1. Enlightened, HBO-Simply put, it was the year's most engaging show. It not only moved me emotionally but physiologically. My stomach was literally churning watching Amy Jellicoe navigate her way through what she saw as a cruel corporate nightmare with limited information and an even more limited grasp of reality. Using the unreliable narrator trope at center to maximum effect, "Enlightened" is a show that continuously challenges the viewer to reevaluate their morals with regards to a world of corporate deathtraps that is perhaps more familiar than many of us would like to admit. Laura Dern is deserving of all the praise she's gotten and more, but it's the supporting cast of Sarah Burns, Timm Sharp, Jason Mantzoukas, Michaela Watkins (SNL failures represent!), Bayne Gibby, Chip Esten, and Mike White (who was also the show's creator and showrunner) that give richness to the world of Abaddon.
2. Orange is the New Black, Netflix-Adapted from an account of a WASP who served 18 months in prison for a drug-running crime she committed ten years prior, "Orange is the New Black" alternated between being brutal and strangely uplifting and rarely had a wasted moment of screen time in its 15-episode run. It should be noted that a trip back to the source material reveals a woman who had a good eye for observation but a relatively drama-free stay (in other words, most of the bad things happening on screen were either exaggerated or happened to someone other than Piper Kerman). Thus, credit goes to Jenji Kohan and her crew for turning a relatively tame memoir into a highly engaging drama through augmenting the rock-hard obstacles (prison guards, unforgiving inmates, corrupt administrators, etc.) that Piper must negotiate through. The series is suspenseful, engaging, amusing at moments, and is even capable of rousing the viewer to social action. Bonus points also go to the expansive supporting cast that disproves any notion that there are no good female roles on TV.
3. Arrested Development, Netflix-The Bluths came back with a lot of hype that Mitch Hurwitz and company largely delivered on with a format that was true to the hijinks of sitcomdom's most dysfunctional family while still being fresh and innovative. The episodic focus on separate characters deprived us of opportunities for Bluth interaction (sadly, no chicken dances), but it created an even greater infrastructure upon which to layer running gags and multi-layered jokes. In addition to the usual gang of side characters-- the queen of dizziness Lucille Austero, an aged Steve Holt (notably, the only character who wants to be part of the Bluth clan), a spurned-at-the-altar Ann Veal, a newly out of the closet (with the catch phrase "I'm here, I'm queer and now I'm over here") magician Tony Wonder, and the hilariously incompetent Barry Zuckercorn-- the show managed to find space for a new crop of characters: a pay-for-play politician not so subtly inspired by Herman Cain (Terry Crews), endearing drug addict DeBrie Bardeaux (Maria Bamford), face-blind political activist Marky Bark (Chris Diamantopoulos), a young starlet who gets romantically entangled with multiple Bluth family members (Isla Fisher) and Ron Howard as himself.
4. Homeland, Showtime-The third season has been seen as somewhat of a
disappointment considering the lack of Brody-Carrie action but even when the show is making wrong turns with the storyline, it's a highly engaging show that could never be accused of being predictable. The show has so far avoided any signs of jumping the shark which is a difficult task considering the 2nd season ended with many key players blown to smithereens (spell check let me keep that one!) and Brody returning to fugitive status. The suspense escalated well in the opening arc in which agent Carrie Mathison found herself locked up for being on the right side of reason and while the characters are being put through the blender, the show has still managed to stay true to them.
5. The Bridge, FX-Although the last two episodes of the first season were more denouement than action, this was a prime example of how serialized TV is now the richest form of storytelling today. This serialized crime drama, set along the Mexico-Texas border, centers around a partnership between a female detective (Diane Kruger) plagued with aesperger's who was taken in under the wing of the local police chief (Ted Levine) after her sister was murdered and a Mexican homicide detective who grew up alongside the local mob boss (a strong character in his own right) who somehow managed to turn out honestly, as they work together to track down a serial killer. The show also makes good use of serialized B-plots including one with Matthew Lillard as a self-serving alcoholic reporter and another with Annabeth Gish as a young widow who has inherited a smuggling pipeline. Thematically relevant, beautifully shot, insightful, expansive in scope, well-scripted and spearheaded by strong characters, "The Bridge" is off to a great start.
6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, FX-Consistently at the top of my television queue year in and year out, there's not much to say about Sunny that hasn't already been said in previous top ten lists. Episodes focusing on Dee ("The Gang Breaks Dee") and Mac ("Mac Day") this season demonstrates that any of the show's five characters could easily top a list of the the most hilarious people on TV. Meanwhile, "Flowers for Charlie" contained a twist that showed there's room in these characters for surprises while "Mac Day" and "The Gang Tries Desperately to Win an Award" (my favorite episode this year) showed a playful self-referentialness (damn you, spell check!). And then we had a season finale, "The Gang Squashes their Beefs," that bought back all our favorite characters and gave us hope that the gang was finally going to move beyond their pettiness and join the community at large.
7. Bates Motel, A and E-In its efforts to slowly disentangle the why and the who of Norman
Bates, the series is rife with nuggets for a budding psych major to have
a field day with. More often that not, however, its a wonderful and breezy
small-town drama with fascinating characters, most of whom are
concealing a dark side. At the end of the first season, Hitchcock would be proud of "Bates Motel" as it contains the kind of nuanced depth that could give a psych professor hours of discussion material. Vera Farminga, one of Hollywood's most underrated actresses, is one of the stars the TV would should be thankful for this year.
8. Go On, NBC-Due to NBC's misguided idea to sweep its comedy slate clean to make way for the Sean Hayes and Michael J. Fox shows (cue the snooze button), "Go On" is now an archival footnote of the 2012-2013 TV season that might only be remembered a couple years from now for the comic mileage Seth MacFarlane got out of it when he mispronounced it on SNL's Weekend Update. That's too bad, because for my money "Go On" had a first season better than the last three seasons "Community" and we all know how that show turned out. Like its doppelganger, "Go On" was also based on a disparate group of characters toughing out a big life challenge together (whether being relegated to community college or coping with loss) but it had a stronger emotional baseline. The ensemble was filled with a few characters that started out a bit over-the-top but the show made great strides at developing everyone to the point where the quirky ensemble interplay really drove the humor while the bittersweet plots packed great emotional punch.
