Re: It is an absolute fact Hank
 

Re: It is an absolute fact Hank
 

Detail me, Homes.

Re: It is an absolute fact Hank
 

Ahh, here is where life comes full circle.

Ironweed's asshole friend could get a job as a driver for our car service if he (1) smoked more than 60 cigarettes a day in the car or (2) developed cataracts.

Race
 

So, I went to see Race on Broadway last night. Not the original cast (most notably, no Kerry Washington) and the new actors were awful.

Eddie Izzard - He was fucking drunk. Slurring his words, dropping lines, correcting himself. The guy walked right through the role. And I wanted to like him because I generally love Eddie Izzard.

Dennis Haysbert - What a fucking complete fraud this guy is. His whole career is based on him having a deep voice. Because it sure as hell has nothing to do with his acting, which is atrocious.

The loser playing the accused - A complete fucking joke.

The young, black female associate - Can't tell if she would have been workable if she had something to work with because she had nothing to work with. Other than her looks and figure, she did not impress.

Finally, let's talk about Mamet. I've never seen Speed the Plow, American Buffalo or Oleanna but I have seen The Spanish Prisoner, Glengarry Glenn Ross, The Verdict and The Untouchables. I thought Glengarry and Untouchables were fantastic. The Verdict was good and The Spanish Prisoner was god awful.

But this play is a new low. The twist at the end is pointless. The (presumably purposefully) disjointed message he is trying to send through his characters about race is so random and meaningless that I felt like the whole exercise was a complete waste of everyone's time.

But there the overwhelmingly white crowd was, eating this shit up. Mamet is clearly skilled at delivering sharp-tongued dialogue. But without the necessary insight into the subject matter he is tackling, he comes off as a smart guy trying to trick someone into thinking he knows what he's talking about. Here's a tip: Whenever you have a prominent black character talk about how he can't stand when people assume he is where he is because of affirmative action, check the credits to see if whatever you're watching was written by a white man (or Alan Keyes).*

Anyway, the play is about a rich white man accused of raping a working class black woman and how his lawyers tackle the case. Stereotypes are thrown around for no real reason and the payoff at the end, as I said, is a complete waste of time. Mamet is in way over his head. And the standing ovation given by the large and almost entirely white crowd (thrilled at being comfortable enough to laugh at the phrase "little nigger bitch") made me a little sick.

I read an interview about his approach to the writing of this play and he said he didn't want to draw any easy conclusions for the audience. Bullshit. He's hiding. And his cowardice manifests itself through the audience's comfort.

Contrast this play with August Wilson's Fences, starring Denzel, which was a powerfully written, brilliantly acted, look at the effect of racism on a working class man, and the resulting consequences of that man's bitterness on his family. Mamet should be ashamed of himself for putting that steaming pile of shit on stage for all the world to see in the same country, let alone in the same 3 block radius as Fences.

TM

*This argument against affirmative action fails because whether or not affirmative action exists (and it sure as hell doesn't in almost every aspect of life), the presumption for almost every black person is that s/he is where s/he is because they were given something. It was always be that way.

Re: Race
 

In the time it took you to write this post, six Mumbaikars were hit by trains.

Re: Race
 

I don't have much to ass because I've always thought David Mamet is basically a fraud (I liked the Untouchables and Glengarry Glen Ross but they are just flashy bits of entertainment) when it comes to substance. He's good with dialogue, but has really nothing to say beyond being provocative.

But I am disappointed to hear that about Dennis Haysbert. I really liked him in Far From Heaven.

Re: It is an absolute fact Hank
 

or doesn't wear deoderant/ fun time in 99 degree weather.

Re: Race
 

I haven't seen him in that. But he was just terrible in Race. Maybe it's because he couldn't possibly believe the crap that was coming out of his mouth, but I guess that doesn't help my opinion of him as an actor.

TM

Re: Race
 

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/mov...id-mamets-race

the orig folks would have been better james spader and richard thomas.
it did not look like they have changed signage.

Re: Race
 

Random and completely irrelevant factoid: August Wilson wrote Fences while living in St. Paul.

And based on your review I will pass on seeing Race if it makes it out here to flyover land.

Re: Race
 

that was a punchline?

maybe I'll see the play in the fall when I'm in TCOTU, but I've not seen it.

But I had a detailed conversation about AA with a black man a few days after my state decided to ban it for school admissions. the day of the vote a white associate at my firm told me he really hoped it passed because "rich black kids in Bloomfield Hills are riding on it into better schools."

the statement was so stupid as to make my head explode, and i told the guy as much, while trying not to be too big of a lecturing assholes to him, because too many white people have no real experience with black people as complete people, especially here.

But in my later conversation I said AA needs to exist, at least for schools. There are too many bright young black men that have never had a father, and have no family history of college, and their mom works silly hours to keep them where they are (e.g. out of Detroit schools as an example). I said, there is no way you can say that kid is on equal footing with my kids or any other of the white kids growing up around them all. The black kid needs a chance, if nothing else the promise that he will have a chance so he work through school.

The black guy had an entirely different take on it. He didn't change my take so much as make me realize we can agree on where to go, but see different reasons.

And that made me realize that, even though I'm beginning to write, if I write a play about race, and there are characters expressing a black man's view I'm going to look for a co-writer., or at least a sounding board The divides and different experiences are still to imposing.

p.s. who knew he wrote the Verdict. I do think Ironweed would be better off if he had never seen that particular role model.

Re: Race
 

numbskulls, they're all being reborn as calves as we speak. namaste!

Re: The thread where Spring has sprung, and Penske has risen from the law. Word!
 

I was getting mail on my gmail account all day until a little under four hours ago, since which time I don't think I've received anything. Anyone know if gmail is still working?

Re: The thread where Spring has sprung, and Penske has risen from the law. Word!
 

My gmail is working. Got an e-mail about 10 minutes ago. Seems to be delivering them on time. Hank will have a snarky comment about your lack of popularity within the hour. He'll e-mail it to you.

Re: It is an absolute fact Hank
 

The car/pedestrian interactions in Cairo were the worst I have seen. In that the pedestrians just walk out into traffic (because they have to), and somehow they seem to avoid each other.