In Defense of Glee

Caution: The following blog contains Glee Season 3 plot spoilers.

Much ink and TV time has been spent discussing the Season 2 downfall of Glee.  And many an ultimatum has been thrown around ("If things don't get better, I'm going to stop DVRing Glee!", etc.).  OK, we are now a mere 2 episodes into the new season - a season that creator Ryan Murphy and others have promised would highlight the main characters, and have more focused plot lines.  In other words, Glee 3.0 will try to be more like Glee 1.0, which assumes that Glee 2.0 was all that bad.

The truth, for me at least, is that season 2 was a little uneven.  And it has some of the very best moments of the entire series so far.  Coach Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones).  Sue (Jane Lynch) nurturing Becky (Lauren Potter).  Bullies (Max Adler) dealt with.  Every scene with Brittany (Heather Morris).  Every second Chord Overstreet was on screen.  Artie (Kevin McHale) getting to walk for Christmas.  The Dalton Academy Warblers.  "Thriller."  Gwyneth Paltrow.  Darren Criss.  The return of Finn (Corey Montieth) and Rachel (Lea Michele).  The amazing identify yourself (the t-shirt episode) episode.  And there were some things I could have done without.  Rocky Horror (I don't really care for the show).  Carol Burnett and Sue marrying herself (WTF?).  John Stamos (great guy, lousy encroaching character).  The positives far outweigh the negative for me.



Chord Overstreet as Sam



"Born This Way" (The tee-shirt episode)



"Thriller"


Still, one can understand the "sophomore slump."  Season 2 means it isn't new any more.  The surprises - which often cover the flaws - are fewer.  And writers are damned if they do, damned if they don't.  Trying to change characters can be dangerous.  Too much trying to advance the plots in new directions can be deadly.  And yet, not changing characters and making them grow can be just as deadly.  And if the plots get too repetitive, God help the show.

So, over the past couple of weeks, I've been reading the comments left by people after articles about each of the two first episodes of Season 3 and have looked over the chief complaints about Season 2.  I've narrowed it down to their four main comments about last season and a couple of their thoughts about season three (already)!

1.  There is too much Rachel/Kurt and not enough of the others! 

OK.  There is a lot of Rachel and Kurt (Chris Colfer).  But you go with your strong suit.  They are just that: the most talented, the most complicated, the most broken.  All of that adds up to the most compelling characters.  BUT... let's not forget the transformation of Puck (Mark Salling) into a decent, if challenging, guy.  The emergence of Artie... Two girlfriends!  The football team!  Losing his virginity!  Just about every male solo in New Directions numbers.  Not bad.  How about the "Asian Invasion"?  Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.) is a dancing machine and too sexy for a high school kid... and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) backing up everyone - not just on stage, but she's the go-to girl for advice and unity.  The emergence of Santana (Naya Rivera) and Brittany as full, multi-dimensional characters.  Quinn's journey from pregnant teen to top of the high school heap, and her downfall... two interesting supporting characters in Lauren (Ashley Fink) and Sam... two down to earth adults with a major plot line - Kurt's dad and Finn's mom (Mike O'Malley and Romy Rosemont) ...  All of that and still too much Rachel and Kurt?  Hmmmm....



Quinn and Santana



Tina and Mike

2.  More Finn!  More Blaine! 

Let's go back to number one first.  More Finn and More Blaine by necessity means More Rachel and More Kurt.  You can't have your cake and eat it, too...  Finn figured prominently in most of the story lines last season, and Kurt wouldn't have grown without Blaine.  And, gay or straight, isn't it nice that there are two couples who are stable AND interesting (Mike/Tina and Kurt/Blaine).  It is hard to think of any plot that didn't involve one or both of these great guys.

3.  Too much singing and dancing! 

Um, it is about a glee club.  Singing and dancing are what they do.  And you knew going into it that it was also a musical comedy, so characters will burst into non-glee club numbers, too.  Sub-complaint: too many show tunes.  I think it is pretty 50-50.  But... (see below)

4.  The show is not realistic! 

Um, it is about a glee club. Singing and dancing are what they do. And you knew going into it that it was also a musical comedy, so characters will burst into non-glee club numbers, too. 

Not to mention that TV is not supposed to be entirely realistic.  If you want real life watch the National Geographic channel.  For me, Glee is a one hour break from the bad news on TV, the Internet and Twitter, from the lousy government, global economic woes, earthquakes, hurricanes and war.  But, even given the musical numbers, there is a certain grounding to the show that is very much based on reality.  Have you been in a public high school recently?  It is more like Glee than not like Glee. 

