Canadutch » Entertainment

Movie Review: Temple Grandin

Breigh — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 07:18:22 +0000

A few years ago when I was watching the Emmy’s and saw Claire Danes win an award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Mini Series or Movie, for a movie called Temple Grandin. When I saw bits of it in the intro I it caught my attention and I made a mental note to check it out. I ended up watching it the next day and I loved it.

My husband and I have been watching a new series called Homeland, which is great and I will probably write more about it later, and it also stars Claire Danes. We end up commenting multiple times during each episode about what an unbelievably good actress she is, and then I remembered the movie I had seen and mentioned it to Xander. I insisted that he watch it because I thought he’d really enjoy it too, and I was right. He was as amazed as I was by both Claire Danes’ portrayal of Temple as we were by Temple’s incredible story itself.

As you can see from the trailer, Temple Grandin is Autistic. When she is young her mother is concerned by the fact that she still hasn’t spoken at four years of age, and that she is very distant physically. The doctor tells her that Temple is Autistic and that they usually recommend that children with Autism are placed in an institution as there is nothing that can be done for them. What’s worse is, at her insistence, he also gives his opinion on what causes Autism in children… which is that they weren’t given affection by their mother at a crucial moment in time. This was only after he suggested that maybe she should have her husband to come in so he could explain it to him. This was one of the most glaring examples in the movie of how drastically times have changed, and thank god for that!

It’s at that time that Temple’s mother decides that she isn’t going to let the fact that Temple is Autistic get in the way. She keeps working with her until she speaks, when she speaks she is sent to school, she has to work and even goes on to university. Her mother makes sure that no matter what happens and who she comes across in life, she never forgets that she is DIFFERENT, NOT LESS!

While spending the summer working on her aunt’s farm, she realizes that she is especially in tune with animals, and this is what sets her path to a fantastic career in animal handling. Teaching farmers and ranch hands all over the world how to treat animals more humanely and even redesigning a lot of their butcheries and other facilities. She is fully aware of the fact that cattle are butchered and has no problem with that but she feels that if cattle are raised for the purpose of nourishment for us, that they should be given some respect.

Another major thing that takes place for her is when she sees her uncle and the other farm hands using a press machine to calm cattle for getting their injections. She is a bit shocked by how it calms the cattle and begins to wonder if the same would work for her, as being hugged by humans is scary but she still craves that feeling of pressure that comes from a hug. During one of her emotional breakdowns she runs out to the yard and climbs into the contraption, begging her aunt to close it on her. Her aunt, frightened and emotional herself, finally gives in and is amazed to see an instant calming effect take place. Temple then immediately sets out to build her squeeze machine, which she keeps with her from that moment on, making a massive difference for her in day to day life.

The squeeze machine designed by Temple Grandin

There really isn’t enough I can say to stress what a wonderfully heart warming and educational film this is. With the real Temple Grandin working together with the makers of the movie, it gives you the most amazing insight into what it’s like in the Autistic mind, which is something I found utterly fascinating!

When I think of the fact that this woman could have possibly been stuck in an institution, never to be heard or seen from again, it makes me so sad. Sad not only because we very nearly missed out on this wonderful woman and the difference she has made in the world, but also because it makes me wonder what other amazing minds the world has missed out on because their parents were afraid to go against the grain.

This movie shows us that it’s true what they say about it taking a village to raise a child. Everyone we come in contact with can play even the smallest role in who we become as people and what we achieve. If it weren’t for Temple’s mother, aunt, high school science teacher and all the other people who recognized greatness in her and encouraged her, who knows where she would have ended up.

The real Temple Grandin (left) with Claire Danes in character during the filming.

Temple Grandin is now a doctor of animal science and professor at Colorado State University. She is a bestselling author, a consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior, and the inventor of the squeeze machine. She is also very active in he Autism community, trying to raise awareness and urging people to look deeper and try to work with Autistic children, for who knows what they may be capable if the right person comes along and finds what makes them tick.

Check out the video below to see Temple Grandin on Ted Talks discussing how the world needs all types of different minds. It is really worth watching and makes you think about the education system today and how many kids pass through without anyone ever taking the time to really see where they could excel if given the chance.

You Know is Bad if You Cry at the Trailers!

Breigh — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 07:01:52 +0000

I’m a weepy weeper at the best of times, and I am too lazy to look back through my posts and find all the ridiculous moments where I have unnecessarily busted into tears in the past, but be sure, there are many.

Movies and TV are no exception, I cry for everything. I cry during romantic comedies, I cry when people achieve greatness, I cry when someone crosses a finish line or fails to do so, I cry when the wind blows…

I don’t know if it’s my emotional state with my recent weight gain or perhaps my anxiety with my upcoming surgery, but MAN, it’s worse than ever!

