The Greatest Episodes of American Dad (part 1)

Remember about seven or so months ago, I did a 2 part series on the best episodes of How I Met Your Mother? Well, for the longest time, I debated whether or not I should take on another mammoth project and I finally decided that it was time. So in celebration of Fox's forever underdog series American Dad reaching 151 episodes and 8 seasons, here are the three best episodes from seasons 1-4. I'll do seasons 5-8 in the upcoming part 2.

Season 1, Episode 8: Bullocks to Stan
American Dad, I'm sorry to say, started out as Family Guy's more politically-minded fraternal twin brother. It tried to have a voice of its own but the spectre of Family Guy was hanging over it. Bullocks to Stan is the best episode in the first half of season 1 because it develops the characters in more interesting ways, features some early meta jokes and plants the seeds for the go-for-broke absurdity that would come to define American Dad during its run. In this episode, Stan's boss sleeps with Stan's daughter just when Stan is up for a big promotion and this causes a dilemma for him. Bullocks to Stan mainly deals with the complicated but promising relationship between Stan and his daughter Hayley. This strong emotional core would help ground most of American Dad's more outlandish moments throughout the run.

Season 1, Episode 16: Not Particularly Desperate Housewives
This episode, chronicling Francine Smith's run-in with a group of adulterous and murderous housewives, is a remarkable achievement for the show this early in its run. The A plot is ambitious, blending high suspense and terrific jokes in a way that that is far more sophisticated than anything other animated sitcoms ever attempted. The episode builds and builds until it reaches a frenzied peak and, better still, it sticks the landing with an ending that's both funny and surprising. The B plot, with Stan and Roger fighting over a dog's affections, is also full of great jokes and it matches the A plot's escalating beats but in a sillier way.

Season 1, Episode 20: Roger n' Me
It's funny how, in season 1, Roger was much more a wacky supporting character instead of a leading character like he is now. And it's also funny how his penchant for elaborate personas didn't really begin until a little later in the series. Roger n' Me deals with the friendship between Stan and the desperate for a best buddy Roger. And what makes this episode so memorable is that it gives Roger a chance to be vulnerable in a way that's all too rare nowadays. The big set piece is Best Buddies, a Newlyweds style game show, and it brings some good laughs with the other contestants.

Other season 1 highlights: Stan Knows Best, Stan of Arabia, Rough Trade, Tears of a Clooney and Star Trek

Season 2, Episode 2: The American Dad After School Special
AD does a sharp parody of 80s after school specials in this episode, where Stan battles with anorexia and his family tries to get him to eat. The writing of this episode is quite remarkable, mining a number of really strong jokes around a very serious subject. We're also introduced to Steve's first girlfriend, chubby goth Debbie, whose entry into the Smith household incites Stan's eating disorder. American Dad has a strong ensemble of characters, each one having a fresh comic voice. This episode also gives each one some strong moments. Also, this episode features Roger's bizarre obsession with Debbie and his date scene with her is absolutely hysterical.

Season 2, Episode 4: Lincoln Lover
AD in its early years had a political slant. Stan was a bigoted conservative who often learned a lesson about equality and acceptance each week. Eventually that comedy well dried up and the series shifted focus. Lincoln Lover, in which Stan joins an organization of gay Republicans and begins to adopt the gay lifestyle, is a watershed moment for the show: Stan's homophobia starts to break down. Also, Greg and Terry, the gay couple across the street from Stan and Francine who are also two parts of a news anchor duo, are featured heavily in this episode. They're definitely my favorite supporting characters in the show as they always provide big laughs.

Season 2, Episode 16: When a Stan Loves a Woman
If I had to point out my favorite TV married couple, Stan and Francine Smith would definitely be #1 or at least top 3. They are such a wacky, crazy couple with a surprisingly moving marriage. When Stan feels insecure about Francine's promiscuous past, Francine suggests he divorce her in order to get some meaningless sex but the plan backfires when he falls in love with someone else. Full of some really great gags, including a random callback to a throwaway joke from an earlier episode, When a Stan Loves a Woman reinforces that these two crazy kids are meant for each other. The B plot, with Steve being addicted to an extreme energy drink, is very funny as well.

Other season 2 highlights: Dungeons and Wagons, Joint Custody, Four Little Words, An Apocalypse to Remember and Iced, Iced Babies

Season 3, Episode 2: Meter Made
If any show could pull off an elaborate Goodfellas parody about meter maids holding all the power in town, it's American Dad. Francine and Stan are animated stand-ins for Ray Liotta and Lorraine Bracco in this send-up of Marty Scorsese's 90s classic. By stealing coins out of meters and threatening to put boots on people's cars, Stan and Francine exert power over their community and it's all very funny material. But what's really cool about this episode is that a lot of thought went into spoofing specific details about Goodfellas, not just gangster movies in general. It shows that the writers on AD really know what they are doing. Another example of their spoofing abilities is this season's Tearjerker, a brilliant 007 parody.

