Autumn Cocktail Derby

 

Recently, I attended a tasting called The Autumn Cocktail Derby at Union Square Wines & Spirits where I had a chance to sample spirits both new and familiar in various cocktails that suited the chillier weather we are encountering here in the northeast this time of year. With this as the theme for the afternoon’s events, I was somewhat amazed when they included a gin in the tasting – and not only that, but it was the best find on the tasting menu!

Perhaps the most pleasantly surprising new spirit was the 83.6 proof offering from Scotland’s Balmenach Distillery called Caorunn Small Batch Scottish Gin. Until now, the only Scottish gin I was aware of was Hendricks, notable for its spiciness, which is somewhat unusual for a gin; for those of you familiar with Hendricks – whether or not you are a fan –  Caorunn (pronounced “ka-roon”) could not be more different from Hendricks in every conceivable way. If you’ve never heard of Caorunn before, don’t feel bad – it’s only been in the American market since June of 2011. Wish I’d known about this one at the beginning of this past summer because it would’ve been fun playing Mad Scientist with this spirit to see which concoctions I preferred.

Caorunn is distinctive first by its look– its unusually shaped bottle almost suggests a tequila. The next pleasure you get from Caorunn is its fragrance; it is perhaps the most aromatic gin I’ve ever encountered. This, of course, is due to the types of botanicals used in its recipe. In total, Caorunn uses eleven botanicals; six are traditional to gins and the remaining five are unique Celtic botanicals. In fact the name Caorunn itself is the Gaelic word for Rowan Berry, which is the essence of the gin; according to the company representative I met at the tasting, Caorunn is very similar to the cranberry. Besides the usual juniper and coriander, it contains heather and something called bog myrtle.

Regarding its taste, Caorunn is far from a disappointment there, either. As far as I’m concerned, any gin that is capable of enlivening something as ordinary as a simple gin and tonic is worthy of being considered a special gin. Gladly, I can tell you that Caorunn manages to hit a homerun as far as this standard is concerned.

But what of the martini? As long as we’re discussing classic gin cocktails here, it would certainly make sense to ask about this one. Sadly, the company representative chose not to serve it up in a martini, but he did have some recommendations for mixing them on your own: with Caorunn Scottish Gin, he recommended against using an onion, so making a Gibson is out of the question. Likewise, olives would not go well with this gin; therefore, no Dirty Martinis, either. Instead, he suggested, use a fruit – something citrusy, like a lemon twist with the peel floating atop the drink -- would be an excellent choice. Even better would be a thin slice of apple, as this apparently tends to enhance the gin’s flavor particularly well.

If you pick up this gin – and I certainly hope you add it to your bartending arsenal – you might want to experiment with some of the recipes on the company’s Web site.

“Being Elmo” – Movie Review

 

 

This week in my movie class, we saw the new documentary narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, “Being Elmo:  A Puppeteer’s Journey” – the story of Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who made “Sesame Street”’s Elmo puppet an immensely popular character on the TV show.   

 

Story

Growing up in a Baltimore suburb, Kevin Clash was fascinated by both puppets and puppetry.  Watching various children's shows on television,  he wondered what it would be like to not only make the puppets he saw but to operate them as well.  Something of a precocious child, he made his first puppet by cutting out the lining of his father’s good overcoat to use as the fur for his monkey-like construction.  Rather than punishing him for what Kevin did, his parents encouraged him – and it was their loving support that put him well on his way to being a professional puppeteer.

After performing his collection of original puppets for children at schools, hospitals and churches, Kevin finally auditioned for a local TV show upon graduation from high school and won the job.  Soon, his puppet characters became among the most popular parts of a children’s show.  As he became better known for his talents, he moved to New York City to work as a puppeteer on Captain Kangaroo.  Shortly thereafter, an even bigger break occurred when he got to meet his idol, Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. 

Eventually, Kevin got his dream job of becoming a puppeteer for The Muppets on “Sesame Street”.  One of the secondary puppet characters, a red furry monster named Elmo, was unable to find much time on the show.  When the original puppeteer gave up because he couldn’t find a the right personality for Elmo, Kevin took it over and developed Elmo as a gentle, childlike character always in search of friendship, acceptance and love.  Before too long, the character gained an enormous following among the children who watched Sesame Street and resulted in Kevin reaching worldwide fame and success. 