On Christmas Day Xander and I got up and went to see the 9:30am showing of New Year’s Eve, which we loved… but I was already a mess of tears before the dang movie even started! I cried through every single one of the trailers. No lie. I was really starting to question my sanity by the time the movie started. Watch these and let me know if you tear up at all.

I didn’t even re-watch them because I know if I do I’ll be a blubbering idiot again.

I so want to see these movies, and at the same time I really really don’t, because I know what will happen. I’ll be sitting in the theater trying to inconspicuously wipe my eyes and letting my nose dribble past the point of no return for fear of giving that loud “HEY EVERYONE, I’M CRYING LIKE A NUTCASE!” sniff.

I’m not just trying to be funny here, I really do wonder if I am on Insano Island all on my own here, or if they really are doing something different lately with the trailers in order to trigger a more emotional response. Do any of you feel this as well?

This is probably one of those times where I’d be happy to just let you amuse me by agreeing with me regardless.

Maybe I’ll just watch them at home, where I’m free to wail and wipe my nose on my sleeve in peace.

P.S. I also cried the entire way through the New Year’s Eve movie…

Review: We Need to Talk About Kevin

Breigh — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:59:17 +0000

Ages ago I read the book We Need to Talk About Kevin and this is what I had to say about it:

This book sucked hardcore for the first few chapters and I had to force myself through it. It was long winded and the author appears to go out of her way to use run-on sentences and difficult language. I hate giving up on a book though, and I tend to try to push through them in case there is something better to be found.
I’m glad I did with this one, because it got very very good. Once I got used to the writing style and the content got more interesting, it turned out to be an extremely thought provoking novel which makes you question everything you’ve ever heard or thought about being a parent and having children. It makes you wonder especially about the nature vs nurture topic, which I’m still not sure about myself.
It’s almost hard to believe it’s fiction, to be honest. It makes me wonder if these are the things the mothers of the kids from Columbine and other school shootings thought and experienced.

The book is written through a series of letters from Eva, to her seemingly estranged husband, about their son Kevin. Eva’s relationship with Kevin was strained from birth and as he grew older she was convinced that there was something wrong with him, always suspecting there was an evil side to him. His behavior with her was drastically different than with her husband, who appears to be blissfully unaware of this side of him, partially because Kevin puts on a much happier face with him but also because he refuses to accept that his family is anything other than the norm. This leads to Eva feeling quite alone in her efforts to win Kevin’s affection and deal with his abusive and sometimes cruel behavior.

I found it to be quite a difficult read for a number of reasons, both because of how the book was written but also the content. As someone who has been trying to have children for a very long time, and had far too much time to question if we want to have one and why, this was an absolutely frightening read. The thought of having a child and not having a connection with him / her and having them react to me in the way Kevin reacts to his mother (or doesn’t react) scared me. It also made me worry about the decisions I would make as a mother, how they would affect any future child and what the hell I’d ever do if I had a child like this.

When I said the book was thought provoking, that was putting it mildly. It’s a book that you read and then it sticks with you… I have found myself mulling it over in my head while in bed, on the tram, while shopping and a lot of other times. I’ve gone back and forth in my head about the nature vs nuture topic and how it applies in this movie. Granted, this is a work of fiction and without speaking to the parents of kids who have done such horrible things, there’s no way to know if this is what it’s really like. From what I gather, most parents are taken quite by surprise when their child does something so horrific, which wasn’t really the case with Eva in the book.

I’ve questioned again and again whether Kevin was born that way or if there was something in the way Eva acted towards him and if her depression and frustration with a difficult, constantly crying baby caused him to somehow detach from her, thus breaking the mother / child relationship and starting off what turned out to be quite evil behavior.

What has brought this all back up recently was seeing the movie. It’s been years since I read the book, which is usually a good thing when it comes time to watch a movie that is based on one. Otherwise I spend the entire time picking the movie apart and complaining about what is and isn’t represented from the book. I was able to just watch this and enjoy it without remembering or recognizing what was missing, or what was added.

My experience when watching the movie was quite the same as when I read the book. There were parts that were boring but it was intriguing at the same time. It probably helped that I had already read the book and knew what the outcome would be. I did feel a heightened sense of anticipation and dread through the movie, which I know was the desired affect.

The children in the film were brilliant and more than once I wondered how they got a child that was so young to give such looks and portray such emotion. All three of the boys that played Kevin did a remarkable job in creating a massive unease within me, the kind of feeling that makes me understand why some species eat their young.

The entire cast was chosen perfectly really. I don’t think anyone could play the tortured, anguished Eva the way Tilda Swinton did. She WAS Eva in this film, and what I liked most was that she managed to create that perfect balance that we found in the book, where you wanted to empathize and sympathize with her but at the same time there was something about her that made you uneasy as well. I’m not sure a lot of actresses could bring that out in the character the way she did. It takes a lot of acting skill to make you pity a character at the same time as you sort of hate her.