Season 3, Episode 12: Widowmaker 
With this third season being such a strong season, picking out three episodes was super tough. However, Widowmaker made the cut above some others because it features Clip Clop, Roger's psychiatrist persona's horse costume which he uses during marriage counseling. The genius of Clip Clop goes beyond just the excellent scene he's featured in. I love that the persona is so detailed that is allows for such delightful oddities. The plot is pretty standard, with Francine asking Stan to communicate and he starts divulging all these terrible secrets including one involving Francine's friend Julie (also a CIA wife). There are some pretty good gags but Clip Clop elevates the episode to one of the best of the season.

Season 3, Episode 16: Spring Breakup
Another one of my favorite Roger personas is Scotch Bingington, the King of Spring Break. He sets up a complete spring break resort in the Smith home while Francine is visiting her parents. Feeling neglected, Stan becomes spring break buddies with a flirty coed Jessica. Steve tries to lose his virginity to Carmen Selectra (not Electra) and this yields some good humor. But the highlight of the episode is the level of detail in the spring break resort, ticking off all the cliches of spring break. And it's quite cool to see Roger pull off something so grand in literally seconds. The episode is quite romantic also, with Steve trying to win over Carmen and Stan feeling validated by the young woman and then more substantially by his wife.

Other season 3 highlights: Tearjerker, Oedipal Panties, The Vacation Goo, Franny 911 and Stanny Slickers II: The Legend of Ollie's Gold.

Season 4, Episode 6: Pulling Double Booty
This is the episode where Stan disapproves of Hayley's dating choices then Francine catches him making out with Hayley (his daughter, remember). Then cut to commercial. After the commercial break, we find out Hayley's new boyfriend is Stan's CIA body double Bill, not her father. That was one of the riskiest sequences the show has ever done. The episode goes even further into bizarre territory when Stan pretends to be Bill during a weekend getaway with Hayley and tries to get her to break up with him. It's very, very funny but very, very wrong. But the show pulls it off because the story is grounded by Stan and Hayley's relationship as father and daughter. Also, when AD creator Seth Macfarlane was named the 2013 Oscars host, the Parents Television Council named this episode among a few others as evidence that Macfarlane is too deranged and family unfriendly to host a primetime event. That just makes this episode better.

Season 4, Episode 12: Roy Rogers McFreely
Roger, feeling like he has no voice in the Smith house, overtakes the homeowners' association to undermine ex-president Stan's rules for the neighborhood. This leads to Stan, Steve and Hayley to sneak around at night with a bunch of other neighbors for some, as they call it, "constructive vandalism." This episode is just packed with jokes and sight gags and it uses the neighborhood really well as an ensemble. Putting Stan in with the counter culture against Roger is a very interesting character move, especially since he's usually pro-government, pro-establishment.

Season 4, Episode 13: Jack's Back
If someone were to ask me if there were a 100% perfect episode of American Dad, I would point them to Jack's Back. It's not a very flashy episode but it has all the things that make AD such a wonderful, special show. The episode is jam-packed with some extremely funny jokes. Some of the jokes are broad, some of them are more subtle but they're there. And it features strong, character moments for each Smith family member including Jack, Stan's dad in his second appearance. And it's all based on an emotional story about what it means to be a father and a son. The episode also features a hysterical B plot that ends in a disguise-off between Hayley and Roger and it's one of the best moments in the show's history.

Other season 4 highlights: Stan Time, Wife Insurance, DeLorean Story-an, Phantom of the Telethon and 1600 Candles.

Those are the top 12 episodes of the first half of American Dad's run. Look out for part 2, covering seasosn 5 through 8. Stay tuned!

Top 10 Worst Episodes of 'Frasier'

I love Frasier. It's totally my favorite sitcom of all time. It is also one of the few long-running shows that is consistently watchable for its entire run. But Frasier couldn't hit a home run for each of the 264 episodes. Here are the 10 worst episodes of Frasier.

10. "It's Hard to Say Goodbye If You Won't Leave" (season 3, episode 10)
Frasier the show had a terrific arc with Frasier the guy battling sexily with KACL station manager Kate Costas (Oscar winner Mercedes Ruehl), the female version of Frasier. But the arc ended on a sour note with a seemingly endless episode of romantic miscommunications and misunderstandings. The episode attempts an elaborate Casablanca homage that it doesn't really pull off. I got the impression the show didn't want to lose Kate so soon but hastily wrote a last episode for her when the actor's contract wore out.

9. "Kissing Cousin" (season 10, episode 4)
Roz's mid-20s, hipster cousin (played by future star Zooey Deschanel) comes to visit and her too cool for school attitude irritates Frasier. That's a good recipe for comedy but the episode doesn't really milk that opportunity for all it's worth. Then the episode takes a weird turn with the Deschanel character offering life advice to KACL station manager Kenny Daly (Tom McGowan). Because the audience cares about his existential crisis. I mean, you know an episode is in trouble when it features extended scenes with none of the lead cast and Kissing Cousin falls victim to that.

