Edward Burns Family Saga 30 Years Later THE FAMILY McMULLEN - Mildly Amusing

 Renaissance man, Edward Burns, actor, writer, director, produce has been around the block. In his film "The Family McMullen" Burns puts a spin on the family dynamics 3 decades down the road. Still residing in the same Brooklyn hood, the McMullen brothers have increased in number, lost a beloved brother and still squabbling like functional, loving families tend to do. While on a 9 hour flight, I tuned into this 2025 film of which I hadn't heard of prior to being on board. This isn't surprising as it was only released in theaters in Oct. '2025 for a one-night-only special screening event. It was then released for screening on MAX in early Dec. ' 2025. Burns cast himself in the center of this family drama as the divorced father of 2 20-somethings (son, Tommy played by Pico Alexander and daughter, Patty played by Halston Sage). The sibling bickering between brother and sister was entertaining. The flirtatious banter between Tommy and his love interest Karen, (a terrific Juliana Canfield) was sizzling. However, where Edwards wanted the sparks to fly, romance only simmered. This was with the reuniting of a past flame, Nina (an almost unrecognizable Tralee Ellis Ross). The real standout of the film is the always bankable Connie Britton as Molly, the widow of Patrick (Mike McGlone) and Tommy's brother. The humor at the heart of this implausible sage stems from Tommy and Karen's romance rekindling a romance between Tommy and Nina. AWKWARD! More disingenuous is the religious Catholic fanaticism of Patrick who then hooks up with Susan, an old acquaintance who happens to be Jewish. The two crossed paths while in the waiting room of a psychiatrist. Patrick's first and last session with this psychiatrist was the funniest scene in the film. The family is found around the Thanksgiving table a year later with toasts and roasts to one another with additional guests: Nina, Karen, Susan and Molly's boyfriend (another blast from the past). Burns in his earlier film, "The Brothers McMullen" '1995 which won Best Picture at that year's Sundance Film Festival, wrote, produced, directed and starred as he does in this sequel; thirty years later. Acting is not Burns strong point as he tends to overact but hats off to carry-off a movie on multiple fronts. I was a captive audience for THE FAMILY McMULLEN on a marathon flight. It proved a pleasing diversion. THE FAMILY McMULLEN is an easy family film to watch with multi-generational gatherings over the holidays and on long haul flights. Also, anything that Connie Britton stars in is always worth watching. THE FAMILY McMullen the movie makes for an amusing albeit forgettable rom/com, dramedy.

Zoe Kazan's EAST of EDEN Steinbeck's Guilty Pleasure with Florence Pugh

For all those Steinbeck fans out there, myself included, EAST of EDEN is easy reading (albeit long). It's soap opera storytelling that falls short of Steinbeck far better literary canon including the Pulitzer Prize winning "Grapes of Wrath" (1940 ), "Cannery Row" and my favorite, "Of Mice and Men."  Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1962 for his contribution to American literature which highlight themes of social injustice, migrant struggles and depictions of impactful, historic events. EAST of EDEN ("EOE") published 1952, is a multi-generational epic that mirrors the biblical tale of feuding brothers Cain and Abel. Set at the turn of the 19th C in Salinas Valley, CA (Steinbeck's home), it's the tale of the Trask family progenies starting with the patriarchal parent, Cyrus, a wounded, brutish Civil War veteran turned politician. Cyrus' illicit dealings endow his two sons, half-brothers Adam and David a sizable inheritance.  Cyrus raised this boys to farm their CT land and serve in the military. and farm their CT acres: Adam into the militia and David into farming (against both their wishes).  Cathy (Florence Pugh) is a beautiful sociopath who committed patricide, becomes a prostitute and madame of a lucrative brothel. While trying to flee from her violent procurer who savagely beats her and leaves for dead. Cathy manages to drag her battered body to the porch of the Trask brothers. The benign brother, Adam, faithfully tends her back to health much to the disapproval of the wrathful David. David wants her out of their home. After Cathy has recovered, Adam proposes to Cathy disregarding David's protestations she's evil and will lead to their downfall. The recent rendition of EAST of EDEN is a 7 part series airing on Netflix. It has been adapted and directed by Zoe Kazan, ("ZK") granddaughter of legendary film director, Elia Kazan. ZK has made a name for herself through acting, writing and directing.  ZK received a Primetime Emmy nomination for her role in "Olive Kitteride" (2014). ZK's ambitious miniseries is beautifully shot depicting our nation's rapidly changing landscape in CA into advanced cities. The ensemble cast lead by the indomitable Florence Pugh (Acad. Award nominee for "Little Women" 2019) makes this mini-series riveting. How- ever, she has plenty of support from a strong ensemble, especially Christopher Abbott and Mike Faust as brothers Adam and Charles respectively. Other strong performances come from Hoon Lee, Martha Plimpton, Ciaran Hinds and Tracy Letts.  ZK has done an impressive job in her retelling. although it's still merely a soft-selling, binge worth version which falls short of Steinbeck's loftier, literary novels made into films. The intended emotional wallop hits with the heft of a wiffle-ball and Steinbeck's philosophical pandering of free-will v. fate feels trifling. 