Her husband (Franklin), played by John C. Reilly, was also done very well. His stubborn desire to have the perfect little nuclear family causes him to ignore and brush off all of Eva’s attempts to get him to understand what she is going through. Reilly is the perfect person to play a sort of happy go lucky, father who is happy to ignore what is going on around him.

Both the book and the movie bring about so many questions. What causes Kevin to be the way he is? Is it Eva’s inability to deal with him as a difficult baby that severed the bond between mother and son? Was there ever one there to begin with? Is Kevin just inherently evil or was that something that was somehow created by his environment?

** Spoilers Ahead **

Another big question I have is in regards to how he feels about his parents. Through the book and the movie I had the impression that he liked his father more than his mother, that there was more respect for him. If that were true, why did he kill Franklin and not Eva? If all of his anger and hatred appeared to be aimed towards his mother, why did he not kill her? Was it because he wanted her to live miserable and alone, feeling responsible for all the death and destruction Kevin left in his path?

I wonder if it wasn’t quite the opposite. If in some strange way Kevin didn’t have more respect for his mother because she saw through him, and she constantly challenged him. Did he not have less respect for his father and almost see him as an idiot who could be easily fooled by putting on a smile and pretending to be an adoring son? Did he kill the father and sister because he had no use for them?

So many questions! That is what makes a good book for me, something that leaves me thinking afterwards. There are things I didn’t like about the book, and the movie, but none of it took away from the story and the endless questions that it left me with. Even though I will probably never read it again, or watch the movie, I still think this is an incredible story.

Jonah Mowry–Sad or Sham?

Breigh — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:59:45 +0000

I don’t remember the last time I felt so completely taken by someone on the internet. By taken, I mean shammed, bamboozled, tricked…

It all started yesterday morning when I saw this video, made by Jonah Morwry, on George Takei’s Facebook Page…

Sad, right? Honestly, I was sobbing my head off watching this video. I shared it on Facebook and talked about it with my friends. I couldn’t believe that this adorable boy was being made fun of and felt so terribly about himself. What kind of world do we live in?! I watched it about six times after, each time my heart breaking a little more for him.

I went out with friends last night and was telling them about the video and we got to discussing bullying and kids and everything that is going on with them in the world today. I told them they absolutely had to see this video! When I came home I found it on my Facebook page and tagged them so that they’d see it right away. Then I decided to do a Google search and see if there were any updates on Jonah after the video. That’s when I found this article on Perez Hilton, which mentioned that Jonah had his own YouTube channel.

This is where it all starting going wrong. Suddenly I knew exactly what kind of world we are living in!

We are living in a world where absolutely anyone can make a tear jerking video and take the world by storm, regardless of what kind of person they are or what they do to other people. All you need is a cute face, a few crocodile tears and a Twitter account and before long you’ll have every idiot on Facebook (including myself) and celebrity in Hollywood blindly supporting you.

You are probably wondering what changed my feelings so drastically. Well, it was this…

A video made by Jonah and his friends spoofing a reality show about Obese people trying to lose weight.

What in the fresh hell is this?!

Suddenly I was enraged! First of all, my ears were begging for mercy because of the nonsense in the beginning of the video, then once I really got to the content I became really angry. I was angry because I realized that more than once in that day I’d shed tears for someone who makes fun of people like ME!! HOW IS THIS OK?!

How is it ok for this boy and his friends to target and make fun of an entirely different group of people? Isn’t this what Jonah was weeping about in his video, that people were making fun of him, making him hate himself and that it made him scared to be around people? Did he not stop to think that the people he was making fun of in his video may feel the exact same way?

What kinds of comments would a group of teens get if they made a video making fun of gay people? What would Jonah think of that, I wonder.

Being gay does not give anyone the monopoly on feeling bad about themselves, nor does it give them the right to make fun of others to make themselves feel better. Bullying and belittling comes in all different shapes and sizes. Whether you are gay, fat, wear glasses, braces, dress differently, or any other of the endless reasons people decide to make fun of others… it doesn’t hurt any of the rest any less than it hurts gay people when they are made fun of.

I feel scammed. I feel like when someone gets you to watch a video of a kitten frolicking in a field and then suddenly the face of Freddy Krueger comes jumping out at you. I fell for his crocodile tears, thought he was one of the good ones. One of the kids who is bullied, truly knows how damaging it can be and would NEVER do that to someone else.

Jonah Mowry is not that kid. He’s the kid who makes fun of others, attention whores on the internet and then wonders why people don’t like him. He’s the kid who, whether the tears are real or not, cleverly puts together a video, sucking the entire world in and making them feel sorry for him, thus spreading his cute little face far and wide on the internet. We gave him exactly what he was looking for and nobody thought to look and see just what kind of boy he is, they just saw the video and jumped up with their fist in the air ready to fight for his cause.