 

Review

Everyone has heard of “Sesame Street”.  Most people have heard of its Elmo puppet.  But how many people know Kevin Clash?  Clash was the puppeteer responsible for breathing life into this character and without him, it is likely that the Elmo puppet would be a long-forgotten figure hanging on the wall of The Muppet’s workshop.  In providing Elmo with a unique personality, Clash inevitably wound up imbuing the puppet with many of his own characteristics as well.  As we see in “Being Elmo”, Clash can owe much of this to his family – including and especially his loving and supportive parents. 

“Being Elmo” is nothing short of a magical and inspirational true story about a little boy that grew up to live his dream.  Not only do I recommend you see this movie, but I also recommend that if you know a kid, then by all means, bring him or her when you go.  If you think you wouldn’t love watching a documentary – and if you especially think that children wouldn’t enjoy a documentary -- “Being Elmo” will prove you wrong on both counts. 

Prior to the screening, filmmaker Constance Marks was interviewed by our instructor.  She said that it took her a total of seven years to get this documentary made because of the fact that financing kept dropping out at various points along the way.  Following the screening, Kevin Clash was interviewed; as you might well expect, he also brought along with him the Elmo puppet and he gladly put on quite a show at the end of the evening.  Seeing Clash perform live and in an unscripted, spontaneous environment such as this, his talent is quite obvious and you find yourself marveling not only at that, but at his considerable gifts as a showman as well. 

 

“Oranges And Sunshine” – Movie Review

 

This week in my movie class, we had a weeknight bonus screening of the British drama “Oranges And Sunshine”, starring Emily Watson and Hugo Weaving.

 

Synopsis

When a British Social Worker learns that England spent decades forcing many of its poverty-stricken children to live in Australia, she investigates their cases to try to reunite them with their family – but after she confronts the government, church and various charities with this scandal, can they prevent her from continuing her mission?

 

Story

In the mid-1980’s, Margaret Humphreys (Watson), a Social Worker located in Nottingham, England, was conducting group therapy sessions with adult clients who were adopted as children. In the course of her work, she becomes aware of the fact that during the 1940’s, ‘50’s and ‘60’s, there were quite a number of children whom the British government sent to live in Australia –without their parents’ accompaniment, knowledge or consent. Shortly after beginning to investigate the matter, it becomes apparent that this was an alarmingly common practice.

When word of Humphreys’ efforts to help these displaced British spread throughout Australia, thousands of adults contact her for assistance to either find their birth parents or their true identity or both. Interviewing many of the grown men who were sent to live in an orphanage run by Christian Brothers, they confess being subjected to years of mental, physical and sexual abuse by their caretakers throughout their childhood when they resided at the orphanage. As the number of Australians seeking her assistance grows, Humphreys’ activity is picked up by the media, who spread the news even further around the country.

Despite providing a vital humanitarian service and helping a great many people, Humphreys has stirred up an immense controversy by revealing this scandal. As a result of this, she winds up with reactions of anger and resentment from a wide variety of Australians – including anonymous death threats from people defending the exact same Christian Brotherhood responsible for running the orphanage. As both her safety and security become increasingly compromised, will Humphreys be able to survive and continue her work?

 

Review

The movie “Oranges and Sunshine” is based on a book authored by Margaret Humphreys titled, “Empty Cradles”. Both the book and the movie are in fact based on Humphreys’ real life experience uncovering this story and bringing it to the attention of the government, which made major news headlines throughout The United Kingdom. Unfortunately, “Oranges And Sunshine” suffers from something of a look and feel of a perfunctory “TV-movie-of-the-week” quality to it, replete with every possible cliché imaginable. Although a compelling, heartbreaking and shocking tale, it is told in something of a drab, dreary manner – an uninspired and unimaginative movie, not even the performance by Emily Watson could hope to save this film.

One of the chief problems I found with this movie was the rationale behind England’s deportation of its neediest children; the movie never really makes an attempt to explain why the British and Australian governments colluded with religious authorities and charities to commit this heinous act. Additionally, the characters of Humphreys and her husband are drawn rather broadly, making both of them out to be more saintly than heroic in their words and deeds; as an example, despite her many trips to Australia when she would abandon her own family for long periods of time, the husband never argued with her and the children barely voiced much if any objection.

