Jerry Seinfeld Proves He's Still Got Comedic Chops at 70

Jerry Seinfeld, the beloved comic known for his observational humor and his longtime running show, "Seinfeld" regaled the audience at the LBT in Santa Rosa with his clean, observational humor.  On the eve of his 70th birthday, Seinfeld took the stage without fanfare or introduction as the man needs no introduction. Wearing a suit and tie, Seinfeld is a classy comedian with an iconic style. He doesn't need to use foul language, sex or hostility to get his fans to laugh and feel good with his relatable annoyances, likes and dislikes. His likes are few, coffee, cars and being left alone. Things he dislikes include golf, poker, family vacations and tea. These are all fodder for his funny and irritated outlook. His sons enjoy poker and so he plays with them "to win back my own money." His delivery is polished and infectious running smoothly from one topic to the next. He didn't reproach the audience for having their phones on, rather he "enjoyed" our "dumbness" for being on our phone, "the disaster to humanity." No matter what Jerry chose to find irritating, it was relatable. He had us laughing at our foibles  and follies.  His material was fresh and breezy. He poked fun at his lower hierarchy in his family and today's parenting where kids don't want to leave him. "Why would they?" Not like when he grew up. Instead of multiple bedtime stories it was, "lights out! Hey dad, can you read that one again." As for his advice on his 24 years of marriage, "I don't question my wife about anything. Things are always coming and going from the house and I don't ask. How do I know what's going on? I listen to my wife talk on the phone. That's how I learn where we're going and what kind of mood I've been in for the past year." Seinfeld is a rare comedic that is able to delight audiences and elevate their moods.  Before leaving Jerry opened up for questions. He named his favorite car, a 50s Porsche and said he loves all cars. "You're outside but inside, You're going somewhere without moving." Yes Jerry, you still got it! Happy 70th

DIARRA from DETROIT Dark Dramedy/Mystery Diarrhea Kilpatrick Shines

DIARRA from DETROIT airing on Prime Video is a dark comedy curtailed around a mystery that stars Diarra Kilpatrick who is also the show's co-creator.  The title gives you the two main characters: Diarra and the city of Detroit both depicted with steely and frigid veneer.  The dialects and in your face conversations may take some getting used to for more genteel midwesterners or the Grosse Pointe elite neighbors. Hold onto your wooly caps. This is not a show for the faint of heart. The show's hard hitting edge and brusque manner is intriguing. Its angry style is punctuated with humor and tenderness. Diarra has just returned to her childhood home while she's reeling from an undesired but imminent divorce from her husband of five years. The first night of her return home, she's held up at gunpoint. Until she identifies the mugger and the  two sit down to some hot wings and hot topics including her husband asking for an open marriage. The show's kinetic energy shifts faster than the Detroit Red Wings line changes. The viewer is just outside the tumultuous action pounding their fists against the glass. Determined to get back in the dating world, Diarra finds a sexy match on a dating site. She's more than excited to see her date actually mirror his photo. Their sexy flirtation and banter lead to the bedroom. The next morning she shares her steamy night with her girlfriend who claims he must be some kind of murderer. But, Diarra is smitten only to be ghosted which she won't take lying down. She's determined to get an answer or apology from Ambian. She and a friend break into his apartment and discover a naked man tied up in the closet. Diarra is now about to become entangled with an underground crime element, likely tied up with a missing boy she knew as young a girl. Her day job, teaching at a public school, is reminiscent but more intense and relevant than "Abbott Elementary."  Kilpatrick calls to mind Issa Rae, only she's tougher and more unflappable. The entire supporting cast is excellent. You will not know where the show is headed which adds an element of suspense.  The show's stark appeal may not grab everyone. But, it is wickedly entertaining.  Take off your safety belt and go along for a wild ride. 