9. Breaking Bad, AMC-My involvement with "Breaking Bad" hasn't been as strong as other TV critics (I can proudly take credit for catching the first episode, this blog is not a bandwagoner) as my viewing of the last couple seasons has been sporadic. Although I think realistically Walt should have been dead by around season 4, I didn't have a strong sense of disappointment with the show. I was simply content to be a spectator to the arms race over which critic can best express their uber-admiration for the best show ever, while there was so much great TV I can contribute my voice to. I managed to latch onto the final batch of episodes and while I didn't want to get sucked into that arms race, I'll just say it's been a thrilling ride. A main concern of mine was whether the writing room was self-conscious enough over how little of a hero Walter White was at this point and I'm especially impressed with how the endpoint for these characters managed to navigate the twin poles of glamorization and empathy.
10 (tie). Quick Draw, Hulu and Archer, FX-Like "It's Always Sunny," "Archer" is one of the most inventive and consistently hilarious comedies on the air today. The chemistry between H. Jon Benjamin, Chris Parnell, Aisha Taylor, Jessica Walter, Judy Greer, Amber Nash and Lucky Yates is all the more astounding when you consider that they all record their lines separately. In quite possibly the ballsiest (first time I've ever used that word in 7 years of blogging) sitcom premise this year, the season opener poked fun at H. Jon Benjamin's other voice-over role in a crossover with Bob's Burgers that tried to tie both shows into the same universe. From there, the hijinks only got crazier as Archer goes head-to-head with his man crush, defends the Pope (Francis or Benedict, I'm not sure), shuttles coyotes across the Mexican border, and comes face to face with his arch-nemesis in cyber-Barry.
Meanwhile, the improv-based comedy of John Lehr brought forth one of the more absurdist sitcoms I've seen in recent memory. John Lehr's last go-around in TV as pushover supermarket owner in "10 Items of Less" was lackluster which is why it's been such a joy discovering this hidden gem and seeing how the right tweaks to his (and co-creator Nancy Hower's) comedy style can create great TV. The show is set in the Old West but has a manic disregard for any sort of historical tone as one episode references universal health care, the sandwich generation, and reimagines CSI-level ballistics techniques with a sheriff in the 1800's using bows and arrows. The ironic thing is that John Lehr's protagonist -- a physically unimposing sheriff who drops his Harvard education into nearly every conversation and would be considered subpar for his job if not for a knack for marksmanship -- isn't too far removed from his character in "10 Items or Less" but the discordance of that same personality type in the 19th Century works wonders for the show's comedy.
Honorable Mentions:
Behind the Mask, Hulu-Endearing reality show featuring four diverse characters who are all passionate about their dual lives as team mascots
Office and Parks & Recreation, NBC-Both shows have been dependable stalwarts of the TV viewing experience for several years now and it was with a heavy heart that I said goodbye to one of them
Americans, FX-Wonderful sense of place, wonderfully suspense-laden plots, great insight into a period in history, but believability (even if you compare it to the actual historical story it's based on) started to wear thin
Legit, FX-An unapologetic celebration of the mundane. Jim's mission isn't to better his life, become healthier, succeed at his career, or find true love. More often than not, Jim just wants to just have an agreeable day when he wakes up in the morning and he drags his two roommates with him for the ride to his blase attitude on life.
Wilfred, FX-Consistently funny and thoughtful year in and year out.
Key and Peele, Comedy Central-Smart sketch comedy from two comics who have paid their dues for a while and are finally getting their big break
Masters of Sex, Showtime-Pretty much the only Fall show that showed potential. Ensemble storylines layer themselves in typical Golden Age fashion but the show's very polished and has intriguing characters.
Necessary Roughness, USA-Another fish-out-of-water show on the USA network, that boasted a charming lead and John Stamos on top of it.
Royal Pains, USA-Checked into this show recently and saw some wonderful character development and arcing developments. It's a show that warms the heart.
Elementary, CBS-Only watched one episode but seems like it breaks procedural mold pretty well and Lucy Liu is quite charming
The Full List of What Else I Watched this Year (a number of which were still very good programs) So You Know What the Above is Being Judged Against:
30 Rock, NBC; 1600 Penn, NBC; Alpha House, Amazon; American Dad, Fox; American Horror Story, FX; America's Got Talent, NBC; The Awesomes, Hulu; Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Fox; Big Bang Theory, CBS; Best Week Ever, VH1; Burn Notice, USA; Camp, NBC; Community*, NBC; Crazy Ones, CBS; Dads, Fox; Family Guy, Fox; Futurama, Comedy Central; Fugget About It, Hulu; Glee*, Fox; Hollywood Game Night, Fox; House of Cards*, Netflix; Lilyhammer, Netflix; Michael J Fox Show, NBC; Mindy Project, Fox; Modern Family, ABC; New Girl, Fox; New Normal, NBC; Scandal, ABC; Sean Saves the World*, NBC; Simpsons, Fox; Sing-Off, NBC; SNL, NBC; Suburgatory, ABC; Super Fun Night, ABC; Studio C, BYU TV; Two Broke Girls, CBS; Under the Dome, TNT; Walking Dead, AMC; Wipeout, ABC; What Would Ryan Lochte Do, E!; Whose Line is it Anyway, CW; Writer's Room, Sundance Channel
* Indicates that I viewed it in very limited capacity
Friday, December 20, 2013
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Lilyhammer's Glaring Problem: "Out of Africa" and "Milwall Brick"
If you go through my Top Ten lists from past years, you'll see a lot of shows that either fell out of favor or soured on me within a year. In 2010, I was charmed by the exploration of the physics behind the characters' super powers, the slowly-building serialized arc, and the supporting turns of Romany Malco and Autumn Reeser in No Ordinary Family. In 2011, I couldn't stand the schmaltzy family drama that was overtaking the action. Similarly, my love affairs with Family Guy and American Dad! have both eroded to the point where I watch the shows but don't love them. In the latter, I placed it in the top 10 of 2011 on the basis that of the more grounded level of comedy for a Seth MacFarlane creation and the malleability of Roger. Shortly thereafter, Roger (and Stan for that matter) reached somewhat of a tipping point.
Last year, Lilyhammer made my Top 10 primarily because it has such a strong sense of place although I had reservations about the unlikable protagonist that I hoped could be ironed out.
