Day One Hundred and Eighteen - Sleepless in Seattle, "Hanks and Ryan are a Charm Explosion... but I was bored."

I won't lie, I love these two as actors... in pretty much any film they're in they exude so much affable charm that it's sometimes hard to watch. One of my guiltiest of guilty pleasures is the cheesy You've Got Mail (a remake of the 1940 Jimmy Stewart picture) where they blindly fall in love over AOL.

Here in Sleepless, though, I found myself annoyed.

For one thing, the premise makes me tired. Architect Sam (Hanks) lost both his wife and the mother of his child far too early to cancer. Not coping well, his son calls a national therapy hotline (where's Doctor Fraiser Crane when we need him) because the boy thinks his dad needs a new wife... and their story goes across the airwaves and piques the interest of east coast writer Annie (Ryan) who is engaged to the perfect man (Bill Pullman) but feels no "magic" with him.

Written and directed by the late Nora Ephron (who also did You've Got Mail), it basically romanticizes a woman who stalks a man she's never met.

I mean, seriously, the some total of their interaction until the climax consists of a letter that Sam rightly dismisses and a shared look between the two across a sometimes busy, sometimes not street near Sam's houseboat. Honestly, I was expecting the soundtrack to start playing "Some Enchanted Evening" even though it was the middle of the afternoon.

I think what annoys me the most is how much it tries to sneak in references to An Affair to Remember. It feels like cheating when Annie is almost run over on the street and they repeat lines to each other. Perhaps the only thing that saved it from that schmaltz was the Dirty Dozen reference where Hanks and Victor Garber start bawling over that film to counterpoint Rita Wilson's (Hank's wife in real life) breakdown over An Affair.

Still, in spite of its weaknesses, Sleepless in Seattle features performances from both Hanks and Ryan that tug full force at the heart strings. There are moments when it's just them and the camera (always separated by distance) and you can just feel the aching loneliness that holds their characters in check.

That initial phone call where Sam is baring his heart and Annie is listening thousands of miles away in tears really gets me.

Switching gears, kudos to Ephron and Pullman for making an annoying character who you know won't get the girl in the end likeable and redeemable. It's ham-fisted and obvious, but I am so sick of romcoms where the other man/woman is a complete tool (as they did in You've Got Mail with Greg Kinnear and Parker Posey). Having that climax dinner where Annie tells her fiance that she can't marry him end amicably is oddly great.

I just wish they hadn't made him an allergy-ridden weakling.

...

Sleepless in Seattle isn't a great film.

I know it's sacrilege to say such, but it's driven too much by its silly premise and not enough by true character interaction.

I mean, seriously, the sum total of Sam and Annie's experience together consists of a look, a letter, and a meeting at the top of the Empire State Building. There's no relationship here... just "the magic." And that, alone, does not a good movie make for me.

It's cute and can jerk tears at moments, but its charms do not overcome its flaws. I'd say you should watch it at least once, but it shouldn't need more than that.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day One Hundred and Seven - Frasier: Season 11, Episodes 23 and 24, "Goodnight, Seattle."

As much as I wanted the next episode of Frasier that I blogged about to be one just previous to the finale, featuring more Laura Linney and a hilarious guest spot by Stephen Root, I raced through the last few episodes (skipping the Crock Tales, of course) to get to that satisfying conclusion that makes me revisit it at least once a year.

Episodes 23 and 24 span a whirlwind of life changes as Marty and Ronee get married, Niles and Daphne have their baby, and Frasier, himself, is offered a new job in San Francisco.

The double-wide finale starts in the first class section of a flight in progress where Frasier and an attractive fellow psychiatrist take their minds off turbulence by Frasier sharing his past few weeks. It's an obvious ploy that's supposed to plant the seed that perhaps this beautiful woman is a possible love interest in Frasier's future life.

But the future is isn't the issue, as this is a sort of flashback episode... that seques in bed as Frasier and Charlotte (Laura Linney) are enjoying their final day together as, sadly, she is returning to her hometown of Chicago to resume her matchmaking service there.

It's a lovely, bittersweet sort of parting that allows for a few genuine laughs as Frasier misses his afternoon show (which sets up a mistaken assumption later) and Charlotte is harassed by the return of Daphne's drunken brother (Anthony Lapaglia) who has brought two other siblings to guest for the finale (UK faves Robbie Coltrane and Richard E. Grant).

THAT trio does a good job breaking the morose mood and serve to do so for the rest of the first half, until Eddie eats Marty and Ronee's rings and has to be taken to an emergency vet for some puppy ipecac which allows for yet another guest, this time from Jason Biggs as an inept vet.

Over the finale, lots of loose ends are tied up so that Frasier's big choice doesn't come as such a shock. Roz takes over as station manager from Kenny, sly agent Bebe continues her reign of sociopathy... and, of course, Marty moves out a married man and Niles becomes a father.

