Mad Men -S5E6 - Far Away Places

Well let this weeks’ “Mad Men” be a lesson to you, marijuana and LSD can be fun, but don’t you dare try the orange sherbert. That stuff will mess you up. This weeks’ episode was split into 3 different intersecting stories similar to storytelling featured in “Sin City” and “Pulp Fiction.” We first followed our favorite female copywriter, Peggy, through her day. After a small fight with her boyfriend about how she only thinks about work, Peggy learns that she must make the Heinz presentation by herself, again. Why? Because Don has pulled Megan away to a Howard Johnson’s. Peggy makes the pitch and the client isn’t sold. In past seasons Don would have sold the client on the pitch, with him not there, it’s up to Peggy to do this. Unfortunately her Don imitation fails miserably and the client leaves angrily and if they follow history they will head over to Y&R. Peggy is frustrated and heads out to go and see “Born Free” during which she gets offered some Marijuana. Since she failed being Don at work she decides to try being Don outside of work which means getting high on marijuana and giving some guy a handjob with the lioness roar signifying that Peggy finally feels triumphant. Upon returning to the office, Peggy goes to Don’s office, after all she now sees herself as Don. She sleeps in the office before she is woken up in a role reversal from previous episodes by Dawn. Lying on the couch probably made her realize that she isn’t Don. A recurring motif throughout the episode of people having epiphanies while lying down. After trying to fall on her sword and accept failure of the Heinz account to Don, Peggy learns the first unpleasant truth of the night. Ginsberg was born in a concentration camp and adopted. While it was the truth it doesn’t mean that it is good. The camera than shifts to Roger as we learn it was he who wanted to go to the HoJo with Don as two perverted single men so that he could get out of a date with his wife. After seeing just part of the agonizing dinner that Roger had to sit through, we learn the real reason for the party. Roger is going to do some LSD! What follows was a scene that is one of the most fascinating that Mad Men has ever made. We get Roger hearing music as he opens a bottle of Vodka, the only thing that gives him joy right now. A cigarette burning out to quickly, something that used to give him pleasure is now gone, since Lucky Strike has left him. A vision of himself with half white and half black hair, a way for him to see how he views himself as compared to who he is. Don, the man that has brought him to where he is now, giving him reassurance appears behind him in the mirror. Burt, the man who has helped him make all of his money, appears on his money. Eventually his attention turns to his wife, who is holding a beautiful flower. It symbolizes not only her beauty though, but his love for her. He has only ever loved her beauty, and like the flower his love was quick to wilt. Then as the two of them lay on the ground they uncover the next unhappy truth. Their marriage is over, they both knew it, just didn’t want to say it. Roger awakens and views his wife looking beautiful and draped in green, the color of his money, and says goodbye to his old life. Finally we turn to Don, we’ve already seen him abduct Megan to go to a Howard Johnson and we get to see that Megan wasn’t happy about this. She wanted to work, not just jet off with the boss. Once they get to the restaurant/hotel and Don wants to work Megan is furious. He can like to work but she can’t, before the argument continues, the infamous orange sherbet is delivered. After trying to refuse and Don believing she is just acting out, Megan really acts out by shoveling a ton of the cold treat into her mouth. This act of defiance begins the real fight with Megan landing the dirty blow of telling Don to call his mother who she knows is not a possibility. Don leaves, but comes right back to find that Megan is gone. Refusing to believe that she has done the most sensible thing and just gone home Don tries calling everywhere and then just sitting at the HoJo before finally driving back to New York. On the way he remembers the drive back from Disney and Sally wishing the vacation would never end even though she knows that it has to. Don is wishing the same thing about his relationship with Megan. Once Don gets home and breaks down the door we see their brief fight and the two end up lying on the floor just like Roger and Jane. But here they don’t want to see the ugly truth. That Don’s happy little marriage isn’t as happy as he thought it was. The two of them come to work where Don gives Megan a look that asks if they’re okay. She gives a small nod while she wipes her nose. An indication that she can at least appear okay. Then we get the ultimate Bert Cooper smack down. He scolds Don for being on a love vacation and tells him he needs to get back to work. As Don watches the employees walk by, first the team of copywriters, followed by Peggy, all on her own, he realizes that he can’t possibly work while his wife is there, but she loves working. He has no way to try and keep his vacation going. It’s over.

