Jen and I saw Spamalot last night, and I have to say,
it was phenomenal. What makes this review particularly
significant was that this particular show was bereft of
much of its star-power. Hank Azaria, in a totally
non-publicized move, had already jumped ship for Simpsons,
Season 294 or Along Came Polly 2, and Tim Curry and (according
to Jen) young Julliard phenom Sara Ramirez had the night
off, leaving David Hyde Pierce to fend for himself in the
role of Brave Sir Robin.
Missing Curry was a bit of a downer, but it didn't take
away from our enjoyment of the show, which is brilliantly
written and directed, with a series of jaw dropping set
changes and special effects that were, perhaps, the most
elaborate I've ever seen on Broadway. Curry's stand-by
(someone, maybe Dan McCoy, please enlighten me as to the
difference between a 'stand-by' and an 'understudy' as both
were listed in the Playbill) was John Bolton, who, despite
his insipid name and horrid headshot, did a stellar job.
And the cast role-players all nailed their roles.
The choreography was great.. I think.. though I really have
no business pretending I know how to dance, or even how to
identify what makes dance good.
Bottom line... what made it so enjoyable was that I enjoyed
Holy Grail much more as a pure musical than as a movie with
a tune here and there. I blogged a while back that I can't
rank Grail or any other Python movie in my top 10 early morning
re-watches... however, I could certainly stumble away from
the bars at 2 am to watch this production time and again.
Speaking of that list, it probably needs amending: Napoleon
Dynamite, Anchorman, and Wedding Crashers are all serious
heavyweights in the comedy department and I was on the fence
with a couple of those initial rankings...
Uhh. So come see Spamalot on Broadway before it closes (and
begins its 10 year run in 5 other cities). In particular, I
am speaking here to my family. I'm not gonna say you should
come to NYC for Pillowman or Glengarry or even Christina
Applegate's new show, but this production is worth the ten hour
drive from Ohio or North Carolina.
Show highlight: Brave Sir Robin's song on Jews and Theater.
Show lowlight: Alan Tudyk, Azaria's replacement as Lancelot.
He brought almost zilch to the character. Tudyk was your token,
'guy you've seen on TV a bunch, who is not that good on stage.'
In Glengarry it was Frederick Weller. Must we have this weak
link in every big-time theater production?
Show question-mark: No "Three Questions" Scene. They went
right from the Holy Hand grenade into the closing number. Up
to that point, the musical was very faithful to the movie. A
curious omission, Eric Idle.
NEXT WEEK: I'll be the 193,483rd guy in America to blog about how
the fantasy football draft went. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Monday, August 15, 2005
The Aristocrats
OK, this is where the blog gets a little sketchy. On the one
hand, I'm enamoured with being able to keep an online journal of
sorts that folks who don't know me, as well as those who do
(acquaintances, ex-girlfriends, the kids from Scout Camp) can
easily find and peruse by typing into yahoo search:
"David" + "Weinberg" + "Blog" + "27 Years Old" + "Brooklyn" +
"Size 46 Underwear" + "Sugarcakes"
... but on the other hand, I'm also looking for a job right now,
and while the resume and the haircut give the impression of a
youngish man who's reputation, history, and thoughts are as clean
and pure as the driven snow (is that how it goes?), the blog allows
one to discover I have a bit of a wry and inappropriate sense of
humor as well as a disagreeable opinion of, uh, the people who
are currently running our country, and that maybe I'm not the guy for
the high public exposure job at the tenuously funded non-profit.
So, posting something like I'm about to post needs some thinking
over. That said, I've thunk it, and here goes my review of the
newly released documentary by Penn and Teller, "The Aristocrats"
Ahem... unquestionably, The Aristocrats is the most lewd, offensive,
and shocking movie you will ever--and I do mean EVER--see. It is
also, by some measures, the funniest movie I have ever seen and did
the best job of getting to the pure, unadulterated, absolute
spirit-gist, point of humor and point of finding
humor in everything in life; no taboos, no holds barred, nothing
out of bounds. I give it 9.75 stars out of 10 by that measure.
Its friggen great. I will buy the DVD.