And that age old complaint: things get tied up in one or two episodes.  Not true.  But even so, each individual episode wraps up all neat and tidy, true enough.  It is TV, folks.  We need closure before the next show starts!  Not real?  Well, each episode clearly takes place over several days, but is cut to fit in 44 minutes.  And in reality, a lot of high school issues come and go in one school day.  Have you forgotten that?  Still, if CSI can get a DNA test result in 15 minutes instead of a week or more and we can accept that, why can't we believe that a group of kids can spend all day in class, practice sports and cheerleading, and still light, costume and choreograph multiple production numbers a week?  I wish real life worked like that.  I tell you, my job would be so much more fun if me and the other cubicle dwellers dropped our wireless keyboards and burst into a full dance number to "The Brotherhood of Man"!

And the two biggest complaints so far about Season 3?  Here they are:



Coach Beiste, Artie and Emma

 1.  Why West Side Story? 

Well, why not?  It is a show the general public at least recognizes and can draw parallels from.  The cast is ideal for that show.  It is a show high schools can actually do.  (My favorite comment at Rolling Stone asked why they couldn't do something more modern like American Idiot or Rock of Ages?  Well, that would certainly blur the line between show tunes and pop songs.  But can we talk content?  As cool as it would be, the story of American Idiot would never be approved (not to mention all of the language and situational cuts that would have to be made) by a school.  And they have already done most of "the score" of Rock of Ages.  Plus, do we really need to see Mercedes as a madame or Quinn having dirty men's room sex with Puck or another gay character for Kurt to play?  You can't have it both ways...

Rachel and Finn

Kurt and Blaine

2.  There hasn't been enough singing and dancing/where has Finn been? 

Wait... before there was too much singing and dancing?  Now "15 minutes between songs is unbearable?"  How else can we focus on plots that don't concern Rachel directly?  And Finn's lack of being "in front" also allows others to take up some screen time... like Artie, Coach Beiste, Emma and Mike Chang?  Not to mention Mercedes' new boyfriend, Rachel's dad's, Mike's parents, Emma's parents...

Coach Beiste and Mr. Hummel

Will and Emma

It has been exactly 88 minutes into the new season.  We have 20 more episodes to see where everyone ends up.  And with Kurt, Finn and Rachel graduating, I'll bet toward the end, we will see more not less of them.  Still, today's news of the hiring of a new actor who will actively pursue Blaine should make things interesting even if it does mean more Kurt.  And let's not forget The Glee Project winners who will figure into major story lines concerning Brittany, Santana and Puck will take up a lot of screen time, too.  Add more Idina Menzel, a juicy plot for Matthew Morrison, and hopefully an interesting end to the Sue-runs-for-office plot, and I think the outlook is terrific.

One thing:  I really miss the slushies...

I'll bet, too, that no matter what, some people won't be happy.  Too much Sue, not enough Sue.  Too much Rachel, not enough Rachel.  Too much singing, not enough singing.  To you, I say stop watching Glee, or at least stop complaining about it.  If you are taking time to complain, then, one, you care enough about it to express an opinion, and, two, you are still watching it!



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Jeff

RANT and RAVE: The Replacements

This week, two high profile cast replacements were named for two hit Broadway shows.  One of them was so high profile, it was on the news!  When was the last time THAT happened (Spider-Man, not withstanding)?

The first, though, came the announcement that Adam Pascal would be replacing Tony-nominee Chad Kimball at the end of October in 2010's Best Musical, Memphis.  My first thought was, "really??"  I mean, there is no doubt that Pascal is talented and is a near expert in conveying chemistry.  Look at him and Daphne Ruben-Vega in RENT (or with Anthony Rapp) for that matter.  Or he and his AIDA co-star, Heather Headley - smoking hot and romantic, too!  That look in the final scene...mmmmm.  Yes. Mr. Pascal should have no trouble with the smouldering sexy chemistry with equally sexy and smouldering Montego Glover.

