Rescue Me; Ashes

So it ended, well, I think. A few thoughts:


1. Unless it's about an island that made people flash sideways for an entire season, I don't like being tricked on a wide scale, and the previews and Tommy's dream were absolute trickery. The shot of Janet sobbing against the wall wasn't even used during the episode, and this irked me a little. I mean, by all means, pull a Dallas Bobby-in-the-shower stunt, I'm all for it, but don't intentionally lead us all down the wrong path just for the sake of ratings. Some suit thought that up, I'm confident of that.


2. That being said; had the end actually been what began in the first part of the episode, I would have absolutely and horribly lost my head over it, and probably would still be crying right now. The similarities to (Tommy's experience of) 9-11 are there, although on much smaller a scale: the fire itself was due to sabotage--someone committed arson by lighting the place up; the crew could have let the building blow, saving themselves, but went further in after civilians; and if I remember correctly, Jimmy Keefe was trapped in an elevator also (during the 9-11 terrorist attacks), speaking to the rest of the crew via phone or walkie from inside the tower just as Lou spoke to Needles.


3. Those opening shots---snare, Lou limps and attempts to identify the bodies of his crew, the five covered gurneys then coffins, the funeral---some things are just awful, and thinking of how this has really happened and does happen is powerfully sobering. Lou's speech:

"These men, these five extraordinary human beings will forever live in my heart and in the memory of all who knew them, and in the public records of this great city as heroes, the bravest of the brave. I shed no tears. I cry out, not in agony. I beseech the sky not in anger, but with pride, in a voice that is strong and clear. I am a better man and we are all better people for having known them. Good night my dear friends, my five unforgettable brothers, I shall see you on the other side."

4. So as it turns out, Tommy and the guys made it out but Lou did not. The aftermath of the explosion, where Tommy discovers Lou's fate and then swiftly covers him with his own coat (too late) in an attempt to spare the rest of the crew the pain of seeing him . . . nearly too much. Lou was the one who stood in front of the door just outside the propane tanks, remember, telling Tommy and the guys, "Go ahead, we'll be fine. Trust me."

5. "If it isn't the ghosts of Christmas Stupid," (Franco to Mike and Garrity).

6. Pudding on Lou's read-only-after-I'm-gone note to Tommy. LABELED!

7. Tommy does not retire; the group stays together with Franco as the new Lou. Tommy belittles another group of probies; as he gets into his truck to leave, Lou is predictably riding shotgun. Tommy's face has a lot more lines in it, he's got two more sons, and is still riding with the boys.

Fucking A. (bravo).

One last note: I was mostly annoyed by the stupid BMW commercials throughout the whole thing since I don't like their stupid asshole company, but the looks back at the various firefighters were cool. ("Promise me you won't hit me, okay? Now, who is Steve McQueen again?"---Garrity; LARGE SLAP by Lou). 

I'm gonna miss them.

 

Rescue Me Finale: Where My Boys At?

Big buildings = Big problems.

EEEEEEEEE! I finally got Matt to dump everything important onto his new computer (in case I ruin this one, which is a distinct possibility since all the technical shit hates me around here) so you know the first substantial thing I'm gonna write is about Tommy and the boys, DID ANYONE ELSE SEE THAT SHIT GO DOWN ON WEDNESDAY?!?!?!

SPOILERS ** SPOILERS ** SPOILERS

I was clenching and tensing the entire time that fire began. Horribly. I could barely handle it because I knew it was going to be major and the show is ending and they were all just mostly happy together at Colleen and Sean's wedding . . . you knew that couldn't last. The looks of realization on Garrity and Mike's faces when they hear the walkie . . . "there's no means of egress, repeat, 62 has no means of egress . . . " Black Sean stops CPR momentarily to process what's happening, and Franco admonishes him, "get back to work, Sean,  come on, asshole, WE DON'T QUIT!" Jesus, I'm tearing up just thinking about it.

I do find the fact that the elevator would only take Tommy (and the guys who followed him) up significant. Redemption perhaps? Christ. See you next Wednesday with a box of Kleenex. I'm not good at funerals.

Serial Mom, Tommy Gavin, Walter White.

This one is from my brother, who didn't actually recommend it officially, but I'm taking the liberty in suggesting one that he would have recommended, had he had the time.


Serial Mom, 1992, written and directed by John Waters.
starring: Kathleen Turner, Sam Waterston, Ricki Lake.

"A sweet mother takes a little too much at heart for the defense of her family." (imdb).