I’m STILL willing to fight for his cause, or rather, the cause that broke my heart when I saw the video, for all the people out there who are afraid to or are not allowed to openly be with the people they love, NOT for Jonah Mowry. As far as I’m concerned, he is getting far more attention than he deserves, which is exactly the attention he was looking for. I admit I’ve been a bit obsessive about this since I saw his videos. I’ve tried to ‘spread the word’ about his hypocrisy but he must have a team working around the clock. Any comments I made on his videos were removed within seconds, you’d think he was trying to hide something. Pity his little elves can’t hit their delete button on this post. It’s here to stay.

I’m really curious how some of the celebrities would feel if they saw the other side of Jonah. Would they overlook the fact that he targets others to make fun of them simply because he’s gay and he cried on YouTube? Would they glaze over it because it makes a good cause for them to speak out about? Would Perez Hilton or George Tekai’s opinion change? Would Rosie O’Donnell, who is gay but also struggles with her weight, still stand behind this kid knowing that he cries for being the same as her in one way but makes fun of people who are like her in another?

I’d really like to know, although I doubt anyone of them would answer ME. Maybe I should get out the cue cards and make a tearful video of my own and see if that gets their attention.

Wake up people, this kid saw you all coming a mile away and you made him a superstar overnight. Yes, POOR Jonah indeed.

P.S. As a friend pointed out after I posted my outrage on Facebook. Doesn’t Jonah’s video bear a striking resemblance to this video posted by a girl in JANUARY 2011 (long before Jonah’s)?

Ugh… WAKE UP INTERNET!!!

P.S.S. Editing to add this? DOUBLE UGH!!

Really? Is this cocky, gum smacking, fame loving twit really someone you want to endorse???

No related posts.

Fat Ad Shaming Women?

Breigh — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:00:09 +0000

I just read this article on my beloved ONTD (I LOVE this site, so great for celeb gossip) and I’m all sorts of torn about what I think about it.

The gist is, the overweight lady on the bottom of the ad has a website that caters to chubby chasers, people who like big women. She has photos for sale on her website and Ashley Madison, the company that is being called out in the article, bought the photo and paid a license for it. Now, this gives them the right to use the photo in whatever way they want… but the model is up in arms about it and is (supposedly) very angry about what it represents.

She’s angry because her photo was used to slam fat people. She said that by using the photo in that manner, they are ‘body shaming’ women who are overweight, and I have to agree with her. From what I gather there were multiple ads and the general idea of all of them was that if your wife scares and disgusts you, why not have an affair with someone thin and beautiful.

She also didn’t like the fact that her photo was used in ads that are urging men to have affairs. She didn’t want her photo on an ad that promoted adultery. Fair enough.

The representative for Ashley Madison argues that the publicity that came from all of it his is the best thing that could have happened for the overweight model and her website, stating that she is probably not angry at all, but is using this as a ploy to gain more publicity for herself, also possible.

As a married, overweight woman I have mixed feelings about this entire fiasco.

Firstly, this woman is taking seductive photos of herself in very little clothing and putting them online for sale. By selling them and having people pay licensing fees, she is aware of the fact that once the photos are bought and paid for, they are no longer under her control. So in that sense, it’s her own fault and the company can’t be held to blame, it was their legal right to use the photo, regardless of the questionable nature of the ads.

I am not one of those big women who supports the whole ‘big is beautiful’ movement. I agree that people should try to feel good about themselves regardless of their weight, and that self confidence is important. I don’t believe that, even though many of us do, overweight people should live a life of shame. On the other hand, I don’t think that being extremely overweight is anything to celebrate either. I don’t believe it’s anything to be proud of or promote as a fun or healthy lifestyle.

I think the model put herself out there for that purpose, she had a website that was dedicated to the theme of being obese. Even if it was meant to be for pleasure, she couldn’t be that naive. There is no way she couldn’t know that by selling these kinds of photos of herself to the open public, that something like this could happen. Common sense would tell you that for every one person out there on the internet that loves fatties, there are 4000 who don’t, and who would rather point fingers and ridicule. So with that in mind, I don’t understand why she didn’t have a website, have members pay to join it and keep all the rights to the photos to herself. At least then she’d have a legal leg to stand on in this case. So for that, I have very little pity for her in regards to the use of the photo.

As for the idea that the ad is ‘body shaming’ overweight women, I suppose she’s right. There are women out there who will look at the ad and wonder if they’ve let themselves go too much. They will wonder what their spouse will think of these ads if they see them and worry that perhaps they might end up being cheated on. In the end they will feel worse about themselves and feel more shame about their bodies than they had before they saw it.

