Sports: what to watch

With the NBA playoffs already in full swing, the best sports show on television is finally getting its annual time in the sun. The Emmy Award winning Inside the NBA, hosted by UGA’s own Ernie Johnson and former NBA players, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley, airs almost nightly on TNT following the network’s playoff coverage.

Few people tune in for the show’s weekly airings on Thursday nights during the regular season, due to the NBA’s paltry television ratings. That is a tremendous shame because the banter and fun that the three analysts undertake is some of the most entertaining work on sports television. Johnson plays the role of traffic cop, deferring smartly to the intelligent Smith and the controversial Barkley. Without Johnson’s grace and ability to know when to reign in “Sir Charles,” the sometimes free-wheeling show could lose control.

The show endures far more technical difficulties than the much more choreographed and much better staffed SportsCenter, but even the show’s low moments are fun because of the humor of the three stars. In one particularly amusing sequence during last year’s playoffs, Johnson began to read the highlights of a Warriors-Jazz game in Utah, only to have Barkley exclaim thirty seconds into the highlight reel that the game Johnson was talking about wasn’t on the screen. The show had actually rolled clips of a previous Warriors-Jazz game played in Golden State. Johnson began laughing when Barkley said the Warriors weren’t wearing the same uniforms they were wearing in the game played that same night. Eventually, Johnson was laughing so hard he couldn’t finish the sequence.

During the playoffs the show also brings in other former players, such as Reggie Miller and Magic Johnson to get even more perspectives. While most of the ESPN basketball studio analysts were former NBA role players, TNT enables fans to understand the playoffs from the perspective of the superstars. Due to the west coast playoff games, Inside the NBA often does not even get underway until after 1:00a.m. eastern time, but the show is well worth the loss of sleep for viewers who choose to stay up to watch it.

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Top 10 most misunderstood film and tv personalities

Film:

The theme here is love. They all just need some of it, and they'll be better.

The Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera: Dreamy. Mysterious. Romantic. Emotional. Singer. Artist. Composer. Whoever said the Phantom was a creepy psychopath was severely mistaken. He isn't crazy; he's a genius. I mean, who else could make an entire home complete with artwork and music in the bottom of an opera house? Frankly, Christine is ungrateful. Afterall, he is her mucial tutor. So what, he's a little needy. All he wants is a little love and compassion. That can easily be fixed. And no one would ever love you more.

The Disney Villains: Ursula, Cruella, The Wicked Queen, The Evil Stepmother, Maleficent, Scar, Gaston, and so many more. So, they're all just a little messed up in the head, but jealousy and greed could do that to a person, or an octopus if the tentacle fits. But, all they really need is a little understanding and some kindness. A heart-to-heart conversation with any one of these guys could have solved a lot of problems. And maybe the little princesses should have thought about committing these villains before following their advice or trusting them. Plus, we all know they have the best songs. "Poor Unfortunate Souls" has been on my playlist since I was like three--and I had every line memorized, thank you.

The Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas: He's just sad and lonely up on Mt. Crumpet. If only he had someone to take care of him. Yeah, he eventually figures it out, but deep down we always knew he was a softy. The most angry, distant ones always need/want the most attention. In the words of The Beatles: "All you need is love."

Rizzo from Grease: She is overcompensating for most likely a distant father figure, which is why she feels the need to fill the void with men and trash all the "happy" girls, says the psychiatrist in me. But we love her anyway because she's funny and smart. Yeah, she's a little bitchy at first, but you learn to love her and she's also got some of the best songs. Look a little deeper and you'll find the loveable kid in her.
Sweeney Todd (spoiler. read at own risk.): All right, all right, I'm sure you've had enough with these musicals, but it just sort of happened this way. Last one, I promise. Sweeney Todd is not your average killer. He was provoked by a lot of things. Namely Miss Lovette. Now, I don't think she planned things but she definitely took advantage of situations. Afterall, it was her idea to cut people up and make them into meat pies. And she failed to tell Sweeney that his wife was still alive. If she had, he never would have killed anybody, so I say it's the evil woman's fault. Yes, women are evil and men are dumb, so there you have it. Sweeney is really just a disturbed, sweet guy who got the raw end of the deal. And a little revenge never hurt anybody.


TV:

Cole from Charmed: Ok sure, he's a demon, but he's a good demon. He really wanted to be good but Phoebe wouldn't allow it. All of a sudden she was afraid of him after he saved her life. Riiiiiiight. The whole situation is stupid. Bottom line, he was willing to change and her actions made him crrrraaaaaaaazy!

