Although I have never been a
huge fan of Fox’s Glee, with Jane
Lynch’s delightfully snide Coach Sylvester being the exception, I was more
inspired to tune into the season premiere last Thursday, as I heard that Kate
Hudson was making an appearance as a dance instructor. Her role as Cassandra
July, an “aging” Broadway dancer turned tough-as-nails teacher who may have a
slight drinking problem, makes Lynch’s Coach Sylvester seem downright doting.
As I posted about a month ago, I’ve grown to appreciate Hudson as a dancer,
singer and actress—and this first episode allowed Hudson to excel at all three.
The episode’s first scene
has Cassandra in studio introducing herself to the college-aged Freshmen
dancers, and what comes out of her mouth is frightening and funny all at the
same time, thanks to Glee creator and writer, Ryan Murphy. At one point,
Cassandra the wolf stops class and sniffs out Lea Michele’s Rachel, the recent
high-school graduate good enough to head to the Big Apple to study the
performing arts, but in Cassandra’s eyes so not good enough:
Cassandra (to Rachel): I bet
you were a BIG star in Iowa.
Rachel: I’m actually… I’m
from Ohio.
Cassandra: Ohio!?... even
worse.
That was the tamest jab and
Cassandra continues to go for the jugular. To show the class how it’s really
done, Cassandra breaks into a mash-up of Lady Gaga’s Americano and Jennifer Lopez’s Dance Again. Rachel stands off to the side, stunned and
intimidated, and that’s just the first week of class. Never thought I’d say it,
but I think the fourth season of Glee will be my first. Glee
Thursdays on Fox.
Here, Kate talks about her
stint on Glee:
I also tuned into Murphy’s
other series that premiered this week, The New Normal about an independent single mother who decides to
carry a baby for a gay couple, in the hopes the money can provide for her
future career dreams, as well as for a better life for her daughter. The opener
finds Midwestern Goldie, played by the extremely adorable Georgia King, moving
to Los Angeles with her daughter Shania (the charming bespectacled Bebe
Wood)—anything to get away from bigoted nana, played by Ellen
Barkin. There they meet the gay couple, played by Justin Bartha (The
Hangover) and Andrew Rannells (Tony-nominated
actor from Broadway’s The Book of Mormon).
As with Glee, Murphy as co-writer delivers quick dialogue, and
jabs that make you cringe, especially from Barkin’s character, which at times
seem overly deliberate and forced. Yet it’s the main characters forming their
new family where the series works very well. Rannell’s Bryan, fabulous and
fashionably decked out in every scene, confirms that you should never totally
judge what looks to be a snotty, superficial book by its cover. During a shopping
outing one day, Bryan sees a kid in a stroller and is immediately taken with
the little guy. Rannell’s look on his face is so goofy it’s endearing. Bryan gets you in the heart when he begins to record video messages on his laptop to
his forthcoming bundle of joy.
Bartha’s David is a
practical, even-keeled gynecologist who at one point freaks out about his new role. In one of the more touching moments, he says to Goldie right
before the implantation that he’s delivered a thousand babies, but he’s never
held one that’s over four minutes old. Scared and uncertain, he’s no longer the
rock at work, no longer the rock at home.
And let’s not forget little
Shania. Let’s just say in the second episode that ran the next night on NBC,
Shania, of course, surrounded by all things “gaytastic,” becomes obsessed with
the mesmerizing documentary, Grey Gardens. She begins to walk around the house as Little Edie Bouvier Beale,
scarf on head and speaking in a thick, rich New England accent. At one point, the guys and Shania are watching Little Edie’s famous scene from the documentary where she’s
dancing around her house, waving small American flags and wearing white heels.
Bryan says, “Shania, we have to get you white heels.”
The New Normal: Very promising; likable main characters; dialogue
that can make you squirm, yet offset with a handful of other lines and scenes
that make you laugh out loud; sports episode wrap-ups that leave you satisfied,
maybe with a tiny tear in your eye. Tuesdays on NBC. Here's an extended trailer. BSo
No comments:
Post a Comment