Category: Television Page 13 of 19

Top Twelve Female Semi-Finalists Perform on Feb. 29, 2012

On March 1, 2012

Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson

Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012, Fox, 8 pm (ET) The twelve female contestants on “American Idol” performed tonight. Smart money will be on these six to make it through:

Jessica Sanchez

From the first time she sang, it was apparent that this 16-year-old from San Diego was something special. Even with swollen vocal cords, she delivered a wonderful performance of “Love You, I Do” that caused Randy Jackson to say, “Crazy! Oh, my God! That girl can really sing. One of the best of the last two nights. Unbelievably talented.” Jennifer Lopez praised her saying, “So beyond your years, it’s crazy” and Steven Tyler mentioned her exceptional timing and pitch-perfect voice.

Elise Testone

Elise is twenty-eight and from Charleston, North Carolina. She began at the piano and then sang Adele’s “One and Only,” while attired in a black dress with an irregular hemline. Steven Tyler said, “You blew it out of the water. Nice goin’.” Jennifer declared her to be “One so special and different. Maybe the best singer here. You are one to watch.” Randy Jackson agreed that Elise was, “Definitely a force to be reckoned with” and called her, “One of the best voices.”

Hollie Cavanagh

Hollie is a little slip of a blonde girl from McKinney, Texas. She sang “Reflection.” (“When will my reflection show who I am inside.”) Attired in a short, glittery dress, she really delivered and the only criticism, from Steven Tyler, with which I agree, was that she should have worn her hair down. He called her, “One of my favorites from the start. Just beautiful.” Jennifer said, “If you came back, I thought you could win it.” Randy said, “You’re one of our favorites. I love your vocals. You tried to slay one of the biggest dragons tonight (referencing Christina Aguilera’s version). The parts that worked were genius.”

Skylar Laine, 18, from Brandon, Mississippi; Shannon McGrane, 16, from Tampa, Florida; Jen Hirsh.

These three are less “sure things.” Skylar gave a spirited C&W rendition of “Stay with Me” by Faces and received good feedback as Randy called her a “rockin’ country girl” with comparisons to Reba McIntyre, Kelly Clarkson and Tina Turner. Steven Tyler said, “Keep that up, girl.” With the popularity of country music in the land, Skylar has a good chance.

Shannon McGrane sang “I Left Your World” and looked lovely in a white dress with a sparkly belt and sparkles on the left shoulder of the Grecian-style dress. Jennifer praised her “passion,” Randy said, “Way to bring it.” Steven said, “You started Gospel-ly and then took it upstairs and it went beautiful.”

Jen Hirsh, who sang Adele’s “One and Only,” was praised by Jennifer Lopez as having done “a really good job” and Randy pronounced her, “One of the greatest singers in the competition this year,” but Steven Tyler noticed “a little trouble with the last little thing.”

I thought that Erika Van Pelt, who sang “What About Love?” and Brielle VonHugel (“Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay”), the contestant with the overbearing stage mother, did as well as Jen Hirsh. The two who should be going home were Baylie Brown, who sang Lone Star’s “Amaze” and Haley Johnsen. Baylie is a beautiful blonde and was wearing a coral dress. She seemed to be trying to get by on her considerable good looks. That did not work. The other contestant who massacred a song was Haley Johnsen, 23, of Beaverton, Oregon, who took on Annie Lenox’s “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This,” eliciting the accurate assessment from Randy Jackson, “It was a bit of a nightmare, instead of a dream. A little train-wrecky for me today.”

Thirteen Men Perform on “American Idol” on Feb. 28, 2012

By Connie Wilson

On February 29, 2012

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews, Television

Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson: "American Idol" Judges.

Feb. 28, 2012, Tuesday, Fox, 8 pm – The “American Idol” men performed tonight. Only half of the thirteen allowed to sing will be passed through. The thirteenth lucky “Wild Card” performer was Jermaine Jones who sang Luther VanDross’“Dance with My Father.”

Finalists?

The Six Best, for me (in no particular order) were: Reed Grimm, Adam Brock, Joshua Ledet, Aaron Marcellus, Phil Phillips and Deandre Brackensick. Some will have found Colton Dixon’s moody Paramour piece entrancing. For me, he was just all right.

Reed Grimm

It felt as though the performances started on a high note and went downhill. Although I am uncomfortable watching Reed Grimm move, he sings well; his version of Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger” was good. Reed’s movements are offputting. He tries to be sexy. He comes off looking as though he has to go to the bathroom. Incorporating the drums at the end of his song, however, earned him great reviews from the judges. (“Very nice choice” from Randy; “Great choice, jazzy and musical good job” from Jennifer and “I loved it, Man. Good for you,” from Steven Tyler.)

Adam Brock

Adam said, “There is a large black woman trapped inside my body.” He proved it by singing “Think!” by Aretha Franklin. Steven Tyler called his version “Brilliant!” Jennifer Lopez said, “You definitely delivered at the end.” Randy referenced Adam’s “throwback vibe” saying, “Job well done!”