The show centers around mobster Frank Tagliano who adopts the moniker Giovanni "Johnny" Henrikson as he relocates to the Norweigan city that hosted the 1994 Olympics. Henrickson fits squarely into the mobster genre as a man who's polished and charming but inwardly ruthless and amoral. He's not at Scarface-levels of depravity and shows occasional signs of decency, but he's essentially an unwavering bully.
In the pilot episode, Henrikson arrives in Norway and wants to open a bar but Jans, the local immigrant transition official, stands in his way with threats to drown him in paperwork and a 6-month waiting period. When Giovanni tries to bribe him, Jans reacts as anyone would and threatens to report him to the police. Giovanni lucks into some incriminating photos on Jans and manages to extort him into starting his bar license early.
In this manner, the show started out as a charming fish-out-of-the-water story as our protagonist has to navigate a different world where his usual bag of tricks won't work. The problem is that pretty soon into the first season, the fish and water started becoming pretty indistinct from one another and Giovanni starts getting away with everything with very little resistance from people who might realistically resist. In the first season alone, Giovanni physically threatens a long list of people including a a pacifist farmer, a kid on a train listening to music too loudly, an Arab immigrant named Yousef, a man with an ankle bracelet who ends up arrested through Frank, a couple store employees at a carriage store (who actually do activate a security alarm) and members of a night watch gang. Many of these people would directly benefit from their first instinct of reporting Giovanni to the authorities and those who were assaulted earlier in the season would have little to lose since Giovanni hadn't yet amassed any henchmen.
Ultimately, Giovanni is saved by a number of lucky coincidences (finding just the right piece of incrimination, having a possible tattle tale decide save himself the hassle and not report him, etc) as he takes steps to strengthen his power stronghold on Lillyhammer through forming strategic alliances with the town's power players and coercing anyone who stands in his way. One problem with this premise is that a lot of Giovanni's relationships work through coercion which leaves the loyalty in question. Why Jans decides to beg for his job UNDER the man (a partnership that in season 2 is revealed to be subservient) who, for all he knew, was responsible for getting him fired from NAV or why Julius would still be a voluntary business partner of a man who blackmailed him when the dirt disappeared (he was in remission) and made insensitive remarks about the kid's son (he calls him "Osama") are not sufficiently explained.
All of Giovanni's antics are done while attempting to stay under the radar of the local authorities which becomes an increasingly more tenuous plot point to buy when more and more people in the town are in on the secret that Johnny is a crook.When the local police chief, Laila, finally gets some dirt on Giovanni, things become downright anticlimactic: Upon seeing a dead body in the woods, Giovanni convinces her that she has two options "using up thousands of dollars of tax payer money to pursue justice" (um, doesn't she do that with every crook?) or just taking his word that the dead man in the woods was the guy who shot his fallen colleague and letting bygones be bygones. If there's a such thing as an unforgivable plot hole, it's that Laila would walk away at this moment.
Of course, happy coincidences and plot holes are forgivable if they ultimately favor the outcome you were hoping to see but it's hard to see Giovanni as particularly deserving of all the lucky twists of fate he receives. A show isn't automatically weakened if a bad guy is winning against the good guys, but the catch is that the show needs to be aware of who the good and bad guys really are, and it seems as if Lilyhammer isn't grasping that its show is about a bad man:
According to this interview in Rolling Stone, show co-creator and lead actor Steve Van Zandt:
"He's never going to be completely integrated into that society".... "But he is becoming a bit Norwegian and part of the culture."
In fact the show's moralistic and in-universe judgments are mostly reserved for everyone but Giovanni. When the man with the ankle bracelet gets his comeuppance from the police and Johnny sails away consequence-free, are we meant to see him as foolish? Is this a morally equivalent universe in which he gets what he deserves?
The show ended season one with a bittersweet note as his girlfriend (pregnant with his twin children) finally decided she had enough of him and threw him out and it seemed as if an amiable partnership was forming between, but the character hasn't grown and as a result, the show feels stagnant and its lucky coincidences less forgivable.
Last year, Lilyhammer made my Top 10 primarily because it has such a strong sense of place although I had reservations about the unlikable protagonist that I hoped could be ironed out.
The show centers around mobster Frank Tagliano who adopts the moniker Giovanni "Johnny" Henrikson as he relocates to the Norweigan city that hosted the 1994 Olympics. Henrickson fits squarely into the mobster genre as a man who's polished and charming but inwardly ruthless and amoral. He's not at Scarface-levels of depravity and shows occasional signs of decency, but he's essentially an unwavering bully.
In the pilot episode, Henrikson arrives in Norway and wants to open a bar but Jans, the local immigrant transition official, stands in his way with threats to drown him in paperwork and a 6-month waiting period. When Giovanni tries to bribe him, Jans reacts as anyone would and threatens to report him to the police. Giovanni lucks into some incriminating photos on Jans and manages to extort him into starting his bar license early.
In this manner, the show started out as a charming fish-out-of-the-water story as our protagonist has to navigate a different world where his usual bag of tricks won't work. The problem is that pretty soon into the first season, the fish and water started becoming pretty indistinct from one another and Giovanni starts getting away with everything with very little resistance from people who might realistically resist. In the first season alone, Giovanni physically threatens a long list of people including a a pacifist farmer, a kid on a train listening to music too loudly, an Arab immigrant named Yousef, a man with an ankle bracelet who ends up arrested through Frank, a couple store employees at a carriage store (who actually do activate a security alarm) and members of a night watch gang. Many of these people would directly benefit from their first instinct of reporting Giovanni to the authorities and those who were assaulted earlier in the season would have little to lose since Giovanni hadn't yet amassed any henchmen.
Ultimately, Giovanni is saved by a number of lucky coincidences (finding just the right piece of incrimination, having a possible tattle tale decide save himself the hassle and not report him, etc) as he takes steps to strengthen his power stronghold on Lillyhammer through forming strategic alliances with the town's power players and coercing anyone who stands in his way. One problem with this premise is that a lot of Giovanni's relationships work through coercion which leaves the loyalty in question. Why Jans decides to beg for his job UNDER the man (a partnership that in season 2 is revealed to be subservient) who, for all he knew, was responsible for getting him fired from NAV or why Julius would still be a voluntary business partner of a man who blackmailed him when the dirt disappeared (he was in remission) and made insensitive remarks about the kid's son (he calls him "Osama") are not sufficiently explained.