Now, maybe I am the naive one now but I am not one of those women. Yes, I am overweight and that does cause some insecurities within myself and how I view myself sexually, but do I think an ad like this is going to make my husband love me less or more inclined to cheat on me? God no… then again, I wasn’t a size two when he married me either, so that may make a difference. Regardless, I don’t think seeing an ad like this would make him suddenly want to cheat, nor would it suddenly make him the type to pay for sex, which is basically what you’d be doing with a company like that. It’s not going to change who he is. If a man is going to cheat, he’s going to do so for any number of reasons, and it’s in his nature no matter what ads he sees or doesn’t see. He may cheat with a girl at work, with someone he shares a hobby with or a stranger he meets on a bus. If he’s the type that wants it the easy way and wants to pay for it, he will FIND a way to do so. Seeing an ad like this isn’t going to change who a person is or give them an entirely different set of values… if a man sees the ad and calls this company, it was in him long before he saw the ad, they just gave him the outlet.

Does it suck that companies like this exist? Absolutely, it’s disgusting. That said, I have to acknowledge that there is a market out there for it and that the people who created the company were very clever to do so. Even if I disagree with what they are doing on a moral standpoint, I can still see why it exists… because there IS money to be made on it. Men don’t cheat because this company exists, the entire idea of that is absurd, they are going to do it regardless… only now there are people out there who are willing to make money on their bad decisions. More power to them, I say.

In the end, I still think the company is horrid (though clever) and I think the model, however understandable her feelings may be in regards to their use, got what she was asking for by selling her photos in the first place.

I also agree that the model clearly had no problem putting herself out there on the internet, and selling the photos without knowing the purpose they were being used for. So the idea that she is using her ‘outrage’ about these ads as a way to gain more publicity for herself is quite believable.

A lot of people who are overweight will look at his and be furious and quickly jump to the side of the model. I mean the people behind the adultery company don’t have a lot of redeeming qualities to draw you to their side, except maybe their keen business sense… but this is the internet, and things aren’t so black and white here. I think both are on shaky ground and share the blame equally. There is no innocent party here, and they are both getting what they paid for, so to speak.

What do you think?

P.S. I didn’t link to the company or the model. I just can’t stomach giving either of them any more publicity than they already have.

David Beckham Goes Undercover for Ellen

Breigh — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 05:26:36 +0000

This morning I was catching up on my news feed when I saw this video on Dooce and it had me roaring with laughter. I so wish we got her show here in Holland, perhaps I need to start downloading it.

I may end up divorced if I don’t wear my head phones though, my husband hates her. Crazy fool!

OMG! It’s Here! One For the Money Stephanie Plum Trailer!

Breigh — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 10:57:03 +0000

It’s here it’s here!! I don’t know how I feel about it, I have a bad feeling, but it’s here! So scared and excited!

I honestly have no idea what to say. I’m still on the fence about so many things. As you know I’m not really feeling some of these casting decisions. After seeing the trailer I still feel the same about Heigl as Stephanie Plum and I’m starting to come around to the idea of Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur, even though I still think she’s TOO DAMN BIG AND PRETTY! Not that she’s fat, don’t get me wrong, but the descriptions in the book always made me think that Grandma Mazur was incredibly thin and small, as well as sort of shriveled up. A frail old lady with a lot of spunk, ya know?! Debbie Reynolds can pull off the crazy, but her body type and look just doesn’t match what I imagined her to be.

Strangely, my opinions about Ranger and Morelli have almost switched. As hot as I think Daniel Sunjata is, I am starting to be a little unsure now. I loved him in Rescue Me but after seeing him AS Ranger in the trailer, aargggghh, I don’t know!! I know we only see him for about 0.45 seconds but I sort of hoped that they’d make him INTO Ranger for the film. Where the heck is the ponytail? Am I imagining things? Didn’t Ranger have long hair? I may have made that up in my head, I just don’t know anymore.

On the flip side, I had a “Hey, he’s not half bad!” reaction to Jason O’Mara as Morelli. Not the walking disaster I imagined. I think he MAY just be able to pull off the sexy and cocky attitude enough to make us forget all the ways that he’s not Morelli physically. Like, I literally raised my eyebrows and went “HMM!” … I was pleasantly surprised.

My favorite part of the trailer? As I suspected, it’s seeing Sherri Shepherd as LULA! I don’t think she’s going to disappoint, just hearing “If you want information from Lula you gotta bring her a snack!” made me almost roar out loud with laughter. She’s going to be great, the highlight of the entire movie, you wait and see. She’s gonna rock that shit.

The bottom line is, even if it turns out to be a complete disaster, I’m going to be front and center. There’s no way I’m going to MISS THIS!

What do you think after finally getting a glimpse of them all in action?! Are you excited or are you dreading it?