Deandre Brackensick

Deandre of the fly-away hair, who is only a senior in high school in San Jose, California, sang an “Earth, Wind and Fire” song and received rave reviews from Jennifer Lopez (“So perfect to me.”), Steven Tyler (“Good choice of songs.”) and Randy Jackson (“One of the most commercial voices we have this year. I’m pullin’ for you. Lovin’ you.”)

Aaron Marcellus

Wearing a hat and stalking the stage, Aaron sang a Jackson Five song, “Never Can Say Goodbye,” hitting an incredible high note at the end.

Joshua Ledet

This Louisiana boy sang “He Pulled Me Through,” a Jennifer Hudson song. Definitely one of the most vocally talented.

Phillip Phillips Last, but definitely not least, the Dave Matthews wannabe did a very different version of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.” He was told by the judges, “There is no doubt that you are one of the most special talents that we found on the road.” Steven Tyler praised his performance as, “A really good job.” Randy said, “I love this guy. So unique for ‘American Idol.’”

Stay tuned to find out who America voted the six male “American Idol” finalists.

24 Contestants Are Selected As Semi-Finalists for Eleventh Season of “American Idol” on 2/23/2012

By Connie Wilson

On February 24, 2012

In Music, Pop Culture, Television

"American Idol" judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and Randy Jackson.

The final twenty-four semi-finalists were selected on “American Idol” on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2012, in Las Vegas. Let the games begin! The twelve male semi-finalists will rise to thirteen as a final boy is selected from one of four contenders. A poll taken on my.hsj.org, asking which of the four potential male contestants deserved to be placed back in the competition, favored Johnny Keyser, with 41.1%. David Leathers, Jr., received 29.1% of the votes, Germaine Jones 23.6% and Richie Law—the arrogant cowboy-hatted bossy contestant—got only 6.1% of the vote.

Twelve Female Semi-Finalists
The twelve girls left in the competition are: Jessica Sanchez, Jen Hirsch, Hayley Johnsen, Elise Testone, Chelsea Sorrell, Baylie Brown, Brielle Von Hugel, Erika Van Pelt, Hollie Cavanagh, Skylar Laine, Hollie Day and Shannon McGrane. It is no accident that I placed Jessica Sanchez’ name first in this list.
Twelve Male Semi-Finalists
The twelve male contestants selected, so far, are: Creighton Fraker, Joshua Ledet, Reed Grimm, Heejun Han, Colton Dixon, Phil Phillips, Deandre Braceknsick, Chase Likens, Aaron Marcellus, Jeremy Rosado, Adam Brock and Eben Frankewicz. Eben and Randy Leathers, Jr., were the last two to be notified and each looked like they were among the youngest, although Randy has a two-year advantage on the 15-year-old Eben. Randy was shown with his father, after he was cut, describing himself as “devastated” but saying Eben deserved a spot. I hope the poll mentioned above is wrong and either Randy or Germaine is placed back in the group. For that matter, I thought Neco Starr deserved to go on for the boys, and cutting 29-year-old Wendy Taylor was singled out by www.theclicker.today.msnbc as particularly brutal, since she will not be able to compete again. Wendy of Crosby, TX, sang in the group (with Mathene Treco and Lauren) “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and was quite good.
The two-hour program on Wednesday night dragged on and on as the same “bait-and-switch” tactic for delivering the good news was employed over and over again, reducing many of the stressed-out contestants to tears. I don’t believe I’ve seen so many male contestants in tears before this season. (Steven Tyler even said, “I like to see a grown man cry” when Adam Brock broke down on Thursday night’s program.)However, it is also true that the Korean-American contestant Heejun Han from Pittsburgh cries when he’s happy and cries when he’s sad. So, go figure.
Momma’s Boys
I also don’t remember a season when 26-year-old contestants like Reed Grimm were on their cell phones to Mommy quite so much, or when a gentle giant like Germaine Jones is shown devotedly telling viewers that he calls his mother “My Beautiful” and she calls him “My Handsome.” My only conclusion: this year, they don’t have as many truly tragic backstories of sickness or handicaps overcome.
Of course, the producers could simply be waiting to display all that pathos for the coming programs. (I have never seen such blatant tear-jerking maneuvers as those used by “Dancing with the Stars;” the “dedication” of each night’s dance to this or that cause gets to be a bit much.) Somehow, you expect a 15-year-old, like the very young Eben Frankewicz, to lean heavily on his parental units, but for those pushing thirty, it seems immature. Of course, with contestant Reed Grimm, (who sounds good if you don’t have to look at his weird presentation(s) and slinky-like dancing, what is “normal,” really? I, personally, like Dave Matthews wanna-be Phil Phillips, 21, of Leweesburg, PA, even though his voice may not be the best in the competition. That honor may go to Joshua Ledet from Louisiana, or even young Eben. I would not expect Jeremy Rosado or Deandre Brackensick of the long, wavy locks and the high falsetto to go very far.
“American Idol” vs. “The Voice”
Meanwhile, a flap has broken out on Ellen DeGeneres’ show over Randy Jackson’s supposed comment that “The Voice” was a show on which rejected contestants from “American Idol” go to compete again. Adam Levine did not take kindly to Randy’s off-the-cuff remark, saying, “Shame on Randy Jackson for saying that, because he, out of anybody, should know that if you’re in this business you need second, third, fourth and fifth chances. So, we love and embrace that being part of ‘The Voice.’…It was an irresponsible thing to say that.”
Randy Jackson immediately responded with a semi-apology, trying to clarify what he had meant, saying, “It’s all love. Adam is a friend of mine. He and I and Ryan (Seacrest) have hung out a zillion times. There is no disrespect…I’m just saying the difference in our show is new people. We try to find those.”
Since its 2002 launch, “American Idol” has been a ratings winner and it still beat “The Voice,” which pulled in 16.3 million viewers, 13% less than “American Idol.” “The Voice” is doing well for NBC, however, scoring second only to Sunday night football and attracting an audience that is slightly younger, with an average age of 43, while the average age for “Idol” viewers is 47.