All of Giovanni's antics are done while attempting to stay under the radar of the local authorities which becomes an increasingly more tenuous plot point to buy when more and more people in the town are in on the secret that Johnny is a crook.When the local police chief, Laila, finally gets some dirt on Giovanni, things become downright anticlimactic: Upon seeing a dead body in the woods, Giovanni convinces her that she has two options "using up thousands of dollars of tax payer money to pursue justice" (um, doesn't she do that with every crook?) or just taking his word that the dead man in the woods was the guy who shot his fallen colleague and letting bygones be bygones. If there's a such thing as an unforgivable plot hole, it's that Laila would walk away at this moment.
Of course, happy coincidences and plot holes are forgivable if they ultimately favor the outcome you were hoping to see but it's hard to see Giovanni as particularly deserving of all the lucky twists of fate he receives. A show isn't automatically weakened if a bad guy is winning against the good guys, but the catch is that the show needs to be aware of who the good and bad guys really are, and it seems as if Lilyhammer isn't grasping that its show is about a bad man:
According to this interview in Rolling Stone, show co-creator and lead actor Steve Van Zandt:
"He's never going to be completely integrated into that society".... "But he is becoming a bit Norwegian and part of the culture."
In fact the show's moralistic and in-universe judgments are mostly reserved for everyone but Giovanni. When the man with the ankle bracelet gets his comeuppance from the police and Johnny sails away consequence-free, are we meant to see him as foolish? Is this a morally equivalent universe in which he gets what he deserves?
The show ended season one with a bittersweet note as his girlfriend (pregnant with his twin children) finally decided she had enough of him and threw him out and it seemed as if an amiable partnership was forming between, but the character hasn't grown and as a result, the show feels stagnant and its lucky coincidences less forgivable.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Why the 5 picture system has always been a mistake
I'm looking this up and I think the 5-picture system was always a mistake.
My reasoning is that in every decade the Academy has always picked films that don't hold up to history and look ridiculous years later. Throughout the 5-picture years, the academy has a fairly good track record of selecting 1-2 or 1-3 (most people agree that Social Network-Kings Speech-True Grit were all good choices as was No County-There Will Be Blood, Avatar-Hurt Locker, Argo-Lincoln, Crash-Brokeback, Little Miss Sunshine-Departed, Aviator-Million Dollar Baby-Sideways, Mystic River-LOTR) but in slots 3-5, the academy makes arbitrary decisions that could often look stupid down the line.
For example, let's look at 1960. The best picture nominees were Elmer Gantry (worthy), the Apartment (worthy), Sundowners, Sons and Lovers, and Alamo. I'm almost entirely unfamiliar with those films, except I know that the Alamo was heavily campaigned for and yes, ignorance is no excuse for whether a film is good, but there are definitely four unnominated films from that year I've heard of and I'd consider them classics (as with everything on this post, YMMV): Exodus, Inherit the Wind (although some find Stanley Kramer preachy and he never makes a short list of the best directors in comparison to contemporaries like Kazan, Lumet or Nichols, this is among his best films), Psycho, and Spartacus.
Decisions that are stupid in retrospect at the 3-5 slots have happened in every decade.
The 90's, for example, had Awakenings (about as dramatic as an episode of ER), Godfather III (considered to be a disappointment), Four Weddings and a Funeral (80% of Jon Cusack romantic comedies have more to say than that film), Il Postino (clearly has been forgotten: I just asked eight of my facebook friends if they've heard of that, I got ZERO yeses), Secrets and Lies (I got one of eight on that one), Babe (how many films were influenced by that? I think Homeward Bound 2 and Zookeeper was the only other film ever to use the formula of talking animals), the Fugitive (decent for an action film, but even a good action film today like Source Code or Adjustment Bureau is not going to make the Oscars).
It's pretty reasonable to assume that great films like Ed Wood, Misery, The Player, Leaving Las Vegas, Heat, Usual Suspects or Dead Man Walking would have gotten a nomination considering the other awards they were getting that season.
In the 00's: Almost Famous, Mullholland Drive, Memento, Royal Tenenbaums, Far From Heaven, Adaptation, About Schmidt, Road to Perdition, Eternal Sunshine, History of Violence, Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, Dream Girls, United 93, Into the Wild, Sweeney Todd, Wall-E, Dark Knight, and Wrestler, all had a good chance of being included if they expanded the nominee slate.
Would it have made up for questionable choices like Chocolat? Most definitely. I think more movie fans were happy with 2011's choices than 2000 because all the good nominees were included and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (according to RottenTomatoes.com, it was the most unpopular choice of Best Picture nominees in the 21st century with Chocolat) will just be seen as a quirky anomaly in retrospect
My reasoning is that in every decade the Academy has always picked films that don't hold up to history and look ridiculous years later. Throughout the 5-picture years, the academy has a fairly good track record of selecting 1-2 or 1-3 (most people agree that Social Network-Kings Speech-True Grit were all good choices as was No County-There Will Be Blood, Avatar-Hurt Locker, Argo-Lincoln, Crash-Brokeback, Little Miss Sunshine-Departed, Aviator-Million Dollar Baby-Sideways, Mystic River-LOTR) but in slots 3-5, the academy makes arbitrary decisions that could often look stupid down the line.
For example, let's look at 1960. The best picture nominees were Elmer Gantry (worthy), the Apartment (worthy), Sundowners, Sons and Lovers, and Alamo. I'm almost entirely unfamiliar with those films, except I know that the Alamo was heavily campaigned for and yes, ignorance is no excuse for whether a film is good, but there are definitely four unnominated films from that year I've heard of and I'd consider them classics (as with everything on this post, YMMV): Exodus, Inherit the Wind (although some find Stanley Kramer preachy and he never makes a short list of the best directors in comparison to contemporaries like Kazan, Lumet or Nichols, this is among his best films), Psycho, and Spartacus.
Decisions that are stupid in retrospect at the 3-5 slots have happened in every decade.
