Weeds - Season 2
November 5th, 2006
MILF weed, DEA husbands, lost toes, and Zooey Deschanel: the plotting on Weeds is outstanding. Season 1 ended with a revelation that opened all sorts of dramatic possibilities, but I was stunned by how quickly the show exploited them, topped them, or sidestepped expectations altogether. On some episodes, things happens so fast there’s a giddy joy to the whiplash turns and twists. Despite a strong undercurrent of absurdity, the show never swirls out of control because Mary Louise Parker gives it such a sweet-but-tough center. There might have been one or two dud episodes, but it’s entirely plausible that they were necessary to set up the finale’s wicked cliffhanger ending. Can’t wait for more.
[tags]tv, 4 stars, mary louise parker, zooey deschanel, marijuana, soap opera, suburbia[/tags]
Little Children
September 23rd, 2006
Todd Field’s follow-up to In the Bedroom is based on a novel by Election author Tom Perrotta, and the mixture of satire and straight drama doesn’t sit quite right with Field’s earnest style. Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly, and Patrick Wilson engage in some tame suburban version of Shortbus, but after Shortbus, every depiction of sex I’ve seen in the movies seems hollow and fake–and I don’t mean just the physical aspects. Some great moments though–full review forthcoming very soon. NYFF press conference with Todd Field and Kate Winslet was a bit of a letdown. Opens 10/6.
Little Children, Todd Field, 2006. ***
[tags]film, 3 stars, todd field, sex, suburbia, kate winslet, jennifer connelly, film[/tags]
