Steve's Sidebar Blog: If You Love TAKE ME OUT, You'll Also Enjoy...

 SHORESY, a slightly blue but very funny hockey comedy from the producer of the Canadian sitcom LETTERKENNY, about an inexperienced coach who must save the woeful Sudbury Blueberry Bulldogs from total oblivion. Watch for cameos from actual NHL stars and talking heads including Jay Onrait from TSN SportsCentre. (Hulu)

BROCKMIRE, starring Hank Azaria as a flamboyant pastiche of practically every play-by-play guy out there. Amanda Peet runs the minor league team whose antics he must chronicle when a scicious vanadal (in-joke for all you Capital Steps fans out there) costs him his job in the "show". Bob Costas, Joe Buck, Michael Kay, and other baseball voices round out the cast. (AMC, AMC+)

EASTBOUND AND DOWN, from the comedy genius of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay,follows former Seattle slugger Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) from riches to rags (How raggy does a spokesman for a BMW dealership  and a public school phys ed coach in the deep South sound to you?) in an HBOnly sports classic only the creators of Ron Burgundy and Ricky Bobby could pull off. Despite the heavy presence of under 10-ers, parental discretion is MANDATORY!

S

Power Play: TAKE ME OUT by Richard Greenberg, Helen Hayes Theatre, 240 West 44th Street,New York,NY 10036 Tickets at Box Office, http://www.broadway.com, and http://www.2st.org (Must close June11!)

 The first time I saw TAKE ME OUT, I didn't think it was a celebration of baseball anymore than I was Johnny Depp, (Thank goodness THAT seemingly interminable news story was finally terminated!) I thought it was more a celebration of the "love that daren't speak its name," as the story revolves around an African-American star of Jeterian proportions who finally comes out of the closet. When it came back, I decided to stay the entire show (especially since they put my phone in a cocoon!), and it IS a celebration of baseball at its best, even when it indicts America at its worst. The performance that really stands out the most is Jesse Tyler Ferguson (MODERN FAMILY) as an attorney who becomes a convert to all things baseball. Although I DID disagree with SOME of the things the characters said about God and baseball, (This blog will be circulated to my sports group and the clergy at Temple Emanu-El.) this revival was as good as the critics say (New York Times Critics Pick and Entertainment Weekly Grade A), if not better. Just as you should stick around till the very end of a Marvel movie for the little Easter egg and in-joke, you should stick around till the very end of this play for a line that pretty much sums it all up, and that's all I'm gonna say about that. Don't take the kids out to TAKE ME OUT, but do take that special someone, even if it IS yourself, but don't make an error, run to this hit before it's going, going, GONE!

Let's Go Rangers!

Steve

Move Over, Immaculate Reception! Time For The Miracle On 59th Street!

 Two weeks ago, as Cincinatti and Los Angeles were getting ready to battle for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl LVI, all of us football fans were talking about our favorite football movies, be they KNUTE ROCKNE: ALL-AMERICAN ("Win this one for the Gipper!") THE WATERBOY ("Stop playin' that fooseball!"), JERRY MAGUIRE ("Show me the money!") or THE LONGEST YARD ("I think he broke his EXPLETIVE neck!")

