Upstart Crow: Shakespearean Sitcom

To celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, the BBC produced a slew of programming to honor the Bard. Thankfully, they also allowed Ben Elton to write a sitcom to satirize the Bard. For six episodes, I giggled my way through Upstart Crow, a gloriously irreverent and surprisingly thoughtful homage to the man responsible for some of the most well-known stories in the English language.

Set in 1592, the show follows a bumbling Will Shakespeare (a perfectly cast David Mitchell), who is trying to establish himself as go-to playwright. We see him at his London lodgings, where he is attended by an illiterate manservant, Bottom (Rob Rouse), and the hyper-literate daughter of his landlord, Kate (Gemma Whelan, in a startlingly different role from her usual swashbuckling on Game of Thrones). Kate desperately wants to become an actress, and one of the series' throughlines is the silliness of that ambition in a time when only men can frolic on the stage. We also get to see Will's home life when he travels to his humble abode in Stratford, where his wife, Anne (Liza Tarbuck), lives with his parents and children. No matter his location, everyone thinks Will is far too verbose, says things with twenty words when three would suffice, and are constantly needling him about his unlikely plots and boring verses.

Will's colleagues include the acting troupe tasked with putting on his plays, his fellow playwright, Kit Marlowe (Tim Downie), who keeps stealing Shakespeare's work (a nod to the ever-present argument about Shakespeare authorship), and Robert Greene (Mark Heap), the Master of the Revels who hates Shakespeare's work and calls him an "upstart crow," thereby lending the series its title. The theme of each episode is one of Shakespeare's works, and Ben Elton cleverly crafts some impossible tale of how Will is embroiled in a fiasco that could ultimately serve as the inspiration for one of his plays. While the first episode's Romeo and Juliet theme is not too much of a stretch, the fifth episode's homage to Macbeth is insanely innovative and reveals how much Elton must love the original works to create such a brilliant parody.

Upstart Crow humanizes Shakespeare and gives us more reasons to love his work. It both mocks and celebrates his language, reminding us that Shakespeare could be both flowery and ribald, exalted and earthy. The dialogue in each episode is a fascinating blend of the 16th and 21st centuries, and the references to various plays and television shows are sprinkled in so liberally that it will take repeated viewing to catch them all. This is a series that will appeal to Shakespeare afficionados or create afficionados out of novices. It follows an extremely traditional sitcom format, and yet there is nothing traditional about the wit and verve that has gone into crafting each complicated storyline. It feels like required high school viewing, a reminder to English literature students that underneath the dense vocabulary and blank verse, there are brilliant characters, complex (often silly) plots, and a real man, who was trying to make a life for himself by spinning stories.

The Durrells: Captivating Corfu

I know summer has officially arrived, because my DVR has nothing to record anymore. In these times of televisual scarcity, I naturally turn to the UK to give me comfort, so what follows is a series of blog posts about some rather wonderful British TV shows that debuted this year and will keep you entertained till American TV makes its triumphant return in autumn.

One of my favorite books as a child was Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals. The book tells the semi-autobiographical story of the Durrell family, composed of widowed matriarch, Louisa Durrell, and her four children who are all getting sick of each other in the rainy English climate in 1935. So Mrs. Durrell comes up with the only possible solution: "Let's move to Corfu." And just like that, all the family members pick up their lives, move to a country they've never visited before, and proceed to have a grand series of adventures. This book was followed by two others, collectively known as the Corfu Trilogy, and earlier this year, ITV gave us Season 1 of The Durrells, a sun-drenched series based on those books.

