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Freaks and Geeks
6-disk DVD set
Starring: Linda Cardellini, James Franco, John Francis Daley, Busy Phillips, Samm Levine and Seth Rogen
Created by: Paul Feig
The other night, as my husband, Jason, was placing Disk One (there are six all together) of Freaks and Geeks into the
DVD player, he mused, "Now let's see if I'm right, that Freaks and Geeks is the best non-genre TV drama ever." After
watching the pilot again, nearly five years after the first viewing, he declared: "yes, it is."
The tragedy of Freaks and Geeks is that there are only 18 episodes. NBC pulled it for low ratings, despite the enormous
amount of fan support. In such a short period of time, the show collected rabid fans. Believe it or not, there is still
an audience for thoughtful TV.
The program centers around teens at McKinley High School in 1980's suburban Michigan, particularly the Weir kids: brainiac-turned-freak
Lindsay (Linda Cardellini) and geek Sam (John Francis Daley). The Freaks are rounded out by Daniel (James Franco, screaming
off the screen and begging to be a breakout star), Nick (Jason Segel), Ken (Seth Rogen), and Kim (Busy Phillips). Sam's Geek
buddies are Neil (Samm Levine) and Bill (Martin Starr). All the actors are excellent, and, lacking that polished sense of
self-preservation so often found in Hollywood brats, they toss themselves whole-hog into the most embarrassing aspects of
adolescence.
Because Freaks and Geeks is about being an outsider in the ultimate insiders' world, and there's nothing more embarrassing
than trying to fit in. It takes mere minutes to identify with all the characters, from Bill with his lanky build and coke-bottle
glasses, all the way to Kim, who is tough as hell and fights, has sex, gets drunk, and skips school (Jason has baby-sitter
flashbacks when she's on screen). From there, it's hard not to hide one's eyes as their lives unfold, because the ability
to identify with the horror of their situations is palpable. Where other shows might focus on the fashion and language of
the times, Freaks and Geeks skips to a deeper, more universal place, and we understand that the setting is there to
set up a moment in time when the distinctions "Freak" and "Geek" were their most othered - before cheerleaders wore Birkenstocks,
before frat boys were all Dead Heads. The setting is a character whose sole purpose seems to be dividing the outsiders from
the inside world.
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| Cuz You're My Lady |
But as much as the show is about outsiderhood, it's about the goings-on inside these groups, as well as relationships with
parents (the Weirs are wonderful parents who simply must deal with the whims of their angsty kids). Perhaps one of the most
memorable (and hard to watch episodes) is "Girlfriends and Boyfriends" when Lindsay realizes that a whimsical kiss with Nick
has led to an unwanted relationship with a boy she finds to be "nice." Nick is nothing if not nice, and it seems any woman
who was once a girl can feel for Lindsay's slide into an unwanted relationship - because having a boyfriend is nice, and hurting
a nice person is not. The episode builds to the ultimate dénouement: Nick queues up Styx's "Lady" on the record player and
speaks/sings the words to Lindsay who sits, numb, on his basement couch. Unable to deal anymore, she says, "Wanna make out
or something?", but is denied. Nick would rather hold her. In the same episode, Sam is stuck being the friend ("you're so
easy to talk to! Like my sister.") to his object of affection, Cindy, who calls him for advice on her football player amour.
When Sam faux-strangles himself with the phone cord, we all feel his pain.
It is in these moments when Freaks and Geeks is at its most heart-wrenching and warming, and it is the scenes between
our beloved characters that make us cringe for two reasons: the horror of their situations and the stupidity of NBC. It's
fun to imagine, had the show taken off, how long it could have lasted. The cast is so stellar that the short run made stars
of Cardellini (now on ER and in the Scooby Doo movies) and Franco (Spiderman and all roles abandoned when James Dean died)
and spawned an avid DVD campaign. It's thanks to the fans that we now have this set, including deleted scenes, auditions,
and 29, yes 29, commentaries including tons of cast and crew. The show is unflinchingly honest and unbelievably good. Freaks
and Geeks promises to remain suspended in time with its amazing use of early 80's music (also a character), wood-paneled
basements, and real characters who penetrate even bone.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Directed by: Michel Gondry
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, and Tom Wilkinson
The title of this film, taken from a poem by Alexander Pope, is, well, ironic. That's about all I'm going to say in regards
to the content of this movie.
