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‘Mozart in the Jungle’: More Than an Etude?

January 14, 2016 in Book Matters, Reviews, TV Matters

The second season of “Mozart in the Jungle,” the series adapted from classical oboist Blair Tindall’s 2005 memoir, was launched by Amazon Prime right before New Year’s Eve. I hesitate to use the word “dumping” but it’s safe to say most TV shows are usually on hiatus during that time for good reasons. (The multiplexes dangle plenty of Oscar bait for those keen to escape family time.) So the two Golden Globes – best TV comedy and best TV comedy actor for Gael García Bernal – that the show just won probably surprised more than the people who’ve never watched it. (My social media feed was clotted with tweets like “Guess I need to start watching #MITJ now? #whoknew.”) A colleague familiar with my appreciation for the show messaged me: “Can you pretend to defend this as the best TV comedy?”

My answer, actually, was no. In fact, I’m not even sure if “Mozart” qualifies as a comedy (though certainly it’s funnier than “The Martian,” which inexplicably won the Golden Globe for best film comedy). That said, I do believe it delivers exactly what we should expect from premium television: a glimpse into a typically unexplored subculture, truths about the human condition, and high and low pleasure. Continue Reading →

Another Opening, Another Show

October 27, 2015 in Film Matters, Theater Matters, TV Matters

It’s Tuesday morning, which means I’m ironing my dress and my hair, applying my warpaint, practicing my film reviews on permakitten Grace, and belting out this song in preparation for another episode of Talking Pictures. Lately I’d prefer my life be a Broadway musical rather than a French film. I take this as a good sign.

Silver Spoons and Fighting Seasons: Ricky Schroder and Me

May 28, 2015 in Film Matters, Past Matters, Snapshot, TV Matters

Ricky Schroder may be the best pop culture indicator of whether a person was born before or after 1985. Mention his name to those born after that year, and chances are good they’ll smile blankly. But someone born before that year will light up. They’ll yammer about how heartbreaking he was in 1979’s “The Champ,” and how funny he was in the 1980s sitcom “Silver Spoons” with Jason Bateman. If these don’t resonate, they’ll recall his work in the 1990s series “NYPD Blue.” And they’ll invariably tell you: “You know, he prefers to be called Rick now.”

These days, Rick Schroder goes by “Ricky” again, and he’s been busy behind the camera instead of in front of it. He’s the producer and creator of “The Fighting Season,” a six-episode DirecTV docu-series about 100 days in the run-up to last year’s Afghan presidential elections. No matter how you feel about U.S. involvement in that part of the world, the show offers a fascinating glimpse into how our military wages contemporary battles, with the sort of footage that used to proliferate the nightly news in the Vietnam War era but is increasingly rare these days.

For AOL Build, I got a chance to talk with Ricky about “The Fighting Season” as well as his feelings about being a longtime show-biz veteran. (Spoiler: He’s pretty over the Hollywood scene, and only stays in touch with Robert Duvall and Jon Voight.) Easygoing and generous of spirit, Ricky is that rare star who is as pleasant in person as he seems on screen.

Here’s our full conversation:

"All, everything I understand, I understand only because I love."
― Leo Tolstoy