Keeley Hawes stars as the hapless Louisa, a woman who loves her children very much but is also quite sick of them. As we are introduced to each family member and their particular passions, we can see how it might be a trial to deal with them, both individually and collectively. There's Larry (Josh O'Connor), the aspiring novelist who continuously posits his theory that his mother's crankiness is due to her lack of a love life. There's Leslie (Callum Woodhouse), the gun-mad loon who doesn't quite understand why it might be unsettling to shoot large guns when people are trying to sleep. Margo (Daisy Waterstone) is the ditzy sister, who is trying (and failing) to attract a boyfriend and can't find any sympathy from her callous brothers. And finally, there's Gerry (Milo Parker), who will grow up to become a celebrated naturalist and the author of these books about his eccentric family. But for now, he's a quiet young boy who is obsessed with animals, and therefore causes mass hysteria by unexpectedly bringing home creatures that terrify his family.

In addition to the family members, we get to meet Spiro (Alexis Georgoulis), the Greek taxi driver who takes charge of the Durrells from the day they land on Corfu and becomes their fast friend, while dispensing all manner of wanted and unwanted advice. There's also Dr. Theo Stephanides (Yorgos Karamihos), a polymath naturalist who becomes Gerry's mentor and teaches him how to cultivate his love for the animal kingdom. All together, they are an extremely motley crew that somehow manage to make it work. Over six episodes we get treated to their various oddities, and the series builds up to a grand finale that is sure to satisfy.

The Durrells is a fun series, but it certainly feels a bit more realistic than the books. The Corfu Trilogy is only semi-autobiographical; Gerald Durrell firmly focused on silliness and never allowed any hint of the real struggles his family may have faced during that time. The show, however, contains some somber twists and turns that ground the whole premise in a more dramatic sensibility. I didn't enjoy that aspect so much, but when you have a period comedy-drama set in sunny Corfu, you can't be bothered to nitpick such details. Instead, you simply gaze at the ocean and the olive trees, heave a contented sigh, and settle in for a blissful six episodes with this crazy family and their menagerie. 

The Lobster: The Cost of Coupledom

The Lobster is a movie about a world in which people are forced to be in couples. If you find yourself single, you check into The Hotel with other single people, where you have 45 days to find a partner. If you do not find anyone at the end of that time, you are turned into the animal of your choice and can live out your days in the wild. I did not think I could possibly enjoy a movie that had such a surreal premise. And then I discovered that The Lobster is one of the best movies I've seen this year.

The key surprise of this movie is how incredibly funny it is. It is a satirical demolition of society's preconceived notions of the importance of coupledom and the desperate search for a partner. As each character intones with deadpan earnestness how terrible it is to be alone, and The Hotel offers cautionary plays about the dangers of being single, it is startling to realize that while this cinematic world has gone to extremes, its central tenets echo many real-world beliefs. Colin Farrell plays the protagonist, David, a man who is forced to go to The Hotel when his wife leaves him. He is calm and quiet, tells the Hotel Manager (the always sublime Olivia Colman) that his animal of choice is a lobster, and then spends a series of wildly surreal days in The Hotel, introducing us to all the weird rules and moralities that make up this crazy world. 

My enjoyment of this movie grew as I watched the world slowly unfurl and the seemingly civilized nature of affairs devolved into complete mayhem. I won't go into any more detail, except to say that the second half of the film does concern itself with the minority, the Loners who choose to be single and are exiled to the woods, where they are subjected to their own rigid codes of conduct. Ultimately, this movie is all about mocking both extremes and David's journey lets you experience the full range of brilliance that has sprung from the fervid imagination of writer-director Yorgos Lanthimos (with equal credit due to co-writer Efthymis Filippou). This is Lanthimos's first English-language film, and it seems clear I now need to seek out his prior work, no matter what language it's in.

Lest I forget, the movie's cast also includes Rachel Weisz, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw, and John C. Reilly, and they're delivering some of the best deadpan comedy-drama you're likely to witness in theaters this year. I don't mean to treat this movie as a laugh riot - it does have disturbing moments of cruelty and depravity. But those are emoted with the same lack of feeling as the comic bits, which takes the edge off. Ultimately, in a world where love is mandatory rather than miraculous, it makes sense that everyone is going through life in a bit of a haze, displaying no real passion, joy, or anger. They're all just getting by, doing as they're told, and The Lobster is a marvellous dystopian tale of what happens when you try to disrupt the status quo. You will laugh, but you will also be presented with a great deal of food for thought. If nothing else, you should decide what kind of animal you'd like to be. 