Following the screening, Humphreys herself was interviewed by our instructor. As best I could tell, she appeared to have something of a lukewarm reaction to the movie version of her book, but conceded that it would be rather difficult to tell the same story in as much detail as it is in the book within the confines of a two hour movie. Among her concerns was the fact that “Oranges And Sunshine” seemed to focus more on the stories of the little boys while completely ignoring what happened to the girls who were also forced to migrate thousands of miles from their home and family. When asked why the government would take these children from their parents, she agreed with our instructor’s interpretation that it was likely a matter of pure economics – meaning that it would be considerably cheaper for England to have the kids taken care of by the Australians than to have them on public assistance in their own land. Her main regret about the whole incident regarding the children is that more of a judicial investigation on the matter was never done, but realizes that it is likely due to the fact that it would encounter too many obstacles from the governments, churches and charities. Humphries has dedicated her life to helping over 130,000 of these people and continues her work to this day.

 

“Revenge Of The Electric Car” – Movie Review

 

 

The Fall Semester of my movie class finally began this week with a screening of the documentary “Revenge Of The Electric Car”.

Synopsis

When the electric car is pretty much left for dead by the major automobile manufacturers, the concept tries to be revived – but will it still succeed or has its time passed?

Story

Several years ago, filmmaker Chris Paine made a documentary entitled, “Who Killed the Electric Car?”; in it, he looked into why the same major automobile manufacturers who spent time, money and manpower developing and marketing electric cars were quick to abandon the idea despite enthusiasm by its small but growing cult of customers. The documentary asserted that the reason for the car’s premature death was due to collusion by the big oil companies, whose existence was threatened by competition with the electric car. After all, if people didn’t need gas for their cars, then they wouldn’t need the oil companies, either.

“Revenge Of The Electric Car” is a documentary that serves as something of a sequel to “Who Killed The Electric Car?” while at the same time contradicting it because of the fact that several years since the previous movie came out, the electric car now appears far from dead. The film follows the life and career of four individuals: Bob Lutz, Chairman of General Motors; Greg “Gadget” Abbott, an entrepreneur who converts gas-powered cars to electric cars; Elon Musk, founder of Tesla Motors, a California – based start-up automobile manufacturer of electric cars; and Carlos Ghosn, head of Nissan.

After pulling the plug on the electric car (pun intended), Lutz suddenly realizes GM’s mistake and tries to resurrect it through their Chevrolet brand – but will it be too little too late? Gadget maintains a garage full of high-end cars he’s converted to electric powered – but after an arsonist burns down the entire garage (including the cars and a quarter million dollars worth of tools), can his business rebound despite the fact that he’s got no insurance? Musk is a multi-millionaire who originally made his money when the company he founded, PayPal, was subsequently sold to eBay; being a Type-A personality, he needs to find a new mountain to climb – but is he willing to risk his fortune? Ghosn is considered a genius by the entire industry; sick of taking a backseat (pun intended again) to Toyota, he decides to gamble on making the electric car the next big thing in order to energize business – but has he accurately predicted market trends?

Review

With the economy still in the doldrums and gas prices unaffordable, it would seem that the timing of this movie is perfect. Director Chris Paine proves his filmmaking craftsmanship with clever use of tracking shots and tight editing. For me, the best part of the movie was a short scene with Arnold Schwarzenegger, especially in light of the hijinks we now know he was up to. Paine’s previous movie, “Who Killed The Electric Car?”, was shown in my movie class a few years ago and I recall finding it very impressive as well as informative. The controversial topic was bravely investigated and clearly laid out in a most convincing manner, so if you haven’t yet seen it, you may want to seriously consider renting or downloading.

My main problem with this movie is that most of the four characters Paine follows are unsympathetic; arguably all four, if Gadget’s goofball sensibilities turn you off. The other three are wealthy, powerful men whom you could hardly consider underdogs worthy of rooting for. Essentially, you don’t wind up rooting for the individuals themselves so much as the concept they represent and that’s ultimately where “Revenge Of The Electric Car” falls a little bit short for me – even in a documentary, I want to root for a person, rather than a business. Sadly, none of these bombastic egomaniacs seem worthy of an audience’s sympathy.

