How to resolve AdBlock issue? Arts & Life
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- Written by: Lake County Unitarian Church
Morgan Freeman travels the world to study the cycles of war and peace.
From the ritualized combat of the sacred Tinku festival in Bolivia to Rwanda's post-genocide reconciliation program, this episode deals with humanity's enormous capacity for violence and the endless pursuit of harmony. Conflict can drive innovation, but is war necessary?
The documentary will be shown free of charge at the Lake County Unitarian Church, 3810 Main St., in Kelseyville, and will be followed by a moderated discussion.
All are welcome to attend.
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- Written by: Tim Riley
‘80 FOR BRADY’ RATED PG-13
Just in time for the festivities surrounding the final playoff game of the National Football League’s season, “80 for Brady” takes us back to the run-up to Super Bowl LI in 2017 when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady would guide his team through a thrilling game.
This film, in which Brady appears as himself and also serves as producer, is the story of four mostly octogenarian Massachusetts women who gather to watch the Patriots with their fervor fueled by a love for a quarterback in the hunt for a fifth ring at the time.
“80 for Brady” is, in fact, inspired loosely by the true story of best friends living life to the fullest when they take a wild trip to Houston to see their hero, all the while wearing homemade jerseys sporting the film’s title.
The all-star cast includes Lily Tomlin’s Lou, a cancer survivor who for reasons that are understood from a flashback to chemotherapy treatments early in the century is a catalyst for the ladies love of Tom Brady.
Even though her cancer has been in remission, Lou is dodging calls from her oncologist about test results because she figures a trip to Texas could be her swan song now that the Patriots’ victory in the AFC championship game has them headed to the Super Bowl.
While Lou instigates the life-changing excursion, Jane Fonda’s Trish is the group’s most outgoing and outrageous member, who once had local fame as a model for an ad campaign and is now a novelist specializing in erotic football-themed fan fiction.
Falling in love too easily over and over is as problematic as her flirtatious behavior. Fitting for the Super Bowl is the release of her latest book titled “Between a Gronk and a Hard Place,” referring to Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski.
The liveliest and best dancer of the quartet, Rita Moreno’s Maura, while still grieving over the loss of her husband, has moved into assisted living where her neighbor Mickey (Glynn Thurman) is drawn to her fiery passion for life.
The responsible member of the group is Sally Field’s Betty, a retired mathematics professor needing a little escape from her needy husband (Bob Balaban) who often needs a reminder to put on his pants. Is there a chance that Betty might cut loose a bit on this trip?
Hijinks come into play even before the ladies can make it to the Boston airport. First, they have to stage a jailbreak at the retirement facility to free Maura from the rules laid down by the despotic manager (Jimmy O. Yang).
Once in Houston, the fan festival NFL Experience beckons, and Betty taking up the challenge of a hot wings contest hosted by Guy Fieri portraying himself proves that being hungry will overcome extra spicy hot sauce.
With Trish being the glamorous one with a suitcase full of wigs, it’s no surprise that she’s soon caught up in a flirty hookup with smitten, fictional Super Bowl champion Dan O’Halloran (Harry Hamlin).
At a party on the night before the big game, more mischief ensues when some of them consume drug-laced edible gummies. Having a fondness for gambling, Maura ends up in a poker game where in her hallucinatory state every player looks like Guy Fieri.
Game day holds a few surprises, with Billy Porter being impressed with the women’s determination to become his backup dancers and Ron Funches comically taking his security guard role too seriously when confronting them.
What is the audience for “80 for Brady,” a female-centric story of obsession with a truly gifted football player? For a guy, it may work as a date night movie because at least there is some gridiron action to revive memories of an exciting game.
For fans of a storied franchise that once called Oakland home, the controversial “Tuck Rule Game” that resulted in the Patriots defeating the Raiders in the AFC championship game still lingers as a really bad memory.
The Silver and Black fandom would find a celebration of Brady an even more bitter pill to swallow knowing that the outcome of that contentious playoff game was the fact that Brady went on to win his first Super Bowl by prevailing over the St. Louis Rams.
One has to wonder how the film will play for audiences in Boston and Atlanta when actual footage from the game reveals incredible plays that upend what looked like an inevitable rout. The fan base sure to lament the outcome may not want to relive the experience.
A fair assessment of “80 for Brady” is that the leading ladies are not only effortlessly talented, but believable as lifelong friends bonding over their love of a team and hero worship of its star player.
Moreover, these senior citizen thespians look to be having an authentically good time throughout their adventure with an enthusiasm so infectious that, at least, it should rub off on the audience.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
UPPER LAKE, Calif. — The annual winter concert series at the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake continues on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 3 p.m. in Riffe’s Meeting House next to the hotel.
The program features the veteran Bay Area jazz and blues pianist and educator Macy Blackman and two members of his band, the “Mighty Fines,” Nancy Wright on sax and vocals and Bing Nathan on bass.
“Hearing Macy Blackman at the piano is like stepping into an uptown New Orleans club circa 1955” says Tallman and Blue Wing owner Bernie Butcher. “He’s a great entertainer with a wonderful trio including our personal favorite Nancy Wright on sax.”
