PopSmart

I was unable to screen The Love Guru for this week’s paper. Apparently I’m not alone; looking for an alternative newsweekly review of the horrifically reviewed comedy from the former clown prince of Hollywood is an exercise in futility. (Maybe that’s because studios are making it more and more difficult for alt-weeklies to screen movies in time for their weekly deadlines, but then, they’re making it difficult for everyone to screen indie films for review because they keep changing the release dates, but whatever. More on that later.) I’m struggling to think of a more poorly reviewed film this year by someone held in such high esteem.

But as chronicled in Entertainment Weekly’s recent profile of Myers, there’s no love lost for him in Hollywood. In a city filled with egomaniacs, Myers seems to be a particular target of scorn. Some think he’s singled out unfairly; others wish he’d just go away. The man who once supposedly had the Midas touch with the Wayne’s World, Austin Powers and Shrek franchises seems to have, ahem, lost his mojo on this one.

I know it’s a predictable bit of pile on, but while I’ve always found Myers amusing, I’ve never really gotten the depths of praise heaped on him over the years. I’ve often thought of him as the right comic talent at the right time, a “Saturday Night Live” sketch genius who had been able to stretch sometimes brilliant gags, sound bites and wordplay into movie-length hits. But, really, how hard did you laugh at any of the Wayne’s World or Austin Powers sequels? (I completely avoided the last AP installment, Goldmember, as well as the third Shrek cuz just I figured it would be more of the same.) Frankly, I think the most daring movie work Myers did was portraying Studio 54 owner Steve Rubell in 1998’s 54. Besides delivering a spot-on mimic job, Myers captured the tragedy of Rubell.

A lot of Myers’ critics believe his style of comedy is already played out. I’m inclined to agree. The thing is, Myers’ style is so facile, it doesn’t warrant much examination. To borrow the current phrase du jour, it is what it is. And that’s just not that much to get excited about. I have a bad feeling that, come Monday, the box-office receipts will bear that out.

(Photo courtesy Paramount Pictures)

Bookmark It

Here’s a fond PopSmart wish of good luck to the folks at PBA30’s “This Is Atlanta,” which is up for a Southeast Emmy this Saturday for Best Magazine Program under the umbrella category Outstanding Achievement: Television Programming Excellence for its segment, “The Atlanta Downhill Challenge,” about the city’s popular soapbox derby race. (Oddly enough, the program is up against two episodes of “TBS Storyline,” which was canned when Turner changed TBS to last year Peachtree TV. Unfortunate, considering Peachtree TV’s “hyper-local” mission statement.)

We mentioned the Telly Award-winning program in one of our first PopSmart blog posts back in November, so we’re excited to see what happens on Saturday. Jack Walsh and Gordon Ray are the nominated producers of the show, and do an impressive job of providing witty polish to a type of community program that, when not in the right hands, can run on the dull side. This stuff is compelling work, though, reminding Atlantans just how diverse its city really is. (more…)

Bookmark It

There’s an unmistakable resonance ringing out from MEGHAN COFFEE’s latest CD, Songs to Sail By, and while it might continue comparisons to everyone from Tori Amos to Coldplay, here’s hoping people think it’s a good thing. Because it is. Coffee’s wistful, quivering crooning appreciates every word that comes out, and her grand-piano playing displays a soft yet dramatic sweep in its arpeggios (as recorded in a Presbyterian church). Novah and Kate Nelson open the Thurs., JUNE 19, show. $8-$10. 8 p.m. Smith’s Olde Bar, 1578 Piedmont Ave. 404-875-1522. www.smithsoldebar.com.

(Photo by Kara Pecknold)

Check out her video for “Dear East” …

Bookmark It

While digging around for my recent post on the True Colors Tour, which concludes tonight at Chastain Park, I learned that wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper explained what happened when he (accidentally?) kicked True Colors headliner Cyndi Lauper back in 1985 when she was into the whole Wrestlemania scene. The cool thing is that Piper is seen telling the story at another Atlanta event: the annual International GI Joe Collectors Convention.

It takes awhile for Piper to get to the Lauper incident, but everything’s hilarious …

Bookmark It

As tactless and morbid as it might sound, I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who in just a couple days grew weary (and a bit wary) of the media, ahem, overkill coverage of Tim Russert’s death. But here comes Slate’s Jack Shafer, doing the dirty work and calling out the media (print and electronic) for its incessant coverage of Russert’s untimely passing last Friday due to a heart attack. Here’s Shafer’s most astute observation …

I wonder whether the media grievers gave a moment of thought to how this Russert torrent they produced played with viewers and readers. Did the grievers really think Russert was so important, so vital to the nation’s course, and such an elevated human being that he deserved hour upon hour of tribute?

There’s also nice pulled quotes from the New York Times‘ Mike Liebovich’s remembrance, which fairly and objectively points out some of Russert’s possible flaws, including my favorite: “Mr. Russert liked to seem sheepishly above-it-all, but was also as acutely status-conscious, befitting the local water.”

What irked me most about Russert was what felt like more than a newsman’s obsession with politics as gamesmanship (a flaw he shared with another former political operative, George Stephanopoulos). His Red State/Blue State carping during the 2002 mid-term elections practically helped make the terms mainstream, which is a shame considering how that kind of jargon has dumbed us all down.