All of it is heartfelt and endearing, but still feels more than a little rushed. As I mentioned in my last blog entry for Frasier, the Charlotte romance needed to span the entire season to really have the impact it should have. Or, at least, more than the last quarter. To have any merit, I would've begged a minimum of twelve episodes and fought for more.

I did really dig the plastic surgeon/missed show excuse miscommunications which, when combined with Frasier's secretive big news and his giving away of personal mementos really did feel like a 6-months-to-live announcement.

It was hilarious, but the crocodile tears from all involved in that scene didn't, well, feel real. Maybe it's because I've never seen Niles or Martin cry in grief before... I just wasn't sold. Still, it was a good scene, even if I had a hard time swallowing it.

It really was a good send off... and had a decent twist at the end that I should've seen coming the first time I saw it almost a decade ago. It's weird to think of these shows as being that old. Cheers definitely seems to have aged, but Frasier still feels fresh. I don't even want to think about what Friends or Seinfeld look like now.

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~

Day One Hundred and One - Frasier: Season 11, Episode 20, "Finally, after all these years... I guess?"

Usually, when I start a show on Netflix, I go from the beginning and work my way through the series. The only time I generally skip around is when I've recently seen a season and have specific episodes that I want to revisit.

With Frasier, I don't think that's necessary. Frankly, there's not much reason so go back if you watched Frasier over the years. Really, if you've seen one episode, you've pretty much seen them all. The only real progress over the life of the series was Niles' gradual relationship with Daphne.

Sure, if you take the long view, there have been plenty of great episodes... emmy-winning ones, at that, but it's all so much sophisticated sound and fury. They all love each other despite their respective differences in art, entertainment, and animals (Oh, Eddie, how you thwart Frasier's eternal attempts at good Feng Shui) and nothing ever changes.

The only thing I really cared about over the length of the series was Niles and Daphne and them getting together (which took seven freaking seasons, and another three to tie the knot)... then, the only thing that interested me was the possibility of Frasier gaining a lasting relationship.

I was surprised in the final season (eleven) when the writers took a different approach and gave his father, Martin, a second lease on life... giving him a relationship with his sons' former babysitter (and now, vivacious lounge singer) Ronee, who is played by Wendee Malick.

With both Niles and Marty moving on with their lives and only a few more episodes before the series was slated to finished, I was actually expecting the show to end with Frasier riding off into the sunset an eternal bachelor.

And, honestly, I would've been happy with that. He'd have his work, his apartment back to himself, and his family would be taken care of.

Then Laura Linney entered the picture.

It's only on episode 20 of season 11, FOUR EPISODES before the completion of the series... that any serious attempt is made to give Frasier a tenable lovelife. Sure, he meets her (as his freaking matchmaker) in episode 18 and is shown to be smitten with her at the end of the episode... but, really, it's episode 20 that things get both ridiculous and oddly interesting at the same time.

Why? Because not only does he have to make his romantic intentions known, but he has to do so AND beat out the competition. When said competition is a multilingual, devastatingly handsome naturalist who is played by Aaron Eckhart, you'd think things were hopeless.

Now, its obvious from both the placement of this romance towards the end of Frasier's final season and the generally goofy shenanigans that Frasier, Charlotte (Linney), and Frank (Eckhart) go through that Frasier will win the day and the lady, but still... it's an oddly satisfying episode both in terms of tender moments and cheap laughs.

I mean, really, pretty much any time Frank opens his mouth... whether it's to converse in French with a maître d' or ask for a back rub, I can't help but laugh. It silly and pandering, his caricature of the typical Greenpeace hippie, but it works for the sitcom situation.

I also just really, really love Laura Linney. 

Her smile on top of her beauty and personality make her dazzling to my eyes and the way she plays her character feels like a perfect match for Frasier. It would have been nice to meet her quite a bit earlier in the season and have this competition for her affections last longer than a single episode, but I'm pretty darn satisfied with what I've got.

The B and C stories concerning Marty/Ronee and Roz I can just skip over. The best of the episode is all Frasier and Frank. I mean, honestly... "I punched a raccoon in the face" just has to be one of the best lines ever!

Ooo! I should also give a shoutout to the maître d' who is played by Michael Des Barres whom folks might recognize as Murdoc from MacGyver. Always great to see him (he's also been on Gilmore Girls~).

Back to the matter at hand, if you've ever watched Frasier, you know the overall gist of the series. Really, the only reason to go back is to revisit these last few episodes (probably starting with 18). I've watched them so much that I only need to start with 20 (and plan on skipping 22, as it's just a series retrospective episode that has nothing to do with Charlotte).

Overall, it seems that I'm just a sucker for the pretentious snob with a heart of gold getting the girl. I wonder why that is? ;P

Until tomorrow, Potatoes~