie on that one Brooklyn guys' junk shot. In other words: it would've been a disaster.
But now, from the fortress of Adulthood and Real Friends, I was able to watch "Blood Drips Heavily on Newsies Square," that great adverbial horror movie, without fear. (But also, I still kind of exploded with happiness. Only now I have a blog to channel it into and not my Newsies newsletter. P.S. that happened. ) So, now I get to bring all of my Boomstickers this insane awesomeness for your enjoyment. Warning, it may be NSFWWE (Not Safe for Watching Without Exploding).
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)