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Superior Donuts

From talented writer, Tracy Letts, author of the popular August: Osage County, Broadway's new Superior Donuts is a BEAUTIFUL play about the slowly fading "American Dream."

From start to finish, this play had me in stitches! Yasen Peyankov plays the perfect Russian small business owner in Chicago's Uptown district. He complains about every little thing with ultimate detail and dedication, lol. And who would have known that Jane Alderman as Lady used to work in casting. Her comedic timing never missed a beat!

But who really stole the show in terms of laughter was Jon Michael Hill as Franco Wicks. His role was very stereotypical, but Jon was so committed to his character, practically everything he said was hilarious! YET...at the same time....Franco was completely inspirational. He showed us the true value of the long-forgotten "American Dream," and that it can start at such a young age. We all have dreams and aspirations, but why are there so many people in this world who want to stop those from happening? Maybe more of our dreams would come true if we helped OTHERS with their own dreams first...

As for Michael McKean, this was a very different role for him, but he played it brilliantly. We are used to seeing Michael in Christopher Guest's mockumentary movies, but the role of Arthur was a little more sensitive than his usual taste. The relationship between him and Franco, however, was marvelous! One would never expect two people with such an age difference to click so suddenly, but Michael and Jon pulled it off with flying colors! It was the two of them who truly show us how important we are to each other, no matter what color, race, or sexuality we are. This relationship moves you to tears by the end of the play....

The ONLY THING I DIDN'T LIKE about this piece (and I blame no one but director and author...) was the monologues....I mean, seriously, guys? It was like you were trying to put a Shakespearean soliloquy into a really good contemporary play! You made them SOOOOOOO over-the-top important, but WHY!?!?!? First of all, I saw no reason for them. I could have cared less about what Arthur's father did to him when he was 5 years old, or how much Vietnam affected him. Honestly, I barely listened to him every time that spotlight burnt his face as Michael spoke directly to the audience, yet it still didn't affect my memory of the play. They were completely unnecessary! I mean, did you need a way to change the scene or something? Why couldn't Michael have talked to Franco directly? Could he have revealed this "need-to-know" information through more dialogue? That I would have enjoyed! But the way it is now....the play would be 110% perfection without the monologues completely. But for now, it's only 100%... ;)

The good news is that I saw Superior Donuts during previews, so hopefully the director reads this note before the show opens. I think the entire cast and production team has a smash hit without the monologues. Otherwise, it's still a hit! :)

I give this play 1 RED BULL!!!

(meaning I would only need 1 Red Bull to go see it again...and I usually have one every day, so that's only natural for me, lol!)

P.S. Thank you, Michael and Jon for your inspiration! You truly put on a wonderful show. :)

Robin Hood: Men In Tights

This is the FUNNIEST Mel Brooks movie of all time! I've seen it before, so I'm not really going to "review" it, but let me just say this....

Last night, I put a quote up from the movie as my Facebook status. The quote was: "From this day forth, all the toilets in the kingdom shall be known as.....JOHNS!!!" (A beautiful quote made by the handsome Patrick Stewart in reference to Prince John, played by Richard Lewis.) Well, let's just say that people are STILL commenting on my Facebook status, leaving one new quote after another! THAT'S how funny this movie is.....the jokes just keep coming and coming! And even after you've seen it plenty of times, the jokes are STILL funny! That's the power of Mel Brooks...

"Faigalas???"

"No, we're just merry...." :)

I give this movie NO REDBULLS!!!

(meaning I would not need a single Red Bull to stay awake to watch this movie over and over and over again...)

Funny People

I hate to say it, but I was a little disappointed in this movie.... :(

I mean, don't get me wrong, it was very funny! But the jokes got old, and I was expecting SO MUCH MORE!

That being said, let's start with what worked...

The opening: Watching old footage of Adam Sandler make prank phone calls was the perfect set up for a film. It brought me back to my childhood when Sandler was doing more slap-stick comedy.

And after this, the jokes were pretty good. I enjoyed how Seth Rogan and Sandler meet and begin working together, and the scenes between them were almost always hilarious! I also give props to Jonah Hill for using his comedic timing all the way to the end. This movie wouldn't have been the same without him... :)

But here's what DIDN'T WORK...

The story: Honestly, I think the trailer for this film COMPLETELY RUINED the movie for me when I saw it in it's entirety. In the trailer, we find out that Adam Sandler is going to die. Fine. I can totally see a movie being PHENOMENAL with "funny people" who USE their comedy and laughter to cheer people up or get through the worst of times in life. We all do that, no matter how funny we are...

But the trailer also tells us that Sandler becomes cured of his deathly disease. Which is only ok... Perhaps the cancer could have given him a second look at life. Fine. I wish we all had a chance at that, but I also wish the trailer hadn't given this piece of information away. I think I would have been more emotionally attached to Sandler's character if didn't know he was going to live BEFORE seeing the movie. Even without seeing the trailer, the fact that he becomes cured almost makes the cancer pointless. UNLESS he LEARNED from his "second look" at life, but I don't really think that he did...

Furthermore, when Sandler learns that he is dying, he goes after the "girl that got away." This is great. But it totally just BOMBED in the end. :( First off, it all worked out too fast. One minute, Leslie Mann (who is still hilarious, btw...) doesn't want to talk to Sandler because he used to stalk her, and the next minute they're best friends again and she's dumping her husband for him. And then a minute later, she's back to loving her Australian husband and leaving Adam Sandler again...WTF??? Did anyone else get that? Lol! Just like the cancer, in the end, things go back to the way they were set up in the beginning, and it only makes the whole affair completely pointless.

I admit, as funny as these people are, this movie could have been SO MUCH BETTER if Sandler's character died in the end, even after having his little affair with his old girlfriend, but the rest of the cast all used their comedy and jokes to help them deal with their loss. Now, THAT'S a movie I would see....and more than once....

I give this movie 2 REDBULLS!!!

(In other words, I would need 2 Redbulls to stay away to see this movie again, and mostly towards the end of the film...)

P.S. Although this movie was FAR too long for a comedy (even for a dramady...), and there was really NO ending, what I DID get out of this movie, especially from the last scene, was that it's the "funny people" in our lives (or our good friends) who should matter more to us than the "girls that got away." Friendships can last a lifetime, but only if we let them. Romantic relationships last....well....one never knows...