The thing is, I'm sick of reading reviews that give me too much information about the film. I don't want to know what it's
about; I want to be surprised. Just tell me whether it's good and move on with it.
And so...the movie's good, and I will attempt to explain how and why without going into much specific detail. It's not that
there's any huge surprise. In the end, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, directed by Michel Gondry (Human
Nature and zillions of music videos), is basically a romantic comedy, and it does not stray too far from the basic conventions
of that genre. However, it does stray from many other conventions, because the guy who penned it, Charlie Kaufman (Being
John Malkovich, Adaptation), is anything but conventional. But at his best, Kaufman's unpredictability lends itself to
the good of the overall story, which, in this case, is about love.
Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) are not your ordinary rom com couple. They're...quirky, and therefore more
like real people than most characters we see at the movies. Some of the conventions are there: he's an introvert, she's an
extrovert, he's afraid, she's impulsive; but all those conventions are at the surface, as Joel and Clem are a unique pair
in nearly all other ways.
What's most unique about them is that they are somewhat hard to peg down as individuals, but, as a pair, they are very real.
The audience gets to see into their relationship far more than it gets to see them as separate people, and this creates an
undeniable unit, something to root for. In some films, this can be death, because it often leads to not knowing what the
characters see in each other. In a testament mostly to acting, this isn't a problem here, and the couple is a delightful
character in itself.
Jim Carrey is wonderfully reserved, but not aw shucks, in his role, as he moves through the beginning of the film in a daze
of loss and regret. He's a somewhat adorable leading man here, far more so than in any of his over-the-top mega-comedies.
But it's Kate Winslet who steals the show (as always) as Clementine. From her first delightful moments on screen, she's
someone who can't quite be pinned down, and I found myself chasing her through the film, knowing full well why Joel fell in
love in the first place. Winslet herself can't be pinned down, which is perhaps why she's always such a treat to watch.
She gets lost in her roles, adjusting speech patterns and gestures to the smallest detail. While most actors, even the best
ones, often rely on certain patterns for their characters, Winslet becomes undetectable. She is not an actor; she is Clementine.
There is, admittedly, about a 15 minute lull in the middle of the film where I got anxious to move on to the next thing, and
while the supporting characters serve the overall story well, they are not always as fleshed out as they might be (mostly
Elijah Wood's Patrick), but those moments are easily dismissed by the truly touching last 45 in which Gondry and Kaufman's
bizarre waltz proves itself to be much more than a gimmick. There is something worth fighting for in this movie, and that
transcends any fleeting queries about self-aware cutesiness. At the root of this film is something very real, very simple,
and very touching.
Firefly on DVD
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Jewel Staite and Ron Glass
Created by: Joss Whedon
This review, I think, desires a side note. The Firefly DVD was released nearly two months ago, and though I bought
and watched it immediately, I've avoided a review until now. Thing is, I don't want my website to become a Joss Whedon fansite.
I don't want to look as though I'm shamelessly plugging his work. But I've decided that this is a disservice to my readers.
I want to review things that I think are worthwhile in all forms of media, and Firefly is most certainly that. Is
it my fault that Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly is really damn talented? Well no,
it's not. So it's time for me to get off my high horse and get on with it.
Firefly aired during the fall of 2002 on Fox and gathered less than stellar ratings. Part of this may be attributed
to the fact that it's a space western. Some to the fact that most of its cast is over 30. But most of the onus is on Fox.
When Whedon turned his two-hour pilot in to Fox, they felt that it lacked action. They wanted something that went Bam!