8. "Call Me Irresponsible" (season 1, episode 7)
It was six episodes before Frasier got a love interest but this episode is no sweet introduction to the series-long arc of Frasier trying to find love. The premise of this episode is interesting: Frasier convinces a commitment-phobic caller to break up with his girlfriend but then said girlfriend (Amanda Donohoe, in one of the worst guest star performances in the show's history) comes to the station to chew Frasier out. Of course, they hit it off but Frasier can't date her because it's an ethical violation. There's a funny scene with Frasier and the woman trying to make love which makes Frasier queasy but it's not enough to save the episode. It's poorly written and executed, with the poor woman being the rope in Frasier and the ex's tug of war.

7. "The Focus Group" (season 3, episode 23)
Frasier's pomposity was a deep well for comedy throughout the show but sometimes the writers took it a bit too far. The Focus Group is one of those episodes. Frasier chases after a member of a focus group (Tony Shalhoub) who just "doesn't like him." That sort of vague disdain drives Frasier nuts so he has to know why and in the process ends up ruining this guy's life. It's one of the few times they couldn't make Frasier's pomposity lovable but annoying and selfish. Surprisingly, season 3 is my favorite season though it contains two of the worst episodes in the show. The other 22 episodes are absolutely brilliant, though.

6. "Slow Tango in South Seattle" (season 2, episode 1)
For an ordinary episode, this one is just mediocre. But as a season premiere, it is downright awful. Frasier discovers an old acquaintance wrote a book based on Frasier's first time with a woman (he was a teenager, she middle-aged). This leads to some light teasing between the characters until Frasier discovers he never thanked the woman for the statutory rape and goes to see her. Constance Towers of The Naked Kiss fame (seriously watch the clip) plays the woman and she's fine. But the whole sequence is bizarre and icky. I didn't like how the season opens with an episode that features so little of the other four characters. Especially since any of the next five episodes could have served as excellent season openers (especially Matchmaker or The Botched Language of the Cranes).

5. "Frasier's Curse" (season 6, episode 2)
Frasier being humiliated is a rich source of comedy for the show. But Frasier's Curse is almost unbearably mean-spirited. I like laughing at the guy when his ego gets taken down a peg but this episode, detailing his bad luck at finding a job, is akin to kicking him when he's down. The jokes aren't funny and the episode becomes a tragedy with a laugh track. Cringe comedy can be great but Frasier's Curse misses the mark. The episode is just a series of humiliations for Frasier with no victory in sight and ends with Frasier on his way to more humiliation.

4. "Motor Skills" (season 8, episode 11)
I really dislike this episode. Frasier and Niles in auto shop night school is all right though their shenanigans are really out of character. And they're way too old to be taking such glee at being rebellious. It's just not funny and this plot should have been in season 2 or something. But the real downer of the episode is Roz and Martin fighting about dog-raising. When a show becomes long-running and character combos start to become tired, the plots start to feel inorganic and contrived  Roz and Martin, the sanest members of the cast, are a good pair but this episode is joyless and frustrating.

3. "Beware of Greeks" (season 5, episode 16)
Coming after the season 5 classics Ski Lodge and Room Service, there's a lot of pressure on Beware of Greeks. And it fails spectacularly. Patti LuPone guest stars as Frasier's Greek aunt on his father's side who hates him because he convinced his cousin to give up medicine and become a street performer. Except Frasier shouldn't have a Greek aunt on his father's side because Martin mentioned a few times being an only child. The episode just isn't funny because of the overload of Greek stereotypes and LuPone's over the top performance which does not fit at all with the show. The episode is just lousy and almost unwatchable.

2. "Wheels of Fortune" (season 9, episode 16)
Frasier hit a low point with Wheels of Fortune, another episode introducing a previously unheard of relative. This time it's Michael Keaton as Lillith's wheelchair-bound brother Blaine. It just doesn't make any sense. It's one of those con episodes, with Frasier trying to convince everybody that this guy is no good and no one believes him. The jokes are just not funny and Keaton's performance is just horrible (though I don't like him in general). But the episode is too frantic and busy and it's unbelievable that the characters would fall for Blaine's nonsense. The major problem with this episode is that it's just so poorly conceived. How does Lillith end up with a scheming con man brother? She probably would have whipped him into shape a long time ago!