Its not for everyone. Too young people. Too elderly people. Too sober
people. Too sheltered in their life people. But... on the whole,
there is a large audience out there who should and probably will enjoy
watching this movie. And I think the British might find it to be the
best thing to come out of America, ever. But that's neither here nor
there.
If you've read anything about the film, you know that the movie
revolves around the premise of the telling and re-telling of a
singular joke called the Aristocrats. Without giving too much
away, my favorite tellers in the film were Gilbert Gottfried,
Greg Rogell, and Bob Saget, though that will likely shift with
re-viewings of the movie.
I'll end with a rumination on Saget. I am utterly shocked, and utterly
impressed, with how he went, in my conscience in the course of about
8 years, from the biggest tool in the universe (while hosting America's
funniest Home videos), to the raunchiest and the funniest man alive,
beginning with his cameo in Half Baked, and continuing in glorious
fashion in his stand-up, and in his appearances on shows like
Entourage and movies such as Aristocrats. He's the smartest man
alive if Full House and Videos comprised the greatest "set up" of
all time... much like key to the Aristocrats joke. You go guy.
Later,
Dave.
Forget Hillary and McCain... Saget in 2008!!!
hand, I'm enamoured with being able to keep an online journal of
sorts that folks who don't know me, as well as those who do
(acquaintances, ex-girlfriends, the kids from Scout Camp) can
easily find and peruse by typing into yahoo search:
"David" + "Weinberg" + "Blog" + "27 Years Old" + "Brooklyn" +
"Size 46 Underwear" + "Sugarcakes"
... but on the other hand, I'm also looking for a job right now,
and while the resume and the haircut give the impression of a
youngish man who's reputation, history, and thoughts are as clean
and pure as the driven snow (is that how it goes?), the blog allows
one to discover I have a bit of a wry and inappropriate sense of
humor as well as a disagreeable opinion of, uh, the people who
are currently running our country, and that maybe I'm not the guy for
the high public exposure job at the tenuously funded non-profit.
So, posting something like I'm about to post needs some thinking
over. That said, I've thunk it, and here goes my review of the
newly released documentary by Penn and Teller, "The Aristocrats"
Ahem... unquestionably, The Aristocrats is the most lewd, offensive,
and shocking movie you will ever--and I do mean EVER--see. It is
also, by some measures, the funniest movie I have ever seen and did
the best job of getting to the pure, unadulterated, absolute
spirit-gist, point of humor and point of finding
humor in everything in life; no taboos, no holds barred, nothing
out of bounds. I give it 9.75 stars out of 10 by that measure.
Its friggen great. I will buy the DVD.
Its not for everyone. Too young people. Too elderly people. Too sober
people. Too sheltered in their life people. But... on the whole,
there is a large audience out there who should and probably will enjoy
watching this movie. And I think the British might find it to be the
best thing to come out of America, ever. But that's neither here nor
there.
If you've read anything about the film, you know that the movie
revolves around the premise of the telling and re-telling of a
singular joke called the Aristocrats. Without giving too much
away, my favorite tellers in the film were Gilbert Gottfried,
Greg Rogell, and Bob Saget, though that will likely shift with
re-viewings of the movie.
I'll end with a rumination on Saget. I am utterly shocked, and utterly
impressed, with how he went, in my conscience in the course of about
8 years, from the biggest tool in the universe (while hosting America's
funniest Home videos), to the raunchiest and the funniest man alive,
beginning with his cameo in Half Baked, and continuing in glorious
fashion in his stand-up, and in his appearances on shows like
Entourage and movies such as Aristocrats. He's the smartest man
alive if Full House and Videos comprised the greatest "set up" of
all time... much like key to the Aristocrats joke. You go guy.
Later,
Dave.
Forget Hillary and McCain... Saget in 2008!!!
Monday, August 01, 2005
Back on the Saddle
Dear people of the world with internet access and free time:
Been away from the blog for a while. Moved from Syracuse to
Brooklyn, New York, and spent a week in Chi-town. Some quick
updates from the life and mind of David Weinberg:
On Brooklyn
New York City is great. Without it, America would be hella-lame.
And far and away, the nicest neighborhoods the city has to offer
are in Brooklyn. Yes, that's why I moved here. Jen and I are on
the boarder of Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill. Just south of
Downtown Brooklyn and West of Park Slope across the scenic and
pristine Gowanus Canal. I love it. We have a big ass back
porch with green things and sky. Come visit.
