Jackie Cavicchio, A & E Editor
behrcolls@aol.com
Bada-bing! America's
by David Bianculli
New York Daily News
Sixteen months between original epi
sodes of 11130's mob drama "The Sopra
nos" is a criminally long time to wait.
But the series, which returned Sunday
night at 9 EDT, is worth it.
The drama inhabits such a rich and fully
realized universe that I'd gladly wait for
the privilege of spending time with these
unpredictable and unforgettable characters.
The first four episodes of the fourth sea
son were provided for preview, and I en
joyed them all immensely. Fickle viewers
may feel a lot of scenes meander aimlessly
or have no point, but "Sopranos" loyalists
will look at the same scenes and be re
warded with subtle references to past inci
dents or richly textured moments spent
with favorite supporting characters.
In Sunday's season opener, for example,
"My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
by Daniel J. Stasiewski
staff writer
Upon entering this world everyone is
given the gift of a family
and a culture. Unfortu
nately, an inherited life
doesn't offer a return
policy. Short of a name
change and enrollment in
the witness protection pro
gram, you're forever
stapled to a particular fam
ily unit and its traditions.
With this reality comes
"My Big Fat Greek Wed
ding'", a romantic comedy
of grand proportions. This
hysterical sleeper hit takes
cheap shots at not just
Greek families, but family
life in general. While the
fluttery romance goes
right to the heart, it also
provides breathing room for the uncontrol
lable laughter that makes "My Big Fat
Greek Wedding", a big fat hit.
Thula (Nia Vardalos) is 30 and single,
which is hard enough without having a
huge Greek family anxiously awaiting the
emergence of Greek boyfriend, a Greek
wedding, and little Greek children. Her life
as a waitress in the family restaurant is
obviously going nowhere, so Toula ven
tures into black-sheep territory and enrolls
in college. If this search for independence
wasn't enough, Toula ends up finding lan.
"Barbershop"
by Steven Rea
Knight Ridder Newspapers
A movie about giving and getting
respect - and giving and getting a
good haircut - "Barbershop" is a
stage-y but likeable ensemble piece
set on Chicago's south side, in a
clip-and-shave storefront that's
long been the cornerstone of the
predominantly black neighbor
hood.
Directed by Tim Story (music
videos and two low-budget indies)
with much coming and going - and
quite a bit of Spike Lee's 1983
short, "Joe's Bed-Stuy Barbershop:
We Cut Heads," showing its
influence - the film boasts a cast
that's a lot better than the character
sketch screenplay deserves. Ice
Cube is solid as the second-genera
tion barber, Calvin Palmer, who
has inherited the shop and its
1 - not to mention its debts-
James Gandolfini's Tony hears a rustling
in the bushes by his pool. He looks up,
smiling in childlike anticipation, but is dis
appointed to see it's only a squirrel.
That's all that happens in that scene- but
it echoes the very first episode of "The
Sopranos," when Tony was shown feed
ing a family of ducks that had descended
on his back yard- and to a subsequent
analysis with Lorraine Bracco's Dr. Melfi
of the ducks' symbolism in Tony's dreams.
It's just a moment, and a little one at that.
Yet it resonates deeply for viewers able to
put it in context - and, on Sunday night,
many millions will.
Many of the little moments this season
turn out to have greater impact with each
new episode. A toss-away joke in one show
becomes a motive for violence in another;
a flirtatious hand on a leg, or an innocent
turn on the dance floor, leads to a lot more
as time goes by.
Fear not: I refuse to spoil any major, or
lan (John Corbertt) is handsome,
charming, and even works with kids as a
high school teacher. He would be
perfect...if he were Greek.
Toula tries to hide her romance from
the family, but their network of eyes can
see beyond the walls of the little Greek
diner. Once word of lan makes it to daddy,
Toula gets fed up with the Greek tradi
tions and prepares to leave her family for
the man she loves. lan, recognizing the
importance of her strong family bond,
won't let her just disappear. Instead, he
goes to every extreme in order to become
a member of her Greek family.
It may sound a tad bit cliché, but "My
Big Fat Greek Wedding" is laugh-out
loud funny. As a matter of fact, once I
started laughing, I had trouble stopping.
from his late dad. Calvin struggles
between his sense of responsibility
to keep the business afloat and his
dreams of bigger and better things,
like running
a recording
studio out of
his house
Working
the chairs at
Calvin's - or
sometimes
just sitting
in them
shooting the
breeze - are
Eddie
(Cedric the
Entertainer),
an old-timer with an opinion on
everything; Jimmy (Sean Patrick
Thomas, from "Save the Last
Dance"), a college kid with impe
rious airs; Ricky (Michael Ealy), a
twice-convicted felon trying to
on the straf A-and-narrow;
Friday, September 20, 2002
avorite television
even minor, surprises in this year's
"Sopranos" installments. The nov
elistic way these stories unfold, and
the superb way they're enacted by
this stupendous cast, demand the re
spect to allow viewers to savor each
treat for themselves.
I will say, though, that the second
episode contains two scenes that
made me gasp in shock- one involv
ing a police interrogation, and one
involving a Soprano family member
who dares confront Tony directly.
