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On shadowkat's recommendation, I caught the rebroadcast of the All in the Family/ Jeffersons live theatrical presentation, and she was right--a fascinating experiment, more successful than I ever would have imagined.
Norman Lear's TV comedies have gained in reputation over the decades, but I don't remember them quite as fondly as others do. To me, the social commentary was often drowned out by sitcom schtick, whether it was Sherman Hemsley's strutting peacock walk or Isobel Sanford's popeyed double takes as Louise, Pat Harrington's smarmy patter on One Day at a Time or Jimmie Walker proclaiming himself Kid (pause for effect) Dy-no-mite!
But seeing the episodes with a new cast allows us to get a fresh look at the material. Woody Harrelson as Archie Bunker is something of a shock; he doesn't do Archie much differently than Carroll O'Connor, but his more robust physical presence gives the impression not of an older man whose views are on the way out, but a middle aged man whose myopic world views are settling in for the long haul. (I could see Harrelson's Archie with a MAGA hat.)
Marisa Tomei (Edith), Ike Barnholtz (Mike), Ellie Kemper (Gloria) and Will Ferrell (Tom) are all serviceable without adding their own spin to their 70s counterparts. Sean Hayes' Frank Lorenzo, OTOH, pulls him in an entirely different direction from Vincent Gardenia's and almost derails the entire episode. I liked Anthony Anderson's much younger Henry; it sets up a more convincing dynamic between Henry and George, almost a surrogate father/son. And Jamie Foxx almost, ALMOST lets you see the tenderness behind all that bluster.
But he doesn't. Not really. And this is what frustrates me about Jamie Foxx sometimes. Despite his prodigious talent for mimickry (seriously, have you heard his John Legend? It's stupendous!), Foxx can be just a bit too glib and too impressed with his own talent. He had Hemsley's walk, the head bobs and the voice down perfectly, and he gave the audience some extra head bobs just to show everybody how he was nailing this impression.
Yeah, but all that showing off doesn't bring anything new to the character.
No, the twosome who really brought this exercise to a new level were Wanda Sykes as Louise and Jackee as Louise's friend Diane. Sykes gives a much more restrained performance of the character here, much subtler and richer than Sanford's. The dynamic between the two women, how shifting social status puts barriers between old friends leaps out at you the way it never did with the original. It made the whole night better than a simple exercise in nostalgia.
So what's next? How about AitF/Maude, with Allison Janney as Maude?
Norman Lear's TV comedies have gained in reputation over the decades, but I don't remember them quite as fondly as others do. To me, the social commentary was often drowned out by sitcom schtick, whether it was Sherman Hemsley's strutting peacock walk or Isobel Sanford's popeyed double takes as Louise, Pat Harrington's smarmy patter on One Day at a Time or Jimmie Walker proclaiming himself Kid (pause for effect) Dy-no-mite!
But seeing the episodes with a new cast allows us to get a fresh look at the material. Woody Harrelson as Archie Bunker is something of a shock; he doesn't do Archie much differently than Carroll O'Connor, but his more robust physical presence gives the impression not of an older man whose views are on the way out, but a middle aged man whose myopic world views are settling in for the long haul. (I could see Harrelson's Archie with a MAGA hat.)
Marisa Tomei (Edith), Ike Barnholtz (Mike), Ellie Kemper (Gloria) and Will Ferrell (Tom) are all serviceable without adding their own spin to their 70s counterparts. Sean Hayes' Frank Lorenzo, OTOH, pulls him in an entirely different direction from Vincent Gardenia's and almost derails the entire episode. I liked Anthony Anderson's much younger Henry; it sets up a more convincing dynamic between Henry and George, almost a surrogate father/son. And Jamie Foxx almost, ALMOST lets you see the tenderness behind all that bluster.
But he doesn't. Not really. And this is what frustrates me about Jamie Foxx sometimes. Despite his prodigious talent for mimickry (seriously, have you heard his John Legend? It's stupendous!), Foxx can be just a bit too glib and too impressed with his own talent. He had Hemsley's walk, the head bobs and the voice down perfectly, and he gave the audience some extra head bobs just to show everybody how he was nailing this impression.
Yeah, but all that showing off doesn't bring anything new to the character.
No, the twosome who really brought this exercise to a new level were Wanda Sykes as Louise and Jackee as Louise's friend Diane. Sykes gives a much more restrained performance of the character here, much subtler and richer than Sanford's. The dynamic between the two women, how shifting social status puts barriers between old friends leaps out at you the way it never did with the original. It made the whole night better than a simple exercise in nostalgia.
So what's next? How about AitF/Maude, with Allison Janney as Maude?
