Happy with Glee

Glee may be messy, bi-polar, and sometimes unfocused. But it’s also grandly entertaining and is therefore one of the most worthwhile things on TV. Especially if you have a soft spot for singin’, dancin’ and razor-sharp humor.  Last night, for instance:

1) Great dialogue in general, but especially from Sue (Jane Lynch) when she’s writing in her journal: “Here I am, about to turn 30, and I’ve sacrificed everything, only to be Shanghaied by the bi-curious machinations of a cabal of doughy misshapen teens.” Perfect delivery.

2) Terrific performances from the boys and girls of the Glee Club, who perform competing mash-ups, while high on pseudoephedrine. The guys doing “It’s My Life”/”Confessions Pt. 2″ were particularly good, though I worried that the hopped-up Finn (Cory Monteith) was going to have a heart attack. Especially liked Mike Chang’s incredible little rubber-limbed solo. He’s played by the ultra-talented Harry Shum Jr., who’s been in the Step Up movies, among other things. Found a clip of him freestyling:

3) Honestly good acting from Matthew Morrison (Will), Lea Michele (Rachel), Jayma Mays (Emma), Jessalyn Gillsig (Terri), and just about the entire cast.

Their characters actually make me feel feelings, which is very odd for television. Not to mention that I’m developing a little crush on Finn, which is worrisome considering my advanced age. But there’s something about a big, cute, clueless jock that gets me every time.

The good stuff

My weekend recuperation from a root canal afforded me plenty of time to catch up on movies via both Netflix and TV. It was a nice respite from reality shows. When it comes to film, I’m much more of a snob, so my viewing pleasures were totally guilt-free.

I’d never seen Kubrick’s Lolita in its entirety so that was a nice surprise. I knew it had an element of humor but it was way funnier than I expected. Such a solid cast: Shelley Winters was predictably amazing (I kind of love her) and Sue Lyon was much more than just a random nymphet. Peter Sellers as the ridiculous, scheming Quilty was almost a cartoon, but totally enjoyable; and James Mason’s Humbert was fantastically hammy. It all seemed very modern for 1962, but that’s Kubrick for you.

I wound up crying during some of the dancing portions of Bringing Balanchine Back a documentary about New York City Ballet’s return to Russia in 2003 (last visit: 1972). City Ballet is my favorite ballet company in the world and Balanchine my favorite choreographer hands-down. The company didn’t know how they would be received in St. Petersburg — though I doubt they thought it would be worse than their Cold War visit  — so the Russian audiences’ wildly enthusiastic response was gratifying. That didn’t make me cry as much as the choreography itself. Those dances (“Serenade,” “Symphony in C,” “Agon”) are what made me fall in love with ballet in the first place.

Another movie that made me cry: Offside, Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s feature about a bunch of girls who dress as boys in order to get into a soccer stadium for a World Cup-qualifying match. Funny, sad, maddening and deeply human. The girls especially were fantastic: scrappy, determined and irreverent. All in all, a tremendously satisfying movie. And talk about naturalistic: Panahi  apparently shot the film inside Tehran’s Azadi Stadium on the day of the actual match between Iran and Bahrain to determine which country would qualify for the 2006 World Cup! Had the match gone the other way, the movie would have had an entirely different ending. Unreal.

OK, back to TV, but good TV: What a splendid episode of Mad Men this week: Peggy gets high on marijuana and it puts her “in a really good place”! (Pot was invented for people like Peggy!); Joan sings a kittenish “C’est Magnifique,” accompanying herself on accordion (the instrument never looked sexier), at a dinner party for her husband’s boss! There were also interesting plot threads involving Don and Betty’s kid stealing $5 from her addled-but-still-commanding grandad, and a country club party thrown by Roger and his new (ex-Sterling Cooper secretary) wife, who gets drunk. One of the series’ best episodes, I think.

[Later, still thinking about the episode]…And!  I almost forgot Roger Sterling’s hugely offensive blackface performance at the party! And Pete Campbell and his wife executing a mean Charleston, totally showing off. Lots of strange performances  this week.