FALLOUT- I'm All in on this Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Thriller

FALLOUT is by far and away a thrilling, entertaining and visually stunning series that explores a future world two centuries following a nuclear destruction in the 1960s. Based on the popular video game of which I know nothing about nor do feel I'm missing out. Airing on Prime Video, the pilot captures a Kodachrome LA at a child's cowboy themed party. Rumblings of nuclear attacks are brushed aside but   the nuclear blast casts a harrowing pall on festivities. Families race for their bomb shelter. The birthday boy dad father fights off another dad whom he was just shared a beer. Those few families who  built bomb shelters and could reach them are the surviving progeny free of radiation contamination on the earth's surface. These generations went into a two century hibernation. An elaborate underground eco system was developed with tight knit communities. Small populations inside sealed eco chambers necessitates connections with other sealed sectors to sustain the populations. Lucy (a wide-eyed earnest Ella Purnell) pitches herself to a panel which includes the legendary Leslie Uggums. Lucy got the gig which is for an arranged marriage with a young man from the next sector. Lucy's loving father Hank (the great Kyle MacLachlan) is happy for his daughter. The vault doors opens as an excited Lucy looks to meet her betrothed. The wedding goes off without a and the insistent groom can wait to get to his bride to the bedroom. Wedded bliss is short lived as groom's sector is intent on taking over. Lucy (think Emma Stone) is no pushover. The girl knows how to fight. Fight scenes are graphic and gory but there's so much more to the story. Lucy leaves the safety of the only home she's ever known to venture out onto the surface in search of her father. A second story on the surface begins in a brutal army barracks with gargantuan Transformer like Robots.  Maximus (Aaron Moten) becomes selected for a mission by the revered leader of this makeshift army of survivors. (How they survived is anyone's guess). The look on the surface is a hybrid of Mad Max meets Dune with a bizarre assortment of mutants. people and LA landmarks.  The most ominous monstrosity, Cooper (Walton Goggins) is an immortal, noiseless cowboy reminiscent of cowboy performer at the birthday party prior to the nuclear fallout. (Let's hope this doesn't go Western World weird.) He's menacing, edgy and enticing. All three main characters are well cast. Their ventures in this brave new world are harrowing, violent, gleeful and believable. Believe me. FALLOUT is safe bet for a complex, cunning and unique sci-fi series worth falling into.  

I revisited The MOUNTAINTOP and Found it an Arduous Journey, Again

I first saw the play "The Mountaintop on Broadway with Academy Award nominees, Angela Bassett and Samuel Jackson.  Even with their talents, watching this one act, two characters play felt like being in purgatory. Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Katori Hall this is a fictitious account of Rev. Martin Luther King (MLK) on the eve before his assassination on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis in April of 1968.  MLK had just delivered a speech to local sanitation workers to inspire and enlist them in his peaceful crusade for change.  Seeing it for a second time at the 222 in Healdsburg a decade later didn't change my dismal regard  for this garrulous play.  It is overly long and underwhelming. In fact, despite the fine acting by the two actors at the 222 without household names, it did not elevate the interest or import of this production.  Both Sam Jackson as Camae, the maid bearing room service to MLK (Ron Chapman) as he labors to write a speech, delivered solid performances. The problem rests heavily with the burdensome dialogues that digresses from and distills its historic significance. A full hour into the play and we're mired in the motel room watching a mutual flirtation between MLK and Camae.  MLK cajoles her into lingering longer, wearing out her welcome by the audience. MLK is unsurprisngly depicted as having  flaws, a man who is fallible who gives into temptations. In other words, just a man. The poignant slogan of the Civil Rights Movement, "I am a Man," began with the 1968 Memphis sanitation strike.  "I am a Man" signs were used to demand respect and adequate pay. I admire the ambitious intent of the play to educate and entertain the import of MLK's role in moving the dialogue for needed social reforms. Camae reveals her true identity as an angel sent by God. God speaks to Camae on the landline. Surprisingly God is female and black and assigned Camae to escort MLK to heaven after he's killed.  This clever ruse takes a downward trajectory as MLK begs and pleas for more time. Too much time is spent in banter between MLK and Camae that just doesn't matter. MLK is given a reprieve but granted a futuristic peek at the purview of his influence and progress achieved, This latest staging has update the screening of events that speak to social reform, progress and set backs.   I sit in judgement and find the play an assiduous exercise that doesn't materialize as pertinent or possessing prodigious insight.     

