"Drop Dead Diva" is Drop Dead Delightful

When I first heard about Lifetime's new show, "Drop Dead Diva," I avoided it because thought it was another lame reality show.

Well, I was wrong.  It's not a reality show, it's a comedy/drama and after having seen the pilot, I'm happy to tell you it's a pretty good one.

Before watching the pilot I also hadn't read anything about it so imagine my surprise when I see that the two main characters ending up dying within the first fifteen minutes of the show.

One is Jane Bingum (Brooke Elliott) a studious lawyer who's overweight and seems to have nothing much else in her life but her job.  The other is Deb Dobson (Brooke D'Orsay), a shallow, self-centered bimbette whose dreams of auditioning as a prize presenter on "The Price Is Right" are about to be realized.

But fate changes both their lives.  On the way to her audition, Deb cracks up her car, while Jane takes a bullet for her cheating boss.

Deb ends up at the very high tech Pearly Gates and in frustration pushes an off limits celestial computer button that sends her back to earth in Jane's flatlining body.

Needless to say, Deb is appalled by this turn of events, but her guardian angel Fred (Ben Feldman) promptly informs her that the switch is permanent and she'll just have to deal.

The rest of the pilot has the newly embodied Jane, complete with Deb's memories, learning  first to embrace and then use her newly acquired legal smarts.  She gets help from her assistant Teri Lee (Margaret Cho).

Oh and to top of the plot complications, Deb's grieving boyfriend Grayson Kent (Jackson Hurst) gets a job at Jane's law firm.

The show uses a light touch and Brooke Elliott does a wonderful job of showing us the struggle of Deb living as the new Jane while still being likable.  Think a dumb Elle Woods in Kathy Bates' body.   Margaret Cho is her usual dry, amusing self and the rest of the cast are very solid.

The stuff that was supposed to be funny, was funny and the stuff that was supposed to be touching, was touching.  All in all a very promising start to a fun concept.

"Drop Dead Diva" premieres tonight on Lifetime at 9PM ET/PT.

Depp and Dillinger: A Review of "Public Enemies"

Watching "Public Enemies" is a lot like watching a Tommy Gun fight.  It's loud, it's confusing and everything comes at you in short, violent bursts.

The exquisitely eccentric Johnny Depp plays John Dillinger, the Depression era gangster whose criminal specialties were bank jobs and jail escapes.  The film co-stars Oscar winner Marion Cotillard as Dillinger's gal Billie Frechette and Christian Bale as Dillinger's G-man nemesis, Melvin Purvis.

The film is based on the book by Bryan Burrough, "Public Enemies, America's Greatest Crime Wave and The Birth of The FBI."  Unfortunately, there had to be more interesting stuff in the book that could have been used in the movie, 'cause considering the movie's 2 1/2 hours long, there wasn't nearly enough to keep my interest.

Yes, Johnny is quite good as Dillinger.  A lesser actor would have had me ripping my hair out from boredom, but Johnny made you marvel at Dillinger's chutzpah while sympathizing with his need for fame.

Cotillard as Billie does what she can with what she's given.  Billie and Dillinger's relationship is the most interesting one in the movie, but unfortunately it's not supposed to be a romance, it's supposed to be a biopic gangster film.  On that level it fails. 

Christian Bale as Purvis almost makes you forget how great an actor he can be with roles like Bruce Wayne in "Dark Knight" 'cause he mumbles his way through this one.  If Purvis were really as dull as Bale's portrayal, it's a good thing he let his gun do his talking. 

All the other assorted gangsters and G-men are pretty much interchangeable.  We don't learn much about any of them so we also don't care when they get rat-ta-tat-tatted to Kingdom Come.

And let's talk about those gun fights.  They look like they were done on the cheap.  They have the almost soap opera-like appearance of being shot on video, and just like in a soap opera when they add CGI flames or explosions, the gunfire doesn't look authentic.  Those scenes were also very dark, so even if you did care about who was getting shot, you couldn't see who was getting shot.

I kept comparing it to "The Untouchables," a more stylized and romanticized film, but also a much more entertaining one.

So is "Public Enemies" worth the $10 movie ticket?  Only for die-hard Johnny Depp fans--you know, if you still have "21 Jump Street" posters on your wall.  Anyone else should wait until you can see it for free, if you see it at all.

Michael Jackson Memorial: The Words Of A Daughter

"Ever since I was born, Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine.  And I just wanted to say I love him...so much."  Those were the tearful words of Michael Jackson's 11 year old daughter, Paris at her father's memorial service today.

When I first saw Paris Jackson about to take the microphone at the very end of the two hour service, my head said, "No, no, don't put that little girl up there!"

