Reviews

So after viewing Love Story, Mom and I decided to watch this sequel, Oliver's Story. Yes, Ryan O'Neal returns as Oliver Barrett IV as the movie begins during his beloved Jenny's funeral. Only other returning cast member is Ray Milland as O. B. III, his father. Someone else played Jenny's dad who, after a little over two years, suggests Ryan's character go with him to singles' bars. Oliver also has a college friend invite him to dinner with his wife as they also invite a woman friend which leads to an awkward dinner. Oliver walks with this friend to her home and there's an interesting dialogue scene at her place but that's all we see of her. We then meet a Marcie Bonwit Nash (Candice Bergen) as she joggles and he runs to her. He seems smitten but her attitude about certain things rubs him the wrong way. I'll stop there and just say that while we both were a little unsatisfied with the way things ended, it was pleasant enough especially when they went to Hong Kong. So we say give Oliver's Story a look. P. S. Nice to recognize some bit players like Benson Fong in Hong Kong who previously was one of Charlie Chan's sons, Charles Haid as that college friend before becoming Andy Renko on "Hill Street Blues", Swoosie Kurtz as his wife before doing other movies like The World According to Garp and TV shows like "SIsters", and Ann Risley as one of the bar women before becoming a cast member of the ill-fated sixth season of "Saturday Night Live".

After years of only knowing about this film by reputation-good and bad-I finally decided to check this out from the library on Valentine's Day. I watched it with Mom who had seen it before though since it was so long ago she forgot many of the details. She seemed touched as was I. I mean, seeing the late Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw together as this young couple who met at college as opposites-him being rich and she being not too well off-was pretty compelling even though it's such a familiar premise. The fact that Ryan doesn't get along with his father and Ali does with her dad to the point of calling him by his first name was also pretty interesting. If anyone reading this review is familiar or not with how it ends, I won't reveal it but I will say it was quite touching. Kudos also to Francis Lai for the now-iconic music score. So, yes, Love Story is still a worthwhile film. Maybe I'll try to get the sequel Oliver's Story sometime soon...

When I saw the DVD box of this movie at the library and saw Jane Fonda's name attached to it, I felt the need to borrow it right then and there. Here she's a young married woman who's suffering some kind of disease who resents her husband for being careful with her when she just wants to go out and have fun which she gets when she meets her hubby's friend from England. That Englishman himself is suffering from his marriage to a woman (Angela Lansbury) who's self-conscious about her appearance because of a scar somewhere on her face (which isn't revealed for a while) so she initially doesn't go outside. That changes when she, her husband, and Ms. Fonda travel to Greece. In summary, this wasn't great but it's very interesting watching Ms. Fonda early in her film career and Ms. Lansbury chewing the scenery. And it's only less than 90 minutes! So I say give In the Cool of the Day a look.

A man named Hal Jones with a bag of money on him calls Frank Cannon, the PI. He wants to discuss something with him so Cannon invites him to his place for dinner. But Hal gets shot before he can hang up. When Frank calls Hal's place, his father Barnaby takes the call telling Cannon what happened. Thus starts the series about a retired detective going back on the job. Oh, and Lee Meriwether is also there as the grieving widow Betty, not yet working with her father-in-law. Anyway, Frank and Barnaby team up to find Hal's assailant which also involves a politician who gets blackmailed. Lots of entertaining intrigue in this one, that's for sure! I ended up watching this on Pluto after my access to episodes I taped from MeTV were blocked for some reason. Maybe I'll watch some others soon...

This episode of "Mannix" involves a briefcase which would clear a gangster that his lawyer wants badly. Joe takes the case despite his hatred for that gangster to possibly protect that lawyer's life. Oh, there was also some stolen jewelry but that may have been a distraction, so to speak. There's also a henchman and a beautiful gangster's wife played here by Barbara Rhodes. This turned out to be Robert Reed's final appearance as Lt. Tobias. I'll just now say this was another exciting ep of "Mannix" with many chases and quite a number of fatal accidents, that's for sure! I had many eps taped but for some reason, I can't access them so this may be my last one for this series for awhile...