Michael Douglas Stars as Benjamin Franklin Now Rolling in His Grave

The new Apple TV series Franklin, is frankly fraught with more problems making this version of our founding father Benjamin Franklin, averse to viewing.  This is a frothy fashion biopic that follows Franklin (Michael Douglas) and his 17 year old grandson William (Noah June) during his years in France frolicking with the filthy rich aristocrats. Meanwhile, Washington was contending with a flailing army in need of aid and financing at the start of the of the Revolution. The greatest casualty is the casting of Douglas in the key role. Douglas has been electrifying on the big screen. But, in this made for the Apple TV miniseries, he gives a phoned-in, putrid performance that is anachronistic in style. Douglas and the winsome June seem to be acting as if they traveled back in time from the 21st C.  The outcome is more fictitious than factual, more satirical than serious, more frilly and just silly. This would be acceptable if not for the cursory content to Franklin's task and the lack egregious lack of entertainment compensation. The fallout of watching is contemptibly tiresome. Some credibility, concern and curiosity for what is at stake for the nascent United States was sorely in abstentia.  Abstain from this droll drama that failed to deliver the goods. Douglas in WALL STREET may have ferociously said, "Greed is good."  Douglas in "Franklin" is definitely dormant as a block of wood.   

Comedian Daniel Tosh Pulls No Punches

 Last night before a sold out house at Santa Rosa's Luther Burbank Theater, Daniel Tosh was in top form as he wielded the crowd with his wit to laugh at the absurdity from both sides of an issue. Known for his sardonic take on current political and social issues, Tosh took aim at hot topics including abortion, vaccines, political parties, black athletes, police brutality with a no holds barred, brash approach. Tosh's topical material was well crafted and cutting-edge. It felt totally organic and original. Tosh started out gently and built-up to a comical crescendo. He said he planned to switch his career from comedy to magic. He gave a sealed envelope to one person and asked another to name a number from 1-100.  The number chosen, 99, was not the 54 in the sealed envelope. Tosh poked fun at the ridiculous choice of 99, then came down on "54" for not choosing 99 to save the joke. Often, he made himself the butt of the joke, "This all proves that magic is stupid." His modus operandi through his non-stop, spell-binding routine pushed back at the absurdity of opposing views. His routine flowed effortlessly for well over an hour with precise timing and circuitous material which was sardonic, sensible, irreverent and redemptive.  His overriding attitude of disdain was never off-putting. He steered the audience to ironic and hilarious observations that still allowed the audience to feel safe and sane regardless how inane or contentious the joke. Tosh told the audience it was his job to go there...and go there he did. He claimed, "I'm willing to lose half my audience."  I for one, took him at his word.  His wife's pregnancy with 3 fetuses was cause for high-fiving after learning 2 of the 3 fetuses had become non-viable. A seriously funny discourse ensued that crossed pedophilia with life beginning at fertilization. His poignant goodnight kiss on his daughter's birthmark led to a cringeworthy punchline that struck you in the gut and the funny bone. Tosh was for abortion just not pro, pro-choice for women. He appreciated how cop's get trigger happy, "I was a lifeguard and I admit to blowing the whistle when not necessary." The litany of people he's okay with getting shot include fans who try to enlist their sections in cheers and people who drive around speed bumps.  His candid take mocked his own wealth and the virtues of having money as far outweighing being poor. Tosh's contemptuous outlooks delivered without rancor were altogether clever, thought provoking and hilarious. Tosh contemporary outtakes showcase him at the top of his game and destined for fame.  Daniel Tosh tells it like he sees it and pulls no punches. My hunch is he's a formidable funny man for the ages. Catch him whenever, wherever you can. 