Midnight Cowboy - The Oscar Project Part XLII

The 1960’s are brought to an end by the only film to ever win the Academy Award with an X rating, “Midnight Cowboy.” Released in 1969 the film was actually given a rating of R first, but some psychologist thought that kids would be to easily influenced by it and that the film should be rated X. This rating was changed 2 years later in 1971 and is now a rated R film. So the notoriety of the film being rated X isn’t nearly as scandalous as one would believe. After watching the film there are plenty of rated R movies released in our time that would have to be rated XXX if compared to this movie. “Midnight Cowboy” tells the tale of Joe Buck as he moves to New York to become a hustler. He quickly learns that this won’t be easy and loses all of his money. Some of it is to Enrico Rizzo. Eventually while down on his luck Rizzo takes him in and the two of them help each other survive New York by stealing. Eventually they end up a strange party that takes on a very Andy Warhol vibe. Here Joe gets high and ends up booking his first client, who is also able to help him schedule another client. However at this point, Rizzo gets sick and wants Joe to take him to Miami where he has always dreamed of going. Unfortunately Rizzo does not make it and the movie ends with Joe holding his dead friend on the bus while they arrive in Miami. This is one of those movies were everything really clicked together. The movie actually felt dirty, like the characters, everything was very gritty and real. Both Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight put in great performances. However, I found the real star of the show to be the directing. The establishing shots that demonstrated where the characters where both physically and emotionally was extremely well done. In particular is the party in the middle of the movie, the portrayal of Joe experiencing something so different than what he is used to is just incredible. The only lacking part of the movie honestly was the plot. I didn’t feel any connection to these characters or want to see where they would end up. The movie never felt like it really went anywhere. I realize it was more about the emotions of the characters but the plot could have used some work and been a little tighter. Overall it’s a fine movie and if you are interested in some real good direction and character work, than this is the movie for you. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Mad Men - S5E5 - Signal 30

This week Matthew Weiner turns the wheel of characters and it lands on Pete, the man that the audience loves to hate and can’t help but not watch. The episode “Signal 30” begins with Pete watching the driving instruction film of the same name. Pete has obviously decided that living out in the country requires him to have a driver’s license and most likely a large car that he can show off in the future. While there he begins flirting with a young high school senior. A girl that probably reminds him of what his wife used to be like before she started only wearing curlers. As she taps her sandal we transition to Pete not being able to sleep due to a leaky faucet. Getting up he goes and grabs his trusty toolbox and then “fixes” the drip and believes that he has fixed his life.

Eventually through much subterfuge, Pete and Trudy are able to have Don, Megan, Ken and Cynthia over to their house for dinner. After Don wins the best dinner jacket award and Pete shows off his stereo, which is the same as a metaphor for a man in his 40’s needing to buy a long sleek car, they sit down for a nice awkward dinner. But surprisingly only for Pete. He is consistently seeking approval from Don in this episode. The highlight of the dinner is the story from Ken about the robot that maintains a bridge. Pete simply scoffs at this story, but Don shows actual interest. Showing that Don is clearly more interested in personal things than just having a big successful job and the illusion of being happy. I think it is important to note the reference to the gun in this episode. We haven’t heard about it since season 1 and this little reminder should be a reminder to the audience. A general rule for TV is you don’t introduce a gun without it going off.

Soon after dinner, Pete’s sink fix breaks. In comes Super Don to save the day with little or no help needed from anyone, including the tool box. As the Pete’s quick fix breaks we also see the rest of the illusion of his perfect family façade break as we are leave the house party with the image of him not taking any responsibility for his baby. Even though the baby is crying she clearly is not the saddest one in the room. To counteract this Pete continues hitting on the high school student, but is shot down thanks to someone Handsome (literally and figuratively). This leaves only one place were Pete can try to feel important and that’s work. But this episode takes care of that too.

Before finishing up the Pete Campbell line let’s take a look at Mr. Pryce. Lane is desperate to move on from London. He is happy in America and wants to let go of England. His wife isn’t the same and they go to an English pub where they watch England win the World Cup in soccer. While there he gets the opportunity to bring in new business in the form of the car company Jaguar. Seeing that he has little else to do Roger gives him advice in a great scene that will earn him another Emmy nod. Probably one of the best Roger scenes of the show. Lane tries and fails. Pete of course pushes him aside, asserts his dominance and says that they will take care of his friend. Which, of course, means taking him to a whore house.