Special Correspondents: Lazy Laughs

If you have no Memorial Day plans and are listlessly scrolling through Netflix for entertainment, you might come across Special Correspondents, the latest offering from Ricky Gervais. There's a reason it's a Netflix original movie - it's not something one would venture to a movie theatre for - but it offers some distraction as you go about your household chores.

Eric Bana plays Frank Bonneville (Eric Bana), a news radio journalist for a local New York station. He is skilled at getting the scoop and delivering it with some flash; but he is also sick of being a small-time celebrity and is itching to report on something juicy. When unrest starts brewing in Ecuador, he jumps at the chance to go down there. Unfortunately, intrepid macho journalists can't deliver news reports by themselves. They need a sound technician, and in this case he is to be accompanied by his mousy English colleague, Ian Finch (Ricky Gervais). Due to your standard comedy mishap, Finch loses their travel documents, and the Ecuadorian government issues a travel ban shortly after, so there's no way to enter the country. At which point they realize they work in radio, so as long as they can fake the audio, no one needs to be the wiser about their location. Which leads to them reporting on Ecuador from the Spanish restaurant across the road from the radio station.

It's a funny premise that has a great deal of initial promise. However, things quickly fall apart. The central problem with Special Correspondents is laziness. While the main characters are too lazy and incompetent to actually go to Ecuador, that is reflective of Gervais's own disdain for making too much of an effort in filmmaking. This has worked well for him in television, where his characters are boxed in one location and you have to rely on their inner motivations and desires to breathe life into the story. But in this movie, he is fine with taking two barely realized characters (and even more sketchy supporting characters), tossing them in an improbable plot, and letting the thing boil over without much attempt to make it look good. At no point do you truly root for anyone, and as the movie progresses, you start looking at your watch to see how much more of this story is left to tell.

One of the biggest mistakes Gervais made is casting himself - the rest of the cast features brilliant actors like Bana, Vera Farmiga, and Kelly MacDonald, and they might have managed to make something work out of this thin script. But with Gervais lazily thrown in the mix, making hardly any effort to act (he retains his English accent while Bana and MacDonald are gamely trotting out their best New York impressions), there's no chance this movie will amount to anything.

Special Correspondents might have worked better as a TV show or miniseries. Given the constraints of episodic television, perhaps Gervais would have paid more attention to character development and plot. Then again, it seems like he decided getting rid of the characters and plot via a quick movie was the best solution. It's a lazy movie that can provide some laughs for a lazy weekend, but that's as tepid a recommendation as I can muster.

Captain America: Civil War: An Embarrassment of Riches

By now you're already aware that Captain America: Civil War is a critically acclaimed, audience-approved movie. So the point of this blog post is merely to elucidate what makes this movie so great, and convince any stragglers that it is definitely worth the price of admission.

First off, do not let the title fool you. This is not a Captain America movie, this is an Avengers movie that couldn't be named as such due to delicate contract negotiations. This movie treats us to a plethora of superheroes that we have been accumulating over the course of several years as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). If it wasn't enough to include familiar figures like Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Iron Man, Falcon, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye, Vision, Ant-Man, and War Machine, Marvel has the gall to toss in two brand new characters, Spider-Man and Black Panther, who are soon due for their own standalone movies in the MCU. And yet somehow, this profusion of characters doesn't remotely bog down the proceedings. Instead, the script magically whips through the introductions, seamlessly integrating all these heroes and heroines into a truly fascinating showdown over the need for government oversight. Trust me, it's a lot more fascinating than it sounds.

