paramitch

I've been a casual viewer of Will & Grace for years, on and off, and have enjoyed it in small doses. The show does have some genuinely funny moments (such as the infamous water bra episode), but the show's ultimately unevenly written and acted (with so much overacting and scenery chewing by Messing and Hayes, in particular, that you can actually see the wood chips flying).

I'm a straight (not narrow) woman with several friends of all persuasions -- gay, straight, and bi -- but I honestly feel that Jack's the best thing the right wing's ever seen. He's an embarrassment, the best testimonial anywhere that gay men can't possibly be taken seriously. Jack's supremely self-centered, the blissfully oblivious butt of every prank, the poster boy for every gay joke ever told. And while Hayes can be a talented -- if one-note -- comic actor in small doses, I loathe the way this character spends all his time cruelly putting Will down for physical flaws that don't even exist (weirder yet is the fact that "dowdy" Will is the hottie, while full-of-himself Jack is merely average). And if Jack's not putting down Will, he and Karen are busy vilely putting down just about anyone else who crosses their paths -- there's no stereotype or racial slur the two won't embrace. (I love Megan Mullaly's performances as much as I love McCormick's -- but a little Karen does go a long way.)

The fact is, 'Will & Grace' plays the ultimate dirty trick on its audiences, and on the character of Will, by keeping him perpetually unattached as Grace's "pseudo-boyfriend." The show has its cake and eats it too, by making Will gay -- but never letting him act on it in a meaningful way (even the "on-air kiss" episode was ironic, since Will kissed Jack not out of emotion but as a TV stunt). The one love interest last year who had potential for Will (as played by Dan Futterman in a four-episode arc of some of the show's best episodes) was built up as "true love" -- then the guy was quickly disposed of in the last 60 seconds as wanting to "play the field," just when it might have gotten serious.

Take a look at the show's major storylines for the past few years: For Grace, the show has addressed her flings, several serious romances, her desire to have a baby (with Will!), her (inexplicable) chemistryless marriage. But what's changed for Will? Nothing. (Because he's Grace's pseudo-guy. He's not allowed.)

It's bothersome. The late-night ad campaign perpetuates all this by showing a series of fun, fast moments from the show that all seem to involve Will and Grace in `straight' situations. They show Grace pushing Will off a bed, yelling `I want to have sex with you,' they show Will covering Grace's breasts with his hands (from the infamous episode in which her 'water bra' springs a few leaks), and show several cuts of Will and Grace in intimate and tender embraces.

The show's opening credits themselves end with Grace in Will's arms, clad in leather pants, her legs straddling him, his hands on her hips.

In a perfect world, it could be argued that this depiction is simply one of a warm and rich friendship with a lot of easy physicality.

But the fact that Will's social life takes place almost exclusively offscreen (and is much more pallid and dissatisfying than that of any of the other characters) belies that, and leads me to think that, underneath it all, Will & Grace isn't about a gay man and his best friend. It's about the pseudo-sexual attachment of a man and a woman in a pretty damn good representation of a straight relationship (even down to the genuinely nasty fights the two had when Grace decided not to have a baby with him). Will is "pseudo-straight" -- alone, dateless, not allowed to have any other interests but Grace. They've even kissed several times in a romantic way.

This bugs the heck out of me and is insulting ultimately to audiences no matter what their preferences. There's no way a guy as good-looking, smart, well-off, and cultured as Will would be single and dateless for years at a time -- unless he wanted to be. To show Will pining night after night while actively seeking a social life -- I just don't buy it.

Then there's Eric McCormack's recent upsetting quote of just last week about upcoming guest star Dylan McDermott as a new love interest for Will (paraphrased): "Middle America isn't ready for Will to be in a long-term relationship yet."

Oh, really? Then what's this show ABOUT, anyway? It's an insult to the whole concept of this supposedly open show and exposes it as the cardboard cutout it is.

In the end, the show has some funny moments despite the consistently cruel humor, but remove the candy coating and it's ultimately pretty disturbing -- and disappointing.

Just my 2 cents... ultimately, it's just a TV show. But the fact that this show is constantly patting itself on the back for being so "groundbreaking" while it's actually just perpetuating the same old myths and stereotypes is more than a little sad.

Wow, I was really surprised to see so many negative comments for this film. [Although, I guess I understand the angry folks -- I felt the same way after "Signs" (loved the movie until the final five minutes, walked out completely furious at the smug silly "twist").]

But I personally was blown away by "Unbreakable" -- although I'm not a huge Shamalayan fan (thought "Sixth Sense" was good, but that it doesn't hold up well under repeated viewings IMHO). However this film is intelligently written, beautifully acted, and offers a lovely, melancholy glimpse at a hero's own self-recognition. The characters are all so wonderfully drawn, and feel very real. Jackson is a revelation as always in his role, and Willis is genuinely moving as a hero who moves through the world in almost constant, quiet pain. The cinematography is beautiful, the direction quietly assured (notice that Glass is almost always viewed first through a reflection of sorts), and the score is gorgeous as well.

I'd recommend it to those who love a good thriller, or who are seeking something intelligent and grown-up, off the beaten path.

I keep coming across this film, and every time am surprised by how good it is, and how rich are its characterizations. The film begins with a lovely metaphor -- Mary's warm hands bringing a stunned eel back to life (an eel that is then mercilessly chopped up and served for breakfast), and this metaphor is a wonderful analogy for Mary's effect on the doomed Dr. Jekyll. She brings him back to life, but only after a terrible decision has already been made. It's too late.

I especially loved several aspects to this film -- not just the performances, but the literate and subtle script by Hampton, that really gives a sense of the war for good and evil within all the lead characters -- especially illuminating both sides of the coin that is Mary herself (because the film has no easy answers), and that she truly fears and loves equally -- as does Dr. Jekyll himself.

The film shows compassion toward both lead characters as the subtle victims of early abuse -- but where Jekyll seeks to become "the knife as well as the blade," Mary's situation is both simpler and more complex. She doesn't seek retribution but instead finds a kind of fascination in herself with the undeniably attractive Hyde, who apologizes to no one, who neatly sidesteps the Victorian niceties of the times. She may want to screw Hyde, but she loves Jekyll. In some ways, it's the perfect match -- even if it is an impossible threesome.

The performances are lovely -- Roberts' accent is uneven (she did a much more authentic brogue in "Michael Collins"), but she is really striking visually, has never been more beautiful, and makes some very brave choices as an actress nonetheless, so the accent inconsistencies didn't bother me too much. Malkovich is wonderful and equally subtle (even if Hyde does seem to simply be channeling his Vicomte from "Dangerous Liaisons). The script by Hampton is literate and sometimes troubling (there are no easy Freudian answers here), and the direction is gorgeous, as is the cinematography -- Roberts and Malkovich seem to emerge as pale haunted visages in the darkness.

Overall, flaws and all, I'd recommend this film as worth a second look.