Crum on Showbiz

By Steve Crum

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were great. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are great portraying them. There. I have channeled what Lucy & Ricky fans want to know first about Aaron Sorkin’s wonderfully conceived Being the Ricardos. 

The bittersweet film, written and directed by Sorkin, stands as not only a behind-the-scenes look at Mr. and Mrs. Arnaz, including how they met, but a testament to the gem among gems of early television. I Love Lucy (1951-57) influenced the technology and format of sitcoms, particularly, to this day. In that sense, Being the Ricardos is more historical than hysterical. The laughs are limited with an emphasis on drama. 

Overall, Sorkin’s crisp and savvy dialogue dominates. But how did he successfully pull off this biographical ruse? 

Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay and direction accomplishes the switch several ways. Before going further, realize that the audience for Being the Ricardos has to be I Love Lucy fans. (Compared to today’s popular TV shows that are considered a hit with 15 million viewers, I Love Lucy consistently played to 60 million per episode!) The viewer demographic, therefore, is middle-aged to Baby Boomer. That premise is totally reliant on the audience having seen at least the classic I Love Lucy episodes. That includes the Lucy stomping grapes, the Lucy pregnant with Little Ricky, and the Lucy trying to reunite a quarreling Fred and Ethel.

The next given, which is pretty brilliant, involves not showing too much of, say, the hilarious winery/grape stomping sequence. Just set it up by duplicating the Italian winery set, and placing Kidman in matching Lucy costume. Then have her repeat the original TV dialogue as she steps into the grape vat. She does a pratfall, but that is all we see. It’s all we need to see because we have seen the original so many times. Our minds fill in the slapstick gaps. 

There is no need for Nicole Kidman to fully duplicate the classic physical shtick, which is a plus since there is no way anyone could do so. She gives us enough to suggest the hilarity that will follow. 

Also, Kidman’s makeup, body language, and voice are more than enough to suggest Lucille Ball. It is uncanny. 

The same elements of suggestion are carried out by Bardem’s Ricky/Desi, Nina Arianda’s Ethel/Vivian, and J. K. Simmons’ Fred/William. Their channeling of the actual characters and actors quickly becomes our channeling of their transformations. Again a stretch, but it works. 

Really, not even 1/4 of Being the Ricardos showcases the actual filmed episodes of I Love Lucy. That means Kidman and Co. are mainly realized as Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance and William Frawley. Totally believable they are. Bardem is definitely not a Desi Arnaz double, but we accept him as Desi. Acting, ladies and gentlemen! 

In that vein, an award for Best Ensemble should include Tony Hale as Producer Jess Oppenheimer, Alia Shawkat’s co-writer Madelyn Pugh, and Jake Lacy’s co-writer Bob Carroll Jr. Their interplay during the table readings is delicious—Sorkin at his best.

Appropriately covered are Desi’s philandering and Lucy’s distrust of him; William Frawley’s incessant digs at Vivian Vance; and Lucy’s being labeled a Communist. 

As for scenes of Ricky belting out Babalu and Cuban Pete (Desi’s signature songs), it is Javier Bardem’s own voice, accompanied by his own conga playing. 

Being the Ricardos amounts to a very enlightening and entertaining dramedy encased in a 20th Century time capsule. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: A-

By Steve Crum

“I’m in the champion raisin’ business,” says Will Smith’s Richard Williams, early on in the fascinating biopic, King Richard. The brash and presumptuous Richard did indeed “raise champions”—daughters Venus and Serena, arguably the greatest names in tennis. Who would counter that?

The aptly named title showcases dad Richard, but this story is a package deal that includes Serena, Venus, and the entire Williams family. It is a stunning debut for young actors Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton—as Venus and Serena, respectively.

For Will Smith it is surely an Oscar nomination. He goes above and beyond, starkly characterizing Richard Williams. He nails it.

Director Reinaldo Marcus Green has fashioned Zach Baylin’s screenplay into 138 minutes of family dynamics, fiercely competitive tennis scenes, and grueling practice sessions. Richard is a strict task master, teaching his daughters tennis expertise much like a Marine drill sergeant as he drives his offspring to perfection. Labeling Richard as unorthodox as both a father and a coach is a truism.

The plot covers a 7-year period from the family’s roots in Compton, California. Even while Venus is in late elementary school, her father works on teaching and enhancing her tennis skills. She is older than Serena, so he focuses on her first. Serena tags along to practices as an observer. The rest of the family, including Mama Oracene (Aunjanue Ellis), most often serve as backdrops. 