1. "Liar! Liar!" (season 4, episode 10)
And here we are. The absolute worst episode of Frasier. It is just horribly horrible that I am embarrassed for poor Kelsey Grammer and company for having to act in it. A discussion about lying leads Frasier to confess lying about an old prep school bully to get him kicked out of school. He then seeks out this guy, now in prison, hoping that his life of crime was independent of getting kicked out. It's another example of Frasier being unlikable in ways that don't fit into his character. And the episode keeps spiraling out of control until the end when Frasier ends up at that guy's apartment with his nymphomaniac wife who likes getting caught while doing it. It's just so bizarre and unfunny. I just cannot believe this episode was even produced by the brilliant Frasier team.

So there you have it. 10 episodes of Frasier that just completely missed the mark. Here's a reminder of everything that Frasier did right. This is one of the best moments in the show's history, the famous "Buttons and Bows" sequence from season 3, episode 16 Look Before You Leap.

5 Films #5: Scarlett Johansson

For the fifth installment of my critically acclaimed series (just roll with it), I've chosen an actress for whom my admiration is widely known. Yes, the star of this entry is the Golden Globe nominated, Tony and BAFTA award winning actress/singer, Ms. Scarlett Johansson. When I think about her career as a whole and what her persona might be, I can't really put my finger on it. Johansson's had some diverse roles and her career has gone through many stages. She was teen actress then indie darling, then sexpot. Now she's at a stage where she can be a little choosier and adventurous and also play to the Hollywood system. Let's take a look at the various eras of Scarlett Johansson's career.

1. Ghost World (2001; Terry Zwigoff)
Johansson co-stars along with Thora Birch in this comedy (or rather "comedy") as two high school misfits who found friendship in their mutual disregard for anything mainstream. The two friends drift apart after graduation as Johansson's Rebecca starts to develop more mainstream interests and friendships, leaving Birch's Enid to find friendship with another outcast (Steve Buscemi). Ghost World has gained a cult following since its release 12 years ago though now the movie seems cynical and dated (particularly because nerd culture has since become more mainstream). Johansson, as the more popular and conventionally beautiful of the pair, foreshadows her later career as seductress and also her self-deprecating wit. This movie didn't exactly put her on the map but it did lead to her getting cast in bigger movies.

2. Lost in Translation (2003; Sofia Coppola)
Sofia Coppola's wandering, elusive dramedy about two lost Americans in Tokyo is really the film that brought Johansson to the limelight. Golden Globe nominated and BAFTA winning, her performance is subdued but eccentric. Her performance here as Charlotte is still one of her most critically acclaimed roles and it holds up even after all these years. Though I'm not really a fan of the movie as a whole (or of Coppola's for that matter), the subtlety of Johansson's performance is really striking. She's sexy and charismatic but also vulnerable and conflicted. It's a delicate balance she won't hit again until her Woody Allen years.

3. Scoop (2006; Woody Allen)
From 2005-2008, Johansson starred in three almost consecutive Woody Allen films, each different than the last. Johansson's Woody Allen trilogy had such an amazing impact on her career and skills as an actor because each film plays to a different aspect of her screen persona. (the seductress in Match Point, the existential wanderer in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and the self-deprecating charmer in Scoop). I highlighted Scoop because it's such an underrated goofy comedy, with Johansson being the funniest she's ever been in her career. It's such a loose, charming performance and a sweet contrast to her more serious-minded films. Her on-screen chemistry with Allen is fun and probably true to life if interviews and the PBS Woody Allen documentary are to be believed.

4. The Other Boleyn Girl (2008; Justin Chadwick)
One thing about Johansson that does not get much attention is her accent work. And it really shines in The Other Boleyn Girl, a historical (well, "historical") costume drama about the ill-fated romances between King Henry VIII and the sisters Anne and Mary Boleyn. Johansson plays Mary, the more demure of the two. Unusual for Johansson at this time in her career, Johansson doesn't play the sexpot seductress--that role goes to Natalie Portman as Anne. Johansson plays Mary as pure and kindhearted, who seduces the King by not seducing him. She eventually gets tossed aside for the more alluring Anne. Johansson is coy but tragic and vulnerable. This melodrama isn't exactly a perfect film but I find it one of Johansson's most intriguing and different roles.

5. The Avengers (2012; Joss Whedon)
Johansson entered the Marvel Comics universe with Iron Man 2, an overstuffed action movie that had no room for her (even though she looked hotter than ever). But when she returned in The Avengers, her character and performance improved by miles. As Natasha Romanoff, Johansson was cool and collected and she smartly downplayed while her male co-stars (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, Hawkeye and even villain Loki) forgot the word restraint. Johansson can never be unsexy but the movie never sexualizes or objectifies Romanoff. And it's nice to see Johansson in such a big movie, running and jumping like a true action star.

Other remarkable movies starring Scarlett Johansson
1. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
2. A Love Song for Bobby Long
3. Girl with a Pearl Earring
4. Match Point
5. The Horse Whisperer

Hope you enjoyed part 5 of my 5 Films blog series about the wonderful and awesome Scarlett Johansson. Look out for part 6 starring the brilliant Brad Pitt (I think). Leave your comments below!