(more…)

Bookmark It

You’ll have to forgive me if I wax a little nostalgic after watching the True Colors Tour’s opener of a two-night stand last night at Chastain Park. We all have our B-52’s stories to tell around here, so I’m sure hearing one from someone who didn’t live in Atlanta until that last two years probably won’t dazzle anyone. But they’re fun to tell anyway. But first, about last night … well, before that, here’s the True Colors credo, as pulled from its site …

The goal of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) equality is at the heart of True Colors. From day one, the tour has sought to raise awareness about the discrimination the GLBT community still faces and raise significant funds for the organizations that work everyday on their behalf. This year, the True Colors Fund of Stonewall Community Foundation has been created to enable increased and efficient fundraising for the tour’s national non-profit partners through various revenue sources.

The brainchild of the Human Rights Campaign and the tour’s headliner, Cyndi Lauper, the True Colors is an entertaining mix of music, comedy and wee bit of get-out-the-boat speechifying. And what was most impressive about the proceedings was how little pontificating was done, even considering comedian Rosie O’Donnell’s sour-grapes rant on her tenure on “The View.” Actually, Rosie was quite funny and more than a little melancholic as she recalled her late mother, and how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Her point: Teach your children well. Point taken, Rosie, who’s got four kids and brought at least some of them along for the ride. But she was at her funniest when she grabbed a chunk of her own flab in a righteous display of healthy body self-image and yelled to an absent Donald Trump: “I’m gonna rub some of this on his orange, bald head. Here, ya prick!” And if the crowd still didn’t dig her plus-size sexiness, she recalled how, when in Mexico, she was all the rage with the menfolk, one of whom explained to her, “Bone is for the meek; meat is for the man!” Good stuff.

(more…)

Bookmark It

So how did you spend your Creative Loafing Beer Fest? Did you pass by me on your way from the MARTA station, trying to figure out what the hell was up with the closed sidewalk for the last two blocks and why you had to cross the street twice just to get in? If I had a dollar for every person who gave me a screwy look as I played “Sidewalk Monitor,” I could have afforded a ticket to get in. The funny thing was, once I finished my shift and went inside Woodruff, I ran into several Fest-goers who seemed like it was totally worth the re-routing.

I’m not sure if anyone totally got into the “Beer’lympics” theme beyond our scrappy CL staff and volunteers, but it is nevertheless fun to watch our Copy Editor Russell McLendon wear a John McEnroe-like sweatband and a moustache that defies description (and gravity). All I know is we had a helluva turnout despite a persistent early-afternoon threat of rain. The range of brews, from domestic to important, major label to micro-brew, was jaw-dropping. And while most guys of a hetero persuasion must have loved all that tanned skin courtesy the ladies of Pink Pony and Cheetah, I couldn’t help but wonder if there is a chance to provide more beefcake for the other demographic next year. (Stay tuned; we love the cakes.) More than anything I was pleasantly stunned at how many people participated in the “cornhole” games. I mean, it was like watching shuffleboard in Boca Raton. Amazing!

But thanks for everyone who came out, all those who volunteered, and particularly Marketing Director Shana Langfur, who’s been in her new position for like, what time is it?!

For tons more photos from this year’s Beer Fest, visit www.SideshowAtlanta.com.

[Show as slideshow]

(Photos by David Lee Simmons)

Bookmark It

(EDITOR’S NOTE: LOTS MORE PICTURES AFTER THE JUMP!) 

The Gallery at East Atlanta Tattoo’s group art shows continue to draw fans of the lowbrow style, the Monster Mayhem opening on Friday night proved. This show struck a particular chord, not only with the huge crowd that jammed the narrow gallery hallway and back-side patio but also shop/gallery owner Dirk Hays. “I’ve loved monsters since I was a kid,” says Hays, who poured over copies of Creepy and Eerie magazines growing up in Opelika, Ala. This is the fourth show at the gallery, which opened last September. Ideally, Hays would like to have four big seasonal shows with four smaller ones dropped in between. But considering attendance at these events have gone from 300 to more than 500 (at April’s Damn Dirty Ape show), don’t be surprised if they do more. “More and more people are coming to check out these shows,” Hays says.
(more…)

Bookmark It

(EDITOR’S NOTE: THESE TIX HAVE BEEN CLAIMED!)

Hey readers, I had a couple True Colors tickets fall into my lap and can’t go to tonight’s promotional screening of Get Smart (starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), at 6 p.m. tonight (Monday), June 16, at the Regal Atlantic Station. Kick me an email at davidlee.simmons@creativeloafing.com. I got two single-admission passes.

Otherwise, keep an eye out for Curt Holman’s review of it in the upcoming issue of CL.

(Photo courtesy Warner Bros.)

Bookmark It

CityDance’s Earthly Paradise production at 7 p.m. tonight (Saturday), June 14, represents a sweet doubleheader for Christen Edwards. The dancer, an instructor with Studio Dionne, School of Dance and Music, not only performs but also will premiere her very first choreographed piece, “Graduation Ball.” The production also features the jazz-influenced piece, “The Lady Sings.”

Tickets to the performance at Pace Academy Fine Arts Center (966 West Paces Ferry Road) are $20 in advance, $25 at the door; call 404-877-0005 or visit the website.

Edwards (pictured) took some time to discuss the upcoming production.

What makes you most excited about the upcoming production? Which numbers will you be dancing, and what will your role be?
I am very excited about this upcoming production because I’ve choreographed my first full-length ballet, “Graduation Ball.” Even though it’s considered at “short ballet” at under a half hour, I still feel like it’s a personal accomplishment for me as an emerging choreographer! Also, I will be dancing in Pamela Dionne’s “The Lady Sings.”

(more…)

Bookmark It