None of the actors disappoint and they all seem to relish lobbing one-liners and punches off each other to create something that is greater than the sum of its parts. This is a funny movie, it is an exciting movie, and it is also a thought-provoking movie. The screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is a masterclass in how to weave together multiple storylines and create a tapestry instead of a tangle. Much credit is also due to the Russo brothers, who have clearly cracked the code on how to direct a pitch-perfect Marvel movie and ensure that weighty topics are counterbalanced with levity and death-defying action sequences.

Given the timing, it is inevitable to compare this film to Batman v Superman and wonder at how the Marvel and DC universes continue to do things so incredibly differently. The key point appears to be their treatment of superheroes and consequences. Marvel understands that the idea of men and women dressing up to fight bad guys is inherently ridiculous and never shies away from poking fun at the characters and their foibles. But it takes the consequences of their actions extremely seriously, and every movie has been increasingly preoccupied with death tolls and collateral damage, leading to this film's fundamental conflict amongst the Avengers about whether they should be beholden to governmental bodies instead of taking matters into their own hands. On the other hand, the DC movies glorify their heroes, treating them like paragons of superhuman prowess who must not be mocked; but the shocking devastation that they wreak in the course of their adventures doesn't make anyone bat an eyelash.

Captain America: Civil War is a multi-faceted marvel of a Marvel movie. It showcases everything that we have come to expect from a superhero movie - spectacular action, wit and verve, seriousness of purpose that goes hand-in-hand with self-deprecating humor, and overall, a unique cinematic experience. I keep waiting for the day when I will be bored by a Marvel movie, but somehow they find ways to innovate and reinvigorate the franchise every year. Yes, these are superhero movies, but it seems lazy to say they are "just" superhero movies. Underneath the costumes and gadgets, they are exploring deeply human stories and conflicts. The MCU has infinite possibilities and thirteen films in, it feels like they're only getting started.

The Night Manager: Spectacular Spy Games

Hugh Laurie, Tom Hiddleston, and Olivia Colman. With a cast like that, how could anyone doubt the final product would be anything less than glorious? Directed by Susanne Bier, The Night Manager, a six-part miniseries based on the novel by the always-thrilling John Le Carre, is a decadent televisual feast. Featuring a talented cast, a whip-smart script, and beguiling locations, this is a seductive and scorching thriller, filled with cliffhangers that keep you on the edge of your seat till the final scene.

Hiddleston stars as Jonathan Pine, a former British soldier who served in Iraq but is now the eponymous night manager of a Cairo hotel during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. He stumbles across the details of a secret arms deal and sends word to UK Intelligence. That act results in a personal tragedy, so five years later, when intelligence officer, Angela Burr (Colman), asks Pine to go undercover in the inner circle of Richard "Dickie" Roper (Laurie), a wealthy industrialist who is responsible for these arms deals that are destabilizing the world, Pine sees this as his opportunity to serve his country and wreak his personal vengeance.

What follows is a tense and escalating game of cat and mouse where Pine is forced to gain Roper's trust by sacrificing many of his principles, and going in so deep that he may never find his way out again. In the meantime, Burr faces a series of political machinations with the UK and American Intelligence services and rapidly realizes that Roper has friends in high places who have been shielding him from the law all along. Everyone is in danger, no one knows who to trust, and a sense of kill or be killed permeates the proceedings, resulting in many deaths before the six episodes are done.

Hiddleston is unsurprisingly perfect as the noble Pine who has to be both suave and violent to win Roper's trust. Reminiscent of her powerhouse performance in Broadchurch, Colman is righteous and awe-inspiring as Angela Burr, a woman who is confidently conducting a high-stakes intelligence operation and toting a gun whilst sporting a very pregnant belly. And Hugh Laurie is a chilling revelation as the utterly evil Dickie Roper, a man with money, power, and no morals. In addition to the main trio of actors, Tom Hollander is magnificent as Roper's right-hand man, Lance "Corky" Corkoran, who harbors suspicions of Pine but doesn't have enough proof to prevent the man from worming his way into Roper's good graces. I could spend all day watching him deliver delicious lines like, "Chief, is it OK to baptize the princeling in the ways of the grape?" which is exactly the kind of dialogue one expects from the BBC. And Elizabeth Debicki is incredible as Jed Marshall, Roper's American girlfriend who tries to play dumb because she desperately needs his money, but starts to realize the stakes might not be worth it.