Episodic sequences include dozens of occasions when Richard pushes his daughters to the limit—from night practice in the rain to exhaustive tennis court drills. His reputation as a controller encompasses firing coaches and rejecting contracts. His methods are madness to many, making one wonder if Serena and Venus would ever survive let alone succeed. 

But of course, succeed they did. (No spoiler.)

Notable others in the case are Tony Goldwyn’s Paul Cohen and John Bernthal’s Rick Macci.

Yes, the movie is about the incredible Venus and Serena Williams. But it is Richard, the King, who rules. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: A-

By Steve Crum

I know western movies. Believe me. The Harder They Fall is unlike any western ever produced. Yet, it is LIKE so many of the westerns. What a paradox. That is because this revisionist work takes so much from a slew of the genre’s memorable moments. To say The Harder They Fall is cliché is putting it kindly. It is upfront and in your face a parody of Sergio Leone oaters, particularly The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. 

And a virtually all black cast is featured. 

Don’t get me wrong, this film is no comedy spoof. Outside of a couple of humorous touches, it is not even tongue in cheek clever. Blatant mirroring is more like it. THTF is big budget production that obviously spent a ton of money on gunshot squibs and digital graphics—buckets of blood splatter, an obvious take from 1969’s The Wild Bunch carnage. 

Let’s consider the plot line before exploring more nuances. The Harder They Fall opens some time in the late 1800’s in an
undisclosed western town. The local preacher sits down for Sunday dinner with his wife and young boy. Bad guys invade his residence, killing the reverend and his wife in front of their traumatized son. Years pass, and the grown son, Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), is on a quest to hunt down and kill his family’s killer, gang leader Rufus Black (Idris Elba). 

Enter REVENGE, a basic cowboy movie plot device. Remember Harmonica’s (Charles Bronson) vengeance in Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) as he pursues Henry Fonda’s Frank for killing his father? Look for closeups of squinty eyes in THTF too. 

As Act II progresses, the primary characters multiply to the point of confusion. Love, now an outlaw, teams with Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi) and Jim Beckwourth (RJ Cyler) in more robberies and ambushes. They stop by the saloon of Stagecoach Mary Fields (Zazie Beetz), Love’s ex-lover. And on and on it goes as more characters are introduced. The convoluted plot includes the elder Marshal Bass Reeves (the always good to see Delroy Lindo), who arrests Love. Add to that the town boss, Escoe (Deon Cole); Regina King’s Trudy Smith; Cherokee Bill (Lakeith Stanfield); Cuffee (Danielle Deadwyler); and Damon Wayans Jr. as Monroe Grimes. 

It is a hefty cast of capable actors—and they are all portraying Old West, African American heroes, heroines and outlaws who actually existed. (However, they probably never crossed paths, having lived in different time periods and locations.) That alone makes the movie unique. 

THTF rapidly turns into a faction vs faction, gang vs gang flick. To drive the point home, why not include “mother f” dialogue with references to “Crips and Bloods”? Why not add a character sporting gold teeth as in 1980s’ inner city gangster? At least Love chews on a cigarillo a la Clint Eastwood. 

The shootouts, knifings, and beatings go on and on for 139 minutes…accompanied by a mixed music score of Hip-Hop, gospel choir, semi-classical majesty, and pop. Style half of it by way of copying Ennio Morricone, Sergio Leone’s favorite composer. 

Stir in a big pinch of religion to the batter with Nat Love’s quest for revenge tempered by a crucifix that has been carved into his forehead.

A strange amalgam is The Harder They Fall.  

The film’s creator—in nearly all aspects—is Jeymes Samuel. He wrote the story basis, co-wrote the screenplay, co-produced it, and directs. Egad, Samuel outdoes does Orson Welles by also composing the score—and what a bizarre combo of sounds he has created!

Camp or otherwise, The Harder They Fall is more so a Guinness Book inclusion than a significant western film. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: C

By Steve Crum

Writing a review of the latest and arguably the greatest James Bond filming ever, No Time To Die, easily qualifies as an exercise in exclamatory adjectives. Stunning, yes. Memorable, indeed. Add a near nonstop adrenaline rush. Whew, yes. 

This Bond, #25 since the franchise began in 1962 with Dr. No, is a treat for so many reasons. That includes a multitude of spoilers, making it difficult review fodder. I aim not to give away too many plot twist jolts. 

That is not to say that the screenplay (Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge) is entirely off limits to revealing many of its pleasures and nuances. (First time Bond director Cary Joji Fukunaga also receives screenplay credit.) Might as well also applaud Hans Zimmer’s score, Linus Sandgren’s stunning cinematography, and the editing (Elliot Graham and Tom Cross). More on these facets later. 