“American Idol” Group Night Aimed to Appeal to New, Older Demographic

By Connie Wilson

On February 19, 2012

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews, Television

"American Idol" 2012 judges Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez, and Randy Jackson.

AmIdol2012After many years of faithfully following “American Idol,” this year, for the first time, the group performances have been as polished as those from Hollywood. One-hundred hopefuls out of over 1,000 would-be singers formed groups in Las Vegas for the February 16, 2012, program, but, this time, the contestants sang on a big stage with costumes, props, choreography and bells and whistles that we usually don’t see until Hollywood. The goal: to whittle the troupe down to forty (forty-two fortunate souls were passed on).

Changing Audience

The young singers performed songs from the fifties and sixties. This may well be because the demographic watching the show has become older and more mainstream. Other programs, like “The Voice” and “The X-Factor,” have siphoned off the younger viewers, but “American Idol” is still doing fine with middle America.

Song Selections

Every group performed a professional rendition of a song that those who are older than twenty-one would know and remember. Examples: “Why Do Fools Fall in Love?,” “Rockin’ Robin,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes,” “I Guess It Doesn’t Matter Any More,” “Great Balls of Fire,” “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”, “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do,” “I Only Have Eyes for You,” “Sealed with a Kiss” and the Elvis anthem “Blue Suede Shoes.”

Standout Performers

There were some standout performers: David Leathers, who looks like an elementary school student, was outstanding. Reed Gramm, 26, from Wisconsin, who kept phoning home to talk to his mother on the last show, continued to please the judges, who were heard to mutter that he was “like Casey (Abrams).” Reed seems to be a crooner in the Michael Buble mold, but he’s better heard than seen.
The villain of the show has already been cast. He’s Richie Law, the cowboy wearing the hat and acting arrogant. Richie teamed with Jermaine Jones, a fine singer with a great voice but a bad lisp when he speaks. Both have deep bass voices like last year’s winner, Scotty McReery.
The camera consistently followed the Asian contestant Heejun Han from Flushing, New York, who has a very sweet tone to his voice, but who locked horns with the cowboy early on. Also in Heejun’s group was Neco Starr, whose lead vocals on “I Only Have Eyes for You” were great and Phil Phillips, who seems to have modeled his style on Dave Matthews.

There are too many good voices this year to start taking odds, but I was particularly impressed with 16-year-old Jessica Sanchez of California, whose group sang “Guess It Doesn’t Matter Any More” and with Joshua Ledet of Lakeview, Louisiana. The weird hair guy whose sister (Skylar) got cut is really starting to creep me out, so the less said about him, the better.

An Interview with Actor John C. Reilly at the 47th Chicago International Film Festival

By Connie Wilson

On October 14, 2011

In Reviews, Television

John C. Reilly

A conversation with actor John C. Reilly is like talking to an old friend. He comes across onscreen in films like “Cyrus” as such a good-hearted, ordinary, normal guy onscreen. After the conversation with Reilly, (which took place on Wednesday, October 12, 2011), the Chicago-born-and-bred DePaul graduate who grew up in the Marquette Park area of Chicago, the impression is that he is just as down-to-earth and nice off-screen as he is onscreen.

When asked what reminds him of Chicago, Reilly says his first impression from way-back-when is the color green, in the schools and neighborhood of his youth. The Marquette Park area was a rough neighborhood (“The old Chicago lumbering into the future”) where the interiors and exteriors of the Irish/Polish neighborhood under “Daley I” were always green in various shades. Reilly said, “Market Park was the only place that physically attacked the Reverend Martin Luther King, before he was assassinated. ..Market Park and Johannesburg had to be two of the most prejudiced places on the planet at that time.”