The 90's, for example, had Awakenings (about as dramatic as an episode of ER), Godfather III (considered to be a disappointment), Four Weddings and a Funeral (80% of Jon Cusack romantic comedies have more to say than that film), Il Postino (clearly has been forgotten: I just asked eight of my facebook friends if they've heard of that, I got ZERO yeses), Secrets and Lies (I got one of eight on that one), Babe (how many films were influenced by that? I think Homeward Bound 2 and Zookeeper was the only other film ever to use the formula of talking animals), the Fugitive (decent for an action film, but even a good action film today like Source Code or Adjustment Bureau is not going to make the Oscars).
It's pretty reasonable to assume that great films like Ed Wood, Misery, The Player, Leaving Las Vegas, Heat, Usual Suspects or Dead Man Walking would have gotten a nomination considering the other awards they were getting that season.
In the 00's: Almost Famous, Mullholland Drive, Memento, Royal Tenenbaums, Far From Heaven, Adaptation, About Schmidt, Road to Perdition, Eternal Sunshine, History of Violence, Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, Dream Girls, United 93, Into the Wild, Sweeney Todd, Wall-E, Dark Knight, and Wrestler, all had a good chance of being included if they expanded the nominee slate.
Would it have made up for questionable choices like Chocolat? Most definitely. I think more movie fans were happy with 2011's choices than 2000 because all the good nominees were included and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (according to RottenTomatoes.com, it was the most unpopular choice of Best Picture nominees in the 21st century with Chocolat) will just be seen as a quirky anomaly in retrospect
Thursday, November 28, 2013
The Quintessential Tennessee film
The Quintessential Tennessee film: Mystery Train
Tennessee is what I like to call the horizontal Chile of the US: A rectangular slab so thin and long that people on one end have virtually nothing in common with people on the other end.
Tennessee might be associated with music as one can see by the state quarter's inscription: "Musical Heritage," but it has three centered around the state's three major cities of Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville as signified by the three stars on the Tennessee state flag. Look at Tennessee's state quarter and you'll see a guitar on the left, a violin (or fiddle) on the right and a trumpet in the middle with three stars on the outside and the inscription "Musical Heritage" written in the center. The message is clear: The state is three distinct regions defined by musical styles.
In the West, the port city of Memphis was a convergence point in the development of the Blues dating back to the 1700s as musicians traveled up and down the Mississippi in river barges. The city is the home of Beale Street, Graceland and Sun Studios where Elvis got his start. In addition to the King, Memphis was instrumental in the musical journeys of Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Al Green and pretty much every other icon of rock and roll you can think of.
In the center, Nashville is the world capitol of country music. Like Memphis, the city's tourist scene is also nearly synonymous with its music scene, counting Mercy Lounge, the Gran Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame as its greatest landmarks.
While Memphis is the classic Midwestern city and Mississippi River port and Nashville is a bastion of the glamorous side of Antebellum South, Knoxville is squarely in the heart of a distinct cultural sliver of the U.S. known as Appalachia where one of America's most distinct musical styles is king: Bluegrass.
The quintessential Tennessee film is an ensemble film in which different strangers' lives are united through musical fandom and, no, its not Rob Altman's landmark epic "Nashville." That film is more about aspiring dreamers and politicians than people living in the present reality of Tennessee.
Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train (1989) has three (our magic number) interlocking stories set in a seedy Memphis hotel tied together in lock-step time by a local radio station playing the Elvis Presley version of "Blue Moon." For added effect, this story about the transcendent power of music has a cameo by blues musician Screamin' Jay Hawkins in the role of the desk clerk.
The first story centers around a suspicious woman on the run who needs a room for the night and is taken in by a sympathetic boarder. The second one centers around three lowlifes (Steve Buscemi is one of them) for whom a night of drinking turns into all-out criminal activity from which they seek shelter at the same hotel.
The third is the one with the largest thematic connection to Tennessee's musical heritage although the other two stories provide a much-needed backdrop of the ebb and flow of urban life for this story to bounce off of.
A young Japanese couple is making pilgrimage to Memphis to witness its musical history. They're heavy rock and roll buffs who have an ongoing debate over whether Elvis or Carl Perkins was the true father of rock and roll. The young man looks out of place as a Japanese tourist dressed like a greaser. In addition to his attempts to look cool smoking (much like Godard's film "Breathless"), there's another running gag of him flicking out his comb and running it through his hair. Despite the juxtaposition, the film portrays this young couple's relationship to the musicians they idolize with sincerity and a certain delicacy.
Roger Ebert wrote in his review:
In the hands of another director, this setup would lead directly into social satire, into a comic putdown of rock tourism... But Jarmusch is not a satirist. He is a romantic, who sees America as a foreigner might - as a strange, haunting country where the urban landscapes are painted by Edward Hopper and the all-night blues stations provide a soundtrack for a life.
The message is that true passion of music transcends any superficial disconnects (much like the theme on the state quarter suggests). It's also a film that delves into nostalgia and how the pervasiveness of Elvis is both haunting to some and a source of beauty to others.
Tennessee is what I like to call the horizontal Chile of the US: A rectangular slab so thin and long that people on one end have virtually nothing in common with people on the other end.
Tennessee might be associated with music as one can see by the state quarter's inscription: "Musical Heritage," but it has three centered around the state's three major cities of Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville as signified by the three stars on the Tennessee state flag. Look at Tennessee's state quarter and you'll see a guitar on the left, a violin (or fiddle) on the right and a trumpet in the middle with three stars on the outside and the inscription "Musical Heritage" written in the center. The message is clear: The state is three distinct regions defined by musical styles.
In the West, the port city of Memphis was a convergence point in the development of the Blues dating back to the 1700s as musicians traveled up and down the Mississippi in river barges. The city is the home of Beale Street, Graceland and Sun Studios where Elvis got his start. In addition to the King, Memphis was instrumental in the musical journeys of Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Al Green and pretty much every other icon of rock and roll you can think of.
In the center, Nashville is the world capitol of country music. Like Memphis, the city's tourist scene is also nearly synonymous with its music scene, counting Mercy Lounge, the Gran Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame as its greatest landmarks.
While Memphis is the classic Midwestern city and Mississippi River port and Nashville is a bastion of the glamorous side of Antebellum South, Knoxville is squarely in the heart of a distinct cultural sliver of the U.S. known as Appalachia where one of America's most distinct musical styles is king: Bluegrass.
The quintessential Tennessee film is an ensemble film in which different strangers' lives are united through musical fandom and, no, its not Rob Altman's landmark epic "Nashville." That film is more about aspiring dreamers and politicians than people living in the present reality of Tennessee.
