Don't Stop Believin': From Manila to LA

Continuing a hot streak of showcasing wonderful documentaries, PBS' Independent Lens recently aired, Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey. The documentary, written and directed by Ramona Diaz, is a fascinating look at Arnel Pineda, a struggling singer in the Philippines who was plucked out of obscurity to become the lead singer for legendary American rock group, Journey.

In 2007, Journey were all set to record a brand new album and embark on a nationwide tour. One problem: they had no lead singer. Ever since Steve Perry quit the band in 1998, they had used various replacement singers and were now desperately looking for someone new to fill in. It's the digital age, so guitarist Neal Schon took his search to the Internet and spent hours scouring YouTube for possible candidates. He dismissed Journey cover bands and wanted someone who had "the voice," that right sound that would fit in with the band. Ready to give up, he clicked on one more link and discovered Arnel Pineda.

Pineda grew up in the Phillipines in an incredibly poor family. His mother died when he was twelve and he was left homeless. He would sing at funerals to get some food, and eventually auditioned to be in a band. He made a decent living as a singer, eventually joining a cover band that performed classic rock songs, including those by Journey. His good friend Noel Gomez faithfully recorded his performances and spent hours uploading them on YouTube via the slow connection in a local Internet cafe. One of those videos caught Neal Schon's eye, and the moment he heard Pineda, he knew he has found Journey's new lead singer.

Pineda is an extremely likable and endearing man and his story is simply astonishing. After his many struggles Pineda can now support his family, make his country proud, and earn a living doing what he loves. The movie doesn't glamorize his new life - it's very clear that this is a demanding job and Pineda is constantly worried that he will lose his voice or disappoint the die-hard Journey fans. Being away from his family also takes its toll and the other band members frankly discuss the perils and challenges of achieving sudden fame. But Pineda knows that while his life might resemble a fairy tale, he can't expect it to stay "happily ever after." He recognizes there are ups and downs and ultimately is just grateful for the amazing opportunity he has been given.

Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey is a feel-good documentary packed with good music and insightful discussions about the behind the scenes machinations of rock and roll. It is well worth a viewing so watch it on the PBS website this week or rent it from Amazon. It's a story that needs to be seen to be believed.

The Hollow Crown: A Shakespearean History Lesson

If, like me, you've never  read Shakespeare's history plays, PBS has you covered. Over four weeks, Great Performances is airing The Hollow Crown, a BBC miniseries that covers the "Henriad," Shakespeare's historical tetralogy of plays that follows the passing of the English crown from Richard II to Henry IV to Henry V. Starring a veritable who's who of British acting talent, the series is an impeccably produced introduction to some of Shakespeare's lesser-known works.

The plays are political dramas that chronicle the bloody history of English royalty and the rise and fall of three kings during the 14th and 15th centuries. Richard II stars Ben Whishaw as the vain king, who is overthrown by his cousin Henry Bolingbroke (Rory Kinnear), the future Henry IV. In Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, we see an older King Henry IV, played by Shakespearean stalwart Jeremy Irons, who is entering into civil war with rebel forces and despairs over his son, Prince Hal (Tom Hiddleston, putting in a tour-de-force performance), who seems more interested in drinking and carousing than assuming any royal responsibility. However, Hal grows up quickly over the course of three plays, and becomes Henry V, leading his men into battle against France and urging them "once more unto the breach." These plays may be "histories" but rather than focusing on historical events, they offer a character analysis of each King, and in doing so, they have a lot to say about the nature of power and politics that is just as relevant now as it was in Shakespeare's day.

The rise and fall of these Kings is wondrous to behold and makes history come alive in a way that only Shakespeare could manage. Each play is directed by a notable English theater director - Rupert Goold, Richard Eyre, and Thea Sharrock - and the advantage of film is that the characters can be placed in evocative locations and participate in epic battle sequences that could not be replicated on stage. Richard II is my particular favorite, because it is filmed in exquisite locations, features a startling performance from Ben Whishaw (who deservedly won a BAFTA), and contains some truly memorable verse. In fact, Richard II contains very little prose, and watching the actors converse in perfect rhythm or declaim these remarkable speeches is a true Shakespearean delight. 

The Hollow Crown is a stunning series that showcases the power of Shakespeare's words. Reading history plays might not be your idea of fun, but watching Britain's finest actors bring Shakespeare to life is an experience not to be missed. PBS has already aired the first two plays, which can be viewed in their entirety on the Great Performances website, and the following two plays will be airing over the next two weeks. Or you can just buy the DVD and enjoy these masterpieces for years to come.

I Remember Me: A Comedy Legend Reminisces

Carl Reiner put his stamp upon American comedy when he began writing and acting on Your Show of Shows in 1950. However, to me he will always be renowned as the creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show. His memoir, I Remember Me, is an amusing collection of anecdotes that highlight his ability to find humor in the mundane and write jokes that still make people laugh today.