Reilly, born May 24, 1965, did not grow up a child of great privilege. His Irish father ran an industrial supply linen company and Reilly was one of six children born to his Lithuanian mother. He made his screen debut in Brian DePalma’s “Casualties of War” in 1989 and met his wife, Alison Dickey, an independent film producer whom he married in 1992, on that film. Thanks to the various Chicago programs provided for youth by the city of Chicago, he was able to participate in drama and improv classes beginning at age 8. Music was almost always involved. His later role in the musical “Chicago” would stem from those early experiences and Reilly was even Grammy-nominated for the song “Walk Hard,” which he wrote and performed in the comedy satire “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.” In 2002, Reilly, a veteran of 50 films, was in 3 of the films nominated as Best Picture. He was also nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor in the musical “Chicago.”

With John C. Reilly at the Chicago Film Festival.

At DePaul, early in his dramatic training, Reilly was cast as the male lead in “The Way of the World,” a Restoration-era comedy by William Congreve. He soon decided, “This is boring. Being the leading man is not all it’s cracked up to be.” His discovery that character actor parts were more interesting “informed a lot of my later parts.”

Asked about whether he felt he was “a spokesman for your generation,” Reilly said, “I never felt like a spokesman of my generation. I try to portray people who have layers of meaning that you can peel back and expose.”

Q: What was the most fun you ever had on a movie set?

A: “’Boogie Nights’ (1997) was the most fun. “The 1997 film where Reilly wrote and performed “Feel the Heat” and portrayed Reed Rothchild predates his partnership in comedies with Will Ferrell. (Of Ferrell, Reilly said, “Will’s America’s Sweetheart…what can I say?” He added that the two have an almost brotherly rapport and are trying to find the time to make a sequel to “Stepbrothers.”

In commenting on “Boogie Nights,” Reilly noted that large chunks of that Paul Thomas Anderson film were improvised. “Paul Anderson and I made 3 great movies together (“Hard Eight” in 1997; “Boogie Nights” in 1997; and “Magnolia” in 1999). “Paul Thomas Anderson has what a great director needs, which is (1) a great photographic eye (2) the ability to be good at motivating groups of people and (3) the ability to be really enthusiastic about the project.”

Actor John C. Reilly at the Chicago 47th International Film Festival.

When asked what actors or actresses he most wanted to work with, Reilly said that he has already worked with some of the best, including Meryl Streep and his current co-star, Tilda Swinton (“We Have to Talk About Kevin”). He suggested that he is more likely to select film projects based on directors with whom he wants to work, citing Terry Gilliam and the Coen Brothers as some on his “would like to work with” list.

Reilly also mentioned that he was recently asked to appear in “Carnage,” which is based on the French play “God of Carnage” that recently ran in Chicago. (The play is a dark comedy about 2 couples who meet to discuss the schoolyard fight that caused one boy to hit the other boy and knock his tooth out.)“I tried not to wet my pants when Roman Polanski called and asked me to do a movie,” said the humble Reilly.

Reilly said, “When I’m reading a script, I ask, is this how people talk?”(in helping him make a decision about whether to do a part.) “All a character can really control is the part he plays. Film is so much a director’s medium. You have to really focus on your part. I’m looking for stuff that’s different from what I’ve done before. You have to be careful what parts you choose. If you aren’t, you might find that you’ve created a big crappy snowball at the end of your life…An actor needs to try his best, show up every day with his best intentions. “

Asked whether there are any movies he is less fond of, Reilly noted, “I’ve seen them all. I’ve returned to the scene of the crime. You don’t put 6 months in and then don’t go see it. You can learn from even the ones you’re disappointed in. “Refusing to name any less-than-stellar roles, Reilly said, “It’s a miracle when one of them works. I’m not gonna’ kick a dog that’s down.”

Q: “How do you receive scripts now?”

After noting that the usual agent-to-actor filter applies, he joked, “They come by carrier pigeon now. If they are too heavy for the carrier pigeon to carry, then I don’t do it.”

Reilly is in an intense new independent film directed by Lynne Ramsay entitled “We Have to Talk About Kevin.” Ramsay, a 1995 graduate of the UK’s Film and Television School, had not done a film for 7 years. Reilly was interested in doing a film with Ramsay, the female British-born director of “Ratcatcher” and “Morvern Callar”), and sought her out. He found that Ramsay, as a director, knew exactly what she was wanted on set and would often call it a wrap after the first take

John C. Reilly’s advice to other would-be actors? “Be there. Be present. Listen and be enthusiastic. Notice what is going on between ‘Action’ and ‘Cut.’”

Colin Quinn in “Long Story Short” in Chicago at the Broadway Playhouse

By Connie Wilson

On August 26, 2011

In Humor and Weird Wilson-isms, Reviews, Television

Chicago, IL, August 25, 2011 Colin Quinn, who spent 5 seasons as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” has brought his one-man show “Long Story Short” to Chicago from the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway and the Bleecker Street Theatre (Off-Broadway), where his one-man show played on August 25, 2011 at the Broadway Playhouse near Water Tower Place. The material involves a history of the world not unlike the one-man show Eddie Izzard used to perform (only not as funny) and is billed as “directed by Jerry Seinfeld,” a plot which has to help ticket sales. (There’s not a lot of Seinfeld-ian moments that show Jerry’s golden touch.) And, as noted by a different New York reviewer, Quinn, although a seasoned performer, seemed a bit uneasy on stage and did not interact well (or at all) with his audience.