On the Media
You suck. The stories of July: 1) Rove appears to, if not broken
the law precisely, done something highly unethical and slimy that
should lead to his removal from office. We're on this shit like
white on rice. 2) Bush has nominated John Roberts to the Supreme
Court. This will likely turn our attention completely away from
this important scandal and abuse of power to the detriment of
American democracy. 3) Bush has nominated John Roberts to the
Supreme Court.
On Sports
Hoo-ray Nets front office! NJ Nets behind my favorite NBA player,
J-Kidd, will contend for an NBA title next season, as long as J-Kidd
and the gang can stay healthy. Their biggest challenge will be
beating the Refs in whatever playoff series they play with the Miami
Heat, but there's only so much the aging Shaq (who may never again
play a full season.. or close to a full season) and Flash can do to
stop Kidd (who will get a lot of rest with McGinnis) dishing the ball
to Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Abdur-Rahim, and Krstic. Should
be a fun squad to watch.
Impressive: The Oakland Athletics. A payroll about 1/4th that of
the Yankees, they lose Hudson, Mulder, and Tejada to big free agent
contracts, were riddled by injuries for the first half of the season,
but now are roaring ahead, holding the AL wildcard and only 1 1/2
behind the LA Angels. I think I could do a better job as GM for
about 97% of Professional Sports Franchises, but not the A's front
office. They deserve a Nobel Prize and Super-Genius of the Universe
Award for their Moneyball scheme and eye for talent. Yee-haw.
Other than that... call me crazy, but I think Giambi is back on
the juice.
On Movies
The Wedding Crashers. Thoroughly Hilarious. Will Farrell's cameo
had me in tears. A must see. Jen and I plan on seeing the Aristocrats
soon.. will see if it lives up to its billing and report back.
Later.
Been away from the blog for a while. Moved from Syracuse to
Brooklyn, New York, and spent a week in Chi-town. Some quick
updates from the life and mind of David Weinberg:
On Brooklyn
New York City is great. Without it, America would be hella-lame.
And far and away, the nicest neighborhoods the city has to offer
are in Brooklyn. Yes, that's why I moved here. Jen and I are on
the boarder of Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill. Just south of
Downtown Brooklyn and West of Park Slope across the scenic and
pristine Gowanus Canal. I love it. We have a big ass back
porch with green things and sky. Come visit.
On the Media
You suck. The stories of July: 1) Rove appears to, if not broken
the law precisely, done something highly unethical and slimy that
should lead to his removal from office. We're on this shit like
white on rice. 2) Bush has nominated John Roberts to the Supreme
Court. This will likely turn our attention completely away from
this important scandal and abuse of power to the detriment of
American democracy. 3) Bush has nominated John Roberts to the
Supreme Court.
On Sports
Hoo-ray Nets front office! NJ Nets behind my favorite NBA player,
J-Kidd, will contend for an NBA title next season, as long as J-Kidd
and the gang can stay healthy. Their biggest challenge will be
beating the Refs in whatever playoff series they play with the Miami
Heat, but there's only so much the aging Shaq (who may never again
play a full season.. or close to a full season) and Flash can do to
stop Kidd (who will get a lot of rest with McGinnis) dishing the ball
to Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Abdur-Rahim, and Krstic. Should
be a fun squad to watch.
Impressive: The Oakland Athletics. A payroll about 1/4th that of
the Yankees, they lose Hudson, Mulder, and Tejada to big free agent
contracts, were riddled by injuries for the first half of the season,
but now are roaring ahead, holding the AL wildcard and only 1 1/2
behind the LA Angels. I think I could do a better job as GM for
about 97% of Professional Sports Franchises, but not the A's front
office. They deserve a Nobel Prize and Super-Genius of the Universe
Award for their Moneyball scheme and eye for talent. Yee-haw.
Other than that... call me crazy, but I think Giambi is back on
the juice.
On Movies
The Wedding Crashers. Thoroughly Hilarious. Will Farrell's cameo
had me in tears. A must see. Jen and I plan on seeing the Aristocrats
soon.. will see if it lives up to its billing and report back.
Later.
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