Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Review - Movie - Saw Part II
I picked up the DVD for Saw on the weekend. The director's commentary (actually director + writer) was really interesting. I think it should be required viewing for any aspiring filmmaker. It gave me a much better appreciation for the amount of work that goes into making a low-budget flick.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Review - TV - Living With Fran
Okay, okay. I'll admit it. I'm a huge fan of Fran Drescher. While others may find her annoying, I think she's a hoot. I also think she has to be an amazingly strong person not only to have pulled herself together after some of what has happened in her life, but to be able to talk about it as openly as she has.
I had been anxious to see "Living with Fran." Primarily because since "Friends" went off the air, there really hasn't been a sitcom to catch my interest.
Friday night both the pilot and a regular episode of "Living with Fran" aired. God, the pilot sucked. The jokes were almost forced. The laugh track was awful. (Who in tv land REALLY thinks that laugh tracks do anything GOOD?) I was absolutely ready to throw in the towel.
But I hung in there and watched the next episode. A huge improvement. There wasn't the same attempt to turn every line into a joke. The laugh track wasn't as annoying. Overall, it was a huge improvement.
After seeing the difference between the two episodes, I am not entirely sure why they even bothered to air the pilot. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that a lot of people were so turned off by it, they wouldn't have bothered with watching the next episode.
The premise of the show is pretty simple: Fran's character has been divorced for 2 years. She met and fell in love with a much younger contractor. We know he's supposed to be 26 (although I believe in real life he is 29). We don't know how old she is supposed to be (in real life, I think she's 47 or 48). She has a 15 year old daughter that lives with them. She also has an older son (I believe he's supposed to be 23) that had been living with his father and estranged from Fran until he got booted out of medical school for having a breakdown. The son moves back home and doesn't know about mom's new boyfriend. He doesn't seem to be coping with the idea very well during the first couple of episodes.
Is the premise believable? Well, Fran looks amazing for her age. She hasn't changed much since "The Nanny." I don't know if she has had plastic surgery, but if she has, her surgeon is a genius because it doesn't look like it. In real life, she supposedly dated a much younger man for a while. I think it works.
I'll give the first episode 1 star but the second one a 3 star. I'll reserve judgment for another episode or two to see whether I'll continue to watch it.
I had been anxious to see "Living with Fran." Primarily because since "Friends" went off the air, there really hasn't been a sitcom to catch my interest.
Friday night both the pilot and a regular episode of "Living with Fran" aired. God, the pilot sucked. The jokes were almost forced. The laugh track was awful. (Who in tv land REALLY thinks that laugh tracks do anything GOOD?) I was absolutely ready to throw in the towel.
But I hung in there and watched the next episode. A huge improvement. There wasn't the same attempt to turn every line into a joke. The laugh track wasn't as annoying. Overall, it was a huge improvement.
After seeing the difference between the two episodes, I am not entirely sure why they even bothered to air the pilot. It wouldn't surprise me to find out that a lot of people were so turned off by it, they wouldn't have bothered with watching the next episode.
The premise of the show is pretty simple: Fran's character has been divorced for 2 years. She met and fell in love with a much younger contractor. We know he's supposed to be 26 (although I believe in real life he is 29). We don't know how old she is supposed to be (in real life, I think she's 47 or 48). She has a 15 year old daughter that lives with them. She also has an older son (I believe he's supposed to be 23) that had been living with his father and estranged from Fran until he got booted out of medical school for having a breakdown. The son moves back home and doesn't know about mom's new boyfriend. He doesn't seem to be coping with the idea very well during the first couple of episodes.
Is the premise believable? Well, Fran looks amazing for her age. She hasn't changed much since "The Nanny." I don't know if she has had plastic surgery, but if she has, her surgeon is a genius because it doesn't look like it. In real life, she supposedly dated a much younger man for a while. I think it works.
I'll give the first episode 1 star but the second one a 3 star. I'll reserve judgment for another episode or two to see whether I'll continue to watch it.
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