Themes of Church and Clergy in New Television Series

Posted on June 8, 2016 at 3:54 pm

Commercial television has usually stayed far away from religious themes in television series. For decades, most television characters were vaguely Christian, a few Jewish, and almost always their religion was about culture and the holidays. But religious themes and characters who are believers and even members of the clergy are suddenly showing up in a number of shows.

“Preacher,” on AMC, starring Dominic Cooper as a clergyman named Jesse, is produced by a duo better known for comedy, Seth Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg. But it is based on the dark, disturbing, and very violent comic book series and the title character has supernatural power that may come from God. Time Magazine writes: “it’s thrilling to watch Jesse go from dour to empowered.” The Jewish magazine Tablet notes:

Attention parents, teachers, rabbis, and anyone else entrusted with cultivating the spiritual and moral development of the young: Take away your children’s books, ban all homework for a while, sit them down in front of the TV, and make them watch Preacher.

Sure, the show, which premiered this week, features spontaneous combustions, impalings on a plane, a ballet of stabbings, a homemade bazooka, and a character accurately named Arseface—and that’s just the first 30 minutes of the very first episode. But it also manages the very difficult feat of being simultaneously the most outrageously fun and the most theologically serious show on television, and the pleasures of contemplating the machinations of free will while gawking at a character holding up a gooey bit of flesh, say, and wondering whether it’s a slice of shawarma or a severed ear are too great to resist…. Custer is too busy to do much reading, but if he did he might’ve dug Abraham Joshua Heschel. Describing a world Custer would immediately recognize, Heschel lamented the fact that, too often these days, “faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion—its message becomes meaningless.”

The preacher is here to fix all that, and his approach is one Heschel would’ve applauded, give or take a few broken bones. Realizing early on that sermons and strictures make for a very poor engine with which to move hearts and minds, Custer, like Heschel, learns the power of radical amazement, the art of waking up in the morning and taking nothing for granted.

Cinemax’s “Outcast” stars Patrick Fugit (“Almost Famous”) and also has a supernatural theme, with demon possession and a clergyman character called Reverend Anderson (Philip Glenister), who says, “Church is not optional. This is the only thing that will fortify us, sustain us, inoculate us against the darkness.” The series is from the creator of the popular zombie series, “The Walking Dead.”

Hulu has a new series about a cult called “The Path,” starring Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”). His character has been a committed member of a religious group with his wife, but he suffers a crisis of faith that he knows means he risks losing everyone he cares about. Hugh Dancy plays the group’s charismatic leader.

And coming this fall, we have a comic take on heaven with Kristen Bell as a woman sent there by mistake. It’s called “The Good Place” and it’s coming to NBC. It may be a sitcom, but like the other shows in this list, it engages with some spiritual and theological topics in a compelling way.

Related Tags:

Television VOD and Streaming

Miss You Already

Posted on November 5, 2015 at 5:22 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
Profanity:	Very strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drug references
Violence/ Scariness:	Serious illness, sad death, some graphic and disturbing images
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	November 6, 2015

Friendship has the best aspects of romantic love and the best of family love, and the worst of both as well. Your friends as are close to you as anyone in the world, which means you can rely on them and they can rely on you, whether it’s telling you if your butt looks too fat in those jeans or you need someone to come pick you up because a date has gone horribly wrong. And it means that they can hurt you terribly, because they mean so much to you and because you trust them and because they know you so well.

And yet, while there are hundreds of thousands of movies about love and family, there are not very many great movies about friendship. “Miss You Already,” from director Catherine Hardwicke, is a worthy attempt, the story of two women who were friends since childhood, and whose friendship is nearly destroyed by the complications of grown-up life. Though it appears only once in the film, the title refers to a catchphrase the two women use to say goodbye, making fun of themselves for being so deeply in one another’s lives, but really meaning it, too.

Drew Barrymore plays Jess, an American living in England and the more serious and responsible of the pair. Toni Collette is Milly, the wild party girl who improbably is living happily ever after with Kit (Dominic Cooper), the roadie who got her pregnant and then married her, started a successful business, and turned out to be a wonderful husband and father. They have darling children, a beautiful home, and satisfying careers and they are still mad for each other. Jess is happily married to Jago (Paddy Considine), though they do not have any money and are struggling with fertility problems. But they live on an adorable houseboat. It is one of the movie’s wisest choices that the husbands are not complaining (most of the time) or complained about. They are full partners to their wives and full partners in supporting the friendship.