Quinn always had a somewhat sarcastic personality on “SNL.” I don’t remember him doing much physical humor. His overview of the world, purporting to show how “the world has changed, but humankind has not” was improved by lighting designer Howell Binkley and production stage manager Daniel J. Kells, (among others.)

In other words, rather than come out onstage and stand there alone with a microphone, no props, and do jokes as most stand-up comics must, Quinn has chosen to perform amongst some prodigious props: a set that consists of an elaborate set of gold steps and pillars and a plasma screen that shows images of various countries and cities throughout history, which the comic then attempts to smoothly craft into a comedy routine. Covering all of history in 75 minutes can’t be easy. At the end of 75 minutes, I felt as though the reason the audience (which was on its feet) got no encore is that Quinn had no more material to share. And what about the material he did share?

Quinn had a few worthwhile one-liners, most of them courtesy of the Greeks. “An unexamined life is not worth living,” is followed up by “An examined life is not that interesting, either.” Timely comments about the stock market and the Greeks invention of theater follow. [To hear Quinn tell it, the Greeks only invented theater so that they could diss their neighbors with impunity; then their kids got hooked on it (television analogy)], which was followed by another classic rip-off: “I know now that I know nothing.” (Sophocles). [There’s no joke there, but that’s fairly representative of much of the show.

Yes, there are some funny throwaway one-liners and nobody knows how tough it is to write 75 minutes of onstage (or offstage) funny better than me (“Laughing through Life” is my latest book-length attempt at humor, and there’s an earlier book as well). So I’ll give him credit for making a good attempt, but I just kept thinking of Eddie Izzard’s brilliant HBO Special and, frankly, Eddie Izzard’s brilliant show is a hard act to follow by a less-talented mere mortal, who seems to be just a regular guy who likes to crack wise a lot and is not wearing attention-getting women’s clothing while delivering his set.

Quinn, a Catholic by birth, referenced going to Confession in a dark booth and likened it to “telling your secrets to a man who might have a poster of Justin Bieber on his wall.” He suggested that, given the Catholic Church’s recent troubles with pedophile priests, “They could lose the kneeling for a couple of years until things calm down.” At this point, Quinn was actually kneeling onstage. This foray into physical humor was atypical. Quinn isn’t really the kind of guy like the late great Richard Pryor or the current Dane Cook who does much physical humor. When he does, it seems rather forced and unnatural. It’s not his forte, and it showed, as when he referenced people who scratch themselves or poke you while you’re talking to them.

During the 75-minute act (no intermission), which began promptly at 7:30 p.m. and ended just as promptly at 9:00 p.m., with no encore, Quinn pretty much hit all of the past and present hot-spots in the world: Greek, Rome, Spain, England, Ireland, Israel (“Shalom means hello and good-bye because the Jews, wherever they go, get chased out immediately.” Made me wonder about Hawaiians, and “Aloha,” which also has that distinction). Holland, the Mayans, the Aztecs, Russia (“experts at perfecting depression”), Sudan, Canada (“Nobody wants to live there. There’s something about Canada that creeps people out. It’s like it’s 8 inches to the left. Even their national anthem is dismissive: “Oh, Canada.”)…Most of the world comes in for some comic jabs.

With lines (re the Australians) like “God bless those alcoholics…There are 6 planets closer to us than Australia is right now” and comparisons of the world today to a bar at 3:30 in the morning (“Iraq is in the parking lot. He says he has a gun. He’s talking shit!”) and ripping off those oh-so-hilarious Greeks time and time again (“We are what we repeatedly do,” Aristotle), Quinn has woven a Cliff’s Notes, or, in this case, a Quinn’s Notes version of history that has its moments.

Just not enough of them.

GOP Debate on CNN Is Right-Wing Fest for 7 Hopefuls

By Connie Wilson

On June 14, 2011

In Politics, Television

CNN’s “live” coverage of the 7 Republican hopefuls debating from St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire just concluded. Anderson Cooper is winding up the John King moderated debate.

Ron Paul is talking with Anderson Cooper about the stark contrast between his position on bringing all troops home from foreign engagements and the less dramatic opinions of the other candidates. “All great nations usually go down when they spread themselves too thin around the world,” said Paul to Cooper. “Financially, it’s a lot easier to go after this overseas spending than to go after health care.” Ron Paul said in comparing this year’s debate versus those he was involved in in 2008, “There was a difference. The reactions were different. The country now is definitely moving in the direction of less government and a different foreign policy.”

On the role of faith in public life, Paul said, “I think faith has something to do with the people. …You can’t teach people how to be moral.” Paul underscored the 1^st Amendment religious freedom tenet. Is Christianity under attack? asked Cooper? “I think, to some degree,” responded Ron Paul. Paul said, “You can’t legislate morality…the law has to have a moral fiber to it. That’s how I think it should apply. It’d be nice if we could remake Afghanistan, but the blowback is too big.”

