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Review: Ben Affleck Gives An Affecting Performance in George Clooney’s “The Tender Bar,” the Perfect Movie for Streaming

Roger Friedman
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Review: Ben Affleck Gives An Affecting Performance in George Clooney’s “The Tender Bar,” the Perfect Movie for Streaming

I was a little surprised to see an Academy DVD of George Clooney’s “The Tender Bar” arrive over the weekend. Even though it was screened a while ago in LA with Jackson Browne playing some tunes at a reception, this Amazon Studios film has been almost impossible to get hold of.

Now I know why. JR Moehringer’s memoir was an interesting task to undertake for Clooney as a director. It’s a small, quiet movie. Clooney and William Monahan have done a lovely job adapting it. Ben Affleck gives an affecting performance. But there’s insubstantial-ness to it that makes “The Tender Bar” a great film for streaming, but not for movie theaters.

Moehringer’s father was an itinerant radio show host who left his wife and kid and couldn’t keep a job for long. So JR’s mother (Lily Rabe, top notch) brings him back to her father’s working class ramshackle house with all the other members of her family who are nonstarters. That includes Affleck as Rabe’s brother. He failed to launch as an adult years ago and now runs the Dickens bar around the corner.

Like “Hillbilly Elegy,” this is the story of a bright kid with an absent father, raised by women and an uncle, who studies hard so he can go to an Ivy League school and make something of himself. Richard Jenkins is the grandfather who’s a “character.” The whole idea is to get out of Long Island and see the world. (In real life, Moerhinger didn’t even stay in Brooklyn that long. His bio says he graduated from high school in Scottsdale, Arizona.)

The film has great soundtrack of 70s songs, and there are just a couple of Jackson Browne numbers but no one mentions him. I don’t know why he played at that Hollywood party. Daniel Rainieri is a charming kid playing young JR, and Tye Sheridan does what he can to make a slightly older JR interesting. But the best bits are in Brooklyn, not at Yale, where JR falls for a Black girl from a wealthy family who strings him along for what seems like years.

Affleck is who people will follow here, and he reminds us that he’s not just Batman and JLo and tabloids. If only his character had its own story arc, Ben could have made the Oscar short list for Best Supporting Actor. But I don’t see it. He doesn’t do much except dispense beer and advice. He does it well but it’s not enough.

Sad News: Fashion Designer Virgil Abloh of Louis Vuitton, 41, Favorite of Kanye West, Dies After 2 Year Battle with Rare Cancer

Roger Friedman
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Sad News: Fashion Designer Virgil Abloh of Louis Vuitton, 41, Favorite of Kanye West, Dies After 2 Year Battle with Rare Cancer

Virgil Abloh, top fashion designer for Louis Vuitton and for his own label, Off White, has died from cancer much too young at age 41. Abloh was a frequent collaborator and close associate of Kanye West among others. According to reports he’d been battling cancer “for years.” Just awful. Condolences to his family, friends, and fans.

Here’s an interview with him from 2017 in the NY Times.

His family has posted to Instagram:

We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a fiercely devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend. He is survived by his loving wife Shannon Abloh, his children Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh, his sister Edwina Abloh, his parents Nee and Eunice Abloh, and numerous dear friends and colleagues.

For over two years, Virgil valiantly battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma. He chose to endure his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.

Through it all, his work ethic, infinite curiosity, and optimism never wavered. Virgil was driven by his dedication to his craft and to his mission to open doors for others and create pathways for greater equality in art and design. He often said, “Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,” believing deeply in the power of art to inspire future generations.

We thank you all for your love and support, and we ask for privacy as we grieve and celebrate Virgil’s life.

Princess Diana Not Proving to Be A Box Office Draw as “Spencer” Movie Makes Just $610 Per Theater in 3rd Week

Roger Friedman
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Princess Diana Not Proving to Be A Box Office Draw as “Spencer” Movie Makes Just $610 Per Theater in 3rd Week

Maybe Princess Diana is trying to tell us something from the great beyond.