But ultimately I was wrong.  Ultimately it was the right thing to do to let her speak.  She was surrounded by her family and this little girl, whose face we've seen for the first time only since Michael's death, wanted to tell the world what her father meant to her.  In those two tearful sentences, she turned Michael "the freak" into Michael "the human being."

He wasn't just a celebrity, he was someone's brother, son, uncle and most importantly to Paris Jackson and her siblings, someone's father.

It was a daughter's grief for a father who was gone too soon, as Usher had sung earlier in the ceremony. 

His gold plated coffin was carried into the Los Angeles Staples Center to the voices of a gospel choir singing "We are going to see the King."  His brothers who performed with him for all those years on stage as part of the Jackson 5 were pallbearers.

They wore matching yellow ties, red roses in their lapels and then later in the ceremony, single, matching sequined gloves.

For all the anticipation of a spectacle and a circus-like atmosphere since his death nearly two weeks ago, this memorial service was really quite dignified, well orchestrated and the right balance of public spectacle and private grief.   It's what his family wanted and his fans needed.

BET Apologizes About Lil' Wayne Performance: Who Cares?

This update yesterday from BET about the BET Music Awards last week via BlackTwitterati on Twitter:  today Drake and BET apologized for the number with Lil' Wayne that included young girls dancing onstage to explicit lyrics as a so-called tribute to Michael Jackson.

Here's part of the statemen from the BET website:

"BET Networks deeply regrets the performance by Young Money at the BET Awards '09 (featuring Lil Wayne, Drake, Gudda Gudda and Mack Maine). Elements of the performance were unplanned and should not have happened," the network said in a statement. "We value and appreciate the feedback from our viewers and have edited Young Money's performance for all BET Awards '09 encore presentations." 

My response:  Yeah, whatever.  Too little, too late.  Who let that crap get on stage in the first place? 

If BET had announced someone was fired over it, I'd be more interested.

Wimbledon 2009: Serena Williams & Roger Federer at the Champions Dinner

There's nothing like the smile of a champion...unless it's the smiles of two champions!



Roger Federer and Serena Williams show off their Wimbledon trophies at last night's Champion's Dinner at the Hotel Intercontinental in London.

 

After you check out Serena's very glam dress, you can hear some of Serena's post match interview on the official Wimbledon website.

New hubby Roger is also about to become a Dad.  Wife Mirka will give birth before the US Open--timing is everything.

Excuse me now while I go into my official Wimbledon Withdrawal. 

Wimbledon 2009: Roger The Great!

What can I say?  Roger Federer is the greatest tennis player ever and once again he proved that today by beating American Andy Roddick, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 16-14. in the longest match, in games, in Grand Slam history.  The final score in the fifth set was an unprecedented 16-14.

In addition, this sixth Wimbledon win gave Federer a total of fifteen Grand Slam titles, more than any man in history.

But man, spare a thought for poor Andy Roddick.  He was broken only once in the entire match and that was for Federer to take the fifth set and the championship.  As in the match against Andy Murray, Roddick played the best I've ever seen him and it really appeared in that fifth set that Roger would be the one to get broken to set up a game where Roddick could serve for the match.

Wimbledon 2009: Serena Williams Crowned Queen of Wimby

Serena Williams has always had a fabulous smile and today that smile flashed again as the smile of a Wimbledon champion.  She beat big sister Venus in the finals 7-6, 6, 2.

Spare a thought for Venus.  After the first set tiebreak, Venus couldn't quite get back in it.  Her serve let her down and Serena was relentless.

After a marathon semi-final against Elena Dementieva that almost saw Serena packing her bags for home, it was great to see Serena recover to take the crown once again.  Especially since the All England Club thinks of her and Venus as so "unattractive."

Congratulations Serena!

Wimbledon 2009: Roddick Trounces Murray, A Country Weeps

American Andy Roddick blasted Andy Murray off the court at Wimbledon in the men's semi-finals to set up a third shot at Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final Sunday.

Roddick played the best I've ever seen him play and will hopefully give Roger a look at his own tennis mortality.

Don't get me wrong, I like Roger a lot, but Andy's put in the work to get himself to this position, and I wouldn't be upset at all if he won.

Congratulations Andy and Good Luck!

Wimbledon 2009: The Williams Sister Act In The Finals

The heart of a champion:  Serena Williams.

 

Elena Dementieva at her best.

 

Serena prevails at last!

Memo to Dinara Safina: that chick you sent to play for you at Wimbledon today was crappy. Fire her.





Venus Williams crushes Dinara Safina to set up a date with little Sis.

Wimbledon 2009: Only "Babes" Allowed On Centre Court, Plus Williams/Williams On A Roll

During a Wimbledon where the biggest story on the women's side is the Williams sisters making mincemeat of anyone in their path and the smallest story is the women players' grunting, a new story has emerged.