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| Source: New-video.de |
Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train (1989) has three (our magic number) interlocking stories set in a seedy Memphis hotel tied together in lock-step time by a local radio station playing the Elvis Presley version of "Blue Moon." For added effect, this story about the transcendent power of music has a cameo by blues musician Screamin' Jay Hawkins in the role of the desk clerk.
The first story centers around a suspicious woman on the run who needs a room for the night and is taken in by a sympathetic boarder. The second one centers around three lowlifes (Steve Buscemi is one of them) for whom a night of drinking turns into all-out criminal activity from which they seek shelter at the same hotel.
The third is the one with the largest thematic connection to Tennessee's musical heritage although the other two stories provide a much-needed backdrop of the ebb and flow of urban life for this story to bounce off of.
A young Japanese couple is making pilgrimage to Memphis to witness its musical history. They're heavy rock and roll buffs who have an ongoing debate over whether Elvis or Carl Perkins was the true father of rock and roll. The young man looks out of place as a Japanese tourist dressed like a greaser. In addition to his attempts to look cool smoking (much like Godard's film "Breathless"), there's another running gag of him flicking out his comb and running it through his hair. Despite the juxtaposition, the film portrays this young couple's relationship to the musicians they idolize with sincerity and a certain delicacy.
Roger Ebert wrote in his review:
In the hands of another director, this setup would lead directly into social satire, into a comic putdown of rock tourism... But Jarmusch is not a satirist. He is a romantic, who sees America as a foreigner might - as a strange, haunting country where the urban landscapes are painted by Edward Hopper and the all-night blues stations provide a soundtrack for a life.
The message is that true passion of music transcends any superficial disconnects (much like the theme on the state quarter suggests). It's also a film that delves into nostalgia and how the pervasiveness of Elvis is both haunting to some and a source of beauty to others.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
The quintessential New Jersey film
The quintessential New Jersey film: Dogma
Mob dramas such as "The Sopranos" or "Boardwalk Empire" on TV or "Atlantic City," "Wise Guys," "Color of Money," or "Owning Mahoney" have a long tradition in the Garden State but the gangster/casino genre has long been established as belonging to Chicago and Atlantic City can't hold a candle to Las Vegas. Even if Las Vegas' latest offerings in film (Honeymoon in Vegas, The Hangover, Waking up in Vegas) or TV (take your pick between the failed Michael Chiklis/Dennis Quaid series "Vegas", the moderately successful yet shallow Josh Duhamel/James Caan series "Las Vegas" or the failed Rob Lowe series "Dr. Vegas") fail to measure up to the Atlantic City-based dramas in terms of portraying the grandiosity of a casino town, that doesn't change the fact that Las Vegas is THE casino town in America.
Another popular candidate might be Zach Braff's quirky indie comedy Garden State. Braff is not the only New Jersey native who decided to honor his home state in his titling choices (Danny DeVito's production company is called Jersey films despite the fact he no longer lives in Jersey). He delivered a nicely convincing soliloquy on Jersey when he hosted SNL (complete with a song and dancing Prudential Center) but that doesn't mean his love of New Jersey translated into film very well. His film felt like it could be centered anywhere in the U.S. that has deciduous (you better believe I spell-checked the hell out of that word) forest.
New Jersey, the nation's densest and richest state, is the epicenter of suburbia in the U.S. Most of its residents are suburbanites of three of the country's largest metropolitan areas (Baltimore, Philly, and New York) and what's left over has formed an indistinct tract of the larger Northeastern megalopolis. People who drive between NYNEX and the Mid-Atlantic on a regular basis think of New Jersey as a series of rest stops along the New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway (taking your pick between those two is likely the most exciting thing you'll do while inside the state).
The state's biggest attempt at having a thriving city of its own, Newark, has been a complete failure for most of the past 150 years, despite the popularity of ex-mayor Cory Booker's Twitter account. One of the most notable moments in Booker's tenure was when he received a $150 million dollar donation to the school system from Mark Zuckerberg which isn't so much an indication of Booker's ability to charm Silicon Valley so much as Zuckerberg deciding that no municipal government was more hopeless than Newark.
In 1903, as the power of the suburbs increased, the state legislature froze Newark's municipal expansion and it became the country's first doughnut city (where the suburbs are bigger than the city center). Hence, New Jersey is where suburbs rule.
And no one knows suburbia better than blue collar director Kevin Smith. The suburbia of Kevin Smith's world is the place where bored teenagers escape into the world of comic books, pot, and sexual perversion (or if not actual sexual perversion, discussions about the topic). It's populated by foul-mouthed characters uninhibited by any sense of fear because they likely didn't grow up with any serious problems or boundaries. It's a place where the most glamorous place in town is the mall (see "Mallrats"). The mall is so iconic to suburban history that most textbooks on urban development or land use planning note a distinct phase in the evolution of suburbia called "malling."
In other words, Kevin Smith's suburbia filtered through the lens of his New Jersey experiences, is suburbia period.
Among his many Jersey-set films, I'm drawn to Dogma because of it's sheer self-importance. The film posits the scenario that Jersey is the center of the celestial universe. It's where God occasionally takes human form to play pinball along the boardwalk, where the devil's minions are are a street hockey gang, and where Jesus's thirteenth apostle is hanging out behind a Burger King. Most importantly, it's the nexus of Heaven and Hell where the universe's very existence will cease to exist unless a loud mouth New Jersey slacker and his sidekick don't act.
Mob dramas such as "The Sopranos" or "Boardwalk Empire" on TV or "Atlantic City," "Wise Guys," "Color of Money," or "Owning Mahoney" have a long tradition in the Garden State but the gangster/casino genre has long been established as belonging to Chicago and Atlantic City can't hold a candle to Las Vegas. Even if Las Vegas' latest offerings in film (Honeymoon in Vegas, The Hangover, Waking up in Vegas) or TV (take your pick between the failed Michael Chiklis/Dennis Quaid series "Vegas", the moderately successful yet shallow Josh Duhamel/James Caan series "Las Vegas" or the failed Rob Lowe series "Dr. Vegas") fail to measure up to the Atlantic City-based dramas in terms of portraying the grandiosity of a casino town, that doesn't change the fact that Las Vegas is THE casino town in America.