At the whore house we get a little more insight into Pete. He longs to be the king. When the lovely lady takes him to her room, she tries the wife waiting for her husband to be home. He has that so it doesn’t work. She tries the virgin, he just lost that so he’s bitter, doesn’t work. Finally she simply says, “You’re my King.” Bingo! At the same time we see again how Don has grown as he doesn’t partake in the establishment. And on the ride home Pete wonders why Don is disappointed in his actions tonight. Don simply replies that he thought Pete was happy and he is just throwing that all away. When Pete accuses Don of having done the same thing, he makes it clear that he is finally happy with Megan, and he wouldn’t throw that away.

Their late night escapade does have repercussions though. After Ken is turned in for writing by Pete, Lane learns that the client’s wife found chewing gum on his special area and the agency loses the account. This makes Lane furious and he takes it out on Pete, who is kind of enough to tell Lane that he has no purpose here. And thus begins the greatest fight of all time as Lane and Pete square off as the other partners watch in disbelief and enjoyment. Lane is able to knock Pete down and leaves the room. Later Joan comes to take care of Lane, who wanting to show his manhood and because he falls in love with any girl that is nice to him, kisses her. Classy Joan just gets up, opens the door and then sit backs down and congratulates him for doing what everyone in the office has longed to do, punch Pete.

The episode ends with Pete talking the elevator down and telling Don that he has nothing. As Pete watches the senior girl he was flirting with be taken advantage of by Handsome it closes on him lying awake listening to the slow drip. For a long time I’ve been expecting Roger to take the plunge off of the building, but I’m starting to think Pete may be headed for an early exit.

Oliver - The Oscar Project Part XLI

Finally, the fourth and final Oscar winning musical from the 60’s, “Oliver.” Surprisingly another musical I had little information about. I had only really seen the opening scene with the porridge and my only other experience was Joey from “Friends” trying out for Fagan in an episode. I knew it was about orphans that robbed people while they sang happy songs and in general was a light hearted musical.

“Oliver” tells the story of an orphan named Oliver that eventually escapes to London where he takes up with a gang of other child robbers. Fun was had and songs were song. Then Oliver gets caught by the cops. However he is quick to be let go into the hands of a wealthy citizen who we later here he is related to. Eventually, Fagan, the leader of the gang of child thieves, and Billy, the really evil adult guy, come after Oliver because they are worried that he will turn them in. However, he has no plans to. Eventually the story turns dark and characters are threatened and killed and by the end of the story, Oliver gets a happy ending.

Overall the movie was decently put together. I found that Fagan was played incredibly well, but there weren’t really a lot of other standouts. The music and plot were decent, but it really felt like two separate movies. The first act was a fun story about robbing orphans while the second half took this really dark turn. Like it expected the audience to age 10 years during the intermission. It was a little jarring and it would have served the movie better to incorporate both tones throughout the movie. I actually liked both of these movies but I didn’t feel like they belonged together.

Overall if you have kids watch the first half and then let them watch the second half when they are older. It’s like turning off “Old Yeller” before, well, you know. Anyways it was definitely the best of the 4 musicals from the 60’s in my opinion. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Mad Men - S5E4 - Mystery Date

The game Mystery Date is an old game from the 1960’s that involved girls playing through a game to find out who was behind the door for their mystery date. It is also the title for this week’s episode of “Mad Men.” In which several of the main characters open their doors to find something they weren’t expecting.

Let’s start with our lead, Mr. Don Draper. Here again we get hints about how little he cares about work. He doesn’t even bother to listen to the entire pitch from the new copywriter Mr. Ginsberg. In fact we learn that there was another idea based on Cinderella that Don turned down because he didn’t want to fight for it. If it’s a good idea than Don used to convince the customer that it’s what they want. He doesn’t do that anymore. He spends the rest of the episode sick and is told to go home by his wife, who we learn is aware of his infidelity with Betty, and for the most part is okay with his past because she was the same way.