While the Noor Theatre Company's  world premiere effort FIRST DOWN, (by award-winning playwright Sevan)set in the high stakes, anything-goes world of professional football, makes extensive use of such iconic images as the NFL Shield, team logos, and even an NFL sponsor, Aquafina, (And this time, I'm NOT talking about the Asian-American performer who stole the Super Bowl with a Disney + commercial featuring goats dressed up as famous Disney, Marvel, Star Wars,Pixar,and Matt Groening characters!)it may rub some fervent NFL fans, particularly those who believe the last election was rigged, and owners should sack (as in fire) players like San Francisco 49er Colin Kapernick for taking a knee while the National Anthem is played, the wrong way, and I admit, I was a little bit uncomfortable as the play was just getting started, but, while it questions the National Anthem, and even, what many scribes have decried as the hypocrisy of the league itself (slogans like "It Takes All Of Us" and "Stop Hate" painted on the field and beamed from the Jumbotron while coaches and players have accused the League front office of racism, it takes full advantage of the freedom of speech which the Star-Spangled Banner itself represents (or, is supposed to represent) to tell the story of George Berri, (Peter Romano) an NFL superstar from Montana with the world at his feet who decides to reveal to the world that he is really a Muslim American of Arab descent. by praying to Allah at the Super Bowl. Romano leads a brilliant supporting cast (Larry Bull as his coach who believes football brings out the best in America,Hend Ayoub as his manager who tries to convince him he's throwing it all away, and Olivia AbiAssi, whose desire to hang onto traditions such as wearing a hijab in public,ranks up there with portrayals in works such as FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and PLAIN AND FANCY) who are to theatre what the Monsters of the Midway, the Purple People Eaters, and the Steel Curtain have been to the Super Bowl: a formidable team that requires attention. If you love or hate football, or good theatre,make an end run to 59 E 59 Theatre C (That's both its name and address) before March 5th or score a ticket at http://www.noortheater.org . The Super Bowl may be over and the Combine and the Draft are just around the corner, but this powerful drama, which simultaneously celebrates, indicts, and reflects football, is a great way to get your kicks. On a scale of Fumble to Touchdown, this play kicks the old pigskin, with all due respect to its talented Muslim crew, right over the uprights!

Super Steve

P.S. A tip of the helmet to FOX Sports Play-By-Play Commentator Kevin Burkhardt for delivering the keynote address at Temple Emanu-El's Gather Sports Fan Group's Super Bowl Party, as well as the few, the proud, (Not Marines1) who Zoomed on over to our Super Bowl Party. Stand by for details on our next big event!

Happy New Year?

Hmmmmm, let's see. The Eastern Seaboard was attacked by a powerful Nor'easter with another one predicted,Peloton's image took a major hit when two major TV characters died of heart attacks on its famous bike AND it had to deal with declining sales AND another music industry lawsuit, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, and Neil's bandmates David Crosby, Steve Stills and Graham Nash withdrew their music from Spotify due to misleading information shared by superstar podcaster Joe Rogan, FOX entertainers have been complaining about the new look for the M&M's ambassadors and Minnie Mouse's makeover by Stella McCartney (As an old Disneyphile from way back, I'm going to have to agree with them on this one!), Tom Brady and Ben Rothliesberger have decided to hang up their jerseys, Novak Djokovic almost ruined the Australian Open with his anti-vax antics, AND Jeff Zucker, who guided CNN into a new era, has handed in his resignation after a relationship with an old business partner from his TODAY show days.

And how is YOUR year going so far?

Steve

BREAKING NEWS: Goodbye, Golden Girl

This blog is shocked to hear of the passing of a true entertainment icon: Betty White, featured on MARY TYLER MOORE and GOLDEN GIRLS, has left the world, and a legacy of laughter, at only 99 years young. Her incredible career spanned eight decades from radio to television. She was the first woman to produce a sitcom (LIFE WITH ELIZABETH, which led to her being named honorary Mayor of Hollywood in 1955), as well as the First Lady Of Game Shows, having appeared on the most popular entries in the Mark Goodson-Bill Todman stable, especially PASSWORD, which was hosted by her husband Allen Ludden. Her CV also includes THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, BOSTON LEGAL,SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE,THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW, HOT IN CLEVELAND, THE GOLDEN PALACE, and an all-too-brief movie career ranging from voices in TOY STORY 4, TROUBLE, and THE WILD THRONEBERRYS to BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE and YOU AGAIN,to the upcoming posthumous release,BETTY WHITE: A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, Sadly,she never got the chance to hit the century mark. As of this writing, no cause has been announced, but  an already dark world has been made even darker by her departure. Rest in Peace, Betty. Thank you for being a friend.

AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Boy, with the passing of Betty White, John Madden, Hank Aaron, and Ed Asner, omicron spreading to beat the band, and sporting events and shows dropping like flies, you'd think the world was coming to an end! What would happen if it REALLY did? How would politicians and the media handle it? The answers to these and other questions (Why couldn't ARMAGEDDON and DEEP IMPACT be this funny? A little in-joke for all you Electric Company fans out there, if you know, you know.) can be found in the latest effort from erstwhile Will Ferrell writing/producing partner Adam McKay, DON'T LOOK UP!, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio as two scientists who discover a comet the size of South Africa headed on a month-long collision course with Earth and must deal with a President (Meryl Streep) who TRIES to be their friend, her dopey Chief Of Staff son (Jonah Hill), and two FOX-Friendly talk show hosts (Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry). If this Netflix production doesn't make you laugh or think (or even cry), check your pulse! Rated R for Ridiculously Funny, (and also language, sex and occasional nudity) DON'T LOOK UP is proof that regardless of what people like David Zucker of AIRPLANE! fame think, they STILL make comedy disaster movies the way they used to, maybe even better!

Happy New Year!

Steve      

    

Just To Let You Know...

 ...Despite the shared ownership, FOX Nation does NOT carry ALL MADDEN. Their loss!

Let's Go To The Videotape! All-Madden (FOX Sports in association with NFL Films, 2021, No Rating)

(NOTE: This is a preview of a film review to be presented before the Talking Sports Gather Group at Temple Emanu-El on Tuesday, January 11,2022.)

To say we lost a lot in 2021 is the understatement of a lifetime. In politics we lost Bob Dole and Harry Reid, in entertainment we lost Stephen Sondheim, and in sports, we lost Hank Aaron, Tommy Lasorda,the man who made Wayne Gretzky great, his dad Walter, but most of all, we lost John Earl Madden,born in 1936 in Austin, MN, but recognized around the world as the second winningest coach in NFL history during his eleven-year run with what was then the Oakland Raiders. He never played a full game professionally with the team that picked him in 1958, the Philadelphia Eagles, but he successfully parlayed his college football know-how, as  a player and a coach, into a long and colorful reign as a Head Coach and, an accomplishment nobody, least of all Madden himself, ever expected, a nearly three-decade long career in broadcasting that took him to all four NFL broadcast networks working alongside household names such as Bob Costas, Pat Summerall, Vin Scully, and Dick Stockton. John could never have been mistaken for Walter Cronkite what with his slightly less-than-elegant clothes (He once said a panhandler gave HIM a dollar!) and loud, brash style, but that's what made him a sports broadcasting superstar and awakened an interest in football in people who would rather watch Masterpiece Theater, kids who were pushed by Mom and Dad into Pop Warner Football,and even Mom herself. He turned FOX into a sports power, and became as effective a salesman for Miller Lite, Outback Steakhouse, and his own Madden video game from EA Sports, as he was for the game.

John may have just left us, but his legend lives on (BOOM! DOINK! WHAP!) in the beautiful new documentary ALL MADDEN, available on Hulu and ESPN+ (I'm not sure if it's available on FOX Nation, but if it is, it may be one of the more watchable, maybe the ONLY watchable, program on that service.) Instead of relying on a  single narrator, ALL MADDEN features some of his final on-camera appearances,interviews with family, fellow coaches, players such as Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman, and recollections from the aforementioned commentators as well as Al Michaels and Melissa Stark, his own highlight reel of commercials, his'own rough-and-tumble,smash-mouth all-pro team,and,OF COURSE, the highlight of many a Thanksgiving dinner, the Turducken, which John himself invented.

Although Hollywood has turned out masterful biopics on Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and, recently, Kurt Warner, they fall woefully short when compared to this real-life look at a figurative and literal football giant. ALL MADDEN is all entertainment (And I DO mean all entertainment! They even show his monologue as SNL guest host!) and, on a scale of Strike Out to Home Run, clearly knocks it out of the park. You don't have to be a football fan to enjoy it (But hey! it doesn't hurt!), but that was, and is, and will always be the beauty of John Madden, who turned the spotlight away from Cosell and the more overrated sports broadcasters, and proved himself to be what he wanted, an ordinary guy talking to ordinary guys, but leaving an extraordinary impression on football, sports, and America.

Happy New Year!

Steve