Superman: Foe of Musk and Putin

I've been following and enjoying Superman's exploits since I started watching him played by George Reeves on television when I was a kid in the 1950s, and started reading the comic book a few years later, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster way back in 1938.  And as an adult I even contributed an article about The Man of Steel -- “Superman, Patriotism, and Doing the Ultimate Good” (which explored why Superman didn't just wipe out Hitler and the Nazis in World War Two) in The Man from Krypton -- an anthology published in 2006.

I think I've also seen most of the movies.  Like the TV series and the comics, they were all immensely entertaining.  But none packaged that with the political acumen and clout that James Gunn invested in the new Superman movie that my wife and I just saw in the LOOK Dine-In Cinemas in Dobbs Ferry.  Andrew Slack and Jose Antonio Vargas nailed in their guest column in The Hollywood Reporter, "Yes, Superman Has Always Been an Immigration Story," what Gunn did in his movie.  Superman has always been the ultimate alien -- literally, he came from outer space.  And just as people from other countries helped build and protect America from day one, so Superman has done the same since he started growing into adulthood in Kansas.

The movie also gets all the related political travesties and depredations that currently afflict our country and thereby the world right on target, too.  Lying buffoons on a Fox-like "news" channel, a fickle populace gobbling down fake news like it was cotton candy, a Putin-like character invading a neighboring country just as Hitler did in the 1930s, and most important, making Lex Luthor, Superman's brilliant, demented arch-enemy who first appeared in the comics in 1940 into someone we've all come to know all too well the past few years.

My nine-year-old grandson called it when he saw Superman with my son a couple of days ago and told him: "Lex Luthor is Elon Musk".  I don't know if Musk is as smart or as evil as Luthor, but he's certainly done plenty of damage.  Among the many reasons to cheer what Gunn has done in this movie is the way he put up Musk in Luthor.

And there are indeed many other reasons.  Superman is not only powerful but vulnerable and amazingly admirably sweet and good -- he takes the time to save a squirrel.  David Corenswet (who was in one episode of House of Cards) was excellent in the title role.  So were Rachel Brosnahan (Mad Men, Mrs. Maisel ) as Lois Lane, Edi Gathegi (For All Mankind, StartUp) as Mr. Terrific, and Nathan Fillion (The Rookie, Castle) as Green Lantern.  In fact, everyone was in fine form, including the super heroes I didn't know, the robots, and especially the dog.

So, if you're a fan of Superman, you can't go wrong with this movie.  And if you're a fan of democracy and a foe of fascism, you can go wrong with this movie, either.

***

Note added: James Gunn claims in this interview that one of the biggest pieces of fake news in his movie -- a recording of Superman's parents, released by Lex Luthor, urging their son to use his super powers to dominate the world -- actually wasn't fake news at all, that is, Superman's parents really said that.

My response: as I. A. Richards advised way back in the 1920s, it's a mistake to ask the author or creator what they intended in a given passage (or scene). They may be trying to manipulate the public, for whatever reason. It's far better, Richards says, to let the work speak for itself.

(Thanks Cynthia Walker and Nick Leshi for getting a conversation about this going on Facebook.)

I'm Your Woman: This Is Your Movie

I'm Your Woman, a movie up on Amazon Prime since just yesterday, is a real treat.  A superb, different kind of take on a well-worn subject, brought to life on the screen by Rachel Brosnahan.

The set-up: Jean, played by Brosnahan, is surprised by a baby her husband Eddie brings home to her one day.  She can't have children, and he wants them to have the joy of a family.  He's some kind of mobster killer, though, and shortly disappears.  People presumably on his side show up to help  Jean and Harry the baby survive.

So, we've seen this kind of thing before, as I said, but not with the lead role and baby in Brosnahan's hands.  She starts being clueless about everything, from how to fry an egg to how to take care of a baby, let alone defend herself and him, but gradually draws on awesome instincts that get her out of all sorts of perilous situations, and learns from them and the people who want to help her.   The best part of those helpers are Cal, Teri, and Cal's father Art, who teach Jean everything from how to take care of a baby to how to shoot a gun.

I don't want to say more about the plot, because this is the kind of narrative in which a surprise will jump out and point a gun at you every couple of scenes.  I will say that not everyone survives, and not everyone escapes unscathed.  I'll also say again how good the acting is.  Arinzé Kene as Cal, Marsha Stephanie Blake (See You Yesterday) as Teri, and the ever-effective Frankie Faison as Art are just right for their savvy, homespun, ruthless when-need-be parts.  And when you consider that you last saw Brosnahan on Amazon Prime as Mrs. Maisel, about as different a character from Jean as you can imagine, you can get a good idea of what a first-class actor she is.

Well, actually, Midge Maisel and Jean do have one big thing in common.  A lot of heart.  And that's what makes both stories such a pleasure to see.

Hats off to director Julia Hart, writers Hart and Jordan Horowitz, and everyone else involved in making this movie.

 

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Seasons 1 and 2: Triumph for Risks and Laughter

I don't usually watch comedy on television or streaming, and review it even less.  But our daughter Molly raved about The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel after the first season, and given that she'd recommended such winners as Alias and Sons of Anarchy, her praising of Maisel certainly put it on the possible list.  Sisters-in-laws and in-laws urged us to watch it, too.  But what put me over the top was the lunch I had with Bob Mann, a professor with inimitable tastes  (I was a guest on his late, lamented Sirius XM Radio show "Let's the Consider the Source" at least 50 times.  It should be coming back as a podcast soon.)

Maisel was everything Mann and the family said it was.  Hilarious and profound, and one of the best portrayals of Jewish life in 1950s New York City on any screen.   Further, Mrs. Maisel, mother of a baby girl and a young son whose husband Joel leaves her at the beginning of the story, provides a memorable tableau of late 50s Village cafe culture and extended media, as she tries to break into the stand-up comedy circuit.

She's enormously talented, and her riffing routines in themselves provide one of the real joys of this series.  Other highlights include

• a 2+ episode spot-on depiction of the Catskills in the summer, at least as good, and in some ways better, than what we saw in Dirty Dancing
• a portrayal by Luke Kirby (Rectify) of Lenny Bruce - who recognizes Maisel's talent, and does what he can to support her - that I actually liked better than Dustin Hoffman's in the 1974 Lenny, which, I don't know, was powerful, but too much Dustin
• and speaking of acting, Rachel Brosnahan (House of Cards) as Mrs. Maisel, Tony Shalhoub (Monk) as her father Abe Weissman, a professor of mathematics at Columbia University (though it looked like some of the exterior scenes were shot at Fordham), and Alex Borstein (never heard of her before) as Maisel's manager are just off-the-chart in their unique and fabulous performances.

But not everything has been perfect in this delightful, insightful series.

• Some of the details were anachronistic, i.e., incorrect for the time portrayed.  The Defenders debuted in 1961, and couldn't have been known to Maisel characters in 1959.   Same for Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World," which was released in 1967.  Were the producers of Mrs. Maisel not allowed to look at IMDb and Wikipedia as part of their immersion in the time?
• The guy who played Steve Allen at the end of season 2 looked nothing like him.   Even Elvis Costello or someone I saw on Meet the Press would have been better.

But these are small quibbles for a series that has already taken its place along side of All in the Family and Curb Your Enthusiasm as laughing out loud, stoking your heart, and learning about life comedy.  And the second season was even better than the first - wilder and more clearly drawn story lines, always a good sign in a series.  Another triumph for risks and Amazon Prime Video.