In speaking with John King, David Gergen and Gloria Borger, Ron Paul underscored that there is a retreat from positions of the previous campaign debates on foreign policy. Gergen said what struck him was how much more conservative the Republican Party has become and that they are “pretty far to the right.”

The exchange with Herman Cain (former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza) about hiring Muslims came up. Cain: “A lot of Muslims are not totally dedicated to this country,” was attributed to Herman Cain. He said he would not be comfortable with appointing Muslims to his Cabinet. Newt Gingrich said he “wanted to go out on a limb here” in demanding an oath of fealty for those who would serve in his Administration.

Andy Card, former White House Chief of Staff for President Bush, said that he felt Herman Cain was trying to dig himself out of a hole on the entire Muslim line of questioning. Cain appeared to be in a hole all night, as far as I could determine. Gergen said that Truman had loyalty tests and it was considered a bad blot on his record and led to McCarthyism. Cornell Belcher, CNN correspondent, said he was “not comfortable with him (Cain).” Independent and moderate voters would not be comfortable with this answer about “loyalty tests.”

I wasn’t comfortable with any of the candidates onstage at the Republican debates. Those who performed best were Mitt Romney, the front-runner and Michelle Bachmann, the former Senator from Minnesota. Although Bachmann can sound as bigoted as they come, this night she announced that, if elected, she wouldn’t let her personal beliefs intrude on state’s rights, especially in regards to abortion and/or its banning.

Attacks

President Obama took a beating all night long. “He’s failed the American people “said Romney of Obama. Bachmann said, “His report card right now has a big old ‘F.’” Robert Gibbs, former Press Secretary for Obama, speaking afterwards on behalf of the Administration, said, “If you wanted to hear the economic problems that set us up for our current problems, that is exactly what these candidates talked about tonight…We had a massive economic recessions that crested in September of 2008.” Gibbs said, “We have to understand what got us into this mess and we have to make sure we don’t hire somebody to get us right back into this mess.” Gibbs commented on the reforms imposed on the financial institutions and how the Republican candidates want to un-do those financial regulations, as well as slash Medicare and Social Security.

King said, “It’s either a choice or a referendum.” If it’s a choice, said moderator King, then many Democrats are saying, “Where is he? Why isn’t he out there?” Gibbs responded that the American public wants Obama out there talking to CEO’s and creating more jobs. “It took us a while to get into this mess and it’s going to take us a while to get out,” Gibbs said. He responded to a question from Gloria Borger, CNN Chief Political Analyst, “In May, the polling (CNN) showed that public blamed Bush more than Obama for the mess we’re in.” “I’m not suggesting that this election is going to be about blaming Bush,” said Gibbs as the spokesperson for the White House, “but the policies you heard tonight were the same ones that got us into this mess. …I think we have to understand that the American people are hurting every day. We have family members that are out of work. We have neighbors that are out of work. ..We’re going to have bits and sparks to this procedure,” defended Gibbs.

David Gergen: “The question becomes, ‘When is the President going to give us a plan to deal with the slowing of the economy?’” Gibbs: “I’m not setting this up to be a referendum on George W. Bush, but, first and foremost, we have to continue to do the things like tax cuts for small businesses.” Does Obama have more legislation on the table? asked Gergen. Gibbs responded that the administration needs to structure this carefully. (He used, as an example that it can’t be set up so that a business that fired Anderson Cooper on Monday could then hire him back on Tuesday to get a tax credit.)
“Are there things that we can continue to do to spur the economy?” repeated Gibbs back to Gergen, saying, as an answer, “We’ve got to increase job training. Some of the jobs that went away we know aren’t coming back.”

From a veteran political junkie’s point of view, I would say that nobody laid a glove on Romney, who looked presidential, and Rick Santorum revealed even more unpleasant things about his arch-conservative personality. (Lately, there have been articles about Mrs. Santorum’s abortion history, but the Santorums are extremely conservative on the topic, even in cases of rape or incest, even though she, herself, basically has been revealed as having had such a procedure.

Herman Cain just came off as extraneous to the debate and, although Pawlenty had a chance to take shots at Romney (which he had just done on a national news program), in person, mano a mano, he demurred and remained polite. Bachmann did better than anticipated. Ron Paul, as usual, provided some common sense mixed with some comedy. The arched eyebrows of Romney as he stood next to Ron Paul watching him were priceless. [Surely this will resurface on “Saturday Night Live.”]

The debate about Sharia Law seemed a ridiculous topic, given the true problems this nation faces. In dial-testing done in real time, the Opera House Republicans and Independents in Rochester, New Hampshire became heated on the topic of right to work laws. Pawlenty’s remarks on having the “right to work” were popular. The biggest reaction early on was to that topic. Citizens in Ohio and Wisconsin, where teachers, firefighters and other union employees are under attack (and the Governor of Ohio is a spawn of Fox News) might feel less enthused. The country as a whole might be less enthused about the dismantling of the programs and unions they have counted on all their lives.