A Day in the Life of Stella

Breigh — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 07:34:30 +0000

What a life! When I die I want to go back in time and come back as Stella. I figure if reincarnation is possible then time travel must be too.

This is such a great video! I’d love to make something like that for a day in the life of Bailey or Pixel. Get a photo of them running out of their crate in the morning and legging it to the living room to see if Spencer left any food behind, lazing on the footstool in the sun, going for a walk, eating some poop, giving kisses (sigh), playing fetch, you know… the usual day to day stuff.

I just love seeing people who love and appreciate their pets. Videos like this make me happy…

TV Review: The Big C

Breigh — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:36:54 +0000

When I first heard about Showtime’s new show The Big C last year, I wasn’t sure what to expect. All I knew was that it was a show about Cancer, it sounded like a Reality show that would hit way too close to home for me. Cancer? Really? Do they have to go there?

Having lost so many people I love to Cancer, I couldn’t stand the thought of it being made light of at all. I had images in my head of these people being exploited for money, possibly doing this Reality TV show to make money to leave their families and it horrified me. But I was too curious to leave it alone, so I downloaded the first episode blindly, ready to face whatever was waiting for me.

First, a feeling of relief washed over me as I realized it wasn’t Reality TV at all. The fact that it was on Showtime should have been my first clue that rather than reality, it was an edgy, somewhat controversial comedy which looks at Cancer from all different angles.

Yes, you heard me, I said it! A comedy about Cancer. It can be done! Showtime has proven that with this amazing program that I haven’t been able to stop watching since that first episode. Here’s a preview:

What a wonderful, wonderful show…honestly, I’m completely hooked.

It also has an amazing cast and I don’t think anyone could have done better when it came to choosing the people to play each of the roles. My hat’s off to the casting department for this one.

First there’s Laura Linney in the role of The Big C herself, Cathy Jamison. The lead role in the story, Cathy is a teacher, wife and mother who is diagnosed with stage IV melanoma. The story follows her through her mental process after her diagnosis, how it causes her to see life differently, react to her family differently and just generally grab life (and the odd handyman) by the balls!

There is also a certain humor that comes into play here. Not the kind of humor that I think Cancer patients would be offended by, and obviously that is something I can only assume having not had cancer myself… but rather, the sort of comedy that would have them shaking their heads and laughing. I think what Linney brings to the character is something a lot of real Cancer patients could relate to and see the humor in it themselves. I’m sure many of them will have gone through the same emotions she has, and I can only imagine many of them have felt like doing the very same thing she does during her journey of trying to come to grips with the hand life has dealt her.

She is a beautiful woman, an incredibly talented actress and she brings Cathy to life in a way that has us all cheering for her, laughing with and at her and crying for her all at the same time. I am so attached to this character, it almost frightens me where the story is going to take her. That is what tells me that the writing and acting in this show are so great, because I am invested.

As much as I love Laura Linney and the entire premise of this show, I can’t deny that my very favorite part of the show is Oliver Platt and his character of Cathy’s husband, Paul Jamison.

It’s odd, because to me Oliver Platt is Paul Jamison, and Paul Jamison is Oliver Platt. It’s like this role was created for him, and who knows, maybe it was. I don’t think there is a role I haven’t loved him in, but the waves of sadness, joy and insanity that are needed to play Cathy’s husband couldn’t be done this well by anyone else.

He is a brilliant actor, as is obvious from all his work, but he makes Paul special! Even when he’s doing things that make us groan and smack ourselves in the forehead, even when he’s being completely unreasonable… we still love him because that’s just the kind of character and actor that he is. He makes it impossible to be angry with him and he is so quirky and loveable that you can’t help but forgive him for all his many, many flaws. What endears me to him most is his undying love for Cathy. No matter what crazy lengths her coping mechanisms cause her to go to, and even though there are times he feels like walking away forever, in the end he stands by her through thick and thin.

These two particular actors in these two particular roles are what make this show. Without them, it couldn’t possibly be the same. It’s a special combination, and unlikely combination when you first look at it… but somehow it works. That odd looking jigsaw puzzle of characteristics these two actors have come together in a magical way that you’d never expect.

There is also a pretty phenomenal supporting cast.

Phyllis Somerville, whom I’d never heard of previously, plays Cathy’s sarcastic, crotchety neighbour, Marlene.

Living across the street in a run down, unloved house, Marlene is living a solitary and lonely life after the death of her husband (also to Cancer). She initially wants nothing to do with Cathy but over time she gives in and they form a friendship.

She is the first person Cathy tells about her illness, but only because Marlene figures it out for herself. She has a theory that dogs can smell cancer and after her dog won’t leave Cathy alone, she comes to the conclusion on her own.