SHE DANCES Written by and Starring Steve Zahn His Daughter Audrey Has the Right Steps

This past year, Adam Sandler produced a family drama that starring his daughter proving the apple didn't fall far from the tree. And so goes Steve Zahn's film, "SHE DANCES which stars his daughter, playing his daughter; an aspiring dancer. It would seem in Hollywood nepo babies grow on trees.  It proved fortuitous in "Don't Say Good Luck" for Sandler's daughter who showed us she can act and sing. In SHE DANCES, produced, written by and starring Steve Zahn', Zahn's daughter Audrey has the leading role as Claire, a high school senior and aspiring professional dancer. Claire is about to leave to compete in her final dance competition with her life-long bestie Kat (a captivating Mackenzie Ziegler "Dance Moms"). Just as the girls are about to leave for the dance competition Claire's mom Deb (Rosemarie DeWitt) has to care for her mother from a fall. DeWitt's brief appearance is sadly, only fleeting. However, there's supporting star power in a deeply moving performance by Ethan Hawke. Hawke plays Brian, Jason's best friend and business partner.  Hawke as Jason closest friend proves turns in another tour-de-force performance in a small but pivotal role. Claire's parents are divorced but constructive, co-parents. Deb calls upon Jason to be the chaperone for Claire and Kat. Jason is in the midst of closing a deal to sell his joint brewery business with Brian. Somewhat reluctantly Jason agrees. There appears to be a strain in the relationship between father and daughter which gets played out on the road trip to the competition.  Claire and Kat ride up front and Jason is relegated to the back where his musical requests are ignored. Along the journey, Jason fumbles at being a formidable father. He hits some bumps along the way which relinquish underlying pain and trauma. The sojourn leads to some life pumped back into their relationship along with air into  a flat tire. There's additional tropes whose worn tracks prove affecting and amusing. Glimpses into the world of dance competition are lively, the friendship between Claire and Kat is heartwarming and the dedication by dancers and instructors is inspiring. Shout out to Sonequa Martin-Green who plays the girls longtime dancing coach and Amy Weaver as the girls long-time rival. SHE DANCES is an intelligent and stirring family drama with diverting dances sequences which all ring true and reverberate long after the final pas de deux. Do yourself a favor and savor this well written and exceptionally well acted film that attests to forte found within familial bounds. 