While at home Don gets a “visit” from his Mystery Date who turns out to be an old flame, Andrea, from his previous life or as I like to call her “metaphor for his previous life.” After a quick fling, Andrea tells Don this will happen again and he has no choice in the matter. This angers him and he strangles her and then kicks her body under the bed. At this point it would be best for me to bring up the historical subplot happening during the episode about the Speck murders in Chicago. Speck murdered several young nurses and left one living because she was hiding under the bed. Here even though Don has “killed” Andrea and thereby killing that part of him that would cheat on his wife, he also hid her under the bed, meaning that some small piece of that part of him is still there. Don eventually wakes up to Megan serving him breakfast and realizes that the entire night was just a dream.

We also get to spend some time with Sally Draper in this episode. She is being watched by her evil step mother (Cinderella reference?) and we learn about the small amount of rules that Betty puts on Sally, which is quite a difference from last season were she placed many rules on her. Sally soon learns about the Speck murders and is scared. Pauline gives Sally a Seconal, a barbiturate sleeping pill that contributed to the deaths of Judy Garland and Jimi Hendrix. Sally does end up sleeping, under the couch, the one area that she thinks is safe.

Joan got her Mystery Date from her husband. He came back as not what she was hoping. He seemed fit and like he was going to be a good father, but then he dropped the bombshell, he was going back to Vietnam for another year, and he had volunteered to. This of course pissed off Joan and after a night of fighting, she kicked him out. But not before bringing up the lingering subplot from Season 2 when Greg essentially raped her on the floor of the office. It was nice to see this finally closed and I feel like we may finally get back the Joan from Season 1 and 2 that I loved and has been missing since then.

Back at SCDP, Peggy mans up and coerces an extra 410 dollars out of Roger since he forgot about a Mohawk campaign that was due Monday. We are seeing that instead of trying to fight, Roger is just falling deeper into failure. Peggy works late at night and we get a scary sequence of her alone in the building and moving slowly through the hallways. She opens the door to Don’s office and finds out that her Mystery Date is Dawn, Don’s African American secretary. She convinces her to come over and the night goes great until Peggy goes to bed and a tiny hint of racism comes out when Peggy pauses and looks at her purse full of cash. She leaves the purse there, but Dawn has noticed and makes sure to leave early before Peggy wakes up and all Peggy is left with is the guilt.

In the Heat of the Night - The Oscar Project Part XL

While I did grow up in the 80’s and 90’s when cable TV was in almost every home, I spent many summers with my Grandparents in northern Michigan. Up there we didn’t have cable and we were relegated to only the main network stations, of which there was only 3 and ½ at best that came in with a decent signal. So when we wanted to watch television the choices weren’t very wide and we had to watch what Grandma and Grandpa wanted. So I got to watch a few more procedural police dramas than I probably should have at a young age. One that I remember was “In the Heat of the Night.” I thought it was a little goofy and to be honest I didn’t get the whole racist thing at such a young age so I just didn’t get it. The television show was based on the 1967 Oscar winning movie of the same name. Watching it now, fully aware of the civil rights struggle of the 60’s, I get it now. “In the Heat of the Night” is one of the most powerful movies about race that I have ever seen.

The movie tells the story of a murder investigation in the small town of Sparta, Mississippi. At the beginning of the investigation the local sheriff arrests the first black man he sees. This turns out to be a detective (Tibbs) from out of state whom is trying to leave town after visiting his Mom. Eventually Tibbs decides to help the small town police force solve the murder. Throughout the movie Tibbs does several things that anger the southern town that has yet to overcome racism. Eventually mobs try to chase him out of time, but his duty and want to find the truth keep him there until he is able to solve the murder and at the very least earn respect from the local sheriff.

This film was really two stories in one film. The first is the murder mystery. The mystery here is great and full of twists and turns and it never feels like we are just being feed an endless string of red herrings. Each person we look at fits what we know about the murder at the time and then another clue is found that leads us somewhere else. The second story is southern racial tension. Seeing the view of a strong black character with a temper is quite different to the quiet strength that usually gets portrayed in this type of situation was great to see and since it was Sydney Poitier acting it made the emotions feel very real. He really owned this movie. It is easy to see why he is so fondly remembered for this film. All the other aspects of the film were handled very well, but it was the acting of Poitier that really stood out.