Another popular candidate might be Zach Braff's quirky indie comedy Garden State. Braff is not the only New Jersey native who decided to honor his home state in his titling choices (Danny DeVito's production company is called Jersey films despite the fact he no longer lives in Jersey). He delivered a nicely convincing soliloquy on Jersey when he hosted SNL (complete with a song and dancing Prudential Center) but that doesn't mean his love of New Jersey translated into film very well. His film felt like it could be centered anywhere in the U.S. that has deciduous (you better believe I spell-checked the hell out of that word) forest.
New Jersey, the nation's densest and richest state, is the epicenter of suburbia in the U.S. Most of its residents are suburbanites of three of the country's largest metropolitan areas (Baltimore, Philly, and New York) and what's left over has formed an indistinct tract of the larger Northeastern megalopolis. People who drive between NYNEX and the Mid-Atlantic on a regular basis think of New Jersey as a series of rest stops along the New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway (taking your pick between those two is likely the most exciting thing you'll do while inside the state).
The state's biggest attempt at having a thriving city of its own, Newark, has been a complete failure for most of the past 150 years, despite the popularity of ex-mayor Cory Booker's Twitter account. One of the most notable moments in Booker's tenure was when he received a $150 million dollar donation to the school system from Mark Zuckerberg which isn't so much an indication of Booker's ability to charm Silicon Valley so much as Zuckerberg deciding that no municipal government was more hopeless than Newark.
In 1903, as the power of the suburbs increased, the state legislature froze Newark's municipal expansion and it became the country's first doughnut city (where the suburbs are bigger than the city center). Hence, New Jersey is where suburbs rule.
And no one knows suburbia better than blue collar director Kevin Smith. The suburbia of Kevin Smith's world is the place where bored teenagers escape into the world of comic books, pot, and sexual perversion (or if not actual sexual perversion, discussions about the topic). It's populated by foul-mouthed characters uninhibited by any sense of fear because they likely didn't grow up with any serious problems or boundaries. It's a place where the most glamorous place in town is the mall (see "Mallrats"). The mall is so iconic to suburban history that most textbooks on urban development or land use planning note a distinct phase in the evolution of suburbia called "malling."
In other words, Kevin Smith's suburbia filtered through the lens of his New Jersey experiences, is suburbia period.
Among his many Jersey-set films, I'm drawn to Dogma because of it's sheer self-importance. The film posits the scenario that Jersey is the center of the celestial universe. It's where God occasionally takes human form to play pinball along the boardwalk, where the devil's minions are are a street hockey gang, and where Jesus's thirteenth apostle is hanging out behind a Burger King. Most importantly, it's the nexus of Heaven and Hell where the universe's very existence will cease to exist unless a loud mouth New Jersey slacker and his sidekick don't act.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
The story of Dorothy Gibson and Titanic's first movie
Many people made names for themselves on the night of the Titanic's sinking, either through heroism, feats of strength and endurance, inaction or cowardice. A survivor who went unnoticed the night of the Titanic as she quietly boarded a lifeboat with her mother, 22-year-old Dorothy Gibson, would go on to make a name for herself as the first person to tell the story of the Titanic cinematically.
Gibson was a New York-based actress and magazine model who had found success acting on Broadway between 1907 and 1911 and was beginning to segue over into movies. She was less than a year into her contract with the French film company Eclair (she was based out of the American branch) when she had become well-known as an actress for playing Revolutionary War heroine Molly Pitcher. To celebrate the completion of her latest string of films, she and her mother went on vacation to Europe.
After the disaster, she was asked by Eclair to star in a film about the Titanic. Although she was hesitant about reliving her own tragic experiences, she conceded and ended up writing the film as well. She essentially played herself and wore the same clothes as she had on the night of her sinking. The other major roles in the film were her mother, father, two friends, and an Ensign Jack. It was not, in essence, any sort of comprehensive account, but the film got good reviews.
The one-reel film no longer survives today. The last-known copy was destroyed in a vault fire in 1914. Because she quit acting to puruse opera shortly after making "Saved From the Titanic", none of Gibson's other films except one ("The Lucky Holdup") exist today either.
Gibson had a very interesting life in the 34 years after the Titanic. Aside from a second career in opera, she later become involved in Fascist politics and intelligence work before switching allegiances against the Italians and Nazis in World War II. She was arrested by the Gestapo but escaped her prison in 1944.
Gibson was a New York-based actress and magazine model who had found success acting on Broadway between 1907 and 1911 and was beginning to segue over into movies. She was less than a year into her contract with the French film company Eclair (she was based out of the American branch) when she had become well-known as an actress for playing Revolutionary War heroine Molly Pitcher. To celebrate the completion of her latest string of films, she and her mother went on vacation to Europe.
After the disaster, she was asked by Eclair to star in a film about the Titanic. Although she was hesitant about reliving her own tragic experiences, she conceded and ended up writing the film as well. She essentially played herself and wore the same clothes as she had on the night of her sinking. The other major roles in the film were her mother, father, two friends, and an Ensign Jack. It was not, in essence, any sort of comprehensive account, but the film got good reviews.
The one-reel film no longer survives today. The last-known copy was destroyed in a vault fire in 1914. Because she quit acting to puruse opera shortly after making "Saved From the Titanic", none of Gibson's other films except one ("The Lucky Holdup") exist today either.
Gibson had a very interesting life in the 34 years after the Titanic. Aside from a second career in opera, she later become involved in Fascist politics and intelligence work before switching allegiances against the Italians and Nazis in World War II. She was arrested by the Gestapo but escaped her prison in 1944.
The story of Dorothy Gibson and Titanic's first movie
Many people made names for themselves on the night of the Titanic's sinking, either through heroism, feats of strength and endurance, inaction or cowardice. A survivor who went unnoticed the night of the Titanic as she quietly boarded a lifeboat with her mother, 22-year-old Dorothy Gibson, would go on to make a name for herself as the first person to tell the story of the Titanic cinematically.
Gibson was a New York-based actress and magazine model who had found success acting on Broadway between 1907 and 1911 and was beginning to segue over into movies. She was less than a year into her contract with the French film company Eclair (she was based out of the American branch) when she had become well-known as an actress for playing Revolutionary War heroine Molly Pitcher. To celebrate the completion of her latest string of films, she and her mother went on vacation to Europe.