Steve! (Martin) Doc in 2 Pieces-Too Much to Matter

If I were to name two comedians who comprised the laugh track for my college years it would be Steve Martin and John Belushi. Interestingly, Martin thought (and was correct) what he was doing was groundbreaking and unique until he noted Belushi and the cast of SNL.  Martin realized they were also committed to the insane zaniness that inspired millions to wear balloon hats on their heads and arrows through them.  The biopic documentary now screening on Apple TV is a detailed anthology of Martin's life, from childhood, through a rambunctious route to connecting with an audience, and his miraculous meteoric rise to the pinnacle of comedic success. The devil is in the details and the unraveling of Martin's sophomoric sojourn is sorely overrun causing the laughs to fall flat and his zeitgeist humor to feel humdrum. In large part, Martin's puerile silliness was a backlash to the anguish of the late 60s/early 70s with a need and willingness to feel more at ease. I was one of the adoring fans at my college coliseum who saw him. I laughed until my sides hurt.  I'm sure the brownies that were passed enhanced my feeling of  euphoria.  Saturday nights the largest lecture hall on campus screened SNL. We'd gather to decompress from the stress of studies and let off steam amid a fugue of funky haze. Those were wild and crazy days; thanks for the memories.  This biopic is very stylized, and finely produced with personal letters, interviews and archival footage. The minutiae of memorabilia contains moments of laughter, but this film doesn't succeed as an entertaining roller-coaster of laughs.  Yet, it does maintain  a serious dissection of a driven entertainer in search of himself, his audience and what his aims are for achieving success.  However, it does provide an appreciation for Martin's acquired trials and tribulations. And, there's much material to be gleaned for aspiring comics or performers venturing on their course to stardom.  Nonetheless, there's also the devil's curse, boredom.

North of Normal-Totals Nothing Noteworthy

I'm usually bowled over by a coming of age story combined with an upbringing outside the range of normalcy. Nonetheless, "North of Normal" the true story of Cea Sunrise (an ebullient Amanda Fix), raised in a flagrantly neglectful and toxic manner by her pot smoking teen mother and grandparents in the wilderness wields nominal, noteworthy interest. At first, I wanted to root for Cea with her beseeching bovine eyes as she yearns for any semblance of security. The actress portraying young Cea (River Price-Maenpaa) is the only miraculous aspect of the film now screening on Apple TV other than her brown years turning cerulean blue as a teenager. Cea's is forever being dragged by her mom (Sarah Gadon) as she moves from one shiftless boyfriend to the next. The first few years where Cea is living in the woods with her mom and grandparents in teepees, she is recklessly left to fend for herself. The allure of growing up feral in a natural habitat is romanticized.  Evenings dancing around the campfire with her family and various vagrants glosses over the hardships and depravities of living outside civilization and the law. There would seem plenty of fodder to take from Cea's life for creating a character arc despite development despite bad parenting, abandonment and abuse.  But, we're left with detritus and montages that fail to stir the viewer. The poignancy of a young girl pining for her mother's love and seeking a safe harbor is sorely missing. Six years passed in which Cea was left in the unreliable care of her grandparents in the Yukon. There's no glimpse into this time. You can only wonder what transpired. Cea is reunited with her mom who's late to meet her at the bus station. For the first time she's enrolled in a classroom. The disastrous fallout of living outside society and the ostracism she feels fail to elicit  sympathy for our heroine. This was never a Gilmore girl's relationship between mother/daughter. Nor is it a striking allegory for perseverance. "North of Normal" is neither a captivating or cautionary tale.  It's a washed over account that pales despite an unconventional lifestyle as it feels inconsequential.  In the most dramatic scene, Cea pleads with her mom who is about to send her away, "Why can't you chose me for once. I'm your daughter." This was too little too late to stir the heartstrings. "North of Normal" registers south on this critic's scale.  It meandered meaninglessly and was a massive disappointment. 