The OUTSIDERS Gets a Big Thumbs Up at the Pantages Theater

THE OUTSIDERS first made its indelible mark on pop culture as a Y/A novel written in 1967 by S. E. Hinton. Hinton was 15 when she began writing her novel set in Tulsa, OK '1967. It's an appropriation of "West Side Story"("WSS") which is of course, a modern take on "Romeo & Juliet". "The Outsiders" ("TOS") favors "West Side Story" with a smaller star crossed lovers' meme. In both WSS & TOS,  boun- daries are strictly drawn: Jets v. Sharks - Socs. (society) v. Greasers (working class on the wrong side of the tracks). The novel was made into a Broadway musical in 2024 earning 4 Tonys including Best Musi-cal. The story's protagonist is budding writer, 14 year old Ponyboy. He's the youngest of the 3 Curtis brothers. Their parents died leaving them orphans when the oldest brother was away at college on a football scholarship. He returns home to work and care for his brothers. The Curtis boys are part of the self-aligned greaser family; a ragtag, hard knocks group. What both WSS and TOS have in common is their outstanding musical numbers and top notch choreography. (Robbins' choreography in WSS remains  omnipotent.) Still, the choreography for TOS is sensational. The choreographed fight scenes in particular are powerful and stunning to watch. The Broadway musical TOS is still playing on Broadway. The Pan- tages Theater has a limited run of TOS' touring. Having seen the recent "Beauty & the Beast" at the Pantages and now TOS, I can attest to the talented casting for both shows. The brilliant staging of TOS utilizes a single set skillfully reconfigured by cast members which transitions and cohesivley tells the story. The use of video screens were highly effective especially in its rendition of a fatal fire. The use of water during the climatic fight was striking. However, the use of splaying water during earlier dance sequences proved distracting. The STELLAR rotating cast had particularly strong actors on Saturday afternoon. Pony Boys' caring brothers were convincingly played by Anthony Garcia & Corbin Ross. The singing voices of Ponyboy (Nolan White) and Cherry (Emma Hearn) were strong and pleasing. The book, music & lyrics by multi-Tony Award winner Justin Levine ("Moulin Rouge") were poignant. I was won over by the award winning choreography from brothers Rick & Jeff Kuperman. The only thing that felt underwhelming was the intended emotional culmination. Perhaps, the book which stirred me when I read it as a tween, doesn't score at the same intensity for more mature audiences. But you can be sure, "The Outsiders" is a crowd pleaser and deserving of the GOLD trophies it has won. I recommend getting tickets before the show closes October 18th. I have tickets for "The Lion King" at the Pantages in Dec. which I expect to live up to its paramount partner on the  Great White Way. 

Ravi Coltrane Plays Music by Parents John and Alice in Healdsburg

Legendary jazz saxist, composer, arranger and recording artist John Coltran would be turning 100 this Sept. 23rd. Unfortunately, he passed away at the surprising age of 40 having left a treasure grove of classical jazz standards and innovative interpretations. Healdsburg Jazz Exec. Dir. Marcus Shelby welcomed the sold-out audience to the Raven Theater in Healdsburg. Shelby introduced Ravi Coltrane and his Jazz Quartet. Shelby mentioned he and Ravi "were classmates back in the day (30 years ago.)" Ravi Coltrane (b. 1965) is a 3 time Grammy nominee. He came on stage carrying his tenor sax and told us, "Tonight we're going to honor my dad whom you may have heard of. If he were here, he'd be celebrating his 100th birthday on Wednesday {Sept. 23, 2026}. My dad was only 40 when he died but left an amazing body of work. Tonight we're going to honor my dad's legacy by playing his music. And, since I wouldn't be here without my mom. We're also going to play some of her {Alice Coltrane} compositions. John Coltrane (JC) died of liver cancer. It's also known JC had hepatitis which was attributed to his use of heroin and heavy drinking. In 1982 JC was posthumously awarded a Grammy for Best Jazz Solo Performance on "Bye Bye Blackbird" and a Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for his Masterful improvisation, supreme musicianship and iconic centrality to the history of jazz." Ravi quickly introduced his bandmates though he reintroduced them again throughout the set.  RC moved into the first piece which played for 45 minutes and featured solos from each musician except for himself. Playing with Ravi on tenor sax was  Jonathan Finlayson on trumpet, Gadi Lehavi on piano & keyboards and Ele Howell on drums. Howell was quite spectacular on drums. For the final number of the evening Ravi brought out a special guest, Richard Howell (RH) on tenor sax and father of drummer Ele Howell. RH was awarded the "Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music (2014).  The evening was magical filled with music that made for an unforgettable jazz event which ended much too soon. The audience showed their appreciation with a rousing ovation which alas did not receive an encore leaving us all wanting more.

