In my experience, there are few places on the planet to visit that seem more foreign to an American than the Island of Japan. I will readily concede African safaris are certainly a unique… almost otherworldly… experience, while a trip along the Nile can be a memory for a lifetime, and the islands of the South Pacific often seem to be frozen in some fabulous tropical time warp.
But, for being someplace where a Westerner will invariably feel strangely out of place, I would put Japan and its greatest city, Tokyo, right up there as a challenge to anyone who claims to easily adjust to any unique environment.
The new-to-me MAX series Tokyo Vice illustrates my point. You may or may not be captured by its story, or even its leading characters, but there is no question of the verisimilitude this series brings to your television screen of a very foreign culture in our 21st century western-leaning society. I found myself fascinated by the show’s ability to capture that aspect of a stranger in a strange land … and for now… at least through the first half dozen episodes, that alone has kept me watching. I would bet it might be enough for you as well.
Moving westward, this season the most talked about of all foreign locales in the world of television must be Russia’s Moscow of one hundred years ago. Showtime’s A Gentleman In Moscow (now streaming on Paramount +) has begun its limited run to generally enthusiastic press.
I do not review many books, but several years ago, mid-pandemic, I wrote a rave for this Amor Towles first novel set in the aftermath of the Russian revolution with the caveat that it would not be easily adapted to film. I then added, “but with the right cast I would stand in line to see it.”
“The right cast…” Easy for me to say.
I envisioned a mustachioed George Clooney in the title role with a supporting group of actors that might come close to matching his star power. The gentleman of the book’s title is a Russian nobleman. Who better than a member of Hollywood’s royalty to essay such a role?
Instead, Ewan McGregor got the part. He is a fine actor. A perfect find for the naive innocent in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge. I have seen him bring that same wide-eyed, boyish quality to many roles since, but that “thing” does not serve him well in this venture.
Add to that the Hotel Metropol… every bit as important a character in this drama as is the gentleman himself. From what I could see, the set and the “dressing” of that set are spot-on.
“From what I could see…,” I am sorry to report, Director Sam Miller has not done an adequate job of displaying this Moscow showpiece for the mysterious, beautiful, and opulent palace that those of us who read the book anticipated with glee.
There is a shorthand going on here between what is on the page and what director Miller puts on the screen. This is a potential love affair of a project where foreplay is an essential ingredient. That does not happen in this film. Characters pop in and out of the limelight, or into one another’s arms, without the benefit of anticipation or, all too often, an adequate introduction.
Sure, go ahead and have Count Rostov and Anna Urbanova impulsively tear off each other’s clothes in her bedroom at the Metropol, but Mr. Director… you would be wise to take a leaf out of Norman Jewison’s chess playing sequence of a sexual/sensual tease between Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway in The Thomas Crown Affair before having them touch one another. Trust me, the audience and your movie would all benefit.
Wishful thinking. I am not going to go on too much longer. So far, I have only seen the first two episodes of this limited series of eight segments. I will keep watching and may well report on this (I am sure) well-intentioned mini-series in the future. In the meantime, take my advice… please. If you have not already read this magnificent book, contact Amazon, order A Gentleman In Moscow, and read it. You will thank me.
Finally, there is the more familiar TV convention of Nine Perfect Strangers to which I am a late arrival. This 2021 limited series is yet another collaboration between writer David E. Kelly and superstar Nicole Kidman, delivered to your home via HULU. It may be the most excruciating of the litter, bringing the phrase “guilty pleasure” to a new low. Kelly’s slip from grace since his days creating Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, The Practice, and Boston Legal is a precipitous one. Reminds me, as if I needed the nudge, to commend myself once again for walking away at… or, at least, near… the top of my game. In contrast, Mr. Kelly has, in my view, stayed too long at the fair.
There are, I am sure, fans out there for Kelly’s Lincoln Lawyer, Love & Death, Goliath, and Big Little Lies, but not one hour of any of those compares with any hour episode of his long-ago Boston Legal series… and Kelly used to knock out twenty-two of those a season.
Speaking of shoddy work. One of my own debacles was a short-lived series for ABC called Fortune Dane. It is unworthy of your time should it even be something you could find in today’s streaming world. I only mention it here because of Carl Weathers who played the title role in that show. He passed away recently, and the world is a poorer place for that.
Carl was a gentleman and one of the smartest actors with whom I have ever had the pleasure of collaborating. He caught me on the downside of my own creative days, and he managed it with barely a whimper. I never apologized enough to him when it would have counted, and now it is too late.
While on that train of thought… condolences to Tommy Troupe whose spouse, Carole Cook, played the recurring role of Charlie Cagney’s gal pal in Cagney & Lacey. Carole was a terrific comedienne, an exceptionally talented woman, and always fun company.
“Fun company” also pretty much describes the multiple years of episodes on HBO of Curb Your Enthusiasm. This is the last year for the series and in salute of its auspicious run, I have gone back to season one/episode one to re-visit, in its entirety, this very easy to watch sitcom starring Seinfeld creator, Larry David, as himself. Fans of this series will not find it hard to imagine that the series holds up fine and it remains fun to watch.
Richard Lewis, who was often featured in the series as Mr. David’s best friend, should be added to this in memoriam list as he recently passed away at age 76. Way too soon.
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