Overall this film still carries a strong message and has a great murder mystery that isn’t easily solvable and would keep a new audience on their feet. It gets 5 out of 5 stars.

Mad Men - S5E3 - Tea Leaves

For me the weakest part of “Mad Men” has always been Betty. She in the past several seasons has served little purpose except as an object that Don first desired, then obtained, got bored with and finally overcame. The episode “Tea Leaves” focuses on Betty and where she is now. It turns out that Betty has actually gone through some changes now that she has achieved what she thought was what she wanted. A house wife with a devoted husband. She doesn’t have to work at keeping Henry like she did Don. Henry worships the ground she walks on and lets her know that. Don never really did that so she had to maintain herself better than she has with Henry. Eventually she has her cancer scare and we learn a few other things. While she did try to find Henry first, the first person she calls is Don. Why? Because he will tell her what she wants to hear, he always has and she knows it. It also gives Betty the chance for her to examine her life and how she would be remembered by her family in death. The mourning would happen but life would move on. They would get over her death, symbolized by Sally turning over her chair. This could have been a catalyst for change, but once she learned she did not have cancer it was easy for her to settle back into her comfy housewife life as she snacked on the sundae her daughter didn’t want to finish.

Back over in Don’s neck of the woods we see how much he has changed as he attends a Rolling Stones concert with Harry. Their goal is to get the Stones to sing for Heinz. Don barely feels the need to be there as he doesn’t think it’s going to work and the idea isn’t that good. The old Don would have never gone to the concert and would have sold the Heinz people on something else. During the concert while they are waiting we see how Don has grown and no longer chases after the young. He is now worried about them. With a growing daughter at home it is nice to see Don showing care for the younger generation. However, this probably means that he is going to have a hard time relating to them as well. Harry on the other hand is trying to be the type of person that he thought Don was only to learn that that isn’t who Don is anymore.

Back at SCDP the big stories come from Peggy and Roger. Peggy is given the job of hiring a new copywriter. And being Peggy wants to do the best she can. Her candidate is a brilliant ad man but he doesn’t seem to act appropriately for the interview until he is brought before Don where he becomes someone different and then later he acts different again with his father. This also gave us another glimpse at Don as the old Don would not have given him an easy time during the interview. He would have asked him harsh questions and made him think. This time he just sat back and took a bunch of compliments. Roger on the other hand finally admitted that he doesn’t know his worth and that Pete has essentially stolen his role. It should be interesting to see how Roger reacts. He has always been able to use the bottle to solve his problems in the past but I don’t think that will work this time. Will he rise up and reclaim his place or is this the beginning of the end for Roger. I would guess the later.

A Man for All Seasons - The Oscar Project Part XXXIX

Talk about a change in movies. After two years of musicals, the 1966 movie “A Man for All Seasons” was the next film to win the Best Picture award. Such a quick change by the academy could have easily been predicted after giving the award to two musicals right in a row, this film is a much smaller film that feels important, is a biography and has that independent feel that the academy has always loved.

The film tells the story of Sir Thomas More during the creation of the Church of England by Henry the VIII. The King wishes to divorce his current wife so that he can marry Anne Boleyn. Since the Pope refuses to grant a divorce to his wedding with Catherine, the King declares himself the Supreme Head of the Church of England so that his marriage is annulled. More believes this to be a heresy as the Pope is the head of the church. Throughout the film More’s faith in his beliefs are tested and he is pressured to agree with the King of England. Eventually when he refuses to take an oath a scheme is put in play to convict him of a crime he did not commit and is killed.

“A Man for All Seasons” is based off of a play of the same name. The movie feels very much like a play and not a movie. The only difference being that they can have the set move to different locations. But the feel of the movie invoked the same feeling when I watch a play. The adaptation of the play to a movie wasn’t very good. There was more that needs to be done when doing an adaptation than just using the script that was written for the stage. The two are different mediums and therefore the script needs to be treated differently. The acting however was able to overcome this in several instances. Paul Scofield as More and Robert Shaw as King Henry are terrific and really make the movie. It’s too bad that the rest of the production couldn’t live up to their performance.

I highly recommend seeing this story play out on stage if at all possible. If not this is a good movie to see as long as you treat it as a filming of a stage production and not as a movie. Overall I give this film 3 out of 5 stars.