"We're not bad people, but we did a bad thing"

As I dive deeper in the streaming TV options, my Broadway love pulled me toward the Netflix series Bloodline.  Now this intense family drama has no musical numbers or peppy dance breaks, but it does have Norbert Leo Butz so this show has been on to watch list for a while.

For those uninitiated, Norbert Leo Butz is a man of Broadway fame, winner of two Tony Awards (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Catch Me If You Can) and originated the role of Fiyero in Wicked on Broadway.

Dreamy, confused Fiyero

He's one of the brothers in this large mysterious family, so while his role isn't particularly large, I'm excited when any Broadway actor breaks into TV or film.  And his wife is played by the lovely Katie Finneran, also a two time Tony winner (Noises Off and Promises, Promises)

Bloodline features a family of four siblings that are brought together for a weekend to celebrate their parents' success running a prestigious hotel in Key West.

We've got Kyle Chandler, from Friday Night Lights, as the sheriff and all around "good" son.  He serves as our narrator who ominously tells us that when his oldest brother comes to visit, it's always trouble.  But that this time would be the worst of them all.  DUN DUN DUN!
He also says the line I made the title of this entry: "We're not bad people, but we did a bad thing" which is clearly the tagline of this show.

My boy Norbert plays the youngest sibling, who seems to be the more emotional and fun of the four kids.  In one scene, he plays as the MC of their giant tug of war game and I can see how Norbert could have read this scene and landed the part instantly.

We have Linda Cardellini as the sole sister, Meg, whose opening shot is having backseat car sex with her fiance.  Honestly her character doesn't develop much after that first shot, which is fine, considering this actress was a staple of my childhood from Scooby Doo to Boy Meets World (I mean she almost broke up Cory and Topanga!), I will love her in anything and everything she does.

"Jeepers!"

And the black sheep, oldest son who will probably mess everything up is played by Ben Mendelsohn, an Australian actor (fooled me!) who I absolutely buy as the drugged up misfit prodigal son.
Sissy Spacek and Sam Shepard are the parents.  Sissy is a sweet anxious mess at the top of the pilot, stating that she will relax when her whole family is there.  And then the rest of the pilot, everyone else is constantly concerned about her - like a light breeze will upset her and she will wither away into a pile of dust.
After Sam Shepard appeared in August: Osage County, I'm wondering if Mr. Shepard will only act the part of an older patriarch in a boat as he opens this show in a kayak.  Because of August, I did worry that something would happen in that boat, but he made it back okay.

You know this show is deep because everyone is looking wistfully in different directions

So this pilot, clocking in at 59 minutes, does not move super fast.  It establishes some of the family dynamics I've already mentioned and I thought the dialogue felt realistic.
Some scenes read like this:

Brother 1: Hey, I'm bringing a date tonight, can you add her to the family table?
Sister:  A date?  We've never met her before
Brother 1: I know, I know.  Just do me a solid and squeeze her in.
Brother 2: Hey what's going on here?
Sister: He's bringing a date
Brother 2:  A date?  We've never met her before.
Brother 3: Hey what's going on here?

You get the idea - I almost laughed out loud at the repetitive nature of scenes like this, mostly because it felt so real.  A new person walks into a conversation and you explain what's going on and the newcomer repeat exactly what has already been said before they arrived.  And somehow these scenes didn't come off as redundant or annoying.  I genuinely felt uncomfortable and thought "Yeah, this is absolutely how families work."  Everyone puts in their two cents until it gets awkward and loud.
And then we eat turkey.

The pilot ends with a bang that literally made me yell "What?!"  So Netflix has figured out that a long slow 58 minutes of TV is always saved by one last minute of excitement and I will instantly start streaming the next episode.
The performances are very strong and powerful in this show and I was never bored watching it.  I would say if you enjoy character-driven shows where they really explore backstory and motivation, you'll like Bloodline.  If, however, you watched an episode of Lost and thought it was a waste if the Smoke Monster didn't appear, you may want to pass.
I definitely fall in the former group so I will continue watching and I give this pilot 7 out of 10 awkward family dinners.

"A breath is simply a bridge to your next breath"

As pilot seasons winds down for the fall, I have started exploring the vast world of online TV series.  I have an epically long list of TV shows I need to watch and so many of them are from various streaming platforms.

Today, I decided to try out a pilot from Amazon Prime that came highly recommended to me from a friend: Mozart in the Jungle. 

I heard it had Bernadette Peters in it, so I was pretty much sold instantly.  Not sure who Bernadette Peters is?  She's the fiery red head who has rocked Broadway for the past 40 some years and was in the movie musicals, Annie and Cinderella with Brandy (potentially the most racially diverse casting of a musical before Hamilton came along ;-)

Bernadette, right, in NBC's Smash

Also, the poster for this show is quite an eye-catching spectacle.  With all the pastel colors, should it be called "Mozart in Wonderland"?

