• My wife Anna E. Paone is an auteur; she leaves an indelible print on any of her works that make it unmistakably hers. Steeped in her influences ranging from YA novels to fast-talking 40s screwball comedies to modern video games mixed with a hint of well-meaning wholesomeness, I can suss out an Anna project easily. This past Tuesday, I watched as she flexed her writer/director muscles in the debut of her new theatrical Zoom adaptation of the video game “Harvest Moon.” The story of a young country lad, Jack (gently brought to life by Nick Endo) and his journey into Flower Bud Village is filled with light tongue in cheek touches like distilling characters via humorous single line introductions. The best of all was the Karen character played with an edge by Laura Paone who opened with, “We’re not here for your pleasure, Jack. I want to be a dancer and leave this boring town.” Jack replied, “She’s intoxicating.” This reading of the original game’s text for a 2020 adult audience both honors and skewers the game all at once. As a result, each character is a commentary on an archetype; David Rey Martinez as the omniscient, impossibly cheery Mayor and Jordan Scott Huggins as the slurring, surly drunk were two standouts for me as they maximized the comic potential of their lines making these characters pop out of the Zoom and to life. If this sounds interesting to you, you can watch the intoxicating 30-minute reading at the link below.
• Three new profiles that I love were put up on A Profile About You this week. It’s amazing that this project endures and exhilarating each time a new profile goes up. In fact, I’ve been so busy at my temp gig and there’s been so many profiles that I’ve outsourced a few of the profiles to my friend Dave Stolz. He wrote two that couldn’t be more different. The first is all about prolific podcaster Joey Dardano; I had no idea about his pod “Help From A Hypocrite” which is a genius concept. He’ll give advice but also tell you that he might not be the person to dispense wisdom. Literally everyone should have that disclaimer. Stolz’s second profile is an-character detailing of The Devil (in this case written in character as Nick Fofonoff) that plays with the format of what a profile can be about a fictional character. I found myself laughing out loud at this one quite a bit. My favorite line was, “Although he possesses a unique understanding for the craft, Satan believes what separates him from his comedic contemporaries is his, brand recognition.’” This is a perfect marriage of a fascinating subject and a writer willing to go there with him. Finally, I penned a piece on the emerging Kaili Turner who is about to break out (seriously; I’m predicting a huge 2021 for her). Writing about her comedy was a joy but I loved rehashing the story of her son learning to snowboard. It was a surprisingly heartfelt and funny detour in her tale that only made me understand her comedy more. All three of these disparate portraits of young up-and-coming comedic forces can be found in the comments.
• Just a few nerdy observations on TV, specials and movies I saw this week and then I swear you can get back to your regularly scheduled scroll.
“Upload” (2020): This 10-episode first season was released in early May and at the time, I thought, I would never get around to watching this series. There was so much to see! So much to do during the pandemic! Anyway, I binged this whole thing this week like a snack. Executive produced by Greg Daniels (Simpsons, King of the Hill, The Office, one of comedy’s Midas Touch guys), the show is about a near future where you don’t have to ever really die; your consciousness can live on through a virtual retirement home (if you have the money for it). It’s like if “The Good Place” was more a social commentary than a philosophical one. More than anything it reminded me of the world building in “Downsizing.” Either way, the possibilities are endless with this universe but the A-storyline they chose is about a wealthy developer who MAY (yeah, he probably was) murdered in a self-driving car accident. He’s put in this virtual world by a doting, materialistic girlfriend and he falls for the kind hearted customer service representative who's by his side every step of the way (they’re called angels). The love triangle and storyline is semi-gripping but I’m here for the potential clues to what the future will be like. It’s almost my favorite kind of joke writing formula- “What will the future bring? This is what I think.” Here’s a few I picked up on that were funny: an “Oprah/Kamala 2024” campaign poster (mind you, this was released in May); the people that can’t afford the virtual world are sent to live in the 2 GB world that has a lot less definition; funerals are essentially after parties and show random memories from your iPhone (also, your friends bail after ten minutes); you only have certain access to tastes in this after world (they eat to maintain a sense of normalcy or else they go insane) and when umami is added to their taste profile it’s like an upgrade; since they live in a virtual existence they’re paying for beyond the grave, pop up ads are everywhere AND finally when you can no longer afford the virtual world, you are given back to your family as a hard drive. Won’t spoil how that last bit is paid off. The sad thing is I kind of doubt this show will get a second season (it has that feel of trying to imitate the best of prestige TV as much as I liked it) BUT IT’S A WORTHY WAY TO SPEND FIVE HOURS (Streaming on Amazon Prime).
