Milburn Stone

We really liked the movie. The only thing I didn't buy was that Chris Messina would don such a shyster-looking suit for his day in court. If you're there (supposedly) to stand up for an innocent old lady, does it really further your cause to look like a Mafia lawyer? He wasn't that stupid.

I know! He had a right to be driving at that hour no matter what the reason! I just couldn't get over the idiocy of "why would he be driving that early if he was going to a print shoot on a golf course?" when that's exactly the hour you would be driving if you were on your way to a print shoot on a golf course.

I actually heard one of the commentators trying to make a scandalous mystery out of the fact that he was driving early in the morning. "If he was going to a Sports Illustrated print shoot, why was he driving at such an early hour?" Idiot. Print shoots are often scheduled for the earliest morning hours, when the sun is low in the sky and the light is softer and more flattering.

There have been no airline crashes so they have to talk endlessly about that.

Good point! [Tangent] The Penguin edition of P&P had an interesting introduction, in which the Austen scholar wrote that while Mrs. Bennet is certainly more than a bit ridiculous, she was not wrong to perceive an urgent need to marry off her daughters well--given that the Bennet property, and such wealth as there was, was entailed and would go to none of them. Made her a tad more sympathetic in my eyes. (And Mr. Bennet's treating the whole thing as a joke, a bit less sympathetic.)

Only recently did I read my first Jane Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice. And then watched the 1995 BBC series. Mr. Bennett definitely put me in mind of Mr. Woodhouse. Made me like Bill Nighy's performance more, in retrospect.

I was alive when it happened. In fact, when I came to Chicago at the tender age of 21 in 1971, it felt like the execution of Fred Hampton was still happening here, even though it was two years before. Partly the reason the event felt so current in 71 is that the state's attorney in charge of the raid, Ed Hanrahan, was still state's attorney. Then he ran for mayor a couple of times. I remember, as a young white guy, basically thinking "wow, those Panthers must have been really dangerous. Sounds like the authorities broke some rules, but they must have had a good reason for doing what they did." The movie might not be a perfectly truthful history, but basically, on a scale of 100, I feel like l went from about a 5 to about a 95 in my understanding.

Will be watching tonight, but they never pass by a chance for the "hilarity" of two dudes kissing. Maybe this time? Dare I hope?

I think "raising them idyllically" works, if the meaning is that they had an idyllic life. It's possible to live a miserable existence on an idyllic island if your parents are abusive, for example. The author's wording indicates that the location was idyllic, and the existence was idyllic. However, the author also says that the mother could be treacherous. And that does present a contradiction. Maybe that's what @Leeds is getting at. If so, I see the point.

Pretty sure he doesn't want to be fired twice.

If he'd been drafted at the age of 18 in 1943 (a year when many of those who served in WWII were drafted), Lou's birth year would have been 1925. That would make him 45 in 1970. Only 4 years older than the actor.

It would have been better without the interminable bragging, self-aggrandizement, and false humility. Something more along the lines of: "To my loyal viewers, I want you to know that I will be leaving this post in April. And now the news."

I'm not going to win, because I don't see what's wrong with it. (And I can't guess who wrote it, except to guess Truman Capote, because it kind of sounds like him and he wrote about the south.)

It's interesting that how a play comes off on the page is different from how it may come across in a production, with the various "star power," "charisma," and "name recognition" qualities that particular actors bring. When I read the play, I hadn't seen the film (or any stage production for that matter). It comes off as an ensemble piece, with no character being most important of all, or more important than any other. I'm sure when Whoopi Goldberg played Ma in a revival, she made it seem like a star role, but that's not what August Wilson wrote. I could make just as strong a case that Toledo is the main character as that Levee or Ma is, and that Glynn Turman should be getting Best Actor nods. Or Cutler/Colman Domingo.

The only sketch I thought was funny--but I did think it was very funny--was the one where Aidy was receiving birthday gift "sayings" from her friends. Enjoyed Kate as the witch in WU. I don't understand the point of her continuing to do male drag as hated politicians, though. It seems like we're supposed to think, "Oh look, a woman is playing Lindsay Graham, and you know, he's in the closet--oh, he's going to hate that!" It's actually quite regressive.