The NY Symphony has never been sexier

As the episode began to load, the first title card that flashed across the screen was Amazon Comedy.  By the end of the pilot, I think this is a mistake to label this series that way.  It is a 30 minute episode, but comparing this show to something like 30 Rock or The Grinder only does it a disservice.

Don't get me wrong, there are funny moments in this show, but not ones with howling out loud laughter.

I loved when the sexy upright bass player, Cynthia, tells her new friend, Hailey how a man's profession determines how he'll be in bed.  They cut away to various sultry scenes of Cynthia having sex with a violinist and a percussionist.  

It took me about a scene and a half to tell these two apart... The red lipstick on Cynthia helped

Another funny highlight for me is when some of the symphony players run to play in a Broadway pit and we see the show: Styx Oedipus Rocks!  As I see the marquee and hear the song, Come Sail Away, I can immediately see the Rock of Ages parody.  Also, the star is none other than Constantine Maroulis from American Idol!  Halfway through the scene, red marks appear under his eyes for when he gouges his eyes out.  Why isn't this a real musical?!

Constantine, right, as Oedipus. Jason Schwartzman, left, head writer

My overall impression of this pilot was one of subtle intrigue.  I wasn't jumping out of my seat in excitement, like when I watched the pilot of The Grinder two weeks ago, but again, I don't believe Mozart in the Jungle should be directly compared to comedies.

This show is going to explore behind the scenes of the NY symphony and what it is like to be a working instrumentalist.  As a creative type, I find this world somewhat familiar and yet foreign at the same time.  I wondered throughout the scenes if the actors were really playing their instruments (it seemed to me they might be) although watch my wiser friends who did high school band and orchestra correct me. 

The writing is very smart and straightforward.  Not once was I confused by a character's motivation nor did I think "that would never happen!"  Even when the main character, Hailey, has a crazy house party where they take shots and then play different classical pieces on their instruments until someone plays a wrong note, I was 100% on board.

There are a few quirky and playful moments in the script, which I wonder if that's simply the style of the two head writers and cousins, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman.   Jason, pictured above, is also an actor who has appeared in almost all of Wes Anderson films (my favorite being Moonrise Kingdom) so I wonder if Wes's quintessential style has rubbed off on him.  And yes, in case you didn't already know, Jason and Roman are part of THAT Coppola family with relatives Francis Ford, Sophia and Nicholas Cage.  Talia Shire, Adrian from the Rocky movies, is Jason's mom!!  

A face only a mother could love...

When they introduce the new conductor, Rodrigo, they show him conducting rather frantically as the backdrop changes just as frantically.  While this type of moment never repeats in the pilot, I found it amusing rather than jarring.

Looks like they borrowed backdrops from a 90s Hanson music video

The performances across the board are fantastic.  I can already see Gael Garcia Bernal is going to be a perfect cast for the eccentric conductor genius, Rodrigo, and his bitter predecessor, Thomas, played by Malcolm Mcdowell, will go toe to toe with him nicely.

I'm excited to see all of these actors since I know almost none of them and thus have no prior baggage going into this series.

The pilot ends on a cliff hanger as whether or not Hailey will be considered for the NY Symphony.  I most definitely will continue to watch this show as the pilot made it seem both intriguing and effortless.

I give this pilot 8 out of 10 frantic conducting backdrops.

West CoVINA!! CALIFORNIA!

It’s 2005 at a high school summer camp with a a half dozen girls singing a pitchy rendition of “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy” from South Pacific.

Immediately the show, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is already appealing to inner musical theatre nerd.  I feel myself sitting up a little straighter, this show is speaking my language.

You may have seen the giant billboards for this new CW show (they’ve been hard to miss in NYC).  And I have to say the ad campaign and the title turned me a little off to the show.  I mean, the poster has actress, Rachel Bloom, with a dare I say… crazy look on her face as she clenches a broken balloon string for dear life as the balloon is floating away.  A metaphor perhaps for her character’s life?

Also “crazy ex-girlfriend” is a term that gets thrown around a lot and it makes me squirm a little bit.  Girls get labeled as crazy too quickly and I don’t want an entire TV show to reenforce that!

All that being said, I think, for the most part, this show won me over.  While there were some moments where I winced at the awkwardness, overall, the lead character, Rebecca Bunch felt relatable in a lot of ways.

As you may have guessed, the show begins with Rebecca Bunch getting dumped by her summer camp boyfriend, Josh Chan.  Flash forward 10 years and she no longer does the musical theatre she loves, but works hard at a law firm.  So hard in fact that she’s offered a junior partnership.

She runs into Josh Chan on the street and immediately is reminded of how much she loved him and loved her life back at high school summer camp.

So like anyone would do, she quits her job and moves to California where Josh lives to try to get back with him.

Crazy, right?