Reiner's stories are gently humorous but occasionally get pointedly political, as when he discusses the "Red Scare" and its impact on Hollywood, where many of his fellow writers and actors were accused of being communists. Upon being questioned by the FBI, Reiner used his gifts of comedy and showmanship to deflect their suspicions and avoid naming any of his left-wing comrades. A staunchly liberal atheist, Reiner enjoys mocking conservatives and Scientologists, so those stories spice up the otherwise tame narrative.

More than anything, I Remember Me is a love letter to Carl's wife, Estelle, who passed away in 2008 after 64 years of marriage. Estelle was a singer, but everyone knows her as the woman who delivered the iconic line, "I'll have what she's having" in When Harry Met Sally, a film directed by her son, Rob Reiner. Carl outlines how they first met, fell in love, kept up correspondence after he was drafted into the army during the Second World War, and were eventually married at New York City Hall.

You won't learn anything new or exceedingly scandalous from this collection of tales, but it's a fun read and contains sharp insights into the way Hollywood worked in the twentieth century. Reiner's style of broad and loving comedy provides a welcome respite from the biting satire and meanness that punctuates much of comedy today. I Remember Me offer a nice balance of generosity and wit and is a pleasant read for any fan of classic American comedy.

Peep Show: A Hilarious Glimpse into Twisted Psyches

Over the past few months, I've slowly worked my way through eight series of Peep Show, the sitcom starring comedy duo, David Mitchell & Robert Webb. Peep Show is the longest-running comedy on Channel 4, and after you watch a few episodes, you'll know why.

The show's brilliance lies in the fact that it is filmed entirely in point of view shots. So you look directly at characters and their surroundings, which can be particularly amusing in romantic situations. More importantly, you don't just hear their spoken dialogue, but are treated to their inner monologues as well. These monologues drown out everyone else and reveal the twisted thoughts that plague these characters on a daily basis. Some of these thoughts might hit close to home as they represent what we all think when we're stuck in a boring conversation or are at a heinous dinner party. But in some cases, these are thoughts you would never have entertained in the whole of your existence.

David Mitchell plays Mark Corrigan, an uptight History enthusiast who works as a loan manager at JLB Credit. Robert Webb plays his flatmate, Jeremy "Jez" Usborne. Jez is a free-spirited, pot-addicted, sometimes-musician, who always thinks everything will turn out fine, unlike Mark who worries that everything is constantly wrong. It's a basic Odd Couple scenario, but the point-of-view effect and tightly-scripted episodes add a whole new layer of hilarity to the proceedings. And there are a plethora of incredible supporting characters, including Sophie Chapman (Olivia Colman), Mark's co-worker that he secretly pines for, and Super Hans (Matt King), Jez's drugged-out manic music partner.

All credit is due to the show's writers, Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, who have consistently produced engaging scripts that keep you in stitches. Over the course of eight series, Mark and Jeremy's fortunes have risen and fallen in remarkable ways and you can never be certain what direction a series will take from the first episode to the last. Peep Show is yet another example of how British comedies can outdo American sitcoms simply because of their short series and emphasis on quality writing. Every episode of Peep Show is overflowing with jokes, sight gags, and observational humor of the highest caliber. So head over to Netflix or Hulu and get caught up before Series 9.

The World Before Her: Who is an Indian Woman?

Every Monday night, PBS airs POV, a series that presents interesting and thought-provoking documentaries that you might not see anywhere outside a film festival. This week, POV featured The World Before Her, an award-winning 2012 Canadian documentary by writer-director Nisha Pahuja, who set out to examine the lives of young women in India.

The documentary follows two very different women, thereby capturing the extremes of Indian womanhood. One woman is Ruhi Singh, a 19-year old from Jaipur who is one of the 20 finalists for the 2011 Miss India pageant. The film follows her through the month-long prep for the pageant and covers disparate topics like the Indian concept of beauty, modernity, and whether the backlash against all this "westernization" is justified. Ruhi's parents are extremely proud of their daughter and her mother acknowledges that she wanted Ruhi to leave Jaipur because it was no place for a girl with her particular ambitions. 

The other woman is Prachi Trivedi. She is a member of the Durga Vahini Hindu nationalist movement and the film follows her during one of their training camps, which are attended by young girls from all over the country. Durga Vahini has been labelled a terrorist organization by some, and the camp illustrates some of their violent rhetoric. Prachi is devoted to the movement and aspires to be a leader for this cause. But the same traditional views she espouses are the ones that are holding her back. She acknowledges that while she tells other girls to get married and have children who can be a part of the movement, she herself has no interest in getting married. Her parents have very different ideas, however. Her father thinks it is only right that India is a male-dominated society, and Prachi will do as she's told. And despite this attitude, Prachi states that she has always just been immensely grateful to her father, because in a country obsessed with having sons, he let his daughter live.

A short segment with the 2009 Miss India winner, Pooja Chopra, discusses how her father wanted to either kill her or leave her at an orphanage because she wasn't a boy. Pooja's mother refused and walked out on him, stating that Pooja was going to do great things some day. Which she did. But in a country that electively aborts 750,000 girls every year, it is hard to find anyone to acknowledge an Indian woman's worth.