I guess I'm having trouble picturing the quirky, vulnerable, innocent-yet-worldly-wise Huey Calhoun in Adam Pascal.  Of course, he is an actor, a very good one, even if his prior roles have a certain similarity that is not really in this new character.  I guess I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.  Just as I did with Kristin Chenoweth when she departed from her "norm" and tackled (beautifully, in my opinion) a challenging out of the box role.  Instead, maybe I should wish him well and warn him that as much as critics (and some fans) bemoan the fact that actors rarely venture beyond the expected, they rarely embrace the brave ones that do.  Good luck!

The really high profile replacement announcement came today at a press conference live from Sardi's.  Looks like Nick Jonas will be Daniel Radcliffe's permanent replacement in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  It is also now clear that producers are looking to fill the seats at the Hirschfeld with Tweens and their parents.

Let's not forget that the first replacement is actually Glee's Darren Criss, who will also appeal to the tween set, just as Radcliffe did before, and Jonas will after.  But there is a bit of an error in thinking here, and it has nothing whatsoever to do how well all three of them do or will do in the role.  I adored Mr. Radcliffe in the role, and have no doubt that both Mr. Criss and Mr. Jonas will do just fine, finding their own way with the role.

The error in thinking, I think, is that tweens and their parents will embrace these newcomers in the same magnitude, i.e. SRO crowds.  Radcliffe has something neither Criss nor Jonas has: international stardom cultivated by over a decade of growing up before our very eyes in the most successful movie franchise, based on the most popular book series of all time.  He played a character on film that kids and their parents read in those books.  Arguably as many adults kept up with Harry Potter as their kids did.  The appeal of Daniel Radcliffe is multi-generational, backed up by a star turn performance.

A pair of Finches: Darren Criss and Nick Jonas

Criss, with just a three week run, should draw the hordes of Glee-Kurt/Blaine fans, keeping interest and numbers high.  And, to some extent, Glee fans are multi-generational just as Potter fans are.  I bring this up because IF tweens are the target audience, someone has to BRING them to the theatre.  Radcliffe and Criss give parents as much reason to come to the show.  Now, I admit I know the least about the current appeal of Nick Jonas.  How much appeal does he have without his other brothers?  How much will his performance in Les Miserables, which divided fans and critics alike, effect the B.O. for H2$?  Will parents want to sit through the show just to keep their kids happy?  And does Jonas have the same appeal/acceptance by tween boys AND girls as Radcliffe?

Since Mr. Jonas has the most Broadway experience of the three  - he's been on the boards in Annie Get Your Gun, Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables - I don't think his ability onstage is even a question.  But I do wonder about his ability to draw news-making crowds.

All bets are off if they can find a nostalgic appeal for the parents when the recast John Larroquette.
Do you plan to see Adam, Darren and/or Nick?  Write in and let us know!


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Jeff
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REVIEW: Glee: The 3D Concert Movie

Review of Glee: The 3D Concert Movie. 1 hour, 35 minutes. Starring Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Ashley Fink, Lea Michele, Kevin McHale, Cory Monteith, Heather Morris, Chord Overstreet, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Mark Salling, Harry Shum, Jr., Jenna Ushkowitz. Special appearance by Gwyneth Paltrow. Choreography by Zachary Woodlee. Directed by Kevin Tancharoen. Rated PG.

Grade for Glee fans: A 

For the uninitiated: watch the show first, then get the concert on DVD.

Being one of only two people in a movie theatre, the other being my friend Mike, helped erase the potentially creepy feeling we might have had being the only adult men at Glee: The 3D Movie Concert. But there we were at a matinee of the film, 3D glasses on, smiling like fools and tapping our feet. The truth is, we are both Gleeks, and we both really enjoyed the movie. Will it convert those who haven’t joined the Gleek ranks? Not likely, since it gives real fans everything it wants, and doesn’t try for any more than that. But it could put to rest any doubt as to the talent of the cast. They are as terrific live as they are on an edited TV program.

This film is a mock-umentary that chronicles the teenage hormones, fragile egos and incredible talents of the New Directions glee club as they hit the “big time” playing to a sold-out arena. Between signature numbers like “Don’t Stop Believin’” “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “The Safety Dance, “ we bear witness to Rachel’s drive and insecurity, Artie’s bravado and insecurity, and Brittany’s sweet ignorance and lack of insecurity. Plus we get some smiles from Mercedes, Blaine, Kurt, Puck and Santana. And all of it very tongue and cheek, and all with the TV series’ sharp wit and irony. Gone, though, is the “losers are people too” aspects of these characters. Instead, the glee kids of McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio are big stars, basking in the glow and adoration of the masses.