Something most tennis fans have assumed for years was finally confirmed by a rep of the All England Club:  if you're what's considered a "babe" by the Wimby powers that be, you're more likely to get your match on centre court.  Whereas if you're built more like a jock, are not Vanity Fair-ready, or you're black, you end up on courts 1 or 2.

As Jon Wertheim said in his weekly question and answer column for CNNSI:

Far as I'm concerned, here's the shocker of the day: both Wimbledon and BBC officials confirming looks matter when making scheduling decisions. Wow. Eagerly awaiting WTA outrage.

Yeah, who knows, we may have to wait awhile for that outrage to materialize.  The Daily Mail of London has a pictorial of who got what courts this fortnight, based on looks.

Kate Norcera of the New York Daily News put it this way:

Wimbledon promoters called it "The Battle of the Babes" when Victoria Azarenka, seeded 8th in the tournament, took on Cristea, seeded 28th, at Centre Court on Friday. The same day, second seed Serena Williams, undoubtedly one of the great players the sport has ever seen, was relegated to play her match on the No. 2 court.

Many of the seats on Centre Court for the "Babe" match remained empty. Die-hard tennis fans who came to the event seemed to know better - which indicated the move had more to do with television ratings.

Sunday night, the All England Club admitted that good looks were a factor when considering the play schedule. Spokesman Johnny Perkins told the Daily Mail that "good looks are a factor."

"It's not a coincidence that those (on Centre Court) are attractive," he said.

This is wrong it so many ways, where do I start?  First of all, that definition of attractiveness is the white, male All England Club's definition.  Venus and Serena Williams are some of the most gorgeous ladies out on the court.  But see, this is about being blonde and leggy.  If you're not blonde and leggy, you're not attractive.  Never have been, never will be.

It's about being the reincarnation of the "never won a tournament on tour" Anna Kournikova or "for the longest time all I had was one Wimbledon title," Maria Sharapova.  Of course, Sharapova has a whole lot more talent than Kournikova and she's won two more Grand Slams since that lone Wimby.  But for awhile there, you would have thought Sharapova invented the game of tennis the way the tennis Gods promoted her.

Wimby's big problem this year, besides an expensive new rain roof and no rain, their usual go to glamour girl, Sharapova flamed out in the early rounds.

So who are they left with?  Two of the greatest women tennis players ever.  The very attractive, Serena and Venus Williams.

Go Williams!

2009 BET Awards: Michael Jackson Tribute or Travesty

BET gave out their annual music awards Sunday night.  I'm going to be straight up right now and say I didn't watch it.  That's right, I'm the BlogHer TV Contributing Editor and I didn't watch that TV show. In fact the only way my cable box ever lands on the dreaded BET channel is if my finger slips on the remote.  Then I make sure to get the heck out of there before my eyeballs fry and my blood boils. 

If you're not sure why, read up on why "BET Dishonors This Black Woman" and just insert my name.  Or read my open letter to Al Sharpton awhile back about the image of black women and the music industry.

So this morning when I started hearing all the rumblings about last night's over three hour awards show and the Michael Jackson tribute, I began reading recaps, commentary and checking out videos on YouTube before they got pulled by Viacom (which owns BET).

The unanimous high point of the show was the appearance of Janet Jackson at the end of the show tearfully speaking about her brother. Other than that, the show sounds like it left a lot to be desired.  I'll let some bloggers who did see the show, tell you what they thought.

Blogging While Brown 2009: An Interview with Gina McCauley of What About Our Daughters

Have you heard of Gina McCauley?  If you haven't, listen up--this is a woman who's on the cutting edge of the internet and social media and you need to get to know her right now.  If you do know who she is, read the following interview anyway, because I defy you not to be inspired by her story, her passion and her good old fashioned smarts.  Just the kind of black woman the MSM almost never talks about.

Gina's the outspoken publisher of the blogs What About Our Daughters and Michelle Obama Watch, and she's also the organizer of the blogging conference for people of color, Blogging While Brown.  After attending last weekend's successful 2nd annual conference, I had some questions for Gina and she was kind enough to make time to answer them for me.

What did you hope to achieve with this year's conference and do you feel you accomplished what you set out to do?

My goal was to bring people together so that they could meet other people, learn something new and have a good time. My hope before the conference that people would develop relationships with others they could partner with and collaborate. I think we definitely accomplished that. I was afraid that we couldn't replicated the amazing "vibe" from last year, and we didn't. The "vibe" this year was even better than the vibe int he room from last year. People genuinely liked each other, were excited for each other, encouraged each other and enjoyed each other's company to the point that they would leave :)

On the way out the door, three women who live in Chicago who didn't know each other before they came to the conference and attended the bootcamp and conference said they were going to collaborate together and start a group blog. That's so important because blogging can be a very solitary experience. Blogging While Brown makes blogging a family experience. You know you're part of this loud lovely group that loves to get together and chat.

