Bunheads: Pantsuit

SusanP here, back for more Bunheads fun. The more I watch the show, the more it surprises me. Even in episodes that I find less engaging, there’s always something to pull me in. I think that has a lot to do with how the show is structured: The first third of the hour tends to play for laughs; the last third doesn’t necessarily drop the humor, but it closes the deal with an emotional payoff. In thinking of Monday’s episode, “There’s Nothing Worse Than A Pantsuit,” you could almost say that the show starts off wearing sweats or jeans, but finishes with a pantsuit (with lots of pockets).

This Week on Bunheads
The idea of acting or auditioning is at the heart of “There’s Nothing Worse Than A Pantsuit.” The episode, directed by veteran character actor and director David Paymer, is in some ways lighter than the last two episodes, but still offers an unexpected gut punch for Sutton Foster’s Michelle.

Each of the characters is trying on a new part...

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Three Faces of Link

Inside TV Jacki Weaver gets a sitcom. It's called The McCarthys and she's playing a character possibly not unlike her Silver Linings Playbook character. Best part of the news: Jack McGee, who was so terrific as Mr Melissa Leo in The Fighter wins the male lead.
Nicks Flick Picks, always generous at heart if not generous in posting, is picking the highlights of every Oscar nominee's career in this growing post. That's a great way to celebrate the nominees even if you don't care for their latest nomination. That's me with Amy Adams I suppose. I am completely 50/50 on her Oscar nominations. Wouldn't trade the first and third for anything. Don't think she deserved the second and fourth.

Finally... have you seen this 85 Years of Oscar poster by Olly Moss?

Oscar is a real chameleon in this graphic set, switching costumes and poses to reflect each year's winning film. Like all multiplied efforts, there are hits and misses but I've included my favorites above: 1945 (Oscar gets the DTs), 1953 (Oscar in swim trunks), 1964, 1978, 1979, 1986 (a strong use of an iconic movie poster), 1988 (which I think is the best single image ... so minimalist but funny and "aha!"), 1999, 2001 (that one took me a second) and 2011. 

Which were your favorite visual sum-ups?

Posterized: The Steven Soderbergh Experience

Given that Steven Soderbergh's "final" theatrical release is 'Now Playing' in theaters near you, I thought it was time to look back on his entire oeuvre. His movies stretched from the Palme D'Or winning breakthrough sex, lies and videotape (1989) to the mid-career twinner Traffic & Erin Brockovich (2000) that won him an Oscar and on through a last rush of product in the past 13 months from experimental action Haywire to stripper drama Magic Mike (a Best Picture nominee right here) and culminated with Side Effects. 

How many have you seen?

sex, lies and videotape (1989)
Kafka (1991)
King of the Hill (1993) 

21 (or so) more after the jump

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Supporting Actress, My Ballot

With Oscar barrelling towards us (at last) I have no choice but to wrap up my own awards. I don't know where I'll find the time but forward into film bitch awardage...

there's an anchor of grief under those voluminous dresses pulling her down

My Best Supporting Actress Starter Kit, about 20 actresses long, was quite a lot different than the one we heard about all pre-season. For starters Helen Hunt and Ann Dowd, who Oscar season dubbed "supporting", were leading stars for me (Hunt's designation is entirely debatable, Dowd's is not). I am, as ever, more impressed with stylized genre-friendly work than awards bodies, particularly Oscar, ever are. I think Eva Green in a movie that wasn't much good (Dark Shadows), Gina Gershon and Nicole Kidman in movies that might accurately be called "trashy" (Killer Joe and The Paperboy) were all running circles around more respectable names like Maggie Smith or Amy Adams that kept cropping up in "Best of" lists. And though surprise Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver did make my top 12 for her homey egg-shell peace-making in Silver Linings Playbooks, my personal vote for Doing the Most With The Least this year would go to Olivia Munn in Magic Mike... though I didn't go quite so far as to nominate her.

That's all just preface - the point being that I debate this with myself (and with you in the comments) all year long. In the end while Oscar chose an entirely respectable list (save for the exclusion of the incomparable Nicole Kidman which I shall forever deem indefensible) my list has only two women in common with theirs. I had to make room for Diane Kruger (Farewell My Queen) and Lorraine Toussaint (Middle of Nowhere), too.

MY NOMINEES AND WHY I CHOSE THEM

As always I welcome respectful disagreements, fan mail and counterpoint lists. In Actressland many five-top opinions are welcome in "Best" lists.

Melissa McCarthy Robs the Box Office Blind

It was a big big weekend for Melissa McCarthy, who capitalized on that big Bridesmaids breakthrough with her first huge headliner opening of the year in Identity Thief. I use the word "first" because clearly there'll be a second. Her buddy comedy with Sandra Bullock The Heat opens in just two months time. Here's why I knew Identity Thief would be big: three of my friends -- two of whom are rarely seen inside movie theaters (the last thing they saw was Skyfall) -- both told me they wanted to see it. 

box office chart repurposed and photoshopped from boxoffice.com

Critics were not kind to the comedy. And that's before we even get to the subject of Rex Reed who notoriously called McCarthy a "female hippo" in his review prompting outrage 'round the web (i.e. more name-calling only this time directed at Reed and his age instead of McCarthy and her weight). But I liked Gawker's take. If the movie is seriously as bad as people are saying, shouldn't McCarthy who is obviously talented and truly funny, bare some responsibility? Why do reliably funny actors so rarely star in actually hilarious movies? (I remember being shocked while watching Date Night and Baby Mama that the movies were not half as funny as Tina Fey is as Tina Fey.) Is the problem that funny people are asked to be the entire joke?

Other Box Office Stories...

• Side Effects opened to a non-stellar non-embarrassing $10 million
• Argo went wide again to capitalize on Oscar buzz and rejoined the top ten
• Top Gun got a 3D conversion earning just under $2 million (and a new limited edition 3D Blu-Ray)
• Silver Linings Playbook continues to inch toward the $100 million Best Picture Nominee club which is very crowded this year.

What did you see this weekend? I finally watched Yossi but otherwise it wasn't a movie weekend for me.