After more hype than a Muhammad Ali boxing match, “Spencer,” the movie about Diana’s time married to Prince Charles, is not a success.

Over its fourth weekend in release, “Spencer” made just $610 per theater in 346 locations. The weekend take was just $211,028.

The theatrical run for “Spencer” is coming to a close now. Originally it played in 996 theaters, went up briefly to 1,200, retreated to 954, and was cut by two thirds this weekend. Its total is now $6.6 million.

Kristen Stewart’s performance as Diana was touted for weeks leading up people actually seeing the film as the one to beat for the Oscars. But with this disappointing reaction by audiences, those odds have probably shifted downwards quite a bit. Coming up fast now is Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball in “Being the Ricardos,” followed possibly by Frances McDormand in “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” Somewhere on the periphery are Jennifer Hudson in “Respect” and Lady Gaga in “House of Gucci.”

The lack of audience for “Spencer” is not a surprise. Even the Broadway musical about the princess, “Diana: The Musical,” is struggling to stay open in light of terrifyingly negative reviews.  In the case of the Pablo Lorrain-directed film, we could tell from film festival audiences that the eccentric storytelling defeated the central performance. People walked out in droves, or simply said they didn’t like it. Vomiting is never a high point in any film, especially when it involves hanging around a toilet.

Five years ago, director Lorrain made a similar movie about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, called “Jackie” starring Natalie Portman. There was the same hype for Portman and the film. But in the end, “Jackie” made just $13 million. As a tale of the tape, in its fourth week, “Jackie” was well ahead of “Spencer.” The famous First Lady wins in celebrity movies in this category, if that’s some consolation to her.

 

 

No More Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee? Jerry Seinfeld Tells Podcast “We’ve Put That Volume on the Shelf”

Roger Friedman
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No More Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee? Jerry Seinfeld Tells Podcast “We’ve Put That Volume on the Shelf”

It does seem as though Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” has been in the garage for good. After 11 seasons and 84 episodes, Seinfeld says on the “Smartless” podcast that he’s done.

Seinfeld tells hosts Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes when they ask about the show:
“I think I’m going to put that volume on the shelf. It was a lot of fun and I got to meet … a lot of those people who I had not met. We’re friends now. It’s amazing what two hours with somebody — you’re friends forever after that. It was really great.”

Originally “Comedians” ran on the Crackle network but eventually it moved to Netflix. There have been no new installments since 2019. The series won 5 Producers Guild of America awards and was nominated for 5 Emmy Awards. My personal favorites were with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, and with Jerry Lewis. I also really liked the episode with Sarah Jessica Parker. It was a clever, inventive, funny series that will no doubt run in syndication for eons.

The revelation comes toward the end of the podcast at 53:43. It’s a terrific podcast. Thanks to Yahoo News for tipping us off about it.

Box Office: “Dune” Finally Crosses $100 Million Line, But Will Smith’s “King Richard” a Royal Bust

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: “Dune” Finally Crosses $100 Million Line, But Will Smith’s “King Richard” a Royal Bust

More good news, bad news, this time for Warner Bros.

“Dune,” which I think is a Best Picture nominee with many more nods as well, has finally reached Nirvana.

Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi opera hit $100 million overnight and is at $100,877,000. Everyone can relax now. Total time was 36 days. And it was a nail biter. But “Dune” has persevered especially since it was shown on HBO Max for much of that time. Bravo to all involved.

For Warner Bros., “Dune” is a great success and a nice pay off for work well done. But they’re having trouble on another front. Will Smith’s “King Richard” has refused to take flight. It can’t get the ball over the net. It’s quite a racquet. (Okay, that’s enough!)

“King Richard” is having trouble securing an audience. Not even the Black audience seems that interested in going to theaters to see it despite its strong message of family and dedication to sport.

I’m not sure if it’s because Richard Williams, whom Smith is getting raves for playing, is a little off putting. Or if Smith’s constant personal confession in the press– he has a book out– has turned people off. I know that personally I never want to hear another word about Smith or his wife’s sex lives. But clamming up at this point might serve Smith well.