Just saw this long-awaited movie version of the Broadway musical with my best friend just now. We were both enthralled by this adaptation of The Wizard of Oz characters and set-ups and the parallels to certain situations that are happening in the present time. Not having seen the original presentations on stage, we both liked what was depicted in the movie version from many of the numbers to the way many characters were predicting their future selves. There hardly seemed to be any wasted time as the narrative went along and I can see why a decision was made to do a Part II for this one. So that's a high recommendation of Wicked: Part I from us.

In honor of Dick Van Dyke's 99th birthday today, I just watched this video of Coldplay's "All My Love" in which we spend time at Dick's home with Chris Martin singing this touching song while we see footage of Dick's highlights during his career including many scenes of his classic show, Mary Poppins, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He discusses his philosophy while also watching his family members gathering around him. This was a really touching tribute to him so on that note, Happy Birthday, Mr. Van Dyke! Oh, let me also mention that before watching this video, I also saw Dick and Chris' appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live". They were great there, that's for sure!

In honor of Dick Van Dyke's 99th birthday today, I thought I'd watch some eps of his classic sitcom. In the one, Rob and Laura are about to entertain some show sponsors for dinner when his old Army buddy shows up unexpectedly. Not wanting a clash of personalities, Rob tries to get Sol-his military buddy-out of the house during the evening but that friend doesn't seem to get the message. I'll just now say this was a hoot to watch especially when Marty Ingels returns as that buddy. Also appearing is Isabel Randolph who was Richie's teacher a few eps before and would later recur as Rob's mother. Anyway, I really liked "Sol and the Sponsor".

In honor of Dick Van Dyke's 99th birthday today, I thought I'd watch some eps of his show. In this one, Buddy mentions reading a magazine article about how man is ruined compared to the "good old days" when they ruled with an iron fist. Rob argues the opposite but even he's a bit unnerved especially at home when Laura gives him several tasks. So they argue in bed while the TV is on which is playing a silent movie. During that sequence, Rob imagines he's in that movie with his wife and Richie playing those roles in the silent movie with several hand-cranked scenes. Now, despite the obvious datedness of the premise I just mentioned, there are some pretty funny lines and some good visual gags. And, of course, the whole thing is dismissed at the end, as it should be. Let's just be glad this wasn't a typical ep of this classic sitcom and leave it at that...

In honor of Dick Van Dyke turning 99 today, I thought I'd review some eps of his show. This is the second part of the previous ep in which Dick's real-life brother Jerry plays Rob's sibling Stacey. Rob has found a solution for Stacey's sleepwalking habits which is when he displays his comic talents-the opposite of when he's awake! He records that performance on reel tape when his brother is "sleeping" so that brother can try to duplicate that when awake. Not only do we see Jerry in full performance mode, we also see Rose Marie's singing talents, Morey Amsterdam's comic routines, Dick and Mary Tyler Moore's fine singing duet. This is also the first time the Alan Brady appearances begin though here, it's only from the back though we do hear Carl Reiner's voice. It will be this way for the next few seasons. Anyway, I really enjoyed both episodes where Jerry Van Dyke appeared. So that's a high recommendation for both.

In honor of Dick Van Dyke's 99th birthday today, I thought I'd watch many first-season episodes of his show. In this one, his real-life brother Jerry plays his sibling Stacey who's visiting during a two-week furlough. He tells Rob after leaving the Army, he wants to perform as a banjo-playing comedian and tries his material in front of him and Laura. Oh, before that part is revealed, we first see Stacey being all boisterous when he arrives but Rob later tells his wife that's because he's somnambulant-a sleep walker and he's the opposite of that when awake! So his audition doesn't go too well in front of them but when he's at a party, well, it goes so well that Mel wants him to audition for Alan Brady! That leads to the next episode when Stacey has to solve his problem. Oh, and I was laughing throughout so now I'll review that next one...