The LAST QUIZ NIGHT on EARTH a Trivia Game within a Play that's Not Trivial

Left Edge Theater's production "The Last Quiz Night on Earth" is an interactive, apocalyptic, comedic drama which packs staying power. Unfortunately, an asteroid shower is going to rain down within a few hours. So, why not pop into your local pub where everyone knows your name and play in the regular trivia game night?  That's the beguiling premise that catches the audience, milled around the bar where the transactions of drinks and food is a flush business. The South Side Chicago bar is being manned by a bodacious broad who comes around the bar after manning the bar and welcomes the crowd of regulars and newcomers who've chosen to enjoy their last few hours before impending doom in a semblance of normalcy and camaraderie rather than utter gloom.  By the time the pretext of an actual annihilation of our planet sinks in to be taken seriously, the theatrics and trivia contest have unearthed such good will and intrigue to entice you to stick around (even if you would've chosen to spend your last hours...how? The absurdity of this catastrophic conundrum is not lost in this dystopian drama that treads lightly over predominantly droll regrets. The emotional impact strikes between Kathy, the bar's owner (Serena Flores) and her long estranged brother Bobby (Mike Schaeffer) and Rav (Phi Tran) Kathy's co-worker and Fran (Nora Summers) who reintroduces herself to Rav as his high school sweetheart and the love of her life. The insular world of a bar is arguably the place where everyone goes to celebrate, commiserate and connect with others. The real world is kept at bay inside the bar.  Barring any unforeseen catastrophe, time spent playing trivia, watching the pandemonium play out and perhaps imbibing, a good time is guaranteed by this engaging, clever and entertaining cocktail of genres guaranteed to provide a winning time while it lasts. 

SHOGUN Mini Series is a Breathtaking Epic Set in Japan in the Early 17th C

SHOGUN mini series is a visually stunning saga that sweeps Japan during the tumultuous years of warring factions following the death of the Shogun. Based on the best-selling novel by James Clavell, this historical drama blends the enchanting and benign lifestyles of the common Japanese with the fervent hawkish mentality of its sparing and duplicitous leaders aligning against one of its Regents, Lord Yoshi Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) and a sensual, star-crossed lover's story.  What sets this SHOGUN so supremely compelling are the panoramic landscapes of and stunning Japanese villages and cities with their ancient pagodas and lantern lit streets. A European ship with a scraggly group of pirates arrives as the seeds of discontent are brewing. Aboard the vessel, the captain has committed suicide (prematurely) as the dying crew was about to strike land. Catholic Jesuits have preceded the pirates and have profited from Japans riches and religious conversions of many Japanese. John Blackhorne (Cosmo Jarvis) takes over as commander. When they come up on land, they become captives to a hostile and powerful army.  John speaks for the rest of his men not to be seen from again except for one poor bloke who gets boiled to death. There's plenty of men whose heads will roll with a swift swipe of the swords worn as garb. Mariko (Anna Sawai) is the beautiful interpreter and confidante to Lord Toranaga who bridges communication between Toranaga and Blackthorn. Language is knowledge, knowledge power and power the endgame. The connection between Blackthorn and Mariko becomes one of biblical understanding. SHOGUN is fierce in its battles and executions which will eradicate a man's lineage including infants. There is a sharp contrast  between brutalities and sensualities, barbarities and civilities. The dimly lit, sparse interiors feel authentic, the costuming is exquisite and the foods enticing.  A camaraderie and respect develop between Blackhorne and Toranaga. We get the perspectives from both. The plotting is convoluted and confusing at times, despite closed captioning of predominantly Japanese dialogue. The comparisons of varying customs and religious convictions between East and West brush up against one another.  Who is the barbarian and who is civilized? Watch this SHOGUN mini series. There's massive historic splendor and booty rendered.