No Time To Die’s opening sequence should give us a clue that this is not a typical James Bond escapade. Instead of Bond in pursuit or parachuting off a mountainside, he is nowhere in sight. Instead we get a flashback of young Madeleine Swann witnessing the brutal murder of her mother by terrorist Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek)—who is the featured villain of this film. Bad guy Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), last seen in 2015’s Spectre, also has a daunting appearance later in NTTD. 

To play catch-up, the adult Madeleine (as in Spectre) is portrayed by Léa Seydoux. She was Bond’s love interest in that film, and remains so here. 

Much has happened since James Bond and Madeleine were together. Commander Bond is contentedly living in Jamaica, retired from Her Majesty’s Secret Service, seemingly enjoying bachelorhood. Madeleine is living elsewhere with her five year-old daughter. (James and Madeleine do reunite soon after.) 

In the meantime, there are contracts out for Bond’s demise by both Blofeld (now in prison) and Safin. Bond is forced back into action as an agent, despite the fact that he no longer has a “license to kill”; and another agent, Nomi (Lashana Lynch), has assumed not only Bond’s place in M16, but his 007 moniker. 

Add to the nefarious plot that Safin’s plan is to dominate the world with a lethal DNA compound that is spread by touch. 

The typical Bond movie stunt work is on hyper here, from a car and motorcycle pursuit…to tiptoeing through a remote island “poison garden”…to Bond’s spectacular onslaught of what seems to be 50-plus of Safin’s goon squad. Kudos to the editing, direction and cinematography. The pace is exhausting but awesome. As usual, Daniel Craig’s impressive physicality exceeds any previous Bond actor. 

Returning for this final Craig outing as Bond are Ben Whishaw as Q, Naomie Harris as Eve Moneypenny, Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter, and Ralph Fiennes as Gareth Mallory/M. 

Noteworthy for her acting chops, beauty and fighting prowess—as she assists Bond, is Ana de Armas as Paloma, a CIA agent. 

No Time To Die grabbed this Bond fan from the opening music, which is surprisingly not by Hans Zimmer. Instead it is John Barry’s theme (his best Bond theme), “We Have All the Time in the World,” from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The end credit roll replays Louis Armstrong’s vocal from the same 1969 flick! 

While it is damn near impossible to top 2012’s Skyfall as the ultimate Bond film, No Time To Die equals it. Deep breath. OK, exceeds it. The grandiose, super spoiler finale carries it over the line into Ian Fleming legend. 

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“James Bond Will Return,” says the familiar scribe following the end roll. This time, that line will provoke serious discussion on the way to the parking lot. 

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GRADE on an A-F Scale: A

By Steve Crum

GROUSE TIME. 

Randomly clicking through my many cable channels the other day, I decided to revisit a (classic) rerun on a Johnny Carson “Tonight Show” episode. I had not been there for the last couple of years, since I think I watched all of them during their first run on ANTENNA-TV. I hit a jackpot of an episode: guest Jimmy Stewart reading a poem about his old dog. 

It took me three seconds to figure out what was wrong with this episode since I saw it originally on NBC-TV as well as on Antenna years ago. JAMES STEWART AND JOHNNY CARSON HAD GAINED 30 POUNDS EACH! Their old TV width images were now stretched to fit the wide screen ratio of our large flat screens! Unfrickingbelievable! 

More remote clicks brought me to other channels, essentially free-to-air broadcasts, but also carried on Spectrum. BOUNCE-TV, a decade-old station targeting Black Americans, also stretches its non-widescreen images of “The Bernie Mac Show” and other sitcoms. 

On the flip side, LIGHT-TV (aka THE GRIO-TV) & THIS-TV use the wrong lenses, vertically squeezing the movies and TV shows to make everyone appear at least 30 pounds thinner! Egad, to say the least! Their heads appear to have been victimized by a vice. 

The popular old folks channel, ME-TV, has been slightly stretching original image widths via chopping off the tops and bottoms of classic sitcoms and dramas for years in an effort to fill the viewers’ widescreen TVs. In any event, the viewer does not truly see the original images. But  does it matter to most ME-TV viewers? I have a sad feeling it does not. I know many viewers who care only about
“filling up the screen,” no matter if anything is edited or stretched. 

But it does matter to me! I am a purist. I also do not appreciate colorizing black and white movies and TV shows. 

Yes, one can readjust the new flat screen TVs to compensate for the disparities in aspect ratios. BUT you lose picture sharpness and quality. Plus it is a hassle. 
A solution is to write or e-mail the stations’ owners and protest how they are undermining their viewers. 

OR just do not watch these technologically lame channels. They will get the hint, maybe. 

Sadly, as long as their multitude of advertisers keep supporting them, nothing else probably matters.