Marlene doesn’t let Cathy get away with anything, she calls her on all her antics and always tells her like it is. I think Cathy appreciates the fact that the Cancer doesn’t make Marlene treat her with kid gloves. She also quickly realizes that Marlene has problems of her own, as she is starting to show signs of memory loss. This leads to other circumstances I won’t mention, as I don’t want to spoil anything for readers who haven’t seen the show yet.

Another great addition to the cast is Gabourey Sidibe who plays one of Cathy’s high school students. A fighty, smartass student that Cathy takes a special interest in by offering her cash rewards for losing weight.

I seem to recall Howard Stern making comments to the affect that Gabourey would never get any more work after her role in Precious, due to her size and there not being any roles out there for her. Well, I think it’s safe to say that she is making him eat those words.
The role she plays in The Big C could not be more different than her character in Precious. Andrea Jackson is bubbly, bright and doesn’t take crap from anyone, which is pretty much the opposite of her role as the sullen, beaten down Precious. She sounds more like a valley girl than a girl from the hood and she has big dreams and a big attitude.

Much like Marlene, she doesn’t let Cathy get away with anything either. She doesn’t pity her for having Cancer and doesn’t allow Cathy to pity her either. While there is a certain amount of insecurity that comes with being young and overweight, her carefree and independent nature is part of what draws Cathy to her.

It took me a while to warm up to John Benjamin Hickey’s character, Sean Tolkey, Cathy’s bi-polar brother. He’s a hardcore environmentalist who prefers to live on the streets, eat out of garbage cans and preach loudly about all that is wrong in the world.

In the beginning of the show, Cathy and Sean have a very distant relationship and it is only after her diagnosis that she realizes it and tries to create a stronger bond between them. He doesn’t make this easy for her, just by being who he is, but she doesn’t give up easily.

There are a lot of highs and lows with Sean throughout this story so far, not just in his relationship with Cathy, but in other relationships and their trying to deal with his mental illness.

We sometimes get glimpses of what Sean could be, and that makes us feel sort of sad. With him not being a fan of his medication he unfortunately never stays on them very long. While we fall in love with him when he is ‘stable’ Sean, some of that gets ripped away when he goes off his medication and starts behaving in ways that cause his family to worry about him. He can sometimes come across as being very selfish, but you can’t blame him for that really… Like with his fellow cast mates, John Benjamin Hickey does a great job with his character. Even when I look at this photo I don’t see the actor, I just see Sean in a suit.

Hugh Dancy came into the story somewhat later than the rest, after Cathy and Paul hit him with their car on the way to the hospital. He didn’t leave them with the best first impression, coming off somewhat cocky and rude, but when Cathy realizes that he has the same condition and they are in the same clinical trial, they become fast friends.

He teaches Cathy a lot about herself, that she is more than just her illness and how important it is for he to live her life to the fullest. There is an attraction there on her side, even though she would never do anything about it, but it’s pointless as he turns out to be gay.

He is a lovely, although sometimes frustrating, character. He had been dealing with Cancer a lot longer than Cathy so while she was still in the stage where she wanted to try everything possible and fight for all she is worth, he had reached a stage of acceptance that she wasn’t ready for yet. So while they had a lot in common in regards to their actual illness, they were in quite different places when it came to dealing with it. Their relationship was a touching example of how two people can become great friends in spite of all their glaring differences.

There are other smaller roles that people played, for example Idris Elba had a short stint as a fling of Cathy’s (remember what I said about grabbing life by the balls??) and Ried Scott as Cathy’s first very cute but somewhat inappropriate oncologist. Also Alan Alda (our old friend from M*A*S*H) joins the cast as the new doctor in charge of Cathy’s clinical trial.

As much as I love this show, there are a few things I hate about it as well, mostly characters that irritate me.

Cynthia Nixon came very close to ruining this show for me a number of times. As a huge fan of Sex and the City, her role of Miranda Hobbs was one that grated my nerves something fierce. It’s possible that I just hate this actress and she is doomed to ruin any role she plays for me, but perhaps that is why she was cast to play Rebecca in the first place. I think the character was meant to be hated by the masses to some degree, so in that sense, she was cast perfectly.

On the other hand, she could have played the most wonderful and lovely friend possible and I may still have despised her simply for the actress who played her. I will really never know until I see her in a role where she doesn’t play a whiney, shrill, self-involved pain in the arse.

Thankfully, her time on the show (at least for now) has come to an end. I’m hoping there is a reason for her exit and that the execs realized that she was just too cringe worthy to keep around and we will not see Rebecca anymore in the future. I would happily never see Rebecca, or Cynthia Nixon, ever again…

A slightly less irritating example is Gabriel Basso as Cathy’s son, Adam. I can’t say I hate this character or the actor himself, but I just find myself sighing a lot and wishing he was different.