Skyfall: Old Age and Oedipal Rage

Warning: massive spoilers for Skyfall below.

Skyfall has emerged as one of the best outings for the iconic British spy James Bond (Daniel Craig). It ranks along with From Russia with Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Spy Who Loved Me. But Skyfall is a unique Bond film in that the diabolical plan from Bond villain Raoul Silva (Oscar winner Javier Bardem) doesn't involve world domination or destruction. It is in fact a very personal revenge plan to humiliate and kill M (Oscar winner Judi Dench) years after she leaves Silva, an ex-MI6 agent, for dead after a mission goes wrong. His rage against M is Oedipal in nature; he calls her Mother mockingly and he plays the Prodigal Son to Bond's Good Son.

Silva's revenge plot represents the general theme of disposability that runs through Skyfall. In this world of dangerous, shadowy espionage people are easily dispensed with once their job is done or once their usefulness is compromised. The film begins with James Bond finding Ronson (MI6 agent, double-O number unknown) fatally wounded. M orders Bond to leave and continue pursuing Ronson's attacker Patrice (Ola Rapace) who stole important information from him regarding undercover agents. Bond does so after a moment's hesitation. The job must be done.

This scenario happens many times in the film. Agents and other people are rendered dispensable when the time comes. This affects almost all the characters including Bond himself. The catalyst to the plot has M forcing MI6 agent Eve (Naomie Harris) to shoot at Patrice even though she could hit Bond. She misses and sends Bond falling to his possible death.

Bond and M are threatened with forced retirement because of their old age and past mistakes. Bond fails his physical exam and M lets him continue his mission, which then nearly costs her job. There is always someone younger and healthier to take your place in this world. In M's case, Gareth Mallory (Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes) is standing at the wings and waiting for M to make the mistake that will end her career.

Silva forces M to take a long, hard look at her choices. Her whole career is being flashed before her eyes as Mallory and Clair Dowar (Helen McCrory) investigate her choices and mistakes. Being under their eye as well as being Silva's target unravel and unnerve M. The end of her career is looming and she starts to feel the same sting of disposability which her agents and Silva feel.

And that's why the climax had to take place at Bond's ancestral home Skyfall. There, Bond wasn't disposable and had people who loved and cared for him as himself, not just as a servant to Mother England. The battle between Silva and Bond and M isn't just another nondescript world domination plot that we've seen in countless other 007 films. To quote the Jaws sequel poster: this time, it's personal.  This battle actually has personal meaning for Bond and M, thus raising the stakes even more than usual. Sure, in the next 007 movie, there will be another villain with another goal but Silva has had an actual effect on Bond, M and MI6.

Even outside MI6, the threat of being disposed of and dispensable hovers over the characters. This especially holds true for poor Severine (Berenice Marlohe), the tragic lamb of Skyfall. In general there are three types of Bond Girls: the Moneypenny type (flirtations but nothing more), the "bed and dead" type (dies or disappears after giving Bond info and sleeping with him) and the "endgame" type (survives through the end, helping Bond with the mission). Skyfall contains all three except M is the endgame Bond Girl (or Lady I guess, since calling Dame Judi Dench a girl is stupid), Severine is the bed and dead type and Eve is literally the Moneypenny type.

As the bed and dead type of Bond Girl, Severine, possibly named for the equally tragic protagonist in Belle de Jour, highlights this theme of dispensability that runs through Skyfall. She has 20 minutes or so of screentime and exists mainly to deliver Bond to Silva. This is nothing new for the 007 series. There usually is some femme fatale that has her uses and then is killed off.

The difference is that the filmmakers and Marlohe worked hard to create a genuinely interesting and mysterious character. Severine is a troubled woman whose past horrors are hinted at but never explored. There's just enough of a mystery behind Severine so that she doesn't remain just another pretty face for Bond to conquer. It's a credit to both the script and Marlohe's neurotic, complex performance that Severine's inevitable death is surprising, effective and tragic. Severine may be dispensable within the world of Skyfall but Marlohe is not. Severine's death actually means something now; she is yet another unfortunate casualty like Ronson, an additional motivation for Bond to defeat Silva.

I know Skyfall has its detractors because of its fantastical action scenes and highly personal plot. But for me Skyfall remains a singular achievement in the Bond franchise,. It's a continuation of the hard work done by Casino Royale to extend the series beyond mindless fun and give it some emotional weight. Skyfall explores the themes of human disposability through its focus on old age and Silva's revenge plot against M. I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on Skyfall. Feel free to leave your comments below.

5 Films #4: Channing Tatum

For part 4 of my blog series highlighting notable or infamous films in an actor's career, I've chosen Mr. Channing Tatum alias The ChanMan. He went from someone I didn't really care for to someone I sort of liked to one of my favorite movie stars. Public and critical reception too has grown favorably in the last few years.