COMEDY CONTEST San Fran Semi-Finals is Funny at Fifty

The San Francisco Comedy Competition is celebrating its 50th year with a list of laugh out loud comics. Previous competitors included Robin Williams, Ellen DeGeneres and Dana Carvey. As the comic host, Mike Winfield whose claim to fame was "being a 2 time loser on 'America's Got Talent,'" he kept a running gag that was cloyingly repetitive: "The next comic could get famous with this routine.." Still,  4/5 of the first10 comics were LOL. Comedienne Jay Rich did a hilarious set which began as an audience interplay on ages in the audience. Rich cleverly wove age into his routine, "Those of us born in the 1950's & 60's crawled so you youngsters can walk." He was referring to refer madness days when pot was illegal. "Now these Gen Z's just go into the store and ask if they have any Jerry Garcia flavored pot to sample."  Santa Rosa audiences are known to be mostly white which has long been remarked upon in good humor. But last night's host and contestants were a colorful, motley mix;  3 Afri-Amer. males, an Indian female, one white guy and a transexual women "6 years into transitioning." Why only 5/10 contestants mentioned?  Because at intermission, this baby-boomer went home to bed. However, this year's competition (not being my first rodeo) started only 10 minutes past 8 instead of its usual half-hour late start. Jay Rich was the first comic up. (Notoriously, comics go on from weakest to strongest performer). This wasn't true last night. I don't take issue with the claim women comics are not as funny as the men because I agree.  OH grow up! The comedienne who failed to illicit even a smirk from me was Ava Val who hails from Canada. Val transitioned from male to female. She appeared appeared on "Canada's Got Talent" 2005. She received 4 yeses! I'm guessing the votes were to avoid backlash from the public. However, Ava didn't have anything funny to say. She flung out her falsies and asked a man in front to feel her arm to see how soft her skin is. When he complied, Ava told him, "You know this means you're now gay." Comic Tyrik Woods is what I call a man's comedienne. In other, he appeals to male audiences and is off-putting to the more gentile gender as being too cringe-worthy. Still, I thought he had good comedic timing. He let the audience hang while spinning a yarn about what he did wrong while having oral sex with his girlfriend. "The horrible thing I did while going down on my girlfriend was,,,,I fell asleep." I did laugh at the unexpected answer but Woods pushed the envelope (which comics do). My favorite comic of the first 1/2 of night was Priya Puram. She was a pleasant surprise. She turned what felt like a mundane routine about her career in software engineering and engineered a sharp, high-energy delivery on the quirks of modern digital life. Spoiler alert: none of the contests I saw made it into the finals. Which means, the finalist should all be the creme de la creme of the comic crop. So get your tickets now to the finals next Friday at Clark Center for the Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande.

 