As far as John Waters films go, this one is pretty tame. It's silly and inappropriate, but it's actually really funny. To be a suburban housewife, cooking, recycling, watching birds, and prank-calling the bitch who stole your spot at the grocery store? "Is this the cocksucker residence? 402 Pussy Way? Let me get the zip code right, 2-1-2-FUCK YOU?" Poor Dotty Hinkel. The reaction outside the window of The Sturbers' eating was classic, as was the little "REWIND!" coda (pictured left) that came after bashing old Emma Lou to death with the leg of lamb. And uh, nice energetic sex scene between Turner and Waterston, despite their being old (!) it was still hilarious.

Rescue Me premiere: Janet's pregnant; Colleen is off the wagon (what's new). Damian is not able to walk or talk after the incident with the table saw in last season's finale; through all that has happened, Sheila and Janet have decided to bury the hatchet and are now close friends (?) Black Sean proposes to Colleen. Oh, and Tommy is convinced that Damian blames him for the accident (imagining Damian coming at him with a knife). Happy times as always. (What a downer).

Breaking Bad premiere: Damn. These meth-capitalists can be so touchy! Gayle was just a chemist who wanted to make the best product possible; Walter's bag of 99% pure blue just really messed that up for him, didn't it? Too bad. And would it be insensitive of me to add that all I could focus on for the last ten minutes of the episode was Pinkman's Grand Slam Breakfast at Denny's? WITH ORANGE SODA? Damn, that looked good. Too bad about Hank, he seems very unhappy. (What a downer).

I did not get to see True Blood last night as my Harry Potter review took ages longer than I had planned, and I ended up missing the 10pm encore performance. Which sucks; I need more Eric Northman in my life.

Alexander wins the best vampire poll, by the way. Man, people got moody about that! I guess I'll have to stick to one program from now on? (rrrrrrrrr).

Dumb and Dumber; Tommy Gavin.

Yesterday I watched Dumb and Dumber on Netflix Instant Streaming and there were tons of extra scenes in it! Has anyone else seen this? More at the diner with Flo, a bit at the heart-pool hotel where Lloyd listens to the neighbors doing it through the wall, and then a random dialogue where Lloyd envisions marrying Mary (Mrs. Mary Christmas!). They were all actually duds, these scenes, but unexpected in the way that the Sixteen Candles scene is when the grandmother kicks Long Duck Dong in the business after the "lake, big lake" explanation. Also, the scene in the truck ("you can't triple-stamp a double stamp! You can't triple-stamp a double stamp Lloyd! You can't--You Can't--Lloyd, LLOYD!") This is what it's like having 4 kids all in the house at the same time in the winter of unending snow and I am the fool sitting in the middle, unable to escape. As Chazz Michael Michaels once put it: Whoever invented snow is an asshole.


I haven't got much else. LOST Stained Glass is nearly finished; one more season of Rescue Me until I'm caught up. Last year around this time we all got the world's biggest treat with Ab Aeterno (The Life and Times of Richard Alpert) . . . how I long for that kind of media-anticipation (!) In the meantime, take a look at this. And I hate American Idol.

Rescue Me, Ebert, Porky's II.

Rescue Me: There is an episode, in the fourth season that is extremely difficult to watch. I'm not talking Janet (although I will not watch her anymore; that bit with her and the baby sent me over the edge) or any of the booze, cheatings, or beatings. It's titled SEVEN, and during the opening scene before the credits, 62 is called to an apartment fire where a woman and seven children are trapped. It's a little unlike any of the other fire scenes in that it's pretty majorly stylized (music playing the entire time, dialogues muted, a few slow shots, etc.) but despite this, it's almost unbearable. Many of the children are toddlers. Tommy and the new probie go up the ladder; Ken, Franco, and Garrity go inside the building. You know from the very beginning (that song!) that things are not going to go well.

This is the best example (after LOST) of the power of episodic television. It doesn't take long for characters to become real; you know them, you care about them, and most of all, you believe them. The scene in the apartment is terrifying because you're scared for the firefighters (even Garrity, who's a giant DOLT, but was the first one in---I was worried!), you're scared for the people inside, and a part of you is scared for yourself, because you know shit like this really happens. Space heaters, overrun outlets, wiring, all of it, it's real. The floor caves in. The mother throws her children out the window. Tommy nearly falls off the ladder. Seven tiny bodies, covered in blankets on the sidewalk. The looks on each of their faces . . . Jesus. It's heavy.