After the screening, filmmaker Chris Paine was interviewed. Our instructor asked him how he got access to some of these people; he said that Gadget was the easiest because he was Paine’s neighbor. One of the interesting things that I find from interviews with documentary makers is the ratio of film shot to film used in the final cut of the movie; according to Paine, he and his crew shot something like 400 hours of film – the actual movie itself is only about an hour and a half in length! Paine told the class that the main concern of the automobile executives was that his film would release secrets about their company that would be discovered by their competitors; it was for this reason that he chose to delay the release of the film until after all the facts were known to the public.

 

The Rhinestone Follies Burlesque Show

 

 

After a disappointing evening spent at last year’s New York City Burlesque Festival (reviewed here), I decided to skip the show for 2011. That said, however, I still felt a need for my enjoyment of old-time burlesque shows to be sated – thankfully here in New York, I can turn to the delightful gals who make up The Rhinestone Follies. In fact, you might almost title this post, “How I Spent My Summer Stay-cation” because I wound up spending quite a few Friday evenings this past summer attending their show in downtown Manhattan.

I first learned of their shows at the outset of summer by seeing one of their advertisements in The Village Voice; sounding like a cool idea at a reasonable price, I headed down to The R Bar on The Bowery at my first opportunity.

The performances by the entertainers of The Rhinestone Follies can range from fun to infuriating.  Unfortunately, individual acts can sometimes be a little inconsistent, but at these prices, they are definitely worth trying; even if you don't like parts of the show you saw on a given evening, you’ll still find enough worthy of sincerely enthusiastic applause.  As an example of this inconsistency, one night, in the midst of an otherwise sexy and exciting show, there was a gay couple that performed the most ponderous routine of the entire evening and one which we probably all could’ve done without. Given that the performers seem to vary from show to show, it can then turn into a bit of a pot luck of hodgepodge acts – so you may need to be a bit patient at times. 

To give the performers a bit of a break, there are contests interspersed, hosted by the goofball Master of Ceremonies.  Audience members can win prizes -- occasionally of questionable value – but the contests themselves can at least be fun, even if your only participation is as an audience member rather than a contestant.

These shows are generally populated with a spirited, playful crowd ready for a party and proud to celebrate the qualities of feminine beauty -- all in all, not a bad way to spend a Friday night.   The three core girls of The Rhinestone Follies -- Hazel Honeysuckle, Beelzebabe and Kita St. Cyr -- are luscious and each has an absolutely delicious body, extremely shapely and fit, adding to their desirability.  In short, with an extensive menu of pulchritude on display, there’s plenty for all tastes to enjoy and appreciate and admire. 

A little something about the venue, just because it could influence your decision on going: The R Bar is located at 218 Bowery in lower Manhattan, not far from Spring Street. This place has "Dive" written all over it -- which is not to say that it's a bad thing.  As a matter of fact, the environment even kinda fits in with the old-style burlesque atmosphere.  Just be aware that you will not be seeing this show in a theater or nightclub – rather, it’s a somewhat seedy bar located in a somewhat seedy part of town; R Bar has a stage in the back with a separate bar where, I’m given to understand, bands sometimes play when the ecdysiasts aren’t performing.

The price of the show is quite reasonable – under $20 – although it appears to vary; there were some nights when I got in for only $10 and others where I was required to pay $15. There are no tickets, they just mark up the back of your hand as proof of payment. Before 10PM, most drinks are sold at something of a discount; the show usually ends prior to that time though, leaving you a few minutes for a last round before the prices increase.

In addition to their Web site (see link above), The Rhinestone Follies may be followed on both Twitter and Facebook. 

This video is an excerpt from the show – their standard finale, a fan dance performed to Billy May’s “Charmaine”.

 

Master Of Your Domaine (de Canton)

 

 

Now that the chill of Autumn has finally begun to set in around certain parts of this here fine country of ours (and it has, just in case you’ve been otherwise too preoccupied to check your calendar lately), our choice of cocktails often tends to change with the weather.

This is the time of year that I choose to be Master Of My Domaine … Domaine de Canton, that is.

For those of you not already familiar with it, Domaine de Canton is a French liqueur made of ginger-enhanced Cognac; when added to a cocktail, its spiciness lends a sensationally distinct flavor to the drink.

In the course of experimenting with different cocktails using this unique liqueur, it has been my distinct pleasure to learn that while there are a great number of unique recipes to be found, Domaine de Canton can also be included in some of your classic cocktails to add an explosive twist, especially in these cooler months.

