TV-the American Dreams, "Wedding Bells" and a Movie Review of "Poseidon"

We've got a couple of new TV shows we're looking at on this Blog post. First, the new reality series called "The American Dream".

Next, we're reviewing Fox's newest comedy entry "The Wedding Bells".

Also, a movie review of the TWO movies depicting the sinking of the mighty ship known as the Poseidon.

Hint...the newer version "POSEIDON" not as good as the older "The Poseidon Adventure", even with newer and improved special effects of our day.

Pic of the Day

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Quote of the Day Children's Logic: "Give me a sentence about a public servant," said a teacher. The small boy wrote: "The fireman came down the ladder pregnant." The teacher took the lad aside to correct him. "Don't you know what pregnant means?" she asked. Sure," said the young boy confidently. "It means carrying a child."

Web Site Worth the Visit MAKE PAUL DANCE If you find you haven't been chosen to star in ABC's "Dancing With Celebrities" then click into this web site to make your own celebrity dance. Indeed a site visitor can make this fellow do all sorts of moves. It's fun and whimsy. ABOVE BLOG POST HERE

TIDBITS An April Fool's Day Joke In 1998, on April Fool's Day, Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a "Left Handed Whopper" specially designed for the 32 million left handed Americans. According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc. ), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left handed customers. The following day Burger King issued a follow up release revealing that although the Left Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich. Simultaneously, according to the press release, "many others requested the 'right handed' version. "

 


Review: Fox's "Wedding Bells"

I see no need to provide a list of the various stars and supporting stars in the new series on Fox TV-"The Wedding Bells". A link to Fox's site for the show, however, is provided HERE. Go look them up yourself.

We begin with my assertion right here on this Blog read by two or three people every damn day....I'll not watch this show again.

Which means, in no way, that the show is not worthy or that others wouldn't enjoy it. I will also assert that I am likely the target demographic for this show, ie a middle-aged middle-class American woman with a bevy of female relatives in my surround all looking or hoping for a marriage and/or wedding in the near future.

This show bored me to tears and folks, I am still crying though I finished my review three days ago.

The show's premise is about a group of sisters who inherit their parents' "Wedding Palace" and the sibling trio join up to revive their parents' wedding business. They hire a bunch of help to include a consultant to help the business end of the endeavor plus various chefs, singers and office managers that all are part of the ongoing drama of people getting married along with the people helping people get married.



Thus the story line can be replenished every week with a new batch of brides and grooms, all with their own stories and fresh drama as the new weddings unfold. The plot line is bolstered by the steady permanent cast whose foibles and quirks are already known by the viewers with the team's interaction with the bridal customers providing new and hip tales of the heart.

I reviewed this show on the evening of March 23, 2007. On this night there were three weddings in process. One involved an older woman all set to marry a much younger man. The older bride admitted handily that she was marrying her groom for the sex and the sex alone. Another bride had already left her groom standing at the altar but they were scheduled to try it again. Her groom was bitter about the abandonment and cast dark hints that on this try HE might leave the bride standing alone in front of the crowd. Finally there were a set of twins planning a wedding and frankly I don't know what that was all about.

At some point the young groom of the older bride got all involved with one of the wedding planner sisters, a plot line that made no sense to me. Surely, go with me here, but surely one of the first rules of running a bridal consultancy business such as this one, would be, surely.....DO NOT MESS AROUND WITH THE BRIDE OR GROOM IN A ROMANTIC MANNER!

Right?

Yet on this first show we have one of the sisters kissing this young groom of the older bride? Is the viewer to assume that the rest of the series will have some variation or another on this theme? While I can readily buy that a pretty young woman serving as a bridal consultant for happy couples might fall for a groom-to-be, I would think such an event would be rare. Hey, that pretty young woman could find a gazillion guys that would be interested in her. For sure she doesn't need some young fellow so stupid that he's marrying a female twice his age just so she can have steady sex.

The three sisters as well as the office help, all seem to have personal issues that intrude on their business. It's a hackneyed concept that David Kelly, creator of Ali McBeal and this series, thinks us dopey females are going to adore. Said hackneyed concept being the plight of a bevy of confused and lonely women forced to make a living providing brides the happiest day of their life while coping with their own brand of misery.

Well hey, it might work. It just won't work with me. The whole show seemed too forced, too contrived.

This show got a fine boost as a follow-up to Fox's mighty "American Idol" series. If it doesn't survive it will be because the show's demographic, which would be women like me, turned their noses up at the absurdity of the show's premise.

DISCLAIMER: Movie Reviews

I never see a first-run movie so any movie reviews I do are likely older ones. But if you're looking to rent a DVD for the weekend, or just want a new perspective on a movie you remember fondly, or not-so-fondly, read on.



"POSEIDON"

One of my favorite movies during that short era when I actually went to a movie theater and watched such things was "The Poseidon Adventure". On a side note, the movie's theme song "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern is one of my favorite tunes. So on a cold March afternoon I fired up the DVR and watched the modern version of The Poseidon Adventure, titled "Poseidon".