On a brighter note: I read YOUR MOVIE SUCKS by Roger Ebert this weekend. I really wish I could have found it when I was doing my worst films ever list because it was really useful and actually quite funny. I think my favorite thing about it was his scowl on the front cover, but the writing is very, very good too. I like Ebert a lot because he's a not only a great critic but a great writer; his sarcasm and media references are *hilarious* and extremely smart. Here are some:

"The film is set in a rainy jungle in Panama. I suspect it rains so much as an irritant, to make everything harder to see and hear. Maybe it's intended as atmosphere. Or maybe the sky gods are angry at the film." ---review of Basic.

"Battlefield Earth is like taking a bus trip with someone who has needed a bath for a long time. It's not merely bad, it's unpleasant in a hostile way." ---review of Battlefield Earth


"The film has been directed without grace, vision, or originality, and although you may walk out quoting lines of dialogue, it will not be because you admire them." ---review of Pearl Harbor


I loved this book. I've got two more on deck of his and seriously can't wait. And finally, I don't think I've had more fun reading someone else's review than his on Divine Secrets of the Ya-ya Sisterhood. Obviously, we agreed.

("dead as a #$*&*&@ doornail")

Last of all: Porky's Two, The Next Day, 1983, directed by Bob Clark. 
written by Roger Swaybill, Alan Ormsby, and Bob Clark
starring: Wyatt Knight, Dan Monahan, Khaki Hunter, Nancy Parsons.

"The naughty high schoolers of Angel Beach High now seek revenge on a group of KKK religious fanatics and corrupt politicians who want to shut down their Shakespeare production after they cast a Seminole transfer student in the lead." (IMDB).

This is probably the most ridiculously random and outlandish film that still manages to actually be funny. I think the original Porky's was a little tighter and better written, to be honest, but like I was saying up there about the episodic business, if I like a character, I'd probably watch them in anything, and Tommy, Pee-Wee, Meat, and Ballbreaker are great characters. Not exactly realistic, but interesting and very comical. The situations are ridiculous:

1. "I GOT LAID!" Pee-wee screams out upon waking; he gets to retire his "growth chart."
2. Tray of masturbating frogs.
3. Big Edna, Graveyard Gloria.
4. The Explanation Scene of Wendy's reputation.
5. The Shakespeare/The KKK/The Seminoles/The Righteous Flock/Commissioner Gebhart---these things are interesting, I guess but not as interesting as the characters just being ridiculous, themselves. Like the bit with Ballbreaker in the toilet with the snake ("Give you the snake? Get your own fuckin' snake, GIVE YOU THE SNAKE!") The film is good at shanannigans but a little out of its element with The Klan, politics, and religion. Although the scene in the gym where The Seminoles deliver a little (off-camera) payback to The Klan? That was sweet.


It's not stellar comedy, but as part of the entire package, Porky's, Porky's Two, and Porky's Revenge, it's something every eighties child will probably hold sacred.

Tommy, Clint, and One More Book.

1. Briefly: Rescue Me, Season 2.
"Tommy! Baby and me want you to bring us some more Soup-y!"
"That better be the baby talking, because if it's you I'm gonna come over there and punch you in the face."

(in the middle of heated argument inside illegally sublet apartment where they must keep their voices down, Sheila writes furiously on a piece of paper) "YOU'RE AN ASS HOLE."
(Tommy writes back) "DUH!"

And no matter how silly and ridiculous Sheila is with all her whining, her silly-crazy dynamic with Tommy makes me laugh and she's literally a million times better than bitch-face (Harper) Janet.

2. Film vs. Book: The Bridges of Madison County.

Book by Robert James Waller, 1992. I'm not really going to say much about the book (other than it's not very good). Stephen King mentioned that it was bad in On Writing, and I agree that it is. I think the guy had a good idea for a story but completely cheesed the hell out of its writing, even for 1992: "The  watermelon was perfect. The beer was cold. The evening was blue. Francesca Johnson was forty-five years old, and Hank Snow sang a train song on KMA, Shenandoah, Iowa." (grimace).

Film directed by Clint Eastwood, 1995.
Written by Richard LaGravenes (screenplay)
starring: Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep

"Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson, for four days in the 1960s." (IMDB).

Now granted, this film is extremely cheesy. There are some scenes that are really hard to stomach, mostly involving the daughter and son reading the confessional notebooks, and some of the dialogue, even from Eastwood is a little . . . dorky. But there are some really nice, sentimental things that happen, too, and when compared to the novel, this film resonates. First off, I don't think that Meryl has ever looked prettier; secondly, Eastwood's Kincaid was like everyone he's ever played and no one he's ever played. A bit quiet, very subtle, but vulnerable. "I didn't want to need you." "Why?" "Because I can't have you!" Each time he came near Francesca (Streep), she wavered, or stammered, or held her breath, completely enchanted by him. I loved that; believe me, I've been there.  When she finally puts her hand on his shoulder after nearly two days' worth of obvious tension, it's amazing. The scene of him standing in the rain (yes, this is uncharacteristically sappy) turns me into a water works *every* time. It's almost too much, despite the fact that denied love in narratives is probably my favorite thing in the world.