Let’s start with brunch. Ever enjoy a Kir Royale? Why not hold the Crème de Cassis and instead spice it up as a Canton Royale:

CANTON ROYALE

• 1 PART DOMAINE DE CANTON
• 3 PARTS CHAMPAGNE

Squeeze the juice of a lemon wedge or add a dash of lemon bitters. Serve in a champagne flute.

Speaking of brunch, you can also do something similar with a mimosa – in this recipe, only put in half the amount of orange juice you would normally use, then add Domaine de Canton for the other half; fill it to the top with the sparkling wine of your choice and you’ve got a libation whose spiciness may prove a viable alternative almost any Bloody Mary.

Another classic is the Sidecar; using Domaine de Canton, you can effectively double-up on the Cognac!

SIDECAR

• 1 PART DOMAINE DE CANTON
• 1 PART COGNAC

Squeeze juice of a lemon wedge and serve in a chilled martini glass.

Even though Domaine de Canton is a product of France, you can still use it to tweak an old favorite of the British – the Pimm’s Cup!

PIMM'S CUP

• 1 PART DOMAINE DE CANTON
• 1 PART PIMM'S
• 3 PARTS GINGER ALE

Add slices of orange, lemon, strawberries, cucumber and sprigs of mint. Serve in a tall glass filled with ice.

As I said, though, there are a great many original recipes that contain Domaine de Canton; one of them is this: L’Orientale …

L'ORIENTALE

• 1 PART DOMAINE DE CANTON
• 1 PART VODKA
• SPLASH OF CHAMBORD
• SPLASH OF ORANGE JUICE

Add a splash of Chambord and a splash of orange juice. Serve in a chilled martini glass.

You can use Domaine de Canton to put a twist on almost any traditional cocktail – Mojitos, Margaritas, Cosmopolitans – you name it! Although many bottles of Domaine de Canton are sold with a small recipe book, you can also find a treasure trove of others for this transformational liqueur by simply visiting their Web site:

Domaine de Canton Recipes

Do you have a favorite cocktail containing Domaine de Canton?  Have you invented your own?  In either case, please leave a comment and share your recipe!

Tequila To Kill Ya

 

 

Sure, tequila shots are great and margaritas can’t be beat – but seriously, once you’ve had a Tequila Sunrise, is that all there is when it comes to tequila-based cocktails?

Recently, I took a class called “The Cocktails That Made Tequila Famous” with mixologist Elayne Duke at The Astor Center of New York City and happily, I can report that the answer to that question is a resounding “HELL NO!”.

Upon entering the class, we were greeted with our first cocktail of the evening, The Sangrita -- 2 oz. Jose Cuervo Reserva Platino with Served with a 2 oz. shot of fresh sangrita mix, which is made as follows:

• ¾ cup tomato juice
• ½ cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice
• ¼ teaspoon of onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of sugar
• ½ teaspoon of chili powder
• 1 tablespoon of hot sauce

Combine all ingredients in a pitcher, chill in the fridge before serving.

In the course of introducing us to different tequilas and different tequila cocktails, Duke also educated us on the history of tequila. It turns out that before the Mexicans learned how to make tequila, they accidentally stumbled upon another type of libation derived from the same agave plant that gives us tequila. Pulque is fermented agave nectar; it was discovered when a lightning bolt split and cooked an agave plant. The result of the yeast being added to the sugar of course produced a rudimentary drink which contained anywhere from 3-4% alcohol.

The Spanish, with the knowledge of wine making, came to Mexico in the 1500’s and used a pot still with the agave to create something that would come to be called vino de mescal. This, it turned out, would be the origin of what became the tequila that we know today, before its manufacturing process was refined and improved upon over the years.

Next, we made what you might call a “healthy margarita” because it uses agave nectar instead of Triple Sec or Cointreau, both of which have a higher sugar content; the agave nectar, by contrast, has a lower glycemic index, maintaining sweetness while decreasing the actual sugar content.

Tommy Margarita

• 2 oz. Don Julio Blanco
• 1 oz. Lime Juice
• 1 oz. Agave Nectar

Shake it with ice, then strain and serve in an ice-filled rocks glass with a lime wedge as garnish.

