“Alive in Tucson” Actors often note the difficulty of acting opposite nothing, but in the pilot of The Last Man on Earth, Will Forte proves how powerful a lone wolf performance can be. True, there have been other great cases of solitary acting, but as Phil Miller, Forte’s performance is the sort that seems like it is meant for acting opposite others. This debut episode sticks completely to a premise that should not work according to how television is normally understood, but it proves to be a successful experiment.
“The Graduate” Sue finishes up high school, and everything goes wrong. Sure, “Sue does x, and everything goes wrong” describes 99% of Middle episodes, but this time is exponentially more painful. A happy ending seems impossible, even for preternaturally sunny Sue, but then the most amazing resolution happens. It helps to have been a fan of The Middle from the beginning for this moment to have maximum impact, but Eden Sher embodies all there is to love about Sue Heck so thoroughly, with every part of her journey that led here present in her smile.
In this feature, I look back at each day of the past week and determine what shows “won TV” for the night. That is, I consider every episode of television I watched that aired on a particular day and declare which was the best.
Sunday – Rick and Morty
Monday – Whose Line is it Anyway?
Tuesday – Drunk History
Wednesday – Mr. Robot
Thursday – Review has made a lot of my wishes come true.
Friday – US Open, particularly Bouchard v. Cibulkova, and Serena v. Mattek-Sands, and Nadal v. Fognini
Saturday – US Open
“Finish Your Milk” You’re the Worst reveals its true self in its antepenultimate Season 1 episode. The fact that its cynicism was just a front for its sincerity is hinted at as early as the pilot, but in this edition, the emotions come pouring out unmistakably. Jimmy makes himself known to Gretchen’s parents against her wishes. He is not trying to prove a point – he legitimately wants to support her and stand up for her. But their romance is a struggle, so these overtures initially lead to strife (brilliantly represented with split-screen editing). Suffering happens when an effort is made, but You’re the Worst argues that that pain is ultimately worth it.
Each week, I check out VH1′s The 20 (formerly Top 20 countdown), and then I rearrange the songs based on my estimation of their quality.
This week, the show played every VMA Video of the Year winner since 1995.
1995: TLC – “Waterfalls”
1996: The Smashing Pumpkins – “Tonight, Tonight”
1997: Jamiroquai – “Virtual Insanity”
1998: Madonna – “Ray of Light”
1999: Lauryn Hill – “Doo Wop (That Thing)”
2000: Eminem – “The Real Slim Shady”
2001: Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mýa and Pink – “Lady Marmalade”
2002: Eminem – “Without Me”
2003: Missy Elliott – “Work It”
2004: OutKast – “Hey Ya!”
2005: Green Day – “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
2006: Panic! at the Disco – “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”
2007: Rihanna ft. Jay-Z – “Umbrella”
2008: Britney Spears – “Piece of Me”
2009: Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
2010: Lady GaGa – “Bad Romance”
2011: Katy Perry – “Firework”
2012: Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris – “We Found Love”
2013: Justin Timberlake – “Mirrors”
2014: Miley Cyrus – “Wrecking Ball”
2015: Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
Jmunney’s Ranking
1. Work It
2. Umbrella
3. Mirrors
4. Virtual Insanity
5. Bad Romance
6. Waterfalls
7. Hey Ya!
8. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
9. We Found Love
10. The Real Slim Shady
11. Boulevard of Broken Dreams
12. Bad Blood
13. Doo Wop (That Thing)
14. Wrecking Ball
15. Firework
16. Ray of Light
17. Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)
18. Without Me
19. Tonight, Tonight
20. Lady Marmalade
21. Piece of Me
An especially striking aspect of The End of the Tour is how much everyone likes each other. This is most obvious in the reaction to David Foster Wallace’s (Jason Segel) radio interview in Minneapolis. His driver Patty (a note-perfect Joan Cusack) cheers about how perfectly it went and how much she is enjoying Infinite Jest, whereas a more cynical film would make this character totally clueless about her client.
This is not to say there is no conflict, but what conflict there is is driven not by resentment but by jealousy and overindulgence. Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) wants to be Wallace, but Wallace rebukes him and deep down, Lipsky knows this is not quite right. Wallace has a wealth of sadness lurking not so deeply in his psyche. He has an eclectic appreciation for both high and low culture. Paradoxically, this deep capacity exacerbates his emptiness. It overwhelms him, and the success it confers him does not remove the profound lack that never goes away. Wallace and Lipsky seek pleasure and fulfillment outside themselves, which is fine, but (to paraphrase the book the film is based on) they still remain themselves.
About a third of the way through The Gift, Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn’s (Rebecca Hall) St. Bernard, Bojangles, goes missing. This occurs soon after Simon has unceremoniously broken things off with his suspicious former classmate Gordo (Joel Edgerton). A dead dog is a cheap, but effective way to establish pathos, and it seems like The Gift is interested in devastating its audience in this way. But then a few days later, Bojangles is back home and perfectly fine. He survives the film, and there is never any explanation as to whether Gordo kidnapped him or any foul play is involved.
The whole m.o. of The Gift is to leave the audience hanging. [I’M KEEPING IT VAGUE, BUT SPOILER ALERT NONETHELESS.] About halfway through, there is a twist that flips the script of a typical “unwelcome visitor from the past” thriller. Then there is a much nastier twist at the end that is unnerving, bordering on exploitative. The mystery of Bojangles is a microcosm of the whole film’s unsolved, but mercilessly teased mystery. Simon is right to worry about Gordo, but ultimately he does not know exactly why he must worry, and therein lies the rub.
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