Channing Tatum became one of the biggest box office draws of 2012, releasing three varied films all grossing over $100 million at the box office. Why has he become so popular? Tatum has developed himself a really unique screen persona but one that took a long time and a few misfires before he perfected it.

1. She's the Man (2006; Andy Fickman)
Channing Tatum's big breakout movie was the Shakespeare-inspired comedy She's the Man, where he plays Amanda Bynes' love interest Duke Orsino (named after Twelfth Night's Duke of Orsino). Back when this movie first came out, I thought Tatum's performance was really weak. Looking back on it now, it's clear he was starting to cultivate his own persona: the slightly jockish nice guy who never gets the credit for being smarter than he looks. But Tatum was too young to pull off a persona like that. So he just comes across as a dumb sexy airhead. His comic chops are there but not as refined as they will later become. She's the Man is an enjoyable comedy but Tatum had a lot of tweaking to do regarding his screen persona.

2. Step Up (2006; Anne Fletcher)
I gotta be honest. It's been a while since I saw Step Up but from what I remember it's a typical inner-city Romeo and Juliet type love story set against the world of dance. If I recall correctly, the main attractions here are the dance numbers and that this is the movie where Tatum met his wife and producing partner Jenna Dawan. Tatum's dancing ability is really important to his likability. It sets him apart from other buff leading men. When you're talented at something other people aren't, I think audiences are more likely to find you interesting. And that happened with Tatum following Step Up. He still had work to do with acting but at least he was starting to become more than a handsome face and toned body like so many of his contemporaries.

3. Fighting (2009; Dilo Montiel)
In terms of building his persona as a lovable, slightly more intelligent than one would expect jock, Tatum does quite well in Fighting, another generic movie that has long list of "inspired-by" movies. But Tatum was pretty good in it as Shawn MacArthur, converting stony expressions into existenial confusion. The thoughts behind his blank stares are starting to become clear. Fighting also gave Tatum to exploit his intense physical presence. He owns the movie so much that his rough dialogue delivery doesn't even matter. He's on his way to becoming the star he is today.
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4. 21 Jump Street (2012; Phil Lord and Chris Miller)
It took Tatum about 3 years to truly master his screen presence. After wooing Rachel McAdams and just about everyone else in The Vow, Tatum released this comedy based on the popular 80s drama series. But 21 Jump Street showed yet another side of Tatum. He's funny! And self-aware! As Jenko, he plays the exact kind of dumb, arrogant jock the world thought he was. Except he was clearly spoofing that perception and his performance was smart enough to let everyone know he was  in on the joke. Aside from the physical presence and good looks, the Tatum persona is starting to get a soul and that was the major hurdle blocking the other roles from really clicking.

5. Magic Mike (2012; Steven Soderbergh)
And this brings me to Magic Mike. It's definitely Channing Tatum's best performance and the role which probably would have gotten some awards attention if Magic Mike weren't a movie about male strippers marketed as some zany, sexy girls night out comedy. But Magic Mike is a tragicomic  look at the late 20s existential crisis when young adults start to chase bigger dreams than being rich and partying. Michael Lane alias Magic Mike presents himself as some hunky doof who takes his clothes off for a living in Tampa. But in reality he's a quiet soul full of hopes and dreams on the verge of being realized or destroyed by one wrong decision. All of the elements of Tatum's persona come into play with Magic Mike: the dancing, the intense screen presence, the stammering uncertainty, the hidden intelligence and self-awareness. And they all blend together to make a textured, complex performance.

Other Remarkable Films Starring Channing Tatum
1. Dear John
2. 10 Years
3. Haywire
4. Side Effects
5. The Vow

I know it's a little late but I hope you enjoyed Part 4 of "5 Films." Next up: the beautiful and talented Ms. Scarlett Johansson. Stay tuned.

Let Me Be Your Embarrassing Failure: The Steady Decline of NBC's Smash

Picture it: Fall 2011. NBC is promoting its latest hour long drama. But this one is unique. It's not about cops or lawyers or doctors. It's not about high school or families. It actually has an interesting premise, one that no one on network TV has done before: the backstage process of putting together a big-time Broadway musical about one of Hollywood's most enduring icons, the incomparable Marilyn Monroe. It promised to be an adult, sophisticated workplace drama centered on two equally talented rival actresses.

Smash premiered to solid ratings and glowing reviews. But the ratings slowly declined each week, finally making Smash one of the lowest rated shows on network TV. And the reviews too ridiculed Smash. Just yesterday, NBC decided to send Smash to the Saturday night death slot to finish out its second season.

What happened?