Milly has always lived lightly, skimming along the top of life, still a party girl at heart. She loves her husband, children, and Jess, but she is admittedly superficial and vain. And then she gets a cancer diagnosis. Jess is happy to live up to the assigned tasks of “bringing treats and not being annoying” to help Milly through chemotherapy. And wig shopping (with the wonderful Frances de la Tour). And changing dressings. But she believes that Milly’s illness is so all-consuming that she cannot share what is going on in her life. And then Milly does something that creates the first serious breach in their relationship.

Yes, we’re in “Beaches” territory, so get out your handkerchiefs. Drew and Collette make a touching screen team, and Jacqueline Bisset, almost unrecognizable with platinum blonde hair, is a welcome antidote to over-sentimentality as Milly’s self-absorbed mother, a moderately successful actress. Hardwicke, who began her career as a production designer, has a superb eye and a great gift for using the settings to tell the story. If she cannot avoid the usual touchstones of women’s friendship movies (singing along to a favorite pop song), at least she changes it up a little — REM in a taxi instead of the usual Motown into a hairbrush. “Miss You Already” will make you want to call a friend you miss, and then bring her along to see it again.

Parents should know that this film includes very strong language, sexual references and situations, serious illness with some graphic images, a very sad death, a childbirth scene, alcohol and drug references.

Family discussion: What makes a great friendship? Ask family members about their most important friendships, how they met and their favorite moments.

If you like this, try: “50/50” and “Beaches”

Need for Speed

Posted on March 13, 2014 at 6:00 pm

Important tip: If the word “speed” is in the title of the movie, don’t make it over two hours long. And especially, don’t make it feel even longer than that.

Clearly going for the “Fast and Furious” vibe with a side order of “Smokey and the Bandit,” “Need for Speed” tries to capitalize on the buzz around newly graduated “Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul. But it has no idea of how to use him. Paul is a talented actor and an appealing performer but he is not up to the particular demands of a dumb chases and explosions movie. This is probably to his credit. Unfortunately, it is not to the movie’s. The cars are fast and pretty and the stunts are impressive. But when it comes to the script, it just spins its wheels.

Paul plays Tobey Marshall, a decent guy in financial trouble following the death of his father. He needs money to keep the family garage going, and the only way he can make it is by street racing. He and his wisecracking but devoted Benetton ad of a pit crew/posse/A Team are, of course, the best of the best, all wisecracking and womb to tomb and such. But Tobey tangles with arrogant professional race car driver Dino (a glowering Dominic Cooper), not just a racing rival but a romantic one as well. Dino is after Tobey’s former girlfriend, Anita (future “50 Shades of Gray” spankee Dakota Johnson), as much to spite Tobey, apparently, as for any feelings of affection or regard for Anita herself. Why she is with him, we never understand.

But then, there is not much in this movie that makes sense. It’s all about the races and chases and the very fancy cars that are 3/4 rocket and worth zillions of dollars. That would be fine, but first-time writer George Gatins keeps trying to put a story around the chases to make us more invested in the outcome and the details are just so dumb and inconsistent that it has the opposite effect. The script does to this movie what a blown tire does to a race car rounding the corner, and it ain’t pretty.

After a fatal accident, Dino frames Tobey, who goes to prison for manslaughter for two years. When he comes out, he really really really wants to beat Dino for the same reasons as before but more so. To recap: he is arrogant and mean, he was responsible for the accident and made Tobey take the rap, and that Anita thing is still going on, plus Tobey still needs money to buy the old garage out of foreclosure. It turns out there is — say it with me now — one really big race coming up. This is the ultra-secret, invitation-only race organized by eccentric rich guy and former racer Monarch (Michael Keaton, literally phoning it in). In order to get the car to the race, Tobey will have to drive it across the country in just 45 hours. And in order to get the car he needs, he will need to bring along snooty British car expert Frog, I mean Julia (Imogen Poots). He’ll need to get the band back together (actors who deserve better: hip-hop artist Scott Mescudi, better known as Kid Cudi, along with Rami Malek and Ramon Rodriguez). Mescudi plays a literal wing-man, stealing aircraft of one kind and another to let Tobey know where the cops are, and, since they are doing all of this on major streets and highways, where the traffic may present a problem.

