Covid, Movies, a Documentary, and Trash TV

Yes, my friends,  Covid has reared its ugly head again and has knocked Yours Truly on his butt since Sunday.  The good news is that the Paxlovid scrip that I received yesterday seems to be working, and I can detect some improvement in my condition.  Still feel like shit, but improving.  One side effect of this condition has been an inability to sleep at night, which has led to me watching a lot of television late at  night, which has given me some grist for what I hope will be an informative and entertaining Blog Entry.

Before all that, though, a gripe.

In case you've been living under a rock for that last six months or so, the movie "Wicked" opened this past Friday.  I believe that the first time I saw a commercial for this movie was during the Super Bowl last February. Since then, I have seen the trailer for it every time I've gone to the theater, and in the last six weeks or so, the publicity and hype campaign for the November 22 release  date of "Wicked" has been wall-to-wall and over the top even by Hollywood's standards.   What was never mentioned, not once, in all of this lead up was that this movie is only PART 1 of the movie.  It takes you only up to the ending of Act One of the stage play/musical.  That part only became known a few days prior to the November 22 release date.   If you want to see the entire film adaptation of this great musical, you have to wait until November of 2025 when they release PART 2.

Does this strike anyone else as being just a tad unfair?

Okay, now that I got that off of my chest, here's what I've been watching lately.

Remembering Gene Wilder (Netflix)

This is an absolutely terrific documentary about the late Gene Wilder.  It tells of he professional partnerships with Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor, his marriage to Gilda Radnor and the tragedy of her death, and his subsequent marriage to Karen Webb, who was with him up until his death in 2016 due to Alzheimer's Disease.

You see all kinds of clips from Wilder's extensive filmography that will make you laugh, for sure, but the story of  Wilder finding love a second time after losing his wife to  cancer is what struck home for me.  The story of Wilder's last day when he went for a swim in their pool and his last words to Karen are poignant beyond belief.

Among those interviewed for this doc are Mel Brooks, Richard Pryor's daughter, and Karen Wilder.

Three Stars from The Grandstander.

Woman of the Hour (Netflix)

This movie is based upon the true story of serial killer Rodney Alcala who somehow managed to appear as a contestant on The Dating Game back in 1978.  Anna Kendrick, who also directed this movie, plays Sheryl Bradshaw (no relation to Terry), a wannabe/failing   actress in Los Angeles whose agent gets her a gig on the Dating Game in order for her to be "seen".   Of course, she picks Alcala to be her date.  In both the movie and in real life, Bradshaw never went on the date with him because he creeped her out entirely after she actually met him, and she bailed on the whole deal.  According to the title cards at the end of the movie, Bradshaw "lived her life and raised a family".  After being convicted of multiple murders, Alcala died in prison in 2021 at the age of 77.

Some guy named Daniel Zovatto plays Alcala in as creepy a way as possible, which, I suppose, makes him a good actor.  The whole movie was kind of creepy and not all that great, but it was only 1 hour and 35 minutes long, so it had that going for it.

One Star from The Grandstander.

Now for the trash....

Chimp Crazy (Max)

This one is a four part series that, I think, was hoping to ride the coattails of that "Tiger King" docu-series that everyone in the world watched while quarantined during the COVID pandemic a few years back.  This one is about a woman named Tonia Haddix (no relation to Harvey) and her affinity for raising and maintaining chimpanzees, particularly one named Tonka, who appeared in a couple of Hollywood movies, her never ending battles with PETA, and the underground world of people who deal with and own exotic pets.

What you learn from watching this is that there is just no end to the number of people in this world who are just out and out batshit crazy.

Late Night Lockup (Max)

Okay, I found this one totally by accident while scrolling the Max home screens at two in the morning.  They are half hour shows that show videos taken from police officer body cameras and closed circuit TV's in police cars, police stations, and local lockups of arrests that are made - are you ready - "after the sun goes down, when things get really crazy."  All of the arrests that I have seen (I've watched three of these episodes, but there are three seasons of this show available for your viewing pleasure out there) involve people who are completely and totally falling down drunk.   Nothing good comes from drinking excessively, is the lesson to be learned here, although I don't think that the producers are out to impart lessons with this show as much as just show nothing but a bunch of human train wrecks.

It's entertaining in a manner of speaking, but not something that you would want to binge watch for hours on end.

AsI have already classified these shows as "trash tv" they get Zero Stars from The Grandstander, but you might want to give them a try yourself, just for the freak show value of them.