The World Before Her captures the everyday struggle of Indian women: modern ambitions versus traditional values. In Ruhi's case, her ambitions have won out, but for Prachi, it looks like tradition will prevail. Their circumstances have colored their outlook of the world and their role in it, but apart from outward differences, both are just young women who want to do something important. Whether or not they achieve their dreams against the backdrop of the Indian patriarchy remains to be seen.

You can watch the entire documentary at the POV website.

42: An Ordinary Movie About An Extraordinary Man

Jackie Robinson was a great man, both on and off the baseball field. On the field, he was an exceptional athlete who helped take the Brooklyn Dodgers to the World Series. But he was the only African-African playing for a Major League team, and off the field he put up with horrific hate and racism with a tremendous amount of dignity. Unfortunately, 42, the biopic depicting Robinson's season with the Montreal Royals and then the Dodgers, is a safe and insipid film that doesn't do justice to this man's legacy.

Biopics are a difficult genre and Hollywood always struggles to get them right. In 42, Chadwick Boseman and Nicole Beharie, who play Jackie Robinson and his wife Rachel, are the only actors who don't seem like caricatures. They do an admirable job of portraying the Robinsons' loving relationship and courageous determination to keep calm when routinely faced with injustice. But they cannot save a movie that seems determined to roll out every cliche in the book. Nearly every scene is accompanied by swelling music that seems to say, "You must start feeling feelings now! This is majestic and important, understood? No? Well, OK, we'll crescendo the violins to make our point." 

Harrison Ford plays Branch Rickey, the Dodgers owner who decided to hire Robinson in 1946 and break the color barrier. Ford is chewing so much scenery he must have gotten indigestion, but at least he has a substantial part to play. The other actors who play various managers or baseball players are merely trotted out to declaim some incredibly stilted dialogue and get neatly classified as a racist or a good guy. A few characters make the transition from racist to good guy, but this is done in as simplistic a manner as you could imagine, because biopics are rarely interested in moral complexity or messiness. Everything is black and white, and in this movie, that is both literally and figuratively true.

The only surprising thing about 42 is that it stays true to the racism of the period. It's rated PG-13, so there's no swearing per se, but apparently you can still get away with that rating if you liberally use the n-word in context. Alan Tudyk plays a particularly vile manager who hurls assorted racial epithets at Robinson throughout a game, and despite getting a rise out of Robinson's white teammate, Jackie himself refuses to engage with this odious man. That was the most admirable thing about Jackie Robinson, and the movie hammers that point home on multiple occasions, doing so with such a heavy hand that it almost becomes a less impressive feat.

Ultimately, 42 has nothing new to say. I found myself more interested by the few sentences written about Robinson and the ancillary characters in the closing credits than by anything that had happened in the entire movie. Perhaps if the film had looked at a longer stretch of time and considered more of his life rather than just focusing on the obvious bits of dealing with racists at baseball games, it would have been worthwhile. But instead, writer-director Brian Helgeland took the easy route, and manages to make a truly fascinating story seem positively prosaic. 

American Masters: Billie Jean King's Fight For Equality

Coming on the heels of Serena Williams' definitive performance at the US Open, PBS aired an episode of American Masters featuring tennis icon, Billie Jean King. Written and directed by James Erskine, the documentary is an insightful look into King's foray into feminism and her dedication to promoting equality for absolutely everyone.

Billie Jean King grew up in a working-class family in Long Beach, California. She was introduced to tennis by a wealthy classmate who belonged to a country club. King was convinced she could never afford to play tennis, but a free tennis program at a public park helped her become one of the greatest tennis players of all time. The documentary chronicles her initial struggles with "shamateurism" at Grand Slams where tennis players got paid under the table since professionals weren't allowed to play. Interviews with other female tennis players of that era discuss the rampant sexism and the entrenched opinion that these women should focus on their husbands and keep off a tennis court. Media interviews from the time would be laughable if they weren't so shocking in their blatant dismissal of these amazing women and their athletic prowess. 

In 1968, the Open Era began: tennis players could now compete as professionals and support themselves on their winnings. However, the difference in prize money for men and women was staggering, and the tours were run by old boys' clubs. Billie Jean King was instrumental in setting up the Women's Tennis Association and, in direct opposition to the wishes of the USTA, she established the WTA Tour with eight other brave women who dared to challenge the status quo.

The documentary builds up to the epic match between King and Bobby Riggs, an obnoxious 55-year old former Wimbledon champ who challenged the top female tennis players to a match to prove that men were superior to women. King didn't want to do it, fearing that a loss would set the women's lib movement back by twenty years, but eventually she knew she had to. The match became a highly anticipated event that turned into an enormous victory for the feminist movement.

This is not a story about tennis. It features interviews with iconic women, including Gloria Steinem and Hillary Clinton, who discuss the feminist movement, the importance of Title IX, and Billie Jean King's constant fight for equality. When she was outed in 1981, King also became a champion for the LGBT movement, and Elton John offers his thoughts on her contributions in that arena. So watch this documentary - it is a multi-faceted portrait of one of the most interesting and genuinely heroic women living today.

The full episode is available on the American Masters website.