Well, a lot of things. And all those things combined together made for such an embarrassing disaster for NBC, which paid $4 million/episode and promoted the hell out of Smash. But there are five primary reasons for Smash's failure:

1. Smash became a star vehicle instead of an ensemble piece.
Smash has an incredible cast including Oscar winner Anjelica Huston, Emmy winner Debra Messing, Tony winner Christian Borle, Broadway darling Megan Hilty, British actor Jack Davenport and American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee. And it has the premise and character setups to be a strong ensemble. Huston as the producer, Messing and Borle as the writers, Davenport as the director and McPhee and Hilty as the up and coming starlets.

But somewhere during the development and during the writing process, the crew behind Smash decided that McPhee's Karen Cartwright would be the lead and everyone else would be supporting her. That was a huge disservice to the show since ingenues are rarely ever interesting enough to hang your proverbial hat on. But the producers kept shoving Karen down our throats.

Because Karen is a mid-20s young woman, the producers thought that her career isn't enough to attract a female audience. She must also go through tons of boyfriend issues. The audience signed up for an insider's look at Broadway and instead got a show where a struggling actress has to deal with her political aide boyfriend's sexy co-worker. And so the audience started to leave.

2. The star of Smash cannot act convincingly, let alone carry the entire show.
Focusing on Karen may not have been such a bad choice if Katharine McPhee were a compelling actress in her own right. But she is so woefully bad, giving out robotic line readings and exuding zero screen charisma. Karen herself isn't even a compelling character. The writers made Karen the Be-All-End-All of musical theatre. They simply waved away McPhee's faults by desperately claiming that Karen has some kind of indescribable, inexplicable X factor which made her a better choice to play Marilyn. But that wasn't what was being seen onscreen. McPhee is a very beautiful girl and she has a lovely voice. But she's just not good as an actress nor does she have a voice appropriate for the Broadway stage.

Audiences don't like to be told what to think. But because Smash kept handing everything to Karen on a silver platter without her earning it, it started to lose credibility. And when the show started to compare Karen to Megan Hilty's Ivy, it became clear that Hilty had the chops to be a credible Broadway star (which she is in real life). Obviously that couldn't happen so Ivy was depicted as a villain and put through some embarrassing plots (like when she got high off prescription drugs and made a fool of herself onstage).

The "Karen Problem" became so bad that now whenever Karen does anything, it can only be explained by the Magical Unicorn Blood that runs through her veins. The show has not given the audience any other reason to believe she's capable of doing anything on her own merit. She refuses to learn the way Broadway works (which cheats the audience out of learning that too). She just now in the last two episodes (like 20+ episodes into Smash's run) mentioned taking acting and singing lessons. And the reason she was ultimately cast as Marilyn as opposed to the more talented, more experienced, more shapely Ivy? The director had visions of her as Marilyn. She didn't earn it. The director just had visions of her. I mean, what is that??

3. The real stars of Smash got saddled with meaningless and poorly written plots.
Let's be real here, the majority of the TV audience doesn't care or know much about Broadway theatre. So Smash really had to bank on the two most well-known actors in the cast: Debra Messing and Anjelica Huston. Both ladies unfortunately also got saddled with plots that are both inane and insulting. Like we saw with Karen, the writers assumed that women only want to watch women characters in relationship drama. So instead of seeing how a female writer and a female producer try to make it in a male-dominated business, we saw Messing character Julia's affair with one of the actors or Huston character Eileen gei a shady bartender boyfriend.

Relationship drama is fine. I enjoy it when done well on the right show. But on Smash, it just didn't work. The problem was that Smash had much better material to work with. The initial audience tuned in to see backstage drama. So why focus on relationships? That stuff has been done before on better shows. I guess when the audience realized that the actors they tuned in to see weren't being given anything exciting or unique to do, they tuned out. And that's a shame because both Messing and Huston are inherently likable and watchable and their performances always remained strong even when the story failed them.

4. Smash succumbed to the "Glee Model of Musical Television."
Because Glee is a success both in the ratings and on the iTunes charts, producers of TV musicals (which really just includes Smash, Glee and ABC's Nashville) are all trying to maintain crossover success with iTunes. And that's fine. More downloads, more profits, more name recognition, more watchers. But who buys singles on iTunes? Young people, who were not the supposed audience for Smash. But in order to get more sales on iTunes, Smash started featuring its characters, namely Karen, singing known pop songs in ridiculous, implausible situations like while bowling or in Times Square.

Obviously, because the show was about musical theatre, song and dance numbers were expected. But I was hoping that the songs would be within the context of the Broadway stage, not just because they want to sell more songs on iTunes. I imagine that the producers wanted a wide range of songs, not just the traditional Broadway stuff for the Marilyn musical. And they sort of achieved that with the 2nd season plot of "Hit List," which is a more pop-based musical. But still Smash eventually started catering to the iTunes audience, which sacrificed some of its creative integrity and believability.

