"Fish Don't Fry in the Kitchen / Beans Don't Burn on the Grill"

[cjlasky7]

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?

Comments

[shadowkat]

Interesting take. I told my mother about it as well -- she'd watched the originals way back in the 70s and remembers them pretty well. She and my father did not like Woody Harrelson at all and couldn't watch it as a result. They stopped. His performance was too jarring for them, too mannered from their perspective and not believable. She didn't like it or find it funny, and found the actress playing Gloria to be too pretty, and too classy.

I was thrown by her reaction -- because I actually found the All in the Family presentation to be funnier than the original. I don't remember laughing as hard at the original. Maybe because Harrelson's Archie was closer to the people I know at work, and Tomei's Edith reminded me of women I've met. Although few can come close to Jean Stapleton, she did in many ways.

I was too young to appreciate the original of course -- it went over my head.
Now, it seems very timely. I know these people. I've met them. I work along side them.

Will state that the All in the Family episode worked better for me than the Jeffersons, mainly because the actors playing the folks in All in the Family worked better for me. Jamie Fox doesn't quite pull off George Jefferson, like you state above, and I didn't buy Will Farrel (who is too prissy in the role) and Kerry Washington (too hoity-toity). But Wanda Sykes worked for me, as did the actress who played Diane.

[cjlasky7]

Fun trivia fact:

Roxie Roker, the original Helen Willis, had one of the first high profile real-life interracial marriages in Hollywood. She was married to TV executive Sy Kravitz for 23 years; she was the mother of (yes) musician Lenny Kravitz. Kerry Washington was ok (I think a little hoity toity is appropriate for Helen), but Roker lived the role.

Will Ferrell's Tom is another case where the actor's physical presence changes a scene. In the original, Franklin Cover towers over Sherman Hemsley, and you think Tom is going to pound George in the ground if he keeps pushing. Will Ferrell is not going to intimidate Jamie Foxx, so the scene almost has to play out differently.

[dlgood]

Will Ferrell is not going to intimidate Jamie Foxx

Which is more about the two actors, than their sizes. Will Ferrell is a big man, but he's just not intimidating. And Foxx, while very talented, just cannot pull off cravenness the way Helmsley can.

I agree with your criticism above. Foxx, talented as he is, is too aware of his talent and his coolness - and couldn't hide it or shade it away.

[dlgood]

So what's next? How about AitF/Maude, with Allison Janney as Maude?

I hadn't really thought about it, but yeah - Allison Janney would be perfect to play a Bea Arthur role.