Next was perhaps the most refreshing drink of the evening …

La Paloma

• 2 oz. Don Julio Blanco
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• ½ oz. lime juice
• 1.5 oz. fresh pink grapefruit juice
• 3 dashes of grapefruit bitters
• Top with soda

Combine all ingredients (except the soda) into a cocktail mixing glass, shake with ice, strain into your glass filled with fresh ice; top it off with the club soda. Serve in a highball glass rimmed with sea salt and garnish with a lime wedge and straw.

Our final cocktail of the evening was still made with Don Julio – but this time, using their reposado, which can be aged anywhere from a couple of months up to a year.

El Diablo

• 1.5 oz. Don Julio Reposado
• ½ oz. Fresh Lime Juice
• Ginger Beer
• Top ½ oz. Crème de Casis

This one is stirred in an ice-filled mixing glass, then served in a highball glass and garnished with a lime wheel.

By the way, just in case you’d like to view the Powerpoint slides that accompanied the evening’s presentation, please be sure to follow this link:

Tequila and the Cocktails That Made It Famous

 

“Moneyball” – Movie Review

 

This week, my movie class had a rare weekday bonus screening of the new Brad Pitt film, “Moneyball”, which also stars Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

 

Synopsis

When the General Manager of a small market Major League Baseball team becomes frustrated by the budgetary constraints that prevent him from signing the big-name free agent players, he enlists the aid of a young man with a brilliant mathematical mind to help him find the best bargain-basement players he can afford – but can this approach really produce a winner?

Story

As General Manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team, Billy Beane (Pitt) thinks he may have assembled a winning group in 2001 – but after his team loses to the soon-to-be Pennant-winning New York Yankees, his disappointment is only matched by his frustration when three of his key players abandon him for the more lucrative offers of big-market major league teams upon their ascent to free agency.  Despite his pleas for a larger payroll budget being declined by the team’s owner, Beane is determined to field a competitive team for the next season. 

When his quest to maneuver trades for players he can afford comes up empty, he discovers Peter Brand (Hill), a bright young man whom Beane soon learns has the ear – and the trust – of his boss, the General Manager of the Cleveland Indians.  Impressed by Brand’s enthusiasm for the game and in-depth comprehension of the underlying statistics behind it, Beane hires Brand and immediately names him Assistant General Manager of the A’s.  Together, they set out to build a quality team on the cheap in an unorthodox way – by contracting players who are relatively inexpensive because other teams have given up on them.

After assembling a motley collection of big league rejects, the following season does not start off as planned; only a month and a half into 2002, Oakland finds itself in last place in their division.  Following Beane’s shakeup of the team, the players start to jell and go on to enjoy a record-setting winning streak.  But all is still not well – both his field manager Art Howe (Hoffman) and the team’s top scouts mutiny against Beane’s unusual tactics.  Nevertheless, Beane stands by Brand and his unique method throughout the remainder of the season.  But can the team achieve their goal of making it far into the post-season? 

Review

As many people already know, this movie is based on a book, which itself is based on the true story of Billy Beane, who started out life as a so-called baseball “phenom” who forsook college to instead sign a contract with the New York Mets straight out of high school.  When his playing career didn’t pan out, Beane became a baseball scout and then rose through the ranks until becoming a General Manager.  Since the movie covers this amount of back-story, it transforms “Moneyball” into a story much larger than just baseball – for me, it is a story of redemption where Beane not only seeks the professional success that eluded him in his youth, but also, about validating the various decisions he made in his personal life as well. 

The film hits on all cylinders – directing, script and acting – and therefore, I highly recommend you see it while it’s in the theaters; don’t wait until it can be downloaded – it’ll be worth the time and expense to see it as soon as possible.  “Moneyball” will appeal to both baseball fans and non-fans alike; while containing plenty of stats to hold the interest of most baseball nerds, non-fans will appreciate it because of the universality of its examination of the human condition.  There is no love story per se (unless you count Beane’s passion for the game), but the filmmakers utilize the character of Beane’s 12 year old daughter to humanize him and thus make the protagonist more capable of being rooted for.  To me, this was the one shortcoming of an otherwise excellent movie; the obvious dramatic conceit was unnecessary and distracting from the main story, despite a good performance by the actress in the role of Beane’s child. The use of her song, the lyrics of which were somehow supposed to be mirroring Beane’s life was a little too obvious for my taste. 