The Night Manager is sumptuously shot in beautiful locales, but it tackles ugly subject matter that packs a punch. It is a spy thriller that covers all the angles, from bureaucracy and duplicity at the highest levels to the brute violence and subtle tradecraft that are needed to keep an undercover agent alive in the field. It is scintillating stuff that exposes what happens when you allow corruption to take over the highest echelons of government and let money override morality. 

She Loves Me: Prepare to Be Swept off Your Feet

Charming and delightful. These are the two words that best describe everything about the Roundabout Theatre Company's Broadway revival of She Loves Me, from the actors, to the music, story, and set design. Watching this show is like eating a delicious truffle - it looks tempting and manages to both satisfy you and leave you wanting more.

She Loves Me is an adaptation of Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo's play, Parfumerie. But the more relevant description (to me, at least) is that it is the musical version of The Shop Around the Corner, one of my all-time favorite movies starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan (which was subsequently re-adapted as the similarly beloved You've Got Mail, with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan). So obviously, the story is beyond reproach. Here's a quick summary of the plot: Amalia and Georg both work as a sales clerks in a parfumerie in 1930's Budapest. They quarrel all the time and are not fond of each other, but unbeknownst to them, they have been exchanging anonymous letters for months after answering a lonely hearts newspaper ad. So while they fight in person, they are falling in love via mail, and you can see where this is all headed.

Deftly directed by Scott Ellis, the revival stars Laura Benanti and Zachary Levi and they are simply magnificent. Benanti is an established Broadway star with a fantastic voice and incredible comic timing - her reactions and interpretations of every song are a wonder to behold. Levi was always affable and wonderful in Chuck, but now I know the man is also divine on stage and makes a worthy partner for Benanti. If it wasn't enough to have two dazzling leads, the supporting cast has the fantastic Jane Krakowski as Ilona Ritter, a role that showcases her astonishing singing, dancing, and comic chops. Gavin Creel is a worthy foil to her as the sexy but duplicitous Steven Kodaly, while Byron Jennings, Michael McGrath, and Nicholas Barasch round out the cast as the other colleagues who bring the bustling parfumerie to life. Peter Bartlett also has a memorable interlude as the much put-upon Headwaiter in a restaurant that specializes in a "romantic atmosphere" but can't quite pull it off.

We spend a great deal of time with these supporting actors, as this is a story about all of the joys and mishaps that take place in this little parfumerie over the course of a year. While Georg and Amalia are ostensibly the leads, you find yourself caring about every member of this store and hoping that as Christmas approaches, they all receive a happily ever after ending (except Kodaly, of course). David Rockwell's set design is whimsical and twinkly, with the storefront opening up like a Polly Pocket toy (as aptly described by my friend Katie) and revealing a store filled with charming people and possibilities where various subplots can percolate and unravel to keep you entertained for the best two and half hours of your life. Jeff Mahshie's costumes are sumptuous and evocative, transporting you to the 1930s and making you loath to return to the present. And lest I forget, this is a musical, stuffed to the gills with hilarious, romantic, and catchy songs that are guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a swing in your step. I dare you to watch this clip of Laura Benanti singing "Vanilla Ice Cream" and not buy a ticket to see this show immediately (or at least buy a pint of Ben & Jerry's).

She Loves Me is the perfect romantic Broadway musical. It has brilliant actors, an engaging plot, a sublime score, and overall, a whirling sense of wonder and whimsy that makes the world feel like a brighter place. It is soul-satisfyingly good, a reminder that people can never have enough of silly love songs.