Priya Puram 

Terrel Butler

Henry Kramer Piano Virtuoso Oh So Dazzling at the 222

I was fortunate enough to have heard award winning pianist, Henry Kramer, perform at the 222 in Healdsburg last year. While returning artists are rare, Kramer's performance demanded an encore which came last night for the fortunate crowd on hand. Kramer gained int'l acclaim after winning 2nd honor at the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition and has since gone on to earn top honors at the prestigious Honens Competition. Kramer gave an informal talk about his career performing, recording and currently teaching university students in Montreal which is near where he grew up in ME. His home state is where Kramer developed a lifelong love of being near water. The program for the evening was themed along musical compositions that evoked the rippling energy of large bodies of water. No surprise the program including works by Debussy (b. France 1862-1918) and Ravel (b. France 1875- 1937). As a special treat, Kramer (b.1987 Amer.) played his own composition "Dirge: Maine Triptych for Piano" (2025). The 2nd movement in his piece, "The Spurwink Graveyard" had a haunting aesthetic he alluded to which was interesting and brought a little variety to his program, which was too homogenous. Other classic composers whose works were performed were by Franz Schubert (b. Hungary 1811-1886), Johan Sebastian Bach (b. Germany 1685- 1750) and Franz Liszt (b. Austria 1811-1886).  Kramer said he was a Pisces and shared his birthday with Chopin. The close friendship between Chopin and Liszt is well known, in part because there were few pianists at the time who were accomplished enough to play their compositions outside from each other. As Kramer pointed out, "the razzle dazzle of the program were Liszt and Ravel's works. These pieces highlighted Kramer piano skills. And, in the intimate setting of the 222, the audience (on the left side) were able to watch closely his adroit hands flying over the keys and his keen ability to play both forte and pianissimo. Other than Kramer's composition the only piece I was unfamiliar with was William Grant Still (b. Amer. 1895-1936), an Afr-Amer. composer of more than 200 works and the first African-Amer. to have their opera performed at the Metropolitan Opera House (though posthumously.) Since Grant's inclusion in the program I have read up on his proliferate body of work and fascinating life. The 222 in Healdsburg is an art gallery by day and multi-media entertainment venue at night. The detritus from the current production of RED (about painter Mark Rothko) was the canvas on which Kramer elaborated and entertained with his "Reflections of the Natural World." I hope Mr. Kramer does a 3-Peat at the 222. 

PRACTICAL MAGIC 2-Pragmatic Source of Sisterly Sorcery

The Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman film PRACTICAL MAGIC ("PM") came out in 1998 and was practically panned by critics. Nevertheless, PM has become a cult hit thanks to its bedazzled fan base.  The new PRACTICAL MAGIC 2 ("PM2") has received overwhelmingly underwhelming reviews too.  PM2 is not trying to do too much heavy lifting in the drama department. The heavy lifting comes in the face-lifts of its starlets. Reprising their bewitching roles are Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullocks, a.k.a. Jillian (Jilli) and Sally Owens, the witch sisters. Jilli has remained happily single, ready to mingle but not fall in love. Sally loves her two now grown daughters. Sally raised her girls to be unaware of their wizardly gifts. Jill was sworn to be complicit in this duplicitous ruse. How Sally's girls were kept in the dark regarding their magical attributes is a mystery. Just go with it! The incoherent plot is marred in nebulous logic. How could it not? The major premise from PM was coping with the curse put on the Owen women by a great-great-yaddah-yaddah ancestor with the misguided reasoning she would be protecting her progeny from future heartbreak by killing and any man whom her future female family-line fell in love with. The same hauntingly beautiful home and homey looking-coastal town are used for PM2, too. Best of all, Stockard Channing and Diane Wiest re-appear as Jilli and Sally's dear, dodering aunts who raised them after they were orphaned. Sally's 2 girls now grown (although if you do the math; they magically shed some years.) But, aging-well is all smoke and mirrors and sutures so stay with me, here. Maisie Williams ("Game of Thrones") plays Antonia, Sally's older daughter and a medical resident. Joey King ("The Kissing Booth") is the younger daughter, Kylie who falls in love with the unlucky bloke who promptly falls into a coma after falling from his bike. To simplify an already simplistic, unrealistic plot, Owen girl gets boy, girl loses boy to curse, girl tires to cure the curse to get boy back to the world of the living. For good measure, mother of said daughter gets her own hunky warlock. There's some macabre transitions in this doe-eyed melodrama. After all the elderly aunts aren't getting younger. It's time to take some perilous leaps to make room for the next generation. It was a crying shame to loose Wiest, the wacky witch early in the film. But, the pairing and caring between sisters and the multi-generational love fest within the female family bloodline was the hokey-hocus focus, magical glue, with lime and coconut in this enchanting concoction that keeps us coming back for more. There's no magic stronger than sisterhood or sisterly love for spiritual support. Of course, margaritas don't hurt, either. 

