Smash: "The Callback" and "Enter Joe DiMaggio"
Monday, March 5, 2012 at 5:00PM 
"Let's make ourselves a Marilyn"Since so many of you seemed to be watching Smash judging on response to the pilot episode, and since its a fictional show about a possibly real musical about a very real departed movie star, I thought I'd write it up weekly. But Oscar is a needy lover and hogged all my time. Now there are so many episodes to discuss! To get caught up we'll do two doubles, so here's the first of them.
1.2 "The Callback"
In the second episode, we were both thrilled and shocked to find that they didn't drag out the "who will they cast as Marilyn Monroe?" drama for weeks on end. Though obviously they could and will revisit it since we're a long way from opening night. Both girls, Ivy (Megan Hilty) and Karen (Katharine McPhee) endured torturous waiting and callbacks while the power players made up their mind. Ivy it was. The best sign that the show is serious about being an actual show about the business of Broadway theater rather than a show about whatever the hell it feels like being about in any given scene (Glee... sigh) was that we actually see Julia and Tom (Debra Messing and Christian Borle) toiling away at work wondering about structure and characters and arguing about song order and even the process itself. You can't just write a musical by stringing songs together. The worst sign for the freshman show is the insistence on Julia's adoption subplot. Isn't birthing a brand new musical enough parenting?
Jack: It's a big risk
Eileen: Nothing's Bigger Than Broadway!
Jack: I'm aware.
Set List: Blondie's "Call Me" (McPhee), "Let Me Be Your Star" (McPhee/Hilty), "20th Century Fox Mambo (McPhee), Carrie Underwood's "Crazy Dreams" (Hilty)
Pop Culture and Movie References: vampire craze, Clash By Night, Monkey Business
Best Moment: Ivy practicing her Monroeisms "thank you ever so"
Anjelica Awesomeness: Huston's condescension towards her ex's new blonde plaything "We've met" / "I don't think so" / [mocking her with squeaky bimbo voice] "I doooo"
Gay Gay Gay "Nothing's bigger than Broadway!"
Curtain Call: Megan Hilty does a stunning cabaret rendition of "Crazy Dreams" to close the episode.
1.3 "Enter Joe DiMaggio"
In the third episode Karen gets invited to participate in the workshops as part of the chorus and she takes a trip home to Iowa for a babyshower. Things get more complicated when Michael (Will Chase), a rising actor, signs on as Joe DiMaggio and Tom's assistant Ellis starts feeling proprietary about the musical (his casual comment in the pilot sparked the whole thing) and steals Julia's notebook. The best thing about both of these developments is that they make Julia (Debra Messing) way more interesting as a character because she has such irrationally strong reactions to both, one being an ex-lover the other being someone she just bristles at instinctually. In fact, Messing really steps up in this episode making her own case for an Emmy run. (Julia is a surprisingly thorny and multi-faceted character by episode 3. Not at all what we were expecting after the pilot.) Emmys for everyone!
Megan Hilty as Ivy Lynn as Marilyn & Will Chase as Michael Swift asJoe DiMaggio
We're noone you've ever seen
Movie stars don't live anywhere here
Except on the local drive-in screen ♬ "
Set List: Bruno Mars "Grenade" (Chase), Gretchen Wilson's "Red Neck Woman" (McPhee) "Mr and Mrs Smith"
Pop Culture and Movie References: Gone With the Wind, The Seven Year Itch, My Fair Lady, Sinatra, Siegfried & Roy
Best Moment: Julia's intense jarring switch from painful confession to Tom to bitchy showdown with Ellis
Anjelica Awesomeness: Huston's Eileen Rand is really a marvel of a character creation. She has Huston's usual dragon lady severity but there are so many exquisite playful beats that the character feels unpredictable even when she's working a repetitive "bit" like throwing drinks in her ex-husband's face. Their dinner scene together is filled with weirdly flirtatious hostility, giving off the distinct impression that they once had great sex but always enjoyed pissing the other off. "You have exquisite taste. When you weren't cheating on me it was one of the things I really enjoyed about you."
Curtain Call: "Mr and Mrs Smith"... I'm more and more convinced that this needs to be an actual musical on Broadway. Can this series be about a different new musical every season and put it on Broadway directly afterwards? I mean... many new musicals don't have songs as uniformly strong as the ones this show is cranking out.