So the film is worth seeing, definitely, but I think that even Sawyer would have pitched the book into the ocean, even with nothing else to read. (sorry).

3. Film and Literature: An Introduction and Reader, 1999, by Timothy Corrigan.
I think I picked this up at Half-Price last time I was there (getting Donald's gift card); it's a textbook, which is to say that it's not entertaining reading but scholarly reading mostly about film theory. Some people I went to school with really dug film theory; I really did not. Most of it is horribly long, hideously wordy (this from me, who loves words!), and *s u p e r* boring, times a million if it's been translated from French. I get the same feeling reading film theory that I do reading film reviews in City Pages, as in, HOW SMART DOES ONE NEED TO BE IN ORDER TO MAKE FILMS SOUND THIS LAME? If the word(s) post-modern comes up in a film review, sorry, I'm out.


My favorite chapters were on "Critical borders and boundaries;" themes, narratives, elements of style, and genres (15 pages). Out of the theorists (149 pages), only Eisenstein (whom I was forced to read, many times in school) didn't make me want to stick needles in my eyes. Kristin Thompson had an article in there toward the end, and I like her well enough (she's authored several film textbooks that are cool), but all in all this was just too theory-y. And call me immature, but I really only bought this because Emma and Clueless were pictured on the front cover---yeah, they each got about five lines worth of press inside:

"Does the fact that Cher knows Hamlet not via the presupposed Shakespearean original but only via Mel Gibson's role in Zeffirelli's movie signify her cultural illiteracy---or her literacy? Or does this exchange perhaps point us away from any presumptive original, be it Jane Austen's or Shakespeare's, and direct us instead toward a focus on just its mediating package, what might be called the Hollywoodization of Shakespeare in the 1990s?"

What a pisser.

Rescue Me, Season One.

First off, this may just be my new favorite show. I am supposed to wait for Matt to watch any more episodes but I am considering being a big cheater and rolling through as many as I can at nap time . . . I used to do this with 24 and The Sopranos, too, and then I'd have to stay mum about having already seen the episodes, since I would (of course) watch them all over again a second time with Matt (cheater cheater cheater).

And secondly, I have developed a unnaturally obsessive case of lust for Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary). I cannot be the only one this has happened to, right? RIGHT?

The show is really, really (sarcastic, sexual, hilarious, tense, exciting) excellent. It's not at all politically correct, and that will kill it for probably a lot of viewers, but hey, there are all kinds of people in this world, and many of them have issues and aren't perfect but they're human beings---this show is a prime example of just that. My favorite thing about Tommy Gavin is probably his crazy obsession over his wife (from whom he's separated) and the way he parents his kids---"WHOEVER GOES TO BED RIGHT NOW GETS $20!"

It's not all sarcasm of course, there are some major events happening with these guys: Tommy's wife is seeing a douche-y investment banker and threatens to move out of state with their children; Lou still has trouble dealing with 9-11 so he secretly writes poetry which helps him to cope; Franco suddenly gets saddled with a daughter he didn't know he had; the Chief's wife might have Alzheimer's, and so on. Also there's the small issue of Tommy constantly seeing dead fire victims, most regularly, his dead cousin and fellow fire fighter, Jimmy. Denis Leary handles the dramatic parts of the show amazingly, making them almost more interesting than the snappy meanness he delivers for the majority of his scenes; vulnerability is a hard thing to capture but the show nails it, a lot, usually when you least expect it. Also contributing to this obsession over the show is the fact that Leary (together with Peter Tolan) wrote 84 episodes during the show's run between 2004 and 2010. Not exactly a lightweight.

Season 2: full steam ahead.

Something Wonderful.

You would think that by the fourth year of doing this blog I would somehow figure out how to not always be the last to know about good television, right? I just started watching Rescue Me.

I realize that not everyone is into Denis Leary's particular brand of crazy (I am), but this show is *amazingly* well written. I am hooked after three episodes. It wasn't just the sarcasm or the quickness or the extremely hot dudes, although these things were all really sweet; I think it was the scope of what was actually happening with these guys, Tommy Gavin (Leary), especially. I know people who do this, and just seeing a fraction of the stuff that happens inside a burning building was really worrisome. And impressive. And a total turn-on. Wow. 

I would *totally* hit that. Seriously.