Michelle Bachmann reintroduced herself to the American public, forcefully mentioning her 5 children (and 23 foster children) and bringing up her expertise as a tax lawyer. Andy Card (former White House aide to Bush) said, of Bachmann’s performance: “I thought Michele Bachmann did a very good job tonight.” Bachmann scored points on Obama’s failure to raise the debt ceiling, when a Senator. The Tea Party-ers will like her, said the commentators. “She came across as very electable tonight,” said one talking head. Cooper wondered what Sarah Palin might have been thinking about Michele Bachmann while watching her this night. Gloria Borger felt she was “the positive candidate” and moved out of Sarah Palin’s shadow.

John King feels Bachmann’s challenge is whether she can move out of her identity as a Tea Party candidate. David Gergen felt she spoke in pithy, interesting sentences and she introduced her biography (repeatedly….Bachmann is a native of Waterloo, Iowa, so who knows how she’ll play in the Iowa caucuses). Gloria Borger thought Bachmann was more impressive than Rick Santorum, the other social conservative. Biggest winners were Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann, for me. Winners were declared to be:

51% Romney, Bachmann, 21%, 9% Pawlenty by Republicans.

35% Romney, 26% Bachmann and 12% Pawlenty by Democrats.

Cornell Blecher, CNN African American pundit, said that Michele Bachmann will be one of the last candidates standing. Why would Pawlenty start an attack and then not follow through? all commentators asked, in regards to the health care bill Romney initiated in Massachusetts when Governor. The consensus: Romney was the winner; Pawlenty missed an opportunity; Bachmann – most underrated.

The entire Republican debate revealed 7 people who oppose Obama’s Health Care bill, are anti-gay, oppose gay marriage and abortion rights, would like to restore “Don’t ask/don’t tell” and are very, very conservative. Cain and Paul seem to have no shot, but Paul is always amusing and a straight-shooter. Cain, a former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, seemed to have no business being on the stage with the other career politicians, but, then, prior to the debate, one would have said that of Michele Bachmann.

“Modern Family” Ends Season with Episode “See You Next Fall”

By Connie Wilson

On May 21, 2011

In Reviews, Television

ABC, May 18, 2011, 10 PM (ET) In an episode entitled “See You Next Fall,” “Modern Family” saluted Alex Dunphy’s graduation (Ariel Winter). Alex is graduating from junior high school and, as Manny (Rico Rodriguez) says to Luke (Nolan Gould), “Do you realize, in just two years we’ll be graduating?” At the moment, Luke is staring at a beach ball floating in the pool and says, “I think I’m moving it with my mind.” Manny—barely missing a beat—says, “Well, at least I will.”

The episode was the perfect blend of wit and slapstick. It was written by Danny Zuker (prominent in the credits each week) and directed by Steven Levitan, one of the series’ creators. Top notch attention, in other words, to this episode.

The opening laughs are centered on Cam’s (Eric Stonestreet) fall into the backyard child’s pool. Mitchell (Jesse Tyler-Ferguson) laughs and Cam is offended. Once they join the rest of the family at Jay and Gloria’s for a pre-graduation party, his iritation is simply intensified when he accidentally walks into both a sliding glass door and the screen door. When the entire group laughs, Cameron, in high dudgeon, says, “Cruelty is genetic.” There is also concern over Jay’s drooping eyelid, which he is reluctant to admit occurred when he had Botox. Cam blurts out, “What were you thinking? You’re a veteran!”

As is foreshadowed during Jay’s attempts to get his gate to automatically rise, the entire graduation group is stuck behind the uncooperative gated fence. Gloria’s solution is to throw a bicycle built for two over the fence, quickly followed by Claire (Julie Bowen) and Phil (Ty Burrell). They set off for their daughter’s valedictorian address on the bicycle-built-for-two, which promptly suffers a broken chain. There is already concern among the family that Alex’s speech, which is essentially one long complaint about her treatment by her fellow classmates, will be inappropriate and make her a social pariah. The good advice from older sister Haley (Sarah Hyland) is that Alex simply mouth the words to a mindless pop song. As the line in the script has it: “It’s a graduation…a celebration of being done with thinking!”

The climax of the episode is the arrival of Phil and Claire at the graduation ceremony. They literally fall down the hill outside the ceremony, causing Cam to laugh. The lines were great in the episode. One of my personal favorites was Luke’s unspoken solution to the “we’re-stuck-behind-the-gate” problem when Phil says (with Luke’s solution still unspoken), “We don’t have time to build a rocket.”

A great episode of the best sitcom series currently on the air.

Casey Abrams “Saved” by Judges on American Idol

By Connie Wilson

On March 25, 2011

In Music, Pop Culture, Reviews, Television

Casey Abrams

Fox, Thursday, March 24, 2011, 8 PM (ET) “American Idol” had one of its most dramatic nights ever when front-runner Casey Abrams received the lowest number of votes and was in danger of elimination from the show. (Surely a “WTF?” moment.) The judges stepped in to use their one “save” of the season to retain the young Joe Cocker-like musician.