After the disaster, she was asked by Eclair to star in a film about the Titanic. Although she was hesitant about reliving her own tragic experiences, she conceded and ended up writing the film as well. She essentially played herself and wore the same clothes as she had on the night of her sinking. The other major roles in the film were her mother, father, two friends, and an Ensign Jack. It was not, in essence, any sort of comprehensive account, but the film got good reviews.
The one-reel film no longer survives today. The last-known copy was destroyed in a vault fire in 1914. Because she quit acting to puruse opera shortly after making "Saved From the Titanic", none of Gibson's other films except one ("The Lucky Holdup") exist today either.
Gibson had a very interesting life in the 34 years after the Titanic. Aside from a second career in opera, she later become involved in Fascist politics and intelligence work before switching allegiances against the Italians and Nazis in World War II. She was arrested by the Gestapo but escaped her prison in 1944.
Gibson was a New York-based actress and magazine model who had found success acting on Broadway between 1907 and 1911 and was beginning to segue over into movies. She was less than a year into her contract with the French film company Eclair (she was based out of the American branch) when she had become well-known as an actress for playing Revolutionary War heroine Molly Pitcher. To celebrate the completion of her latest string of films, she and her mother went on vacation to Europe.
After the disaster, she was asked by Eclair to star in a film about the Titanic. Although she was hesitant about reliving her own tragic experiences, she conceded and ended up writing the film as well. She essentially played herself and wore the same clothes as she had on the night of her sinking. The other major roles in the film were her mother, father, two friends, and an Ensign Jack. It was not, in essence, any sort of comprehensive account, but the film got good reviews.
The one-reel film no longer survives today. The last-known copy was destroyed in a vault fire in 1914. Because she quit acting to puruse opera shortly after making "Saved From the Titanic", none of Gibson's other films except one ("The Lucky Holdup") exist today either.
Gibson had a very interesting life in the 34 years after the Titanic. Aside from a second career in opera, she later become involved in Fascist politics and intelligence work before switching allegiances against the Italians and Nazis in World War II. She was arrested by the Gestapo but escaped her prison in 1944.
The Quintessential Hawaii film
The Quintessential Hawaii film: Blue Hawaii
Hawaii is widely seen as America's slice of exotic paradise. It's one of the nine states I haven't been to but my image of it is well-formed by the friends I have who take their once-in-a-lifetime vacations there and by all the sitcom specials (Saved by the Bell, My Wife and Kids, Step by Step, Full House) where the family or gang takes a trip to Hawaii.
A popular choice is Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity.
The 1953 Best Picture Oscar winner, set in a military barracks on the eve of Pearl Harbor, is famous for that makeout scene on the Beach, Montgomery Clift's broody performance, and Frank Sinatra winning an Oscar for a character dressed in tacky Hawaiian shirts.
From Here to Eternity did lead to an increased resurgence in Hawaiian aloha shirts but the problem with the film is that Pearl Harbor doesn't define Hawaii. It's one of the two most disastrous homeland attacks ever to occur on American soil, but that's more of an anomaly and that anomaly is far overshadowed by the ensuing years of Polynesian-tinted sunniness.
Another option is Alexander Payne's 2011 film The Descendants (an Oscar nominee and winner in the screenplay category) which (like Sunshine State) seeks to crack the facade of a tourism mecca and show struggling ordinary people underneath. The film delves into the social hierarchy between Hawaiian land owners, natives, and new blood in the real estate market, but this all falls into the B-story that's overshadowed by an A-plot about a disheveled middle-aged man struggling to cope with the pending loss of his unfaithful wife. In short, it's largely a film about a disheveled George Clooney in tacky Hawaiian wear.
Descendants is a worthy runner-up, but my pick is going to be the 1961 film Blue Hawaii because it's pure kitschy, fun escapism.
Elvis Presley stars as the quintessential all-American looking to have a good time after getting out of the Army. His father wants him to work at the Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company but Chad decides to work at his girlfriend's tourist agency instead as a guide.
It's not really about any sort of grand socio-economic conflict. The film's tag line was:
"Ecstatic romance...exotic dances...exciting music in the world's lushest paradise of song!"
Also of note: A lot of the glamour of Hawaii was first spread through military men stationed in Hawaii during the war reporting back to the homeland on how glamorous the islands were, so it's fitting that Presley plays an ex-GI, although his journey is in reverse.
In short, the film features Elvis (an honorary Hawaiian) wearing an aloha shirt and playing a uke. What better image could Hawaii want than that?
Hawaii is widely seen as America's slice of exotic paradise. It's one of the nine states I haven't been to but my image of it is well-formed by the friends I have who take their once-in-a-lifetime vacations there and by all the sitcom specials (Saved by the Bell, My Wife and Kids, Step by Step, Full House) where the family or gang takes a trip to Hawaii.
A popular choice is Fred Zinnemann's From Here to Eternity.
The 1953 Best Picture Oscar winner, set in a military barracks on the eve of Pearl Harbor, is famous for that makeout scene on the Beach, Montgomery Clift's broody performance, and Frank Sinatra winning an Oscar for a character dressed in tacky Hawaiian shirts. 
From Here to Eternity did lead to an increased resurgence in Hawaiian aloha shirts but the problem with the film is that Pearl Harbor doesn't define Hawaii. It's one of the two most disastrous homeland attacks ever to occur on American soil, but that's more of an anomaly and that anomaly is far overshadowed by the ensuing years of Polynesian-tinted sunniness.
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| Courtesy: Fox Searchlight Pictures |
Descendants is a worthy runner-up, but my pick is going to be the 1961 film Blue Hawaii because it's pure kitschy, fun escapism.
Elvis Presley stars as the quintessential all-American looking to have a good time after getting out of the Army. His father wants him to work at the Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company but Chad decides to work at his girlfriend's tourist agency instead as a guide. It's not really about any sort of grand socio-economic conflict. The film's tag line was:
"Ecstatic romance...exotic dances...exciting music in the world's lushest paradise of song!"
Also of note: A lot of the glamour of Hawaii was first spread through military men stationed in Hawaii during the war reporting back to the homeland on how glamorous the islands were, so it's fitting that Presley plays an ex-GI, although his journey is in reverse.
In short, the film features Elvis (an honorary Hawaiian) wearing an aloha shirt and playing a uke. What better image could Hawaii want than that?
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