Her sudden cross country move is highlighted by a fantastic musical number that reminds me of the movie Enchanted, the song "That's How You Know."  I really did enjoy this number ("West Covina California") and I think this show will succeed where others have failed in justifying musical moments.  Since she’s “crazy,” they’re inside her mind and they fit quite nicely.

All musical numbers should end with the lead being lifted into the air by a giant pretzel

The other musical number in this episode is Rebecca preparing for a date called “Sexy Getting Ready Song”, think a R&B slow jam.  This song made me laugh as a girl who has never been graceful at primping and it also highlights just how ridiculous women can be in what lengths they will go for beauty - Spanx galore!

The main reason I actually decided to watch this show was because of Santino Fontana, a Broadway actor recently in a Broadway production of Cinderella, so I’m hoping he gets to sing in a future episode!

You may have heard his voice in a little film called Frozen?

He seemed so nice...

Although I promise Hans and this guy, Greg, have just the voice in common.  Greg is the stereotypical sweet guy who the lead girl will never pay attention to but he’s clearly into her and better than whatever loser guy she’s obsessed with.  I’m a sucker for these guys - it’s why I read so many Meg Cabot books in high school.  Santino nails the part and has some great lines of wry and self-deprecating humor.

Aww, you can't resist those sad puppy dog eyes 

Which brings us the writing.  It’s definitely out there and wacky and it reminds me a bit of 30 Rock.  The writing is jam packed full of things to laugh at and moves so quickly, that you will enjoy some, miss a few, and go “…what?” at the rest.

Rachel Bloom is a new actor to me (apparently she’s a YouTube star?) but she definitely has some real strong moments in this pilot.  While she acts “crazy” and moves across the country, I definitely can relate to the stress and just having a “what am I doing with my life?!” moment.  She has a bit of a meltdown and while you or I may have a good cry with a pint of Cherry Garcia, she uproots her life and travels 3,000 miles to West Covina, California.

Overall, I thought this show was sweet and of course, the musical theatre features got me excited.  I am worried about keeping the “crazy ex-girlfriend” premise going for very long.  The writing is good, with some weird offbeat moments.  I liked near the end of the pilot where Rebecca gained a confidante who believes in her ability to get back Josh and will now join forces with her.  There’s an added layer of a strong female friendship, which may add some perspective or heighten the crazy, depending on which way they decide to go… probably the latter.  I think I may watch a few more episode although I’m afraid it may not find an audience and will get cancelled before it gets halfway through its first season.

I give this pilot 7 out of 10 giant crane pretzels.

"The Grinder Rests"

As the ending credits to Grinder rolled, I was almost giddy with excitement.  This review might be the easiest one I ever do (and possibly the shortest)

I LOVED IT!

Rob Lowe and Fred Savage are perfectly cast in this fun, half hour comedy made by FOX.  Rob Lowe plays an actor who was on a popular law procedural.  The pilot begins with Fred Savage, Rob Lowe and family watching the series finale of said show and without spoilers, the show is a perfect parody of every law and detective show you've ever seen!  After his few seasons on Parks and Recreation, I'm so excited that Rob Lowe is doing comedy again.  For you Parks and Rec fans, Lowe says "literally" at the end of this pilot and it made me miss Chris Traeger so much!

And Fred Savage I adore!  I can't believe he has disappeared from the acting sphere so completely. Apparently since his Wonder Years days, he has concentrated on directing and his resume credits are extensive: from episodes of Boy Meets World to Modern Family to Eddie Murphy's Daddy Day Camp, which earned him a prestigious Razzie nomination.

I completely buy Fred Savage as this small town lawyer from Iowa who feels overshadowed by his hot Hollywood actor brother and I kept laughing out loud at his angry outbursts.

And later in the episode, when Rob Lowe tries his hand at real life court proceedings, you have this to look forward to:

The opposing lawyer in the gif above is Kumail Nanjiani (Silicon Valley, Franklin and Bash) whom I adore.  He's one of the smaller actors I was excited to see in this pilot- people who will hopefully become super famous soon.  (If for some reason you are not watching Silicon Valley already, I highly recommend it!)

Another shout-out goes to Mary Elizabeth Ellis, who plays Fred Savage's wife.  She and Fred have such great chemistry and I loved their scenes together.  She has been in countless TV shows, usually for a couple of episodes, so she has had plenty of time to hone her great comedic chops.  You most likely will recognize her as the waitress Charlie Day stalks in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

When I finished watching this pilot, I was struck at how I forgot to take notes after the first few minutes.  Instead of analyzing and deconstructing every moment and character choice, I simply enjoyed the episode.  

My only worry for the series is whether or not they will be able to sustain the premise they have set up.  But regardless, I am 100% on board for the ride and plan to continue watching!

I have purposefully given a lighter and less in-depth review because I think you will enjoy this pilot going in blind.  Go watch it now!  Here's a link: Grinder Pilot

I give this pilot 9 out of 10 notecards!