LATER THIS WEEK... we'll discuss "The Cost of Art" and tonight's episode "Let's Be Bad". If you're not watching, start. Good show. You can get caught up on Hulu or iTunes.
Anjelica Huston, Debra Messing, Marilyn Monroe, Reviews, Smash, TV, TV at the Movies, musicals
Reader Comments (20)
I'm loving Smashed -- I'm totally happy that you're going to keep up with it here.
Agree with your growing appreciation for Messing and Huston. They're killling it.
But what did you think of the casting of the actor playing DiMaggio? My take: too cornfed, too whitebread, and.... a tenor?? The real DiMaggio was a tall gangly deep-voiced working class Italian.
Um, that would be Smash. Not smashed.
San Fran--Completely agree, and it actually really annoyed me. That actor is totally wrong as Joe. I'm not one to demand exact physical faithfulness when depicting a real person, but DiMaggio's ethnicity and appearance were actually a very big deal in his day. That actor couldn't be further from suitability for the role, so everyone claiming that Will(?) was perfect was just ridiculous. I know the show isn't about DiMaggio, but really, that's the closest that the show could get? It would be like casting Katie Holmes as Marilyn Monroe.
Liz N.: And they've gone out of their way to make Ivy Lynn a Marilyn lookalike. So why not Joe?
I like this show too, but I'm worried that it's not going to get renewed. The ratings have been a bit spotty, right? I hope people catch on to it. It's something that's simultaneously recognizable and unique, and I like that in my storytelling.
I keep thinking how wonderful a second season could be if we get to keep the characters that we really like, and that really work, and get rid of the others. Each season could get better and better.
NBC announced they will renew it for a second season
I think the ratings are good enough for NBC. Most of NBC's shows are in the basement, ratings-wise, anyway, and they've invested so much in promoting and producing this show. They can't give up on it after half a season.
I was disappointed in episode 3 (Anjelica brought me to this show - along with the concept, that is - but goodness, the drink-throwing was tiresome, and McPhee's homecoming subplot was so cliche-filled), but last week, the show was back with a vengeance. I am really looking forward to tonight's installment.
San FranCinema, Liz N. - I am probably giving the show too much credit, but the insistent on Michael Swift being "perfect" for the role could be a different kind of perfect; that is, he's perfect because he's a big get for the production, an established Broadway star to balance out the chorus player they've picked for Marilyn. The show's really surprised me so far in picking up threads lesser shows would totally ignore, so I wouldn't rule it out.
And even if that's all wishful thinking on my part, it's a tiny dent in a show that's really impressing me otherwise. Wonderful balance of storylines, provoking unusual beats from the cast, superb original songs. I can forgive the Glee-esque covers because Hilty and McPhee are so good at selling them. Definitely looking forward to your take every week, Nat!
Leo--I don't think that's the case yet. I haven't seen any renewal notices, and I pay pretty close attention to that sort of thing. But I do think it will be renewed, even though ratings have slipped considerably.
David--That would make a lot more sense to me if ANYONE had pointed out that Michael (sorry, not Will) is simply not a good fit for DiMaggio.They didn't even need to bring it up with Julia or Tom. It could have just been a point of discussion among the ensemble.
I can certainly believe that the need for star power could lead to inappropriate casting; hell, it happens in movies all the time. But everyone seemed completely behind Michael from the beginning. Surely someone in that production is actually familiar with DiMaggio? Like, they've seen a picture of him?
But I will forgive the whole thing if the casting discrepancy actually becomes part of the plot. Like reviews point it out and they have to consider recasting or something.
Ooh cool. Smash talk! I really do like the show and the parts about building the show are incredibly interesting. I totally want the cast album of "Marilyn: The Musical". Plus, it is so nice to have something available to watch other than cops, lawyers or doctors.
I still listen to the "Let Me Be Your Star" reprise from episode 2 because i just love how Megan Hilty belts the shit out of her part. I think its so funny how the show wants us to root for Karen when it is obvious with every single episode that Ivy deserves that part.
I hope that Tom's little assistant is built up to be one of the main antagonists of the season somehow otherwise he pretty much has to be the most annoying character on TV right now. I fully support Julia's immense hatred of him.