Play "macbitches" College Thespians Complaining and Bitching

Sophie McIntosh's play "macbitches" is a 90 minute play about 5 actresses sitting around bitching. It was so irritating hearing their continual harping that I cut out at 60 minutes. The play is set in a college student's apartment where 5 aspiring coed actresses gather to imbibe in booze and banter bemoaning their roles as cast members in their school's productions. Here lied an intriguing premise: eavesdrop on female friends and foes getting-to know each other through gossiping. This would've be engaging had the dialogue delivered delectable morsels or moral dilemmas. Perhaps I protest too much, but after an arduous hour of hearing nothing but harping without a conflict to drive a dagger through the plot - there was not a lot to get out from this damn plot. That's not to say there weren't a few interesting topics that were mentioned in passing. One topic briefly touched on male actors known to force themselves on their female co-leads. Too bad the consensus to the new ingenue, Hailey (Sierra Reid) was to NOT do anything about it. "It's not worth it. It only makes things uncomfortable for everyone." Still, my biggest complaint outside of an insight into any conflict was Reid's over-the-top portrayal of an overeager, over zealous freshman who was cast in the lead. Reid was too over eager to please the other 4 upperclass cast-mates.  Something else that was rotten in the coven den of co-eds is the type-casting they brought to the witches, I mean bitches. There's the blonde-sex pot, Lexi (Clarice Perez), the funny but gruff lesbian, Cam (Bernadette Gibson), the sagacious leader of the pack, Rachel (Rebekah Sharp) and the lovable, over-weight peace-keeper, Piper (Shanay Howell). However, Howell was convincing in her role and the best part of the show being the some-what reluctant voice of reason. Still, there were too many missed opportunities to present the turmoil and troubles females experience when comparing themselves to one other or when seeking approval from others. The more grown-up drinking version of "truth or dare" was silly when it could have dealt with the problems of power or rejection.  How did the play "macbitches" finally end? I stood up and said "McBeth" aloud in the theater. 

The Play RED at 222 Doesn't Compare 2 Alfred Molina/Eddie Redmayne's RED on B'wy

John Logan's play is about the painter Mark Rothko. More specifically, it pertains to a specific period in Rothko's life right after Phillip Johnson commissioned him to create 4 mural paintings for the 4 Seasons restaurant in the soon to open Seagram's building in mid-town Manhattan. While it's unfair to compare a local theatrical production to the Broadway show which earned Best Actor Awards for both its stars, Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne as well as the Tony for Best Play for Logan (a 3 time Acad. Award wining screenwriter) it behooves me not to point out the 222's too short comings.  RED, a 1 ACT, 2 ACTOR play is thought provoking, arousing with more than a bit of blow-hard bantering on the meaning of art. Having seen Molina and Redmayne on Broadway more than a decade ago I was eager to see another staging at our local theater in Healdsburg, CA. The casting of Robert Parsons as Mark Rothko and Tasi Alabaster as Ken, Rothko's assistant is like pitting David v. Goliath, but it seems its shortcomings resulted from the directorial choices made director Amy Kossow. She presented different dilemmas which painted this production into a corner; lacking poignancy, power and ABSTRACT ideas. Molino's portrayal showed an artist with angst as he battled with the quandary of insuring his legacy as a great artist. The fictitious pairing of characters was fodder for inventing an inner dialogue of Rothko as he excoriates the commercialization of art alongside his own hypocritical fears of being a sell-out. Ken CAN stand for Rothko's inner turmoil and psyche. Molina gave Rothko's persona multiple shades of a grandiose master and intellect alongside Rembrandt and Vasquez to an insufferable, self-loathing seeker of fame and fortune. Redmayne's Ken started out wanting to please Rothko without appearing as an abject, whipping-boy. In addition to getting inside Rothko's mind, Molina and Redmayne performed a skillful top-dog/bottom-dog metamorphisis wherein Ken became more self-assured as Rothko yielded in submission. Furthermore, director Kossow chose to paint Rothko as a flat character being mainly cruel and condescending, rendering him unsympathetic. Kossow's depiction of Ken was painted as a simplistic underling hoping to please and who failed challenge Rothko's laments "to be audacious, alive and in constant flux." RED at the 222 is an entertaining play thanks to Logan's crafty writing but it didn't absorb  the many different layers afforded it to make the play POP as art.  RED lost its vibrancy in this translation.