A renowned musicologist, Macy has been into New Orleans-influenced jazz music since before graduating from NYU with a music degree in 1970.
He moved to San Francisco in 2000 to teach courses at UC Berkeley. These popular classes explored major American musical styles of the 20th century — rhythm and blues, swing and classic jazz.
He soon drifted back to his roots in New Orleans R&B and formed The Mighty Fines in 2003. That band has recorded four CDs including the most recent titled Shoorah Shoorah — The Songs of Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint.
Sax mistress Nancy Wright needs no introduction to Lake County music fans as she’s performed here at the Blue Wing Blues Festival, the Soper-Reese Theatre and a variety of other venues.
She has recorded and performed in the U.S. and abroad with artists including John Lee Hooker, B. B. King, Elvin Bishop, Joe Louis Walker, and Commander Cody and she now has her own “Rhythm and Roots” Band.
Tickets at $30 + tax are available by online at www.eventbrite.com or calling the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0. Coffee and cookies are served to guests.
The 3 p.m. start offers opportunities for either a late lunch or early supper at the Blue Wing Restaurant next door.
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- Written by: Tim Riley
‘A MAN CALLED OTTO’ RATED PG-13
Would it surprise you that Tom Hanks playing a cranky curmudgeon who no longer sees purpose in his life following the loss of his wife would eventually transform into a modern-day version of an essentially warm Jimmy Stewart?
On two fronts, the answer is probably not. For one, Hanks is usually the nice guy in films. The other reason is his titular role in “A Man Called Otto” is based on the best-selling novel “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman, which became a Swedish film of the same title.
True to its Scandinavian roots, “A Man Called Otto” tells the story of Hanks’ Otto Anderson who lives in a townhome development where his daily routine is acting as the enforcer of homeowner rules even though no one asked him to do so.
Recently widowed and having no other relatives, Otto lives alone in his gated neighborhood where he spends most of his time muttering that anybody he comes across is an idiot and confronting those who offend his sensibilities.
True to his “get off my lawn” persona, Otto yells at a young woman who has the temerity of not curbing her small dog. He chastises the UPS driver for parking on his street that is closed to anyone without a residential permit.
Forced to retire from his engineering job at an automotive plant certainly doesn’t help his disposition. Buying rope at a hardware store turns into an ordeal when he argues with the clerk about being overcharged by mere pocket change.
What troubles Otto the most are the wistful flashbacks to his younger self (Truman Hanks) when he meets his future wife Sonya (Rachel Keller) after chasing her down on a train to return a book she dropped.
In the course of these flashbacks, Otto and Sonya become a loving couple who move into the townhome which they made home for their entire adult life together. A fateful bus trip to Niagara Falls has another lasting impact.
Depressed by the death of his beloved Sonya has caused Otto to lose the will to live to the point that he not only contemplates suicide but makes some attempts that are foiled by unforeseen circumstances or ineptness.
He can only rant so much at the other residents who fail to properly recycle their garbage. Harboring grudges against neighbors who were once friends makes him even more cantankerous and unpleasant. Even the sight of a stray cat on his porch is an irritating annoyance to him.
What could possibly happen that would give Otto a reason to live? The arrival of a Hispanic immigrant couple with two young daughters only seems to make him grouchier when the clumsy husband Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) can’t parallel park a small U-Haul trailer.
Yet, it’s the pregnant Marisol (Mariana Trevino), possessing an ebullient good nature that eventually proves irresistible, who chips away at Otto’s resistance to her neighborly friendliness.
Impervious to Otto’s less-than-welcoming attitude, the charm offensive begins when Marisol drops off the gift of a homemade meal. The unassuming housewife is so spirited and feisty that rebuffs from Otto just don’t register in a lasting manner.
Soon enough, Otto is babysitting Marisol’s winsome daughters and teaching her how to drive. He reaches out to estranged friends and helps neighbors make household repairs. He befriends a teenage transgender who gets kicked out of the house.
A nice touch is when Otto takes up a fight against a predatory developer (Mike Birbiglia) trying to evict long-term residents who have become incapacitated and tricked into handing over power of attorney of their affairs.
“A Man Called Otto” has the comfortable ring of familiarity in its sentimental, heartwarming story, which has also its share of occasional humor with Otto’s biting wit when he’s most irascible.
Despite its PG-13 rating, “A Man Called Otto” is clearly made for an adult audience that welcomes a change of pace with moving performances and an inspirational story.
‘FARMER WANTS A WIFE’ ON FOX
That a dating series called “Farmer Wants a Wife” was an international sensation comes as a surprise. Until FOX announced its own version would come to the network in early March, I had no idea of its existence.
If you have hit shows about baking cakes, I guess anything is possible. After all, a series that aired in 32 countries and resulted in 180 marriages and 140 children can’t be a fluke.
“Farmer Wants a Wife” seeks to exploit the migration from city-centers to suburban and rural locales, and the romance that follows. Four farmers will embark on an adventure of a lifetime in the hopes of finding their future spouse.
Superstar entertainer and Grammy Award winner Jennifer Nettles, who has also performed in Broadway musicals, will host the “Farmer Wants a Wife” series.
We’ll see if this American series lives up to the claim of the international version being the most successful dating show in the world.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