Ilana Glazer’s “The Planet Is Burning” special: I remember when this was released and got quite a bit of hate online. Yes, Glazer panders to her audience (if I had a rabid fanbase, I would do the same thing, sue me) but she is a fantastic, lively performer. Her material is a bit surface level here sounding more like complaints at brunch about the politicians in power and the differences between men and women but there was a brief interlude about how she differs from her character on the show that I found revealing and inspired. She said when she has weed delivered, she sits in the closet scrolling Instagram while her husband takes care of the transaction for her. IF HER NEXT SPECIAL IS MORE ABOUT THIS SIDE OF HER, IT’LL BE A CLASSIC (Streaming on Amazon Prime).
“Spirited Away” (2001): Every single “Best Of” list has this animated Miyazaki original on it and it bugs me every time I see it on a list because it’s a reminder I haven’t sat down to watch it yet. This week, I remedied that. I liked it. Moments I loved. But this was not the all-out visionary classic I was expecting based on the love it gets everywhere. Yeah, the “Wizard of Oz” or “Alice In Wonderland-esque” hero’s journey is charming and there are certainly striking visuals. It just didn’t move me. Maybe I’m just old and boring now. Anyhow, I did absolutely love the background details Miyazaki threw in the mix. Completely absurd, overweight creatures that just exist. He doesn’t draw attention to them; they’re extras. Your eye may stray from the main action and imagine a world in which one of these beautifully rendered monsters is the hero. That attention to detail is something you only get in animation and I applaud Miyazaki for putting in the extra work (even if I’m cranky about the whole thing; it might have something to do with my heightened expectations). Also credit for the unbelievably powerful shot revealing that Chihiro’s (the hero) parents had morphed into pigs upon eating found free food. It’s one of those images burned into my mind long after the rest of the movie has faded from view. I’M GLAD I SAW IT AND SHOULD HAVE TEMPERED MY EXPECTATIONS (Streaming on HBO Max).
“Robin Hood: Men In Tights” (1993): One of the many weird gaps in my moviewatching history. It’s been on streaming for as long as streaming has existed but I always skip past it for some reason. Well, I woke up early this Saturday and said, “Why not?” Clicked play and found your standard-fare Mel Brooks. Self-referential gags (I counted three; one where he name checks himself, one literally stealing a joke of his from “Young Frankenstein” and a third referencing “Blazing Saddles” PLUS he cameos as a Rabbi who specializes in circumcision), visual bits (a king played by a miscast Richard Lewis using a beeper to close the gate of his castle was my favorite), puns (none worth mentioning) and parody (an extended Don Corleone bit with Dom DeLuise was a bizarre, unnecessary detour). I’m torn about this movie. I’d never seen the Robin Hood it was based on but it felt an awful lot like the superior “The Princess Bride” down to Cary Elwes in the lead. It’s fascinating to see a young Dave Chappelle in action and a few sped-up old-timey jokes like a blind man accidentally battling a wooden pole then sawing it down and an archery contest where the arrow miraculously goes under the crowd unwittingly leading them to doing the wave made me laugh really hard and I’d put them with the best of his work. Other misogynistic and racist bits made me cringe. Also, Patrick Stewart and Isaac Hayes deserved way more than glorified walk on roles. OVERALL, IT’S A MIXED BAG WITH MORE GOOD THAN BAD (Streaming on Hulu).
Got quick socially distant hangs in this week with Matt Fishman and his fiancee Morgan Miller and then one the next day with Ben Miller (not related to the best of my knowledge). Made life feel normal again. I want more of this. If you’re in the Queens/Astoria area, Anna Paone and I are down to just hang.
From afar.
01.) Anna E. Paone’s “Harvest Moon” reading: https://www.facebook.com/DragonflyMulticulturalArts/videos/638941153422421
02.) Joey Dardano Profile: https://medium.com/@aprofileaboutyou/joey-dardano-used-to-be-so-smart-what-happened-to-him-f8b7cc3b0a79
03.) Devil Profile: https://medium.com/@aprofileaboutyou/my-date-with-the-devil-c97d934522ab
04.) Kaili Turner Profile: https://medium.com/@aprofileaboutyou/kaili-y-turner-is-making-comedy-for-2020-bf02357df636