More tomorrow…

Box Office: Gaga’s “Gucci” Heads to $23 Mil Opening, “Licorice Pizza” Has Tasty Premiere, “Belfast” Is a Gem

Roger Friedman
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Box Office: Gaga’s “Gucci” Heads to $23 Mil Opening, “Licorice Pizza” Has Tasty Premiere, “Belfast” Is a Gem

Friday box office was good for everyone, even Lady Gaga.

“House of Gucci” took in $5.7 million yesterday, whipping its total up to $13.3 million since Tuesday. What day is it today? Who knows? But if “Gucci” picks up another $10 million today and tomorrow, they’ll come in with maybe $23 million for the week. It’s not huge, but it’s no disaster despite the reviews.

Speaking of “Gucci” reviews, designer and filmmaker Tom Ford writes about the movie in Graydon Carter’s Air Mail thing today. The best part of the review is Ford’s complete omission of any mention of the fact that he’s depicted in the movie or the actor, Reeve Carney, who plays him. He must not have liked Carney’s work. I did and that’s too bad.

“Gucci” comes from MGM, which still can’t get itself bought by Amazon Studios despite a much heralded announcement last May. The reason? The Federal Trade Commission has put a spanner in the works. So MGM lumbers forward. But, good news at least for now with another release, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza.” It opened in four theaters yesterday and sliced up $141,000. What will happen when it hits the real world is unknown, but for this minute in time, all is okey doke.

And the number 1 Oscar-buzzed movie, “Belfast”? Holding its own nicely as it waits for some awards accolades to come in. If you can see “Belfast” this weekend, do so, please, without hesitation. It’s going to be in for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, not to mention Supporting Actors Jamie Dornan and Catriona Balfe, maybe Judi Dench, and even little Jude Hill. A brilliant little gem of a film.

 

RIP Actress Lisa Brown, 67, Star of “Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns” for 30 Years

Roger Friedman
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RIP Actress Lisa Brown, 67, Star of “Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns” for 30 Years

Sad news today from the New York soap world. Actress and acting coach Lisa Brown, who played characters on CBS’s “Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns” for a combination of 30 years, died afte a short illness. She was 67.

Brown played Nola Reardon on “Guiding Light” beginning in 1980, and then segued onto the sister soap, “As the World Turns,” where she was Iva Snyder. Her characters on each show came and went right until the end of the run for the two Procter & Gamble series in 2010.

Brown was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards for “ATWT” and became a highly valued acting coach for new soap actors. In an odd coincidence, the man who played her romantic lead on “Guiding Light,” actor Michael Tylo, died just a few weeks ago at the age of 72. They were the hot couple on “Guiding Light” in the early 80s, surviving many Gothic adventures.

Condolences to her family, friends, and legions of fans.

Adele Sells a Whopping 838K Copies of “30.” Biggest Debut of Year, But 75% Less Than Last Album

Roger Friedman
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Adele Sells a Whopping 838K Copies of “30.” Biggest Debut of Year, But 75% Less Than Last Album

Adele’s “30” is a good news, bad news story.

The new album sold 838,000 copies in its first week, most of them CDs and downloads. That’s all good news. It’s the biggest opening week of any album in 2021.

The bad news is, that’s 75% fewer albums than she sold in the first week for “25,” released exactly six years ago. Sorry, but it’s true. “25” was a phenomenon with much better songs. “30” is a marketing tool, and the public sensed it.

So here is the breakdown: 678,782 in CDs and downloads. Streaming came to 152,690. Here’s the thing with streaming, I am tired of press releases trumpeting “so many million streams, broke a record.” Etc. A zillion streams adds up to 5,000 actual equivalent sales. Just because someone’s pushing the button over and over on Spotify doesn’t mean you made money or sold copies. It means Spotify made money from their subscription. Ouch! It hurts.