Since it's the 99th birthday of Dick Van Dyke today, I thought I'd pay tribute by watching some episodes of his classic sitcom. This one is a change-of-pace as this one is mostly about Sally and her status as a single woman wanting some companionship. Her birthday is coming up and Rob, Laura, Mel, Buddy, and his wife Pickles hope to surprise her to keep her from being depressed. But Sally finds out about a former high school classmate wanting to see her at work and so she hopes for a romantic dinner with him. I'll just say while this story takes a dramatic turn, there's still some good laughs almost from beginning to end. So that's a recommendation of "Where You Been, Fassbinder?".

In honor of Dick Van Dyke's 99th birthday today, I'm watching another episode of his most-famous sitcom named after him. In this one, Rob is a juror who becomes the lone one declaring "not guilty" concerning the defendant who is female and a comely one at that! Not noticing his wife Laura as part of the audience, Rob gets it from her at home as he and Buddy and Sally try to write that week's variety show script from there. I'll just now say this was another hilarious episode especially concerning the physical business from Van Dyke in the courtroom. I was also pleasantly surprised to correctly recognize Patsy Kelly as one of the other jurors. I knew her from her appearance with Laurel & Hardy in Pick a Star. So that's a high recommendation for "One Angry Man".

In honor of Dick Van Dyke turning 99 today, I thought I'd watch some episodes of his show he did in the '60s. It seems pre-teen son Richie doesn't want his father to show up at his school as a Father of the Week winner as he doesn't think Rob's profession is something to be proud of. Rob shows up anyway, and, well, Mr. Van Dyke gets to show his fine pantomime skills to the delight of the kids in Richie's class. The reactions seem genuine from both the kids and the woman playing the teacher who'd later show up some seasons later as Rob's mother! The plot of this one was actually in the original pilot called "Head of the Family" which was written by and starred Carl Reiner. That one wasn't bad but this one's better. So that's a very high recommendation of "Father of the Week".

In tribute of Dick Van Dyke turning 99 today, I thought I'd watch some episodes of his famous show named after him. Since his wife is away, Buddy has been staying overnight at the writers' office during that time. When Rob finds out, he insists Buddy stay with him and Laura though Sally doesn't think that's a good idea. Turns out she may have been right...It's a sitcom staple if a friend one knows at work but not at home spends the night at that friend's house, things don't go well and that's the case here as well! But even with that familiarity, it's still funny when presented as it is in a great TV comedy show like this, that's for sure! So that's a high recommendation of "The Border Incident". Next, I'll review the one in which Richie dreads his father showing up at his school...

In honor of Dick Van Dyke turning 99 today, I thought I'd watch some of his work such as this first-season episode of the show named after him. It seems he and wife Mary Tyler Moore have found out their pre-teen son Richie has learned some bad words. So they talk to him and manage to find out what certain word he learned and tell him to not say that again. But then he learned another one and so they invite Richie's friend's parents to find out what's what. Whenever Van Dyke reacts to what his son said, it's quite funny as is most of what goes on after that. And the revelation of what one of Richie's friend's parents does for a living was another funny element. So that's my recommendation of "A Word a Day". Next, I'll watch the following ep in which Buddy stays at the Petries...

Since Dick Van Dyke is turning 99 today, I thought I'd see some of his early work like his turn here in "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". In the beginning, Hitch is with three dogs. The actual story begins with Dick's character at a will reading waiting to inherit his uncle's vast fortune. Unfortunately for him, that uncle left his life savings to his dog! That's certainly not good news for Van Dyke's fiancé, Stella Stevens. So she suggests to him what can be done about that...This mostly takes a humorous turn that I mostly laughed at even the ending which is admittedly quite dumb. I also liked the hit man character Ms. Stevens' hired. Oh, and as usual, Hitch has a funny way of ending his shows...