The cast list for "Poseidon", detailed HERE, includes:

Josh Lucas
Kurt Russell
Richard Dreyfuss
Emmy Rossum
Andre Braugher

The cast list for the 1972 version, detailed HERE, includes:

Gene Hackman ... Rev. Frank Scott
Ernest Borgnine ... Det. Lt. Mike Rogo
Red Buttons ... James Martin
Carol Lynley ... Nonnie Parry
Roddy McDowall ... Acres
Stella Stevens ... Linda Rogo
Shelley Winters ... Belle Rosen
Jack Albertson ... Manny Rosen
Pamela Sue Martin ... Susan Shelby

I am working from an ageing memory as regards the 1972 version of the film but two scenes remain in my mind even almost 35 years after seeing it. One is the image of many forlorn survivors of the ship's capsize marching without a sense of purpose DOWNWARDS. The cast of this movie had determined that the direction to survival would be what had been the bottom of the boat which was, according to the expressed logic, then sticking out above the water as the boat had essentially turned over completely after hit by the rogue wave. The cast of the 72 movie tried to convince the weary survivors going the wrong direction to certain doom to turn around but they marched doggedly on by, deeper into the coffin the boat would become for those who didn't make it to the top.

Another scene I recall fondly from the 72 movie is the death of Shelly Winters as she volunteered to swim underwater and turn a valve or some such necessary action for the group's survival. Shelly Winters is a rather obese actress but like the character she played in "The Poseidon Adventure", she was once ravishing and beautiful. Winters' did succeed in doing what was required to save the group but the strain of the long underwater swim caused a heart already taxed by too much fat to stop its steady beat. The loss of the Winters' character in the first Poseidon movie was a heartbreaker as the audience had learned to love the character.

As for the more modern version of this story, it's title was shortened to just the name of the boat..."Poseidon".



It was okay. Had I not seen "The Poseidon Adventure" so long ago, I doubt the movie "Poseidon" would stand out in my mind as nothing more than an okay movie about a big ship tragedy and the struggle of a handful of survivors to get to safety and eventual rescue.

Sure, that was essentially the premise of the first version of this ship's hapless fate but the newer version of the tale is mostly special effects and make no mistake, the effects were good. Even the vision of the huge wave bearing down on the tiny ship was dramatic and awe-inspiring. The little group of survivors struggled to get clear of odds so overwhelming at times I was tempted to switch off the TV as I believed there is just no way this group can survive THIS obstacle. Said obstacles included being locked into tiny rooms with but one firmly locked hatch, being stuck in air vents or trapped behind screens with no hope of escape.

I recall these sorts of things cropped up in the earlier version of the movie but nothing like the more modern version. The obstacles and hurdles the modern group had to clear to get to freedom tested my sense of disbelief greatly. But I knew that in the end they would all be rescued so I watched to see which of a the beloved few would die as one always does. I also watched to see how many challenges the group would encounter and the movie effects and plot line that would somehow set them free.

Sure "Poseidon" is a movie worth watching. Go on and rent the DVD. I'm thinking males around the ages of 12 to 16 would love this movie. There's not a lot of sex or bad language, it's an adventure, the special effects are great.

It will never hold a candle to the nuance and drama of its predecessor.

 


Zsa Zsa's Husband Sues Bill O'Reilly

You can't make this up folks. Now we have a potential father of Anna Nicole's baby actually suing someone for declaring that he is NOT the father of the child.

From CNN.com:

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Prince Frederic von Anhalt has sued Fox and Bill O'Reilly after the talk show host called him a fraud for claiming he could be the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby.

Von Anhalt, who is married to Zsa Zsa Gabor, filed the defamation suit seeking at least $10 million in damages Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

So this Prince husband of Zsa Zsa is suing Bill O'Reilly for declaring that he could not be the father of Anna's baby Dannie Lynn?

Heh. Well this is a trial I'll sit and watch.

Leprechaun Gives Florida's Speeders Their Tickets

I came across this story and was totally floored.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

Speeding drivers in Orange County today may spot a leprechaun dancing on the side of the road but instead of finding his lucky pot of gold, expect to find a hefty speeding ticket.

Deputy Richard Lockman of the Orange County Sheriff's Office has stopped more than 50 drivers who were exceeding the speed limit, which is 45 mph in the area of University Boulevard west of State Road 417. The fastest driver stopped so far was going 72 mph.

I think the notion of dressing up as a character to hand out speeding tickets to be a bit stupid. At least that was my first reaction thus I saved the link and copied the picture for inclusion in my Blog's Pop Culture compilation.

Why is that I think speeders won't be amused by getting their speeding ticket from a leprechaun as opposed to, say, a regular traffic cop? In fact, I think the ha-ha of giving out tickets while dressed as a character to be a bit cruel and totally unnecessary.

Still I want to note this weird action in the event such a notion catches on across the fruited plains when suddenly we'll be getting our traffic tickets from such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and other characters. Sooner of later somebody, could be Santa Claus, who knows, is going to get run over by an angry speeder.


More TV Reviews HERE
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