Piers Morgan from Celebrity Apprentice: People looked at him as the bad guy this past season, but uh, let's look at the stats; he raised more money and did the best job of anyone on any season of the Apprentice...EVER! He had a great cause to raise money for (The Fallen Heros Fund for American Soldiers), and did it with great enthusiasm and also looked like he was about to cry in the season finale. People say he played the game unfairly but he played it just like everyone else. He was just more outspoken and honest and oh yeah, really funny. I think he's one of the good "bad guys." And personally, he has a lot more tact than the Donald.
Simon Cowell from American Idol: Is it any wonder that this Brit and Piers Morgan are friends? They seem to be cut from the same mold. Again, the flack this guy gets for being honest astounds me. He is so right pretty much all of the time. Granted his fashion is lacking, but at least he can put a coherent sentence together, ahem, Paula.

The Munsters: Ok, so this whole family gets a mention. They are the sweetest most generous people on 1313 Mockingbird Lane. So, they look a little different, but if you had to choose between them or the Adams Family, who would you pick?

Grumpy Bear from The Care Bears: He may seem on edge but he's always there to help out a friend in need. When the stuff hits the fan, he'll save anyone and he usually gets the dirty job.



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Calling all tissues

He made us swoon with his dreamy voice in Phantom and put us on the edge of our seat in 300. Now, Gerard Butler makes us cry in P.S. I Love You and he's done it all with that wonderfully smokey, Scottish accent. But we have some lovers and haters here. Click on "Read more!" to read student reviews of P.S. I Love You and decide for yourself if the movie is worth a look. Also check out the film's website linked to the headline. P.S. I Love You on DVD May 6.

P.S. I Love You: Thumbs Down
Pure Suffering. That’s what the “P.S.” in the romantic film P.S. I Love You stands for. Or maybe it’s Painful Sobbing – one’s facial muscles tend to ache after two hours of crying, you know. In fact, writer/director Richard LaGravenese hardly gives the audience enough time between sniffles to decide whether the movie, adapted from Cecilia Ahern’s 2005 bestselling novel, is decent or dreadful. Moviegoers are too busy searching for extra Kleenex.

The film opens with an oddly cast Hilary Swank, who we come to know as Holly Kennedy, a young real estate agent with a penchant for eBay-purchased designer fashion. Holly, stalking up her apartment stairs with a nasty scowl, has been angered into silence by her gorgeous Irish husband, Gerry (Gerard Butler). The scene and its placement feel off – largely because the “fight” that ensues is unrealistic and the dialogue awkward – but more so because it abruptly ends, the opening credits roll and we are then thrust into the scene of Gerry’s death.

Gerry, in an odd yet charming Irish fashion, knows a brain tumor will take his life and thus does some “planning ahead” to help his beloved wife cope. The movie follows Holly as she receives 10 letters from her deceased husband in various forms, including a 30th birthday cake, a cherished leather jacket and a trip to Ireland. It is his hope that these “lessons” will help Holly in her time of grief and eventually, they will teach her how to move on with life.

However, with the arrival of each letter, it seems like Holly mourns all over again, wondering what Gerry is trying to tell her. It is heart wrenching and truly pitiful to see her anxiously await and come to depend on these correspondences with a dead man. Even her mom, Patricia (Kathy Bates), cannot get through to Holly, an inconsolable widow stuck in her takeout-strewn apartment.

What’s even more disturbing, however, is watching Swank take on the role of a sappy, romantic leading lady. The focus on Swank’s slender figure and couture costumes is distracting only until one remembers her Oscar-winning roles in 1999’s Boys Don’t Cry and 2004’s Million Dollar Baby. Then the realization hits: She’s so much better than this emotional disaster of a character!

Brighter, tissue-free moments – and there are certainly not enough – are pleasantly provided by Holly’s two best friends: the fierce, sassy Sharon (Gina Gershon), and the promiscuous, hilarious Denise (Lisa Kudrow). Kudrow shines as the film’s comedic relief, although it’s hard not to feel guilty for laughing in the face of such a tragic story line. She makes the somber opening scene of Gerry’s memorial a littler lighter as she searches the crowd for potential spouses. Denise’s line of questioning goes something like, “Are you single? Are you gay? Are you working?” The deadpan Kudrow is easily the film’s standout actor.

But is the film a comedy, or is it a drama? It feels more like a joyless roller coaster of a love story with no end in sight. LaGravenese dangles his objective in our face, but he never reveals it, even as the movie comes to a close. His intentions are about as blurry as the vision of the tear-filled audience – and by the time those tears dry, you can’t remember if the film was any good in the first place. --Emily Yocco

P.S. I Love You: Thumbs Up
It starts off with a typical argument between man and wife – the man has no idea what he’s done to get her so riled up, and the woman can’t believe he doesn’t realize just how much he’s messed up. After several minutes of yelling, shoe-throwing and slamming doors, the two run into each other’s arms and passionately forgive each other.