At the beginning, Hitch says we're being invaded by Martians. Then, he shows female models with partially outlandish clothing. In the featured story, a man is visited by a woman he seemed to know. When she mentions something, he suddenly does something to her. From there, he gets investigated and it seems he may or not possibly get away with it...I'm purposefully leaving out some details because I myself didn't really understand what was going on though I read the synopsis here and on the printed TV one so I do get the why. I'll just now say the twists at the end make this one quite worthwhile. Oh, I also liked Hitch's humorous asides concerning that whole Mars/models thing as well! So that's a recommendation of "An Impromptu Murder".

On this, the third edition of "NBC's Saturday Night" broadcast on October 25, 1975, Chevy Chase is at some kind of clinic in a wheelchair. He lights up and drops his lighter. Since I don't want to spoil the ending let's move on from there. During the opening credits, when the list of The Not Ready For Prime Time Players is printed, it's not completely in alphabetical order like it was the previous week since Gilda Radner's name is between Chase's and Jane Curtin. Also, Michael O'Donohue is back on the list after missing the last week though not George Coe's even though he's back in this episode as well. Rob Reiner arrives on stage as a lounge singer doing the kind of act one would expect of such performers. Not bad but future cast member Bill Murray would do it better when he started doing his Nick the Lounge Singer sketches. It ends with Rob taking off his wig and going back to his real voice. Next segment his him and his wife Penny Marshall emceeing a fashion show with the cast showing embarrassing mistakes. Pretty obvious but amusing enough. Then a spoof PSA comes on with John Belushi having his pancreas checked. This was similar to a later one concerning uvula with the same result. An okay sketch. Andy Kaufman returns to lip-synch to a recording of "Pop Goes the Weasel". Still pretty entertaining though not as such as his Mighty Mouse one. Jane Curtin ID's herself on screen as such as the host of "Dangerous But Inept" with Larraine Newman playing Squeaky Fromme, the woman who tried to assassinate President Ford but failed. She does the same with the similar result to Jane. Funny enough. Dance troop The Lockers are next doing their street dance routines to entertaining effect. Among the members are Toni Basil way before her hit song "Mickey" as well as before she later appeared on the show as a musical guest. Also, Fred Berry before becoming Rerun on "What's Happening!!" Chevy's "Weekend Update" continues the Blaine Hotel bit which includes Don Pardo reading the ransom demands in his game show voice and concludes with the first of Garrett Morris' shouting the top story. George Coe then does a pre-taped bit about curing various illnesses by using acupuncture needles. Might have been funnier if Chevy or Dan Aykroyd was the spokesman. There's a couple of other filmed commercial parodies that are amusing enough: one about moving people as opposed to things and the other about casseroles having tuna on one side and cat food on the other and which one a taste tester prefers. Then Belushi does his uncanny Joe Cocker impression singing "With a Little Help from My Friends". No wonder he'd duet with the real thing the following season! In The Muppets' "The Land of Gorch" Phoobis is concerned of his son's smoking habits. Not great but not too bad, either. In his short film (though long enough that a commercial had to be inserted when originally broadcast), Albert Brooks achieves his dream of doing surgery for one day. His know-it-all attitude is the highlight of this one. Gilda Radner's personality comes through when she recites what she ate which is plenty! Chevy does a spot for droolers in which he does...well, you know. I could've sworn when I first saw this decades ago, more liquid came out of his mouth than what I just rewatched on DVD just now. It was still funny enough. Next, is a square dance in which the participants do harm to each other. This has the mark of Michael O'Donohue all over it. Dan Aykroyd is especially hilarious as the caller. Then, there are a couple of nuns doing some kind of what seemed like a talent contest, one of whom is played by Denny Dillon who later was a replacement cast member of this show some years later. I thought this part was lame. Finally, Rob and Penny are a couple at a restaurant where they are being served by...bees? Oh yeah, this is the one where Reiner complains about having The Bees on his show exclaiming it didn't work the previous two weeks and he was told he wouldn't get them. Then Belushi tells him off about how they're just actors looking for work as opposed to someone being on the No. 1 show in the country referring to Rob's "All in the Family", of course. "What do you want, The Sting?" was John's final reply. This was a great way of putting some of that backstage tension in the show and it would pay off even more in later episodes. While close, this wasn't quite the standard "SNL" show we'd come to know today. That would come the next new episode when Candace Bergen would host...

