Back in March of last year, I spanked Ron Howard’s new family drama Parenthood.
It had suffered the double misfortune of being forced to miscast its lead actress (Maura Tierney, who had become seriously ill) and enter the television year at mid-season, following the hugely popular breakout comedy Modern Family.
Thanks for playing, guys, but the family show and hit of the year had already been crowned.
I was also disappointed in what I found to be stereotypical characters and storylines. But I had already set the DVR — the cast, including Lauren Graham, Peter Krause and T. Craig Nelson, was really good, after all — so I hung around to see what developed.
Two years later, I’m still here.
And last night, when Alex broke up with Haddie — and told Kristina that she was the mother he had never had and that he loved their family — it was gut-wrenching. I literally blubbered. As I struggled to see the TV screen through my tears, the memory of that blog entry floated in my memory’s eye.
Mea culpa.
Posted in Blogging, Blogs, Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Family, Humor, Life, Love, Relationships, Television, TV, Writing
Tagged blogging, blogs, Braverman family, breakout hit, casting, celebrities, comedy, commentary, DVR, entertainment, family, family drama, family show, gut-wrenching good-bye, hit of the year, Humor, Lauren Graham, lead actress, life, Maura Tierney, mea culpa, mid-season replacement, Modern Family tv show, NBC, Parenthood tv show, Peter Krause, Relationships, Ron Howard, stereotypes, T. Craig Nelson, Television, tired storylines, TV
I’ve always liked it a lot, even though I think Whoopi Goldberg was miscast as the lead.
Men of action
Since I had a late night celebrating New Year’s Eve — thank you, Skype — I decided to ease into 2015 reading on the couch.
Today’s tome?
No, Cary Elwes wasn’t here with me, darn the luck — but his memoir of the casting, preparation and filming of The Princess Bride reads like a candid conversation.
Elwes reminisces about every step and misstep (literally) in his journey as the sword-wielding Westley, true love of Buttercup and (SPOILER ALERT) secret identity of the Dread Pirate Roberts. Every word telegraphs his enduring love for the role and for the cast and crew, as do sidebars from co-stars Mandy Patinkin, Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal and director Rob Reiner.
But it is Elwes’ gratitude and humility some 25 years later that are most endearing. He has enjoyed a successful career in film, but acknowledges that he owes an enormous debt to…
The Man in Black.
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Posted in Books, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Movies
Tagged As You Wish book, Billy Crystal, books, Buttercup, Cary Elwes, casting, celebrities, co-star, commentary, conversation, director, Dread Pirate Roberts, endearing, entertainment, filmmaking, gratitude, humility, Humor, Mandy Patinkin, memoir, men of action, Movies, New Year's Eve, reading, Rob Reiner, Robin Wright, Skype, successful career, The Man in Black, The Princess Bride, tome, Wallace Shawn, Westley