It’s all hijinks and high spirits, but the romantic pairing never clicks and the banter is lifeless. As the crashes mount up, it becomes increasingly hard to overlook the carnage and carelessness of the characters we are supposed to be rooting for. There is still too much substance inherent in even the slightest of narratives that makes the crashing of a cop car more disturbing on screen than it might be in a game. The stunts are capably staged but some are taken from better movies — there are even references to “Bullitt” and “Speed” which just point up this one’s inferiority. The filmmakers have emphasized that the stunts here are real, not CGI, and the 3D effects are excellent. But the only speed you are likely to need is the fast switch to a better film.

Parents should know that this film includes a lot of reckless and illegal behavior and extended mayhem including many car crashes and explosions, characters injured and killed, some graphic and disturbing images, strong and crude language, and male rear nudity.

Family discussion: What made Tobey and his team so loyal to one another? What changed his mind about Julia? Which car was the coolest?

If you like this, try: the “Fast and Furious” series

Tamara Drewe

Posted on February 8, 2011 at 8:00 am

You might think that in a movie called “Tamara Drewe,” the character named Tamara Drewe would be the protagonist. She isn’t. You might then think she could be the primary antagonist creating the chaos that has to be straightened out by the protagonist. Not really. And you might think that a movie based on a graphic novel would have some sci-fi or fantasy or at least be set in a big, modern city. Not even close. This film, based on the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds has a few surprises in store.

Tamara Drewe (Gemma Arterton) does create something of an uproar in the almost-too picturesque English village she returns to after the death of her mother. Her ostensible purpose is to fix up her home so it can be sold. Her real purpose, one with which we all can identify, is to show the folks she left behind that contrary to their impression of her as an awkward teenager dubbed “Beaky” because of her big nose, she is now a very glamorous and successful young writer with a smaller nose who looks very, very good in a pair of jean shorts that are very, very small.

There are two people in particular she would like to get this message. First is the middle-aged married man who hurt her feelings, a very successful writer of mystery novels named Nicholas (the oleaginous Roger Allam). Second is the young man who broke her heart, a handyman named Andy (Luke Evans), who works at the writer’s residence owned by Nicholas and his wife Beth (the superb Tamsin Greig). While Nicholas turns out eight pages a day and basks in the adoration — and sometimes more — of fans, Beth caters to an assortment of would-be writers with home-made cookies, gentle encouragement, and a few shrewd suggestions about plotting and tone. Meanwhile, a pair of teenage girls (the terrific (Charlotte Christie and Jessica Barden) with a crush on a rock star (Dominic Cooper) create all kinds of mischief for everyone, especially after Tamera’s interview with him turns into a romance.

The fun of the film is the way it upends expectations. In a setting that superficially appears to have changed very little since the time of its Thomas Hardy inspiration (especially Far from the Madding Crowd), there are splashes of modernity from lesbian porn to a nose job and a rock band called Swipe. Hardy’s lost letter mix-up is recalled when one of the teenagers sends emails from Tamara’s account. On the surface, too, with its title cards showing the four seasons and Masterpiece Theatre understated rhythms and elegant accents, it seems at first to be a conventionally structured story. But it has a beguilingly episodic nature, based on the book’s multiple narrators and on its origins as a weekly comic, with its leisurely and open-ended story-line, where even the author has not decided on an end point. Some viewers may find that unsettling, but it has some sharply observed moments for those who are willing to meander.

Parents should know that this film has very explicit sexual references and situations, nudity, drinking, drugs, fatal accident with some graphic images, extremely strong language, and bad behavior by teens including smoking and sexual conversation.

Family discussion: How did Tamara’s teenage experiences
influence her adult decisions?
What do you think will happen to the girls?

If you like this, try: the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds