Grey Gardens or How Barrymore + Lange = Great TV

Grey Gardens

Written by: Michael Sucsy & Patricia Rozema

Directed by: Michael Sucsy

Starring: Jessica Lange, Drew Barrymore, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Daniel Baldwin, Ken Howard & Malcom Gets.

Grey Gardens, a TV Drama produced by HBO based on the lives of Big Edie and Little Edie Bouvier Beale (relatives of Jackie O) is an amazing journey - a "riches to rags" story like no other, filled with humour, singing, dancing and top notch production (the transformation of the eponymous house from 1930s splendor to drab 1970s squalor is mesmerizing). And that doesn't even begin to describe the acting talent that its two protagonists showcase here. Now, to say that Ms Lange is a wonder is no surprise: her crazy cheekbones and commanding voice and presence suit Big Edie well (both early on as wealthy bohemian matron and later as recluse commanding mother) but the surprise (obviously) comes from realizing that the Barrymore name comes not in vain with Ms Drew who (and what a biopic cliche!) 'becomes' Little Edie - a character which could have easily become a caricature had Barrymore not tinged her quieter moments (and her louder ones as well) with a vulnerability and tenderness that humanizes her portrayal. This is such a luscious production (the music! the art direction! the costumes!) that dazzles without losing the heart and soul of the two characters at the center of the drama. A+

Recount, or How some way to de-compress after Election 08 right?

To finish de-compressing from inexplicably following the 2008 Presidential Election like a crazy CNN-addicted person, I decided to watch the HBO film Recount (written by Whedon-alum Danny Strong and directed by - oddly enough - Meet the Parents/Meet the Fockers Jay Roach (?)). While I knew about the Florida debacle back in 2000 I had NO idea it was this fucked up. At the end of the film Spacey's Klain asks Wilkinson's Baker whether he think the best man won. The answer is a resounding yes - really? Klain asks. Sadly History has proven that while legally Dubya may have won Florida, that does not the best man maketh him. 

What is so fascinating about Recount (other than the amazing Laura Dern as Katherine Harris, joined by a great cast) is the urgency it instils in the audience. To achieve that in a film is hard, to achieve this in a film where we all know the result, is nothing short of brilliant. I highly recommend it to anyone who followed the 'Electoral Map' this past year and who want to make this election even more of an event, by reliving that legal battle that in hindsight cost us all so much more than 25 electoral votes.