Maybe they have the child dealing with Cancer thing down pretty well, I don’t know. I just find that while there is a fair bit of story given to Adam, that he’s lacking somehow. Yes, he has his moments where he acts out or shows that he’s screwed up by the fact that his mother has cancer, but there’s no real depth there. Even that took a long time to happen, for ages he just did nothing. He was just a space filler, or at least that’s what it felt like.

Other than the usual teenage boy stuff, like farting all the damn time, and the things he does for attention… he just feels hollow.
There were a few moments where I saw glimpses of maturity and depth, for example when he was dealing with Marlene or at Poppy’s reunion, but it wasn’t enough somehow. I need more from this character that I’m not getting and it’s not something I can put my finger on. Maybe it’s the actor who doesn’t bring him to life and make him real in a way I need or maybe it’s the writing, I’m honestly not sure. I don’t dislike him to the point of wanting him killed off… I just want MORE, somehow, just MORE.

Speaking of killing off!! Can we please get some death for Parker Posey and her character Poppy?

Poppy is a girl, no… a WOMAN, a grown woman, like 38 years old grown… that Adam meets in a chat room for children of parents with Cancer. She doesn’t tell Adam her real age, leaving him to find out when he first meets her face to face. She clearly has issues, which is visible by the way she dresses, the fact that at almost 40 years old she still speaks like a 13 year old boy and just her general demeanor. Not to mention the fact that she is hanging around with a teenage boy!

I don’t see the purpose of this character at all. Is she just there as another example of Adam’s poor decision making? Is the fact that he sympathizes with her after all the lies she’s told supposed to make us see the depth we crave in him? I am at a loss.

Like with Cynthia Nixon, I am not a Parker Posey fan, so the fact that she is playing a character I can’t stand is not surprising. Again, perhaps she was put in that role for that very reason, maybe the casting execs find Parker Posey annoying too and thought she’d be perfect for this role. In that case, well done! Now please, write her off, I’m begging you.

Even the fact that a few of the characters make me want to stab knitting needles into my ears does not change the fact that I am completely in love with this show. I love the way they take something so serious and bring light to it without disrespecting it.

I must warn you though, this is definitely not something you want to watch with your children, as I said… edgy. By edgy I mean sexual and vulgar at times, which also means it’s full of awesome.

I love the way they give us a glimpse into what it’s like to have Cancer and deal with it. For example, the times where she does get upset because people don’t get it, always makes me think back to the time I was sitting at my grandmother’s kitchen table when an envelope shot under the door. Her neighbour had slipped a get well card under the door with some money in it. It was the first and only time I had seen my grandmother ever break down or show emotion about her situation. She slammed her fist on the table, cried out that MONEY CANNOT BUY MY HEALTH BACK and sobbed. It was heartbreaking for me to watch because she was such a strong woman and in my young mind, I was certain that Cancer was no match for her.

I was wrong. I had no idea what she was up against and until that day never knew how frightened and sad she was behind the brave face she kept putting on for the rest of us.

I see that in Cathy as well, how she tries to go about her daily life, tries to be strong for herself and her family but with the nagging fear always in the back of her mind.

Ok, so The Big C is still fiction and not ever Cancer patient is going to have a crazy homeless brother or a funny, bitchy neighbour with Alzheimer’s… this IS TV after all. But…It’s damn good TV and as long as you can take it for what it is, enjoy Cathy, her situation and the people surrounding her, I think you could love this show just as much as I do.

Have you been watching The Big C too? If so, what do you think of it?

If not, what the heck are you waiting for?

Switched at Birth – Watch it!

Breigh — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 09:52:59 +0000

Below is a trailer for a new ABC Family show called Switched at Birth. It is still in its first season but I’m crazy insane over it already. I won’t get into who is in it or what it’s about because if you clicked play on the video you already know all that. So I’m just going to tell you it’s awesome and if you haven’t been watching it already, please do so.. you won’t regret it!

For those of you who don’t know how to use Bit Torrent or don’t live in North America where you can get easy access, you can watch the first few episodes on YouTube. Here is the first part of the first episode… check it out for yourself and let me know what you think!

You can find the other parts and other episodes here, at least for now. I can’t guarantee it’s going to stay up, YouTube can be funny about that stuff, you know… copyrights and all.

*Backtrack edit after theme switch*

Just want to explain the stars rating now that I have the review capability. I gave this a 4.5 for storyline because I love it, but I don’t feel right giving it a perfect score just because I’m not too happy with how one bit of the storyline went in the end of the first season. It wasn’t so bad as to make it lose more than a half a point, and I won’t say what it is because I don’t want to spoil! For cast I also gave it a 4.5 because I really am not a fan of Bay’s brother. All I see is the weird kid who looked like Lex Luthor from Smallville… and I hate his hair. Fickle, I know. I gave it 4 stars for life expectancy because I THINK it should go on for a while but you really never know what the networks are going to do.