Derreck -- yeah, i love him too but i think it's hilarious that the show doesn't sugarcoat Julia's hatred. Usually they don't allow female characters this much negativity. I mean she just HATES him for no apparent reason (she doesn't know about the stuff he's doing).
and the Ivy deserves it so stop with the Karen I see as a problem too. Megan Hilty is awesome.
David -- thanks. i'll try to keep it up but like Liz i worry that it won't be renewed and my god we need more original programming on tv. not just cop and doctor shows. BLECH.
I've been waiting for you to talk about this show so hooray for you getting around to it :) I am loving this show so much.
And I'll probably be in the minority but I love that they made us like Ivy in the first two episodes, they are not shying away from her thornier aspects...or the fact that she's knocked every Marilyn number she's been given out of the park. I can totally see someone who has worked for 10 yrs in the chorus (and sleeping with the director) being very insecure about her standing and finding ways to get rid of Karen. It hasn't made me root more for Karen, just made me wish one of Ivy's ensemble friends would tell her to chill out and just perform. But there's no denying that Ivy is probably better for Marilyn.
I have to give NBC and EP Steven Spielberg credit for hiring Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman to write the original songs for the show. They are doing an incredible job of making music that both propels the story forward and could contribute to an actual Broadway musical.
Speaking of Emmys for everyone, Megan Hilty is absolutely owning tonight's episode, "Let's Be Bad".
I really do like Smash and am religiously watching every week, but the show does have some major flaws and the writing definitely needs some tinkering. I agree with Suzanne, Karen's coming home storyline was one of the most clunky, cliche-ridden episodes in awhile. I wanted to slap every single one of her friends for being stereotypical, brain-dead farm folks. And I cringed when they all sang Redneck Woman. Just that whole episode was a stinker for me.
I echo Derreck's sentiment regarding Tom's assistant. Easily one of the most grating characters on tv right now and not a terribly convincing actor, either.
I love me some Anjelica Huston and she's doing what she can with her underwritten part, but please god, writers, let her do something else besides throw drinks at her ex-husband. That schtick is already old and it's only like the fifth episode.
Kat McPhee and Megan Hilty are both excellent singers but I really hope the series develops more so we don't see them as simple opposing arch types. Aka the sweet, naive, green girl vs. the insecure diva bitch. Both characters are in danger of being very stale. Great singing will not suffice; we need great characterizations as well.
But seriously, Debra Messing is owning this series. I'm glad we get to see her play a complicated, multifaceted, yet deeply sympathetic character. Call me crazy, but I never realized what a brilliant actress she was.
Tonight's big musical number, "Let's Be Bad" was so great to watch! It just makes me love Ivy more even though i hope they add some dimension to her instead of just turning her into a cliched high-strung divabitch.
Plus, Aaron's right about Debra Messing. She's showing that she's more than Grace in this series and she's completely selling her thing with DiMaggio (can't remember the dude's name).
I'm so glad you're reviewing this show, Nat! It's one of the tv pleasures of the week and I hope its ratings raise so a second season is possible. What I like best is the song writing team. It takes the opposite direction from Glee in which it's the original songs and not the covers what make it enjoyable in multiple viewings. Like someone said above I'd love a Marilyn the Musical cast recording already!
The best part is the sort of camp, Showgirls-esque rivalry between Ivy and Karen. Karen is a fast learner and it will be interesting once she grows more of a spine.
I don't want to talk about the most recent episodes too much since you're not posting about them yet (although I will say the Let's Be Bad number was AMAZING and far better than I thought it was going to be when they started rehearsing it), but I'm glad the show is getting better. These two episodes (esp. "Enter DiMaggio") were a bit wobbly. I really love that every character is truly multifaceted - they are all flawed and that's how it is in real life, ESPECIALLY in the theater world. I still think it's weird that NBC is basically pushing this as Katherine McPhee's show when it's clear Megan Hilty/Ivy is the true star here.
And I, for one, LOVE Anjelica's drink-throwing bit. It shouldn't work because it's such a hoary old cliche, but she makes it work, the way a true legend should!
I don't understand the McPhee hate that I've been reading. I thought she did a great job in portraying "Karen" so far. I get that everyone will eventually praise Hitly because her role is more meaty and she gets most the big Broadway number. And she is indeed tres awesome. I love the whole rivalry story-arch.