On this edition of "The Carol Burnett Show" that originally aired on October 25, 1975, it begins with the usual Q & A. Carol answers who did the set she's on, who did the costumes, what the crew is like as she waves at them (presumably that's her husband Joe Hamilton as her executive producer answering back at her) and obliges a request to do her famous Tarzan yell though she has trouble at first. The recurring "The Family" sketch has Tim Conway's Mickey at the Higgins household playing Charades with Eunice and Mama having the usual spats about directions and clues. Funny deliveries from all four regulars. The Pointer Sisters which consisted of Ruth, Anita, June, and Bonnie perform their hit single "How Long (Betcha Got a Chick on the Side)" which peaked on Billboard's Hot 100 at # 20 and on that magazine's Soul chart at # 1 for two weeks. Carol visits a bar to tell her troubles to Harvey Korman who jokes the whole time which she doesn't appreciate. It actually develops into something touchingly humorous. A runner from two shows ago when Bernadette Peters was the guest star continues when Tim Conway is trying to perform a song on a podium but something always goes wrong! Amusing enough. Korman does a Wolfman Jack-like DJ with the Pointer Sisters playing a group more in tune with some of the old standards. This one was ironically humorous. A black-and-white silent bit has Carol and Tim as hobos trying to earn a buck so they can buy hot dogs so Tim agrees to box someone bigger than him in the ring. Decent laughs on this one. Finally, the Pointers are the guests at an engagement reception in which Carol as Vicki Lawrence's daughter sings "Get Me to the Church on Time" with them as she drinks her way through the number. An entertaining way to end the show as well as the prime time lineup on CBS that Saturday night. If one was looking for more variety 30 minutes later after the local news was over, viewers could switch over to Another Network where a new show called "NBC's Saturday Night" would just begin its third episode with host Rob Reiner which I'll be reviewing next...

My friend had long been interested in this movie and since it had only one showing today, I decided to oblige him. With both of us being Catholics, we were both intrigued by the machinations of choosing a new pope after the previous one dies and the drama involving the various candidates. The one eventually picked has a revelation that was an interesting twist that made us think if such a thing could actually happen but we both liked the way it was resolved. Fine performances by Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, and Isabella Rossellini among other players that neither I nor my friend knew about. In summary, Conclave was a fine drama about the choosing of a new pope.

This episode of "American Experience" begins with the day of November 22, 1963, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated allowing Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson to take his place that same day. It then goes through the years before that of various VPs taking the presidency either because of previous assassinations or because of one being replaced because of a fatal illness one month after taking office as in the case of William Henry Harrison being replaced by John Tyler. At that time, there was no plan in place of replacing the VP during that period leaving it vacant until the next election. That changed during Johnson's time when the 25th amendment was ratified. So then this episode goes into the Richard Nixon administration and not only covers Watergate but also his VP Spiro Agnew's own scandal concerning bribes. Rachel Maddow, who wrote "Bag Man" about Agnew, expertly covers this period quite succinctly. So under the 25th Amendment, after Agnew resigned Nixon got to pick Michigan congressman Gerald R. Ford to be his next VP. Ford then became president after Nixon's resignation and got to then pick Nelson D. Rockefeller to be his VP. Ford is still the only VP and president to not ever achieve those offices by elective means. Anyway, this was a fascinating documentary of the VP over the centuries. Highly recommended.

