prgill A friend recently called this movie to my attention. Supposedly (and plausibly, judging from the land and street scapes) filmed in Jackson, this film brought back many memories, a few of which I shared with a writer friend from Atlanta who lives and works here in Aix.The film takes me back to my fifteenth year ('67) when I first spent time with my Aunt and Uncle in Jackson, Mississippi. In the twenty-five years that followed, to when our oldest daughter was herself 15 ('92), we must have made the drive from New Orleans two dozen times, for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas one year, cousin weddings, notable birthdays and personal visits. My favorite activity when in Jackson was to attend First Presbyterian Church where my Aunt and Uncle seemed to hold a unique place, or walking down around Milsaps College, past Eudora Welty's home, a place my Aunt said she had visited on different occasions, I guess for tea or other women's socials. The movie reminds me of the deep greens of a nature abundantly watered, of the beautiful and mysterious black people everywhere present but with whom contact was not encouraged except in the workplace, the 1950s and 60s architecture and home furnishings that were never really a part of my background.This movie is the first I ever saw of American apartheid. (Pre-1970 visits were as a dependant child of a favorite younger brother. Subsequent visits were as a fully emancipated young adult, cousin and family man.) This movie was and remains a powerful testament to personal courage.What is missing from the film is a sense of the motivation for these behaviors. "Fear" shows itself just enough to not let you forget this was an important factor. One understands entitlement and the psychology of "otherness", but this film overstates the obvious in order to tell its story. It would not transpose easily or well to New Orleans and I suspect to Atlanta or other large southern cities where the unspoken presumption of a "shared feeling" about the other was very subtle but none-the-less important in determining social behaviors.

rageistruth Everything about this show is bad. The "comedy..." The acting... The scripts... EVERYTHING. I decided to give it a try after hearing it touted as "the next Married with Children." Well, it's not. In reality, it's the next substandard sitcom regurgitated from the WB with the hopes of snagging an audience through repetitive jokes and T&A. None of the characters are likable; each seems more like a tired cliche. The worst character is easily Tori Spelling's dog-walker. The little "rants" she goes on might have been slightly funny the first time she did one, but it happens in EVERY FRIGGIN' EPISODE! Who CARES!? If ever a show deserved to be cancelled, it's this one.

Scree The WB does it again! Or should I say, network television does it again. Here we have yet another so-so sitcom laid on us, not overly funny, yet not really a stinker. The story so far is actually a bit interesting, but the problem always seems to be the level of comedy. Maybe it's the overall lame dialog, generally overacted performances, or the annoying studio audience laughing (better than a laugh track, of course, but this one seems to be trying to emulate old Married With Children's). As only the pilot episode has aired as I write this, hopefully there will be a potential realized with the stellar eye-candy cast (Camille Guaty, Megan Fox, Marika Dominczyk, Keri Lynn Pratt, and yes even Brenda Strong), which is what saves this sitcom from a quick death (well, I would hope so, anyway). Plus Tori Spelling guest starring in anything is worth watching, IMHO! So, best of luck to this show. [Show: C - Cast: B+]

quitefrankIy Ok, the pilot episode was mildly funny, which is rare for a pilot. However, my primary concern about "The Help" is the abundance of characters. A cast of 11 will undoubtedly prevent a shortage of material and plot twists, but it will also spell disaster for any kind of familiarity. How does anyone plan on keeping track of all these characters? I have a hard enough time keeping track of 7 strangers on the real world. Besides that, I find it hard to relate to any of these outlandish characters who are seemingly the embodiment of every negative social stereotype imaginable. Even worse, the cast is brimming with has beens and relatively new thespians. The Help will likely be remembered as one of the greatest catastrophes the sitcom world has ever seen. I expect it to be shelfed once the first season is over. Maybe the WB should invest in bringing back the Fox classic "Titus."