But this is where Richard LaGravenese’s film P.S. I Love You stops looking like every other romantic comedy on the market and dons a more quirky, albeit somber, look for this movie genre.

Following the fight between married couple Holly (Hilary Swank) and Gerry (Gerard Butler), we find ourselves watching Holly and her friends mourn the sudden loss of her hunky Irish husband. But never fear, ladies – Gerry’s chiseled mug isn’t gone for good. It turns out he wrote a series of letters before he died that start coming to Holly in different ways, and his voice (and face) come back in different parts of the film to help her deal with her grief.

“But I don’t have a plan, Gerry,” Holly laments aloud in her apartment a few days after the funeral.

“That’s alright, love,” she imagines him saying. “Your plans never work out anyway.”

So she awaits his posthumous letters with the help of relationship-starved Denise (Lisa Kudrow) and perpetually-awkward Daniel (Harry Connick Jr.), two of her more compelling friends in the film. Harry Connick Jr. plays Holly’s uncomfortably honest friend so well you almost wonder if he’s like that in real life. And Lisa Kudrow nails Denise’s lines about her “vulgar, cheap appreciation” for the opposite sex, adding an extra dose of humor to a film with an otherwise tearful premise.

Now to some, the film’s storyline may seem morbid – a widow receiving letters from her dead husband? That’s unrealistic and downright morose, they might say. But part of the appeal of the movies is seeing something you wouldn’t normally see in real life. It’s this idea that P.S. I Love You works with to attract its romantic comedy-loving audience, and it succeeds. Widows don’t usually have husbands who can plan so meticulously in advance of their passing, but it’s nice to see those letters cushion the blow for Holly. Be prepared to go through an entire box of tissues by the time you reach the end.

Indeed, people will walk out of this film and remember it because it’s a romantic comedy that deals with how the living move on after losing loved ones in a really interesting way. Gerry leaves his wife here, but not without something to help her learn to deal with her loss. Grief is an unfortunate part of life and here we have a movie dealing with that subject in a lighthearted way, which makes it stand out in comparison to the typical boy dates girl / boy loses girl / boy gets girl back romantic comedy that’s been made over and over again.

Not to say this movie doesn’t have its share of tear-jerking, predictable moments (the scene with Holly singing “The Man That Got Away” in her apartment days after Gerry’s death satisfies this necessity). But it’s nice to watch a film addressing subject matter everyone can relate to. --Claire Miller

P.S.: Gerard Butler, if you’re reading this, I love you.

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"27 Dresses" on DVD

See Katherine Heigl and James Marsden in 27 Dresses on DVD April 29. See reviews here.

27 Dresses: mostly for hopeless romantics
Expecting 27 Dresses to be realistic is like expecting a bridesmaid’s dress to be flattering or attractive. The movie is about Jane (Katherine Heigl), your average twenty-something with a job, an apartment, and an amazing ability to be in more weddings than most of us will attend in our lifetimes. She has been a bridesmaid in 27 weddings, including one underwater wedding and another sporting a Gone with the Wind theme. The only wedding she has yet to attend is her own. Despite being a perpetual bridesmaid, Jane holds out the dream that one day, she too will get married and all those women she stood up for will be there for her in return.

Jane is a passive, selfless, people-pleaser with a pathetic inability to say “no.” She is also secretly (or not so secretly) in love with her boss, George (Edward Burns), who just happens to be marrying her younger sister, Tess (Malin Akerman). The combination of her people-pleasing attitude and duty to obligation finds her planning the wedding of her sister and hating every minute of it. That is, until she meets Kevin (James Marsden), a journalist who writes the wedding announcements for the paper. At first glance the two seem a likely pair, but the movie pits the two against each other. He claims he doesn’t believe in love while she saves the weekly wedding announcements in the paper because of her obsession with love and weddings. They fight and argue, all the while feeling the sexual tension. The rest is clear.

The predictability is almost sad, yet still entertaining. The screen writer, Aline Brosh McKenna, who also wrote The Devil Wears Prada, infuses the conventional plot with witty and endearing scenes. The storyline works because the idea behind it is sincere, even if it is a bit much.

Heigl does a great job of being reserved and passive, a big departure from her role as the pushy Izzie Stevens on Grey’s Anatomy. Marsden, more known for playing the guy who doesn’t get the girl in movies like The Notebook and X-Men, pulls off the leading man role flawlessly. His look, scruffy and approachable, makes him all the more appealing. By the end, you want him to get the girl.