After the screening, our instructor interviewed director Bennett Miller.  Miller said that the project had been in churn through the Hollywood system for a number of years due to various misfortunes; with Pitt attached to it as both star and co-producer, Miller was contacted by Pitt two years ago and eventually, the casting and financing of the film started to come together.  Miller mentioned that his favorite part of the filmmaking process was post-production; “The editing is where the film is really made”, he said.  Keeping that in mind, he also informed us that he was in post-production on this movie from November of 2010 right up until only a few weeks ago.  His previous directing experience of a feature film was “Capote”, which starred Philip Seymour Hoffman, with whom he went on to form a friendship which is how he came to be cast as the manager in “Moneyball”. 

 

“50/50” – Movie Review

 

This morning, my movie class held its 2nd weekend bonus screening of the fall semester with the comedy/drama “50/50” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen (who also co-produced) and Anna Kendrick (George Clooney’s young trainee from “Up In The Air”). 

 

Synopsis

When a young man is given 50/50 odds of survival after being diagnosed with cancer, he tries his best to beat the disease – but will he have the support of his friends and family in trying to do so?

 

Story

At 27 years of age, Adam (Gordon-Levitt) is a young man with a beautiful girlfriend and a promising career as a segment producer for public radio – but when he can’t shake a nagging backache, he finally sees a doctor, who diagnoses the cause as a rare cancer in the form of a malignant spinal tumor.  Researching the malady, he learns that he only has a 50% chance of survival.  Nevertheless, he sets out to do his best to try to overcome the illness by taking chemotherapy and seeing Katherine (Kendrick), a hospital-appointed therapist who is seeking to earn a doctorate degree.  The problem here is that she’s even younger than Adam, who is only her third patient. 

Adam’s girlfriend Rachael (Bryce Dallas Howard) swears her allegiance to him, helping him throughout his recovery period, even when Adam’s doting mother (Anjelica Houston) offers to move in.  Unfortunately for Adam, it soon becomes evident that Rachael is not up to the task; a self-absorbed artist, she is more concerned with her own career than with her boyfriend’s health.  Ultimately, when Adam’s high school buddy Kyle (Rogen) is able to prove that Rachael has been cheating on him, Adam dumps her, tossing her out of his house, opting instead to go it alone. 

After getting increasingly ill due to the chemotherapy, Adam learns that the treatment is not having the desired result.  His doctor informs him that the only choice at this point is surgery to remove the tumor – although this certainly has no guarantees attached.  As Adam awaits the surgery, a friendship develops between him and Katherine, outside of her office.  With Katherine, Kyle and Adam’s parents all in his corner, he appears to have an ample support system – but will this be enough to help him win out over the cancer?

Review

If you aren’t terribly fond of movies that could be described as “heartwarming” – and I could certainly appreciate that – then it would be understandable that you’d want to stay clear of “50/50”.  Yet the filmmakers have managed to successfully create something of a comedic buddy movie about a disease.  Keep in mind that while Seth Rogen’s role is large and crucial to the story, he is not the star of this movie – he serves more as comic relief than anything else.   The cast is superb and the story is well-told, causing me to give this one a high recommendation; this is definitely a movie you want to see in theaters as soon as it’s released. 

One of the minor misgivings I had about the film was Kendrick’s character of Katherine, the therapist.  The romantic entanglement that occurs between Katherine and Adam feels a bit contrived, as does the unlikely pairing of such an inexperienced therapist with a young man close to her in age.  That said, however, it’s certainly not enough to dissuade me from recommending the movie because the filmmakers magically made the whole thing emerge as believable in the end.  Also, if you’ve grown weary of Rogen’s typical slacker-pothead-hedonist character, then please be advised that you get plenty more of the same in “50/50”. 

Following the screening, there was an interview with the film’s screenwriter, Will Reiser.  This movie is based on a true story – Reiser’s.  As a producer for Sacha Baron Cohen’s old HBO TV show “Ali G”, Reiser networked himself well and wound up becoming friends with Seth Rogen in real life.  About seven months after the TV show ended, Reiser was diagnosed with cancer.  Early on, he and Rogen had joked about making a comedy concerning a serious illness -- “50/50” was the movie that ultimately resulted.  One thing that Reiser mentioned did not occur to him in real life was the romance with his therapist – his real life therapist was in fact a woman in her 60’s. 