The masses, as director Kevin Tancharoen skillfully reminds us, are the real life Rachels, Finns, Brittanys and Kurts. The people who are or were on the fringe of mainstream popularity in high school, the displaced, the bullied… the losers. In between the fantasy world of high tech Glee concert numbers are real documentaries of the very people Glee aims to entertain and emulate. A little person who is also a championship cheerleader, who used to fear never being seen as just another girl, rises above it all to compete for Homecoming Princess with a cute jock boy on her arm. Then there is young woman with severe Asperger Syndrome, unable to maintain normal friendships or cope with social situations, whose attachment to the character Brittany allowed her to recognize that she could, in fact, find friends who could accept and love her. Meeting the actress (Heather Morris) apparently - unfortunately, we don’t see this meeting - helped her find the strength to not only socialize in small groups, but to attend a Glee concert with thousands. And there is the young man who, in the privacy of his own journal professes his first love for another young man, only to find his life turned upside down when his best friend shares that journal with the object of affection, who in turn shares it with the school. It is now several years later, and the young man who was forced to come out in 8^th grade, has not only survived, but thrived, as a well-adjusted gay man. He pointedly tells us that had he had Glee and Kurt as role models, his life would have been that much easier to cope. Glee, he says with a very appealing low key honesty, validates him, and he hopes, everyone else who is walking in Kurt’s and his footsteps.

I re-read the previous paragraph and can only imagine what you are thinking: of course these hard luck stories are told to support the Glee promotion machine. And maybe that’s the surface explanation for their inclusion. But it also makes one realize that at its heart, Glee is there for all of us who felt like a loser or still do. That idea is also much more subtly supported by the “man on the street interviews” of concert goers, who tell us why they love the show, which characters are their favorites, and how the show touches their lives. Yes, I said “subtly.” Because nothing says “relatable” like shots of the most diverse audience I think I have ever seen - young, old, gay, straight, handicap-able people, parents, teens, small children, and every race on Earth. The pretty “Quinn” girls are there, singing joyfully along with the chubby “Laurens,” the lady killer “Pucks” right next to the refined “Kurts.” And there are legions of fans sporting the signature “defining words” t-shirts from the “Born This Way” showstopper, and the hundreds of Dalton Academy Warblers fans decked out in private school blue and red blazers and striped ties. In short, Glee is blissfully all-inclusive, and even a fantasy concert brings that all-inclusive mass of humanity to its nearest stadium in droves.

And that concert, actually made to feel more “you are there” with its skilled use of 3D filming, is a true Glee-fest, with all of the best numbers from seasons one and two carefully recreated and then amped up to fit the stadium size with special effects that support, but don’t overwhelm the kids we are there to see. To be honest, I would have liked to see more of Kurt (Chris Colfer), Quinn (Dianna Agron) and Sam (Chord Overstreet), but beyond that, fans of the show won’t be disappointed. A fine balance of production numbers and smaller, one-character numbers are presented. Puck’s (Mark Salling) tribute to plus sized ladies, “Fat Bottomed Girls,” is as spectacular for its simplicity as the all out sexy vamping in Brittany’s (Heather Morris) “Slave 4 U” is for its amazing choreography and production values. Gwyneth Paltrow does a guest shot as Holly Holiday, substitute teacher, and her signature, “Forget You,” while Mike’s (Harry Shum, Jr’s) truly breath-taking dancing skills and Artie’s deep soul vocals are displayed in “P.Y.T”. Theatre fans will thrill to Rachel’s (Lea Michele) stunning “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” and future Finch Blaine’s (Darren Criss) lead vocals on “Teenage Dream/Raise Your Glass.” And Mercedes (Amber Riley), Santana (Naya Rivera) and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) all shine in fun numbers where they are featured, too.  To a person, the whole cast looks to be having the time of their lives. That joy of performing radiates off of the megaplex screen as it does the flat screen at home.

That a huge arena concert film can still feel as personal as a television program is a testament to the quality of this film. And maybe the best number of the show, “Born This Way” is as exciting to watch as it is heartening to be reminded that we are all, in fact, Gleeks. I had no reason to feel creepy after all.

P.S. - Be sure to stay through the Slushy-filled credits with those 3D glasses on, and stay for the encore number, too. You will not be disappointed.

(Photos and movie logo from 20th Century Fox and Fox Television)

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Jeff
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