Roddy McDowell is the not-very-responsible heir to a chemical plant and his uncle-by-marriage-to-his-aunt tells him to bow out gracefully or else. Well, that uncle isn't going to live long and he doesn't, that's for sure! So that aunt sends for Lieutenant Columbo to take the case, and so McDowell keeps an eye on him hoping to not be caught. I'll just say this was a little more exciting than usual for the series as Roddy's character is an even more nervous type than usual for the series. Especially with the music score underlying the suspense at certain moments. The climatic scene on a tram is especially well done. So that's my recommendation of "Short Fuse".

I stumbled onto this cartoon on Facebook on its TCM site before going elsewhere online to see the whole thing. It's quite amusing seeing all the various Hollywood celebs being caricatured especially the main one being Humphrey Bogart who wants fried rabbit from waiter Elmer Fudd. Of course, Bugs Bunny is settling in the restaurant kitchen when Elmer looks for one and the chase is on! Other celebs being parodied include Leopold Stokowski, Gregory Peck, Carmen Miranda, Frank Sinatra (when he was skinny and young, the gag pulled on him is especially hilarious!), and, Lauren Bacall, Bogart's wife. Many funny gags involving both Bugs and Elmer and many of those stars. So that's a recommendation of Slick Hare.

In the Cold Open of this second episode of "NBC's Saturday Night" that aired on October 18, 1975, guest host Paul Simon sang "Still Crazy After All These Years" (which peaked at # 40). At the end of that, Chevy Chase, while carrying a guitar, stumbled on stage and fell before staring at the camera and saying, "Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!" which established his trademark falls and him saying that phrase every week for the duration he's on the show though there will be an exception in a few weeks. When the Not Ready for Prime Time Players list is printed in the opening credits, neither George Coe nor Michael O'Donohue are on it though neither appear on this episode, either. When Don Pardo intros Paul Simon, he is back on stage with the Jesse Dixon Singers performing their hit "Loves Me Like a Rock". Paul then sings a bit of "Marie" before introing the writer of that one, Randy Newman, who performes "Sail Away". Jerry Rubin does a taped piece about selling wallpaper filled with many '60s graffiti slogans. We get the first zoom of an audience member with this caption under her: "A good friend of David Eisenhower". The rest of the cast comes on stage dressed as bees as Paul tells them that sketch has been cut because it didn't work last week! This turned out to be their only appearance in this episode. The second "Weekend Update" begins as Chevy is talking on the phone with his girlfriend saying something risqué about her before abruptly hanging up. Thus beginning a regular feature. I like Chase during this period. First joke is about another accident involving President Gerald Ford. After another about Muhammed Ali changing his name again, Chase then goes to a tape of Paul Simon playing basketball with Connie Hawkins with Marv Albert interviewing the participants. Pretty funny that part especially with Simon's "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" playing during it. Then, as "Mrs. Robinson" is playing, we see photos of Paul and his former partner Art Garfunkel during their time as successful recording artists. Paul introes him on stage and they then perform "The Boxer" and "Scarborough Fair". When they come back from commercial, they then perform "My Little Town" which is from Paul's latest album and peaked at # 9. The Muppet's "Land of Gorch" concerns that place defaulting and Ploobis and Scread going to Favad to ask what to do about it. Not great, but amusing enough. Art sings solo for "I Only Have Eyes for You". Albert Brooks' short film has him showing old movies of him over the years in not-very-flattering situations. Pretty funny. Phoebe Snow performs a vintage Billie Holliday song before dueting with Paul on "Gone at Last" which peaked at # 23. Another commercial parody about a Try Hard battery out lasting others when a pacemaker keeps going for one of the elderly people standing. Another amusing bit. Paul performs one more song before Bill Bradley comes on stage and awards a giant trophy for his one-on-one with Hawkins earlier in the show. Once again, the cast does not appear with him on stage, as happened last week when George Carlin hosted. This resembled more "The Midnight Special" which NBC aired early on Saturday morning after "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson" than what "SNL" would eventually become. It was a pretty nice change of pace from the previous week. The following weeks show will be hosted by Rob Reiner. Oh, and I just found out yesterday was Art Garfunkel's birthday, so Happy Birthday, Art!