Words Seem Out Of Place

Looking back at the pop culture mainstays of this Gen-Xer's gloriously misspent youth. When a friend tweeted recently that the first season of the criminally underrated 1980 sitcom  It's a Living,  about waitresses at the Above the Top restaurant located atop a swanky Los Angeles hotel, had appeared on Amazon Prime, I literally shouted out loud with joy. Then I spent the rest of the work day eagerly anticipating binging it later that night. Now, I hadn't seen the show since the 1980s, probably in reruns and when it was in its syndicated run (and retitled as Making a Living ). The series debuted in 1980, when I was in kindergarten, and it's entirely possible I watched it as it aired because, as I keep coming back to in this series, we Gen Xers were practically raised by the plethora of excellent pop culture of an era that coincided with the true golden age of the television sitcom. It's a Living will likely never be considered among the greats, but ...

The fine folks at Reelweegiemidget Reviews and Angelman's Place are currently hosting what they've lovingly dubbed The Lovely Lee Grant Blogathon, and I'm more than honored to be participating. Grant is an actress I've long admired, even if I haven't seen as many of her films as I'd like. She left a big impression on me as a kid in films like Damien: Omen II , Airport 77 , and In The Heat of the Night , to name a few. This blogathon should go a long way towards proving why some of us think she's one of the best actresses of her generation. ***** Her fabulousness is almost overwhelming. Critics and audiences have never thought very highly of Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen  (1981)—if they even think of it at all. The plot is a typical whodunnit, featuring a cast of zany characters played by some talented actors like Roddy McDowell, Peter Ustinov, and Angie Dickinson, to name a few. There are completely bonkers car chases and abs...

Revisiting and celebrating the work of Michelle Pfeiffer,  the best actress of my lifetime. If you're looking to understand the full depth and breadth of Michelle Pfeiffer's excellence on the silver screen, you could be forgiven for skipping her second film,  Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen . In terms of Essential Pfeiffer, it's far from it. Still, it's always worth exploring her earliest work, before she became Michelle Pfeiffer, Movie Star , in order to catch glimpses of her unique talents, just beginning to manifest at such a young age. The best way to describe this movie is “very much of its time”, with all that entails. It’s intermittently funny but sometimes the slapstick style is groan-worthy. Pfeiffer plays Cordelia, fiancé to the bumbling idiot-savant grandson of the fa med detective Charlie Chan (who is played by the Russian actor Peter Ustinov—remember, “very much of its time”). Together, Baby Pfeiffer and future hubby literal...

Revisiting and celebrating the work of Michelle Pfeiffer,  the best actress of my lifetime. What was the elevator pitch for The Hollywood Knights (1980)? “It’s American Graffiti meets Animal House , only twice as stupid and half as fun!” Sold! Set during one mildly wild Halloween night in 1965, at and around a Beverly Hills burger joint named Tubby's—home of "The Big One!"—the film clumsily stumbles along at a decent clip, without anything of much consequence really happening. Unless you consider mooning, premature ejaculation, urine-spiked punch, and accidental penis zippering (ouch) essential ingredients for an exciting film. Still, I have a soft spot for this one for two reasons, and one of those reasons is named Fran Drescher.  In only her fourth film, Drescher is a riot, and the most entertaining of the cast. Sorry, Robert Wuhl. At one point she berates her hapless date with the immortal line, “This is a party! We’re supposed to have fun, music, pas...

History is littered with great bands and musicians that are left behind in the always charging stampede to move on to the next red-hot thing. Because of my age and musical proclivities, I'm thinking especially of acts from my youth like the Cars the Go-Gos, Boston, or the Bangles. Sure, their hits are still played religiously on classic rock radio, but it's doubtful any of them will be receiving serious critical reappraisals any time soon. It's almost as if they've been relegated to the dust bin of history now (which is what rock radio has become), dismissed as nothing more than catchy corporate rock from the era that defined catchy corporate rock. Maybe they'll never be hip, but bands like that left behind some great music. Scandal—and especially their spark-plug firecracker of a lead singer, Patty Smyth—are one of those bands that I'd love to see receive a little more love. They had some hits, but two in particular that positively rocked my young life, ...