Adele can still be proud of the 678,782, according to hitsdailydouble.com. But it’s far cry from the 3.8 million copies she sold of “25” the week of November 15, 2015. “25” went on to sell 18 million copies over 12 months, and it’s sold a total of 22 million according to different sources. “30” isn’t going there. It’s Adele’s “Bad” album. It’s what happened to Michael Jackson after “Thriller,” except Michael didn’t six years.

They key to “30” will be getting more singles out of it. I’m not sure about that. Streaming eats up album tracks so that by the time you aim for a second or third single, they’ve been squeezed like a lemon. By the end of February, “30” is going to be lemon juice. That’s my prediction. I might be wrong, but I can’t see it sustaining interest over 12 weeks. The public moves on.

Adele should not have waited six years. Three, tops. There should have been a couple of duets, some interesting people playing instruments, and more hooky songs with choruses. (The instrumentation on this album is a bore, just the same thing over and over.) Somewhere, Paul Epworth is shaking his head. Can you imagine if Gary Clark Jr. had played a lick? Or Adele had dueted with Sting? Or somebody with a cool new voice like Aloe Blacc? Or Lady Gaga had played piano somewhere?

Adele may be rolling in the dough on this one, but not rolling in the deep. And PS I don’t want to hear any more about her divorce or what she was like when she misses about being a child.

A Towering Loss: Stephen Sondheim Dies at 91, the Greatest Broadway Composer of Our Lifetime

Roger Friedman
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A Towering Loss: Stephen Sondheim Dies at 91, the Greatest Broadway Composer of Our Lifetime

The greatest living composer of Broadway shows, Stephen Sondheim, has died at age 91. The tributes will be pouring in from everywhere all night. Most awarded, most sung, most loved even as a curmudgeon, Sondheim’s music permeates our culture in the way that few composers in history have left a legacy.

Sondheim leaves us as one of his landmark shows, “Company,” is about to take Broadway by storm again in a revival. His other shows stretch from “West Side Story” to “Sweeney Todd” to “Into the Woods,” “Follies,” “Sunday in the Park with George,”: and so on. The songs are legendary, especially “Send in the Clowns” to “Somewhere” and everything in between.

I knew Sondheim a little, some from the time leading up to making “Sweeney Todd,” my favorite musical of all time, into a movie, through his close relationship with the legendary filmmaker DA Pennebaker when the director recorded for history the making of the “Company” score with Elaine Stritch. A couple of years ago, when “Sweeney Todd” was being performed downtown at the Barrow Theater turned into a bake shop, I had the good fortune to sit behind him and Bernadette Peters. It was a thrilling night.

Sondheim’s influence on musical theater and performers and the entire landscape of Broadway has filled and will fill books forever.

The lights on Broadway should be dimmed for a week. Here’s the official Times obit.

Beatles “Get Back” on DisneyPlus Triggers Sales, Sends 5 Albums Onto iTunes Top 100

Roger Friedman
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Beatles “Get Back” on DisneyPlus Triggers Sales, Sends 5 Albums Onto iTunes Top 100

The Peter Jackson doc mini series, “Get Back,” is a hit.

How do we know? The Disney Plus offering has send five Beatles albums onto the iTunes top 100.

The newly revived “Let it Be” double album set is the highest, at number 41. That’s followed closely by the Beatles “1” album, the Greatest Hits blue album, the White Album, and of course, Abbey Road.

What fans really need is the new “Let it Be” box set because that’s where you get the Glyn Johns mix CD from 1970. If you’re watching the mini-series you’re seeing a very young Johns — whom John Lennon affectionately calls “Glynis” — really guiding the group through the whole “Get Back” saga.

All the Beatles’ CDs are selling like crazy on amazon. The Super Deluxe “Let it Be” is number 55. “Abbey Road” is number 3. “Revolver” and “Rubber Soul” are also in the top 100. Just below is “Sgt. Pepper,” the greatest album of all time. If you’re trying to catch up, check out the Beatles Mono box set, and also individual US albums of “Beatles 65” and “Hey Jude– The Beatles Again.”

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