 

 

“Toast” – Movie Review

 

 

This past weekend, the fall semester of my movie class resumed its bonus screenings and we saw the British drama “Toast”  starring Helena Bonham Carter; the movie is based on the memoirs of Nigel Slater, a noted food writer and television personality in The United Kingdom. 

Synopsis

When a 9 year old boy loses his mother, his widower father hires a housekeeper to care for them – but will the little boy be able to overcome his anger towards this woman who seems to be trying to replace his late mother?

Story

In 1960’s England amidst a backdrop of Dusty Springfield recordings, 9 year old Nigel Slater falls in love – with food.  Despite the fact that his loving mother is quite possibly the worst cook in the entire United Kingdom, Nigel passionately desires that which he cannot have – a delicious meal.  While most little boys might spend nights under the covers with a flashlight furtively stealing glimpses of scantily clad women in magazines, Nigel prefers to spend those stolen moments groaning orgasmically at pictures of dishes like boeuf bourguignon, spaghetti Bolognese and crème brulee. 

Tragically, the hungry little boy’s mother eventually passes from a severe case of Emphysema and he is left to live with his cranky, hostile father – who, by the way, can’t cook, either.  Although Nigel tries to make the best of things by teaching himself to cook, it soon becomes clear to his dad that they’re in over their head here, so he hires Mrs. Joan Potter (Carter) to keep house for them.  A chain-smoker and a woman whom Nigel describes as “common”, the boy takes an instant dislike to her because he feels that she is trying to step into his late mother’s shoes.  For all of her faults, however, it must be admitted that Mrs. Potter does have one saving grace:  she’s an amazing cook – and with this talent, she can be partially forgiven. 

A lonely widower, Nigel’s dad buys a new house in the countryside, where he has convinced Mrs. Potter to leave her husband and be their live-in help.  In this location, they have their privacy and are far away from prying neighbors.  On top of that, however, they are in the middle of nowhere, which Nigel hates – not to mention the fact that he must now attend a new school, losing his old friends.  To make matters worse, the tension between himself and Mrs. Potter only increases.  Eventually, the father marries Mrs. Potter, causing Nigel’s competitive nature to come out when he tries to out-cook her.  But will he be able to make peace with his new stepmother and in the course of doing so, win the favor of his father?

Review

If you are a regular viewer of Anthony Bourdain’s television show “No Reservations” on The Travel Channel, then you may be familiar with the term “food porn” – that is to say, photographs of food so delectable that they arouse some deep, dark visceral reactions in the viewer.  Such “food porn” is especially appreciated by a community known as “foodies”, who are unashamed of their obsession (and if you don’t believe me, try doing a search on the Internet for food blogs).  Clearly, this movie is designed to appeal to such foodies because of the amount of food porn it contains – the lemon meringue pie alone will make you want to leap out of your theater seat and take a great big bite out of the immense movie screen. 

Despite the proliferation of foodies in our culture, this movie will likely find great difficulty in attracting an audience.  For one thing, Helena Bonham Carter is the only recognizable name in the cast and while her role is crucial to the story, it’s not all that big in the grand scheme of things because it’s actually Nigel’s story.  Another obstacle for this movie finding an audience in the United States is due to the fact that Nigel Slater is largely unknown here, although he has long been highly regarded in the UK for his writing on food.  Also, the movie basically makes an attempt to villanize Carter’s character of Mrs. Potter, while in fact, she’s really not at all evil, except in the eyes of the young Nigel. 

While the majority of the class really seemed to like the movie, virtually no one knew of Nigel Slater.  Perhaps much of the appreciation for “Toast” is due to the fact that this is a very different story which takes viewers into an unfamiliar world.  The film’s screenplay was written by the same person who wrote the script for “Billy Elliott” and it also touches on Nigel’s homosexuality; some of the scenes may actually be a little uncomfortable to watch, depending on your level of tolerance.  Early on, we see the 8 year old Nigel lusting after the family’s landscaper; later, we see him as a 17 year old surreptitiously kissing a young man he meets at work.  While the romantic yearnings of an adolescent may not be a huge issue, the presumed lust of a pre-pubescent schoolboy was somewhat of an unpleasant experience for me – but as always, your mileage may vary.