Other actors are cast in roles better suited elsewhere. Akerman, although believable as the self-centered little sister, Tess, plays too close a connected role to the outlandish, crudely mannered bride she played in The Heartbreak Kid. Sure, she has more class this time around, but her previous role being so similar may typecast her in future roles.

The other less-than-stellar performance is given by Judy Greer. Known for her roles as the comically annoying, odd-looking sidekick in Thirteen Going on Thirty and The Wedding Planner, Greer stumbles even further into awkward friend status with this movie. She plays Casey, Jane’s co-worker and sidekick. Her condescending attitude mixed with a hint of humor comes across as crass and irritatitating.

27 Dresses is not for everyone. The plot is based around the idea that Jane needs and wants a man to make her happy. Hopeless romantics will find this endearing and it may leave them longing for their prince charming, but for others, it may be too corny to truly enjoy. --Mandy Bruder

Unrealistic, overdone: 27 Dresses misses the mark
Do you know someone who has been a bridesmaid 27 times? Well neither do I, but this is the premise of the unrealistic chick flick, 27 Dresses, which is frustratingly similar to every other girl’s night movie starring Julia Roberts.

This film follows the classic formula: boy meets girl, boy deceives girl, girl forgives boy, boy marries girl. The pathetic Jane, a woman who has been in 27 weddings, is hopelessly in love with her boss, George. After her sister, Tess, comes to visit, George falls for her, leaving Jane devastated and forced to plan their upcoming wedding. Also included in the mix is Kevin, a wedding announcement writer, who deceives Jane by writing a story exposing her as the crazy bridesmaid, which is conveniently released just as Jane begins to fall for him.

Laced throughout the too perfectly planned drama and clichéd characters are all the common chick flick scenes including public love confessions on a stage and group singing in a bar à la My Best Friend’s Wedding. Admittedly, one scene in which Jane models all of her past bridesmaid dresses, which she keeps in her entrance hall closet, is amusing. But really, how many people get married underwater, on horseback and in the style of Gone with the Wind, and who simultaneously knows all these couples at once?

The story continues as Jane finally snaps and, in the most satisfying scene of the film, reveals her sister as the spoiled, selfish brat who has been misleading George to believe they actually have anything in common, when in reality she hates everything that he loves. Kevin continues to attempt winning Jane back, and I don’t think I need to say more for you to guess what happens.

The story drags slowly and between the few entertaining scenes, I found myself repeatedly checking my watch…brutal. While the story failed to keep me interested, I did enjoy the great shots of New York. The film successfully shows New York in an authentic way and made me wish I were walking down Broadway instead of watching these characters do so. The dialogue would certainly be believable if it was taking place in a different setting, but it is hard to imagine a bride being thrilled to have a stranger go on stage at her wedding and profess her love to someone. It is scenes like this that make this movie implausible, but also, I suppose, it is cheesy scenes like this that attract girls to see these films and make guys cringe at the idea of sitting through them.

If you are excited by the idea of a love story in which the occurrences are strangely similar to those in hundreds of other chick flicks, the characters parallel other film’s characters and manage to embarrass themselves in the most unlikely situations, and a quirky, unlikely woman finally finds love, then call up your girlfriends and make a night of it. However, for those who want a surprise and unique characters in a film, 27 Dresses falls drastically short, and sadly, all I can say for it is that it is decidedly blah. --Rachel Jacques Read more!

What happened to TV...

In my opinion, it all started with I Love Lucy--the best show ever created. I think it all went downhill from there.

TV just isn't what it used to be and the few shows that do catch my interest eventually go off the air (as all shows do). There are a few winners out there such as Lost and Grey's Anatomy, but those are most certainly some of the smarter shows out there. Kids and teens just don't have it the same either. Growing up I loved watching Care Bears, Popples, Jem and the Holograms and a variety of other shows that no longer fill the airwaves. And when I reached middle and high school Felicity and Charmed were definitely my big focus. They were just a lot of fun and so well done.

It's true that times are changing, but does quality have to. It seems that we're so overrun with shows. I wouldn't know what to watch even if I wanted to. And the reality tv really needs to stop. Yes, I do love me some Top Chef and So You Think You Can Dance, but it's nice to watch a show that has taken some time, thought and energy to create opposed to watching a contest or people living "real" life.

TV and film (we'll include them too) creators need to do some serious revamping. There's just so much out there nowadays. They've chosen quantity over quality and it's just not cutting it in my book. Read more!