My family was surprised when I told them that one of my favorite TV series from 2004 to 2011 was – gasp! – “Entourage.” The HBO sitcom concerned the suddenly-risen film star, Vince Chase, as he navigated the vapid terrain of Los Angeles with a close circle of friends and his trusty agent. He learned the ropes of the business and the huge profile world of the wealthy few in and around Hollywood. But not alone, he brings from his native city his atypical entourage – hence the title. Over the course of the series, they progress as kids from Queens to actors, to producers, to find the perfect movie for Vince. I liked all five of the main characters – especially Ari Gold played by Jeremy Piven. Sooo, when I learned that the HBO series was being made into a film version, I was anxious to see “Entourage” the movie. Alas, the film has no romance or imagination. Even my favorite, Ari, whose career, once a half-clever inside joke, has become a shaggy dog story. As a TV series “Entourage” brings the life of the young and famous in a likable sharply written, easy-to-take style. The movie feels like a shallow, cameo-studded extended episode of the television series. It tries to say that if Vince and his bros could make it in Hollywood, could score with those hotties, drive the big cars, make lots of money, well, then anyone can. So sorry, the big screen “Entourage” can’t and doesn’t.
I don’t subscribe to Netflix but, fortunately for me, my sharp friend does. When he told me about the powerhouse ensemble: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston, and Martin Sheehan, I was sold and looked forward to watching “Grace and Frankie.” The sitcom is about two women whose husbands come out as gay and leave them for each other. Fonda and Tomlin are irresistible, funny, and even touching. Fonda’s body is toned as ever (remember the Jane Fonda Workout!) and she’s chic as h-ll. She plays elegant, proper Grace and Tomlin’s comedic genius is perfect for the free-wheeling, eccentric Frankie. Their chemistry along with their dysfunctional families keep the show light despite the despairing happenings between the ex-married couples. Waterston and Sheehan manage to play beautifully off-type. “Grace and Frankie” is extremely well-written and well acted by this cast of true professionals. They capture the sensitivity, frustrating angst, and love interests in relationships. Personally, in spite of many guffaws, this series is also the story of having to rediscover yourself late in life and it asks the terrible but essential question: “Who am I?” As I discovered, we are never just one person over the course of our lives. In my eyes Netflix hit one out of the park!
One night I walked into my house, turned on all the lights, and, in the course of the evening, the television set, my iPhone, my desk-top computer, etc., and who did I think of? No, surprise, not Steve Jobs. I did think about the very prolific inventor and businessman who became known as “The Wizard of Menlo Park.” He so influenced our everyday lives from lamplights to electric light, power utilities, sound recording, and motion pictures. His inventions greatly changed life around the world. He held 1,093 U.S. patents in his name. What made Thomas Alva Edison special wasn’t so much his inventions and knowing what to do with them. He didn’t merely invent things, he invented the profession of inventing. Especially with the light bulb, he tackled not just the technological problem, but also the infrastructure needed to illuminate homes. Edison (1847-1893) was active in business right up to the end. On his desk he displayed a placard which said “There’s no expedient to which a man will not resort to, to avoid the real labor of thinking.” Can you guess where the Thomas A. Edison Memorial Museum is located? Of course, in the town of Edison, N.J. – so well-named!
She appeared to have had a charmed life – singer, rapper, actress, model, TV producer, comedienne, and talk show host. Boy, was I wrong! After reading her biography I learned that the multi-talented Queen Latifah had bouts of depression and drug abuse, convictions, and jail time – an unruly but powerful life. However, from that turbulent life, Queen Latifah managed to garner many awards for her work in music and film. Born Dana Elaine Owens, she took the stage name we all know. I caught her talk show a few times before it closed and found that it contained a variety of celebrity interviews, musical performances, and her take on pop culture. Recently she starred as the blues legend Bessie Smith in the HBO film “Bessie.” Queen Latifah admired the boundary-less entertainer: bi-sexual, trysting even through marriage, a brazen personality who played to both white and black audiences. Latifah said that Bessie Smith was not afraid to be wrong or afraid to fight to tell someone just like she saw it. She felt Bessie’s story needed to be told. I found the movie hard to watch on the screen. Like many biopics the historical picture “Bessie” presents is smudgy, but for the actress the experience of playing her was unparalleled. “You have to take your seatbelt off” – and nothing in the film fazed her. Currently a singer, actor, executive, TV personality, cosmetics spokesperson and author, Queen Latifah also appears to have developed a signature brand of feel-good feminism with an activist outlook. Go, Girl, Go!
You can e-mail June Sturz at intunejune@optonline.net