Zing! Pop! at every turn. Whedon and Co., in interest of getting the show on the air at all, acquiesced and shelved the
original pilot, shooting a new episode to air first.
Pilots, as we all know, set up the characters and the tone of the show. The best ones get the viewers hooked; they let us
know who's important and why; they make us return for more. When watching the DVD of Firefly with the proper pilot first,
my entire perception of the show changed. When it first aired, I thought it seemed promising, but I wasn't fully involved.
With the show starting where it was meant too, all that fell away and I wanted more more more. Whedon created a very complex
group of characters, and his pilot drew me into their lives as if it were simply a two-hour film.
Firefly is the class (like a Ford) of the ship, named Serenity, captained by Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion). His
crew includes First Mate and former war buddy, Zoe (Gina Torres); her pilot husband, Wash (Alan Tudyk); Jayne (Adam Baldwin),
the muscle; and Kaylee (Jewel Staite), the mechanic. The ship also carries four civilians: Inara (Morena Baccarin), a "companion"
(prostitute-but in Whedon's futuristic universe, companions are highly respected), Shepherd Book (Ron Glass), a priest who's
hiding something (not that we ever find out what); and Doctor Simon Tam (Sean Maher) and his sister River (Summer Glau)-both
hiding from the government. These people make up Mal's family, and he will protect them at any cost. The show centers around
their adventures as thieves and Robin Hoods but is mostly, and most importantly, about their relationships with each other.
Over the course of half a season, we learn that Mal is fiercely protective of his crew, and that his beliefs are in what's
right, not what's legal. In this respect, he and Simon, who is on the run from the law in an attempt to safeguard his genius
sister from government probing, have a lot in common. There are Big Bad guys, like the men with blue hands who hunt River,
the Alliance which is, it seems, a government ungoverned (Mal and Zoe fought against them in the war), and the Reavers, people-turned-animal
who ravage ships and murder everyone on board. There are less imposing bad guys as well, including a man who Mal duels with
over Inara's honor, a creepy Nazi lunatic, and Jayne, who is always looking out for himself. But are there any good guys?
Jayne is one of those, too, and in this lays the magic of Whedon's universe. There are no real heroes here. In Firefly,
everyone lives in shades of gray, except for those who clearly inhabit the black. After 14 episodes, the only character that
is perhaps still wearing a white hat is Kaylee, the one person who is incapable of killing, incapable of true hate.
The joy of the world of Firefly is that there are no monsters or aliens. Everyone is human, even though the universe
Whedon uses is as large as space itself. Perhaps this is due to Whedon's claim that "I can make people that are scarier than
anything you can put in latex." In this, they are also startlingly real.
With Firefly, Whedon was able to assemble his most impressive cast to date, and everyone is perfect in their roles.
There is no allowance needed for them to "settle in." The actors are all there from moment one, and this helps the viewer
find the show's emotional center immediately. The show is funny, even silly at times, and it is serious, direly so in some
episodes. The entire 14-episode run is fantastic, but some standouts-"War Stories" and "Ariel," especially-really show what
Fox was letting go when they canceled this show.
Because the problem is not that the show was crappy and deserved to go. It was actually a gem-like NBC's Freaks and Geeks
a few seasons before it. The problem is that Fox has forgotten that they were once the net that gave weak shows a chance,
and allowed truly great work succeed-like they did with the X-Files (and then squeezed it for years after it should
have ended). They are now afraid to get behind a really great show and market it so that it has a chance.
So watch Firefly, and enjoy it. It's well worth the effort. But remember who to be angry at when your pallet is whet
with half a season, and you are dying to find out if Mal and Inara will ever hook up, who "two by two, hands of blue" really
are, and what the hell is up with Shepherd Book.
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| The Captain and the Companion |
Extras: Some little documentaries and many commentaries by cast and crew. The number of commentaries given by Joss Whedon
really underlines his love of this project, as he does more than he ever has for any one season of his two other shows.
Reviews, Winter 2003-2004
Reviews, Summer 2003
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