Casey and Stefano were the last two standing after the other low vote getters were trotted out, one-by-one, and then rescued, one-by-one. Stefano, Thia and Casey ended up in the bottom three. The first two: not too surprising. But the shocker was Casey’s low ranking.

No less an authority than “Entertainment” magazine (March 18, 2011) selected Casey Abrams as the ultimate winner of the whole competition, saying, “Underneath that goofy facial hair and dazed demeanor, this 20-year-old California dude (born in Wilmette, IL) boasts some serious musical chops.” The author of this “Entertainment” handicapping at 3 to 1, Rob Brunner, added, “And he can really sing.” (I now feel better about my +18 out of 24 showing for the Oscars, and I’m glad I haven’t made any rash predictions for “American Idol’s” tenth season…yet.) Brunner predicted, on page 48 of the March 18, 2011 “Entertainment” in an article entitled “We Pick the Winner:” “Not I-starred-in-a-school-production-of-Carousel-last-year-sing, but actually inhabit a song, infuse it with personality and emotion and a little humor.” My daughter, a Music Business graduate, only watches the show for Casey. (She had better start voting, methinks!)

Casey was interesting from the outset, showing up with a melodica during auditions so he would have perfect pitch when he began singing. On this night, to save his life in the competition, Casey began singing “I Don’t Need No Doctor” in his characteristic funky growl. The 3 judges began waving their arms in the air after approximately 3 bars, telling Casey to stop.

“We know who you are,” said Steven Tyler, declaring that Casey’s elimination was just plain wrong. Which it was. Here’s a performer with true talent, a distinctive style, musical ability out the wazoo and America’s vast unwashed apparently tone-deaf masses kick him off?

What’s wrong with this picture! (Answer: Everything.)

Casey looked like he might pass out after the judges used their one “save” of the season to keep the bearded mop-head on the team. I assume tonight’s failure to reduce the group of eleven to ten means that 2 people will be eliminated next week. In my opinion, losing Stefano, Haley or Thia would be far less damaging to the show’s integrity than losing arguably the most talented and fearless singer in the group. He has come out and sung songs as difficult as Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and then, on Wednesday night’s show, hit the high notes on Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.” What show was the rest of America watching? You had Stefano singing with little or no emotional connection to his song and Thia actually bobbling the words a bit, and then a truly great performer stalks the stage and…what….? You voted for “the cute one”? Yikes!

After he was “saved,” there was a dramatic encounter with Casey hugging his parents and overcome with emotion at the judges’ using their one-and-only save so early in the season. He could be heard saying, “I can’t breathe.” I feared he would pass out.

The rest of the show preceding Casey’s near-elimination consisted of Ryan Seacrest announcing that 30 million viewers had voted, Sugarland and Jennifer Hudson performing, Marc Antony assisting the contestants with the use of an in-ear headphone so that they can better hear themselves when they perform. Another high point was the appearance of Stevie Wonder to play “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and wish Steven Tyler a happy 63^rd birthday. Hulk Hogan also put in an appearance, (which seemed to thrill James Durbin more than anyone.)

Jennifer Lopez offered the startled audience and the overcome-with-emotion Casey this advice as the emotional show ended on a dramatic note: “Let people feel your soul. You deserve to be here.”

Hasselhoff Bites the Dust on DWTS

By Connie Wilson

On September 21, 2010

In Television

www.associatedcontent.com/article/5813450/the_hoff_dancing_to_sex_bomb_didnt.html

That is the link I posted in advance of the elimination of David Hasselhoff on “dancing with the Stars” on Tuesday, September 21, 2010.

As a postcript to Monday, September 21^st, 2010 “Dancing with the Stars” elimination round, David Hasselhoff was cut from the dancing competition. I think the headline of the article I posted (prior to the actual results being announced) said it all. The Tom Jones “Sex Bomb” song selected for David to gyrate to was just embarrassing. Yes, he’s a good-looking older guy, but both he and Florence Henderson seem to be trying too hard to be “hip” and “with-it.”

As he was announced as the eliminated contestant, the Hoff declared that he felt this might be some sort of “pay-back” for his stint on “America’s Got Talent.”

The performances by Santana, at one point accompanying Daughtry and at another, when playing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” accompanying guest vocalist India were quite entertaining and the opening dance number by the pros was worth watching.

My favorite moment: when Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino announced to no one in particular that he didn’t even know there were roads from Alaska to Los Angeles. As the host said later, “We’re not just a dance show; we’re a geography lesson.”

It’s quite apparent who has the talent in this show. It’s hard to believe that weeks and weeks of votes are going to be required to select the “best” dancer. Of course, let’s not forget the year that Mario Lopez lost to a football player who was infinitely inferior in dancing ability, so “Let the best man (or woman) win” doesn’t always pan out on these competitions.