5. Smash became aware of its problems but then didn't fix any of them. 
During the 8 month hiatus between seasons 1 and 2, Smash received a lot of negative press. It became infamous for beginning the "hate-watching" phenomenon (which wasn't really as big a phenomenon as the media made it out to be). Then creator Theresa Rebeck was fired and new showrunner Joshua Safran started doing press about how the show was going through a creative reevaluation and that things will be different. The big joke was that the first thing they changed was that Messing's wardrobe would consist of fewer scarves.

But that turned out to be the only big change. Sure, Safran got rid of the show's most troublesome characters but he replaced them with ones even more insufferable (like Jeremy Jordan's troubled-bordering-on-abusive-and-coke-addicted songwriter or Daniel Sunjata's know-it-all script doctor). The season 2 premiere began with Karen receiving rave reviews from the Boston tryout performances. Ivy was still being punished for being better.

But even more annoying was that the show would mention these issues with a wink. For example, money-minded producer Jerry says that Karen isn't good enough to headline a show without eye-popping visuals or Ivy, fired from the Marilyn show and cast in a Dangerous Liaisons musical, has her big song cut for a while because she's better than the star. It's like the Smash producers can't see the forest for the trees. Yeah, Messing looks better onscreen but her character is still circling around an interesting storyline without engaging with it.

These to me are the five major reasons why Smash devolved from a prestige project to an embarrassing failure. Hopefully, in a few years, another network will try again the backstage drama and do it with a little more class and self-awareness. Now that Smash has been relegated to a Saturday time-slot, it will die a a slow death. Unfortunately, its legacy will live on as a "what not to do" tutorial for future television writers and producers.

5 Films #3: Keira Knightley

For part three of my new series, I've chosen Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley who sort of became infamous for being a corset queen but has also been recognized for her committed, textured performances. Keira Knightley rose to fame with a blockbuster franchise but has since scaled down her career, appearing in literary adaptations or intimate indie films. Let's take a look at how her career has taken shape in the last few years or so.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003; Gore Verbinski)
Knightley broke out with the sleeper hit Bend It Like Beckham and that led her to be cast as the proper but excitable Elizabeth Swann. This movie was the beginning of Knightley's career as a corset queen, meaning it was the first in a long string of period films. Of course, the Pirates of the Caribbean series has been and will always be The Johnny Depp Show so it's not a good showcase for her talents. But the movie did give us the iconic line "You like pain? Try wearing a corset!" so it has that going for it.

2. Pride & Prejudice (2005; Joe Wright)
Knightley then took on literary feminist icon Elizabeth Bennett in the latest adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel. Her performance here is powerhouse, doing a modern take on the character while remaining true to the spirit of the novel. The great thing about this performance, which led to her first and only Oscar nomination, is that Knightley brings out the aspects of Lizzie that are unlikeable or frustrating and yet she remains lovable and a heroine to root for. It's a beautiful balancing act and  Knightley pulls it off, making Pride & Prejudice one of her most memorable films

3. The Duchess (2008; Saul Dibb)
Though P&P is one of my favorite Knightley films, the peak of her corset queen career is The Duchess. As the famous/infamous Duchess Georgiana of Devonshire, Knightley puts in her most powerful and expressive performance to date. Her work here is gut-wrenching; she uses her face and body language to convey a range of emotions much darker than anything she had done prior. This movie got overlooked, earning respectable but not remarkable reviews and respectable but not remarkable box office returns. That was probably due to people being tired of Knightley in period dramas (after all, she had just finished her last Pirates movie a year before this movie and that was also the longest one).

4. Last Night (2010; Massy Tadjedin)
Starring the English Knightley, the Australian Sam Worthington as her husband , the American Eva Mendes and the French Guillaume Canet (aka Mr. Marion Cotillard), Last Night is a look at the two kinds of infidelity: emotional and physical. The movie isn't very good because the script doesn't accomodate for Worthington's and Mendez's limitations as actors and even Canet gets saddled with a "charming French guy out to bone your wife" part. So the movie rests on Knightley's shoulders. She gets the most complex character and offers the best performance. This movie is catnip for hardcore Knightley fans like myself not just because it takes place in the 21st century but also because she's never looked better.

5. A Dangerous Method (2011; David Cronenberg)
A Dangerous Method was Knightley's riskiest and most shocking performance. She throws herself into her role as Sabrina Spielrein, the woman at the center of the beginning of psychoanalysis. It is an extremely physical role, with facial tics and stuttering and the like. Her performance becomes more restrained as the film goes on and the character starts to get help. But critics were so divided over it (some lauding it, others completely trashing it) that she was robbed yet again of the proper awards attention. Personally, I thought Knightley was incredibly brave and unpredictable, grounding Sabrina's hysteria and making her intelligent but confused about herself.

Other remarkable films starring Keira Knightley:
1. Anna Karenina
2. Atonement
3. Never Let Me Go
4. Bend It Like Beckham
5. Love Actually

Hope you enjoyed part 3 of my "5 Films" series. Look out for part 4 with my main man Mr. Channing Tatum. Leave your comments below!