How was this year's conference different than last year's?

First, we added the beginning blogger bootcamp and I think its fair to say that was an overwhelming success. We got raves about that, and we'll be expanding our "nuts & bolts" training next year. We had a really small class that met before the conference began. They got each other. I think it was less intimidating when the entire conference convened because they already had their bootcamp friends. My goal was to take civilians and turn them into lean mean blogging and podcasting machines and we did that.

We clearly had more people this year. We eliminated Sunday morning events, which I think is wise :) We had all conference events in the same location. I actually did very little organizing this year because I delegated logistics to our conference coordinator, Shalon and programming to Shawn P Williams from the Dallas South Blog and literally the conference was able to take without me. I arrived to both the kick reception and the Saturday workshops after they had started and they in full swing without me. So that means from a delegation standpoint, it was successful because I had a good team who made sure the conference could take place without me... AND we had power outlets EVERY WHERE this year! That was something we learned from last year when we blew the convention center power grid during the conference.

Michael Jackson Dead At Age 50 - RIP Michael

Singer Michael Jackson died at the age of 50 this afternoon at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles.  He was rushed there this afternoon in full cardiac arrest.  On a day when actress Farrah Fawcett also died, it was nearly unbelievable when news reports and tweets on Twitter first proclaimed late this afternoon that the superstar might be dead.

Jermaine Jackson at around 9PM EST tearfully read the following statement outside the UCLA Medical Center:

My brother, the legendary King of Pop Michael Jackson passed away on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 2:26 PM.  It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home.  However the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known.  His personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitate my brother.  And, uh, as did the paramedics who transported him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. 

Upon arriving at the hospital at approximately 1:14 PM a team of doctors including emergency physicians and cardiologists attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour.  And they were unsuccessful.

Our family requests that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time.  And, uh may Allah be with you Michael always.  Love you.

Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana on August 29, 1958 to Joe and Katherine Jackson.  By the time he was six years old, he was singing with his five brothers and on the brink of discovery by Motown Record executives.  There's an old black and white audition video of a very young Michael imitating James Brown, fancy dance moves and all. (I'm working on getting a link for that, bear with me.)

Courtesy of Verite Parlant of the blog Whose Shoes Are These Anyway, you can see that video at the end of this post.

A Review Of The New Film "Cheri"

Michelle Pfeiffer's new film, "Cheri" is about an aging courtesan and her affair with the son of one of her former colleagues. Set during the height of the Belle Epoque in Paris the film is a visual delight. 

Poor Lea de Lonval's (Pfeiffer) customers have left her bed for the more youthful courtesans about town.  That leaves Lea with plenty of money but little meaningful companionship.

That is until her friend, Charlotte Peloux, a very funny Kathy Bates, hooks her up with her gadabout son Cheri (Rupert Friend).  He's nineteen and Lea's in her mid-forties.

The story is based on the novels "Cheri" and "The Last of Cheri" by Colette, and it's speculated that Colette's affair with her own stepson is what inspired the novels.

Of course since the film is a love story there are romantic complications, all played out under the watchful eyes of a disapproving society.

Pfeiffer is wonderful as usual and Friend is earnest and looks pretty--which is all he's really required to do.  The sets and costumes are impeccable, and the music and lighthearted narration are spot on.  The filmmakers have also smartly kept the running time of the film to a manageable ninety minutes. 

Does it pass my "Is it worth $10" test?  If you like period pieces, absolutely.  

"Cheri" opens tomorrow in limited release.

Blogging While Brown 2009: Making Money, Making Friends and Making Movies

I learned quite a bit from last weekend's Blogging While Brown conference.

One very productive, not to mention entertaining panel was on branding by Hajj E. Flemings, author of "The Brand YU."  During his presentation, Hajj circulated through the audience Oprah-style and fired questions about slides of a variety of products.

When a photo of a Tiffany box appeared, Hajj asked the attendees the first thing that came to their minds.

 

"Love!" Shouted one woman.

"Expensive love!" Shouted another.

 

After explaining that just the appearance of the Tiffany blue box, without any knowledge of what might be inside created an instant association, Hajj proclaimed, "Branding turned sneakers into Nikes."

 

When using social media he told attendees they should use the same avatar and screen name across mutliple platforms.  For example, his photo on his website, his book, his business card, and his social networking sites, all have him in the same suit, in the same pose and wearing the same expression. 

 

He then went on to emphasize the importance of connections, "Somebody else besides your mother needs to know you're doing great things."   And he added, "Don't be the smartest person in your group."  The implication being that you must find associates from whom you can learn.