And it's not ruining anything to
note that the new season, after such
a long period between installments,
reflects not only the passage of time,
but the events of Sept. 11. The shot
of the World Trade Center has been
removed from the opening credits
(the Twin Towers used to be visible
during Tony's drive on the New Jer
sey Turnpike), and Bobby (Steven
The incessant hysterics are in part
due to the undeniable resemblance
this family has to all families.
Though writer (and star) Nia
Vardalos doesn't hesitate to lampoon
Greek tradi-
sofa cover
ings, mom and dad, aunts and uncles,
and each of the many cousins are the
most inviting part of this film. This
is a family you secretly want. Let's
face it; this rampant intimacy in some
way hits home for each and every au
dience member.
Now, there are some silly, down
right slapstick moments. Are they
funny? Without a doubt. The only
problem is the borderline-sitcom
humor makes a network television
pick-up for an actual half-hour
primetime sitcom inevitable. When
Isaac (Troy Garity), a
Marshall Mathers-like white
kid who walks the walk and
talks the talk, but never has a
customer, and Terri (hip
hopper Eve), a tough cookie
who puts up with all the guy
talk, but can't abide the fact
that somebody's always
stealing her apple juice.
For comic relief, there are
R. Schirripa) talks to Tony about the
terrorist attacks, trying to pass on an
urban legend but botching it hilari-
"Quasimodo predicted all this," he
tells Tony insistently.
David Chase, creator of "The So
pranos" and the writer of the season's
opener (directed by Allen Coulter),
made me laugh out loud _ and I never
thought I would ever find anything
humorous about 9/11.
The violence in "The Sopranos" is
as unexpected, and effective, as the
comedy. Things happen in these first
four shows that are brutal and remind
you of the despicably dark sides of
these otherwise likable rogues.
There's also an evil symmetry at
work in the tapestry that Chase and
company are weaving this season:
Tony is not only being challenged at
work and at home, but just as he tests
"My Big Fat Greek Family" (the
working title, I'm sure) premieres, the
film's farce comedy will be inflated
and the only thing separating the show
from the film will be the film's splen
did romance.
The success of "Greek Wedding"
lies in its winning trifecta of comedy,
culture, and romance. When Nia
Vardalos first puts her eyes on her
costar John Corbertt, it's easy to see
she has butterflies in her stomach, but
it's even more spectacular to feel them,
too. Their chemistry becomes more
apparent in the most magnificent and
fulfilling proposal scene ever to hit the
screen. The passion that particular
scene embodies is a testament to the
outstanding class and talent of the
leads, especially when the entire cast
is so fantastic.
If "Meet the Parents" was smarter
and more personal, it would have been
a lot like "My Big Fat Greek Wed
ding". That's probably why I like this
movie so much. Even with its well
trod subject matter ("Father of the
Bride", "Son-in-Law", etc.), "My Big
Fat Greek Wedding" doesn't dive in,
humor-first. The jokes, as obvious as
they may be, wouldn't come off half
as funny without a devoted family, an
affectionate couple, and one Big Fat
Greek Wedding.
Note:
tions, the jokes
provide a
cross-cultural
humor every
one can appre-
What makes
Toula's off
the-wall fam-
ily even more
hilarious is its
wacky
lov ability.
From the loud,
flamboyant
gatherings to
subtle quirks
like plastic
My Big Fat Greek Wedding will be
shown October 17 at 9:30 p.m. and
October 18 & 19 at 10:00 p.m. in Reed
117. It is currently playing at
Tinseltown.
***3 1/2 out of 4
Stars****
the numbskull exploits of JD
(Anthony Anderson) and Billy
(Lahmard Tate), a couple of
crooks who heist an ATM from
a corner grocery and then
spend the rest of the movie
lugging it around trying to
smash it open. Keith David, as
Lester, the natty local loan
shark (powder-blue is his hue,
from head to toe), has an oily
charisma and a key role as
Calvin's would-be financial
saviour - or expeditor of his
doom
The cameras in "Barbershop"
never miss an opportunity to
linger on the backsides of Eve
and the other actresses, and the
humor can likewise be booty
themed and blustery. But there
are smarter scenes- and even a
couple of quick-witted comic
jabs at two sacred cows of the
Civil Rights movement: Rosa
Parks and Martin Luther King.
The Behrend Beacon
am! y is
an underling by approving and ordering
a mob hit, he is tested by someone put
ting him in the same position.
Finally, so many of the performances
in this series are wonderful - among TV's
very best right now - that anyone win
ning a dramatic Emmy Award later this
month should consider himself fortunate
that the "Sopranos" cast was not eligible
because of the show's year-long hiatus.
They're all at the top of their game,
playing off one another like pro athletes:
Gandolfini as Tony, Edie Falco as
Carmela, Joe Pantoliano as Ralph, Aida
Turturro as Janice, Lorraine Bracco as Dr.
Melfi, Michael Imperioli as Christopher,
Tony Sirico as Paulie and Steven Van
Zandt as Silvio.
And that's just for starters. The list of
other terrific performances could go on
at twice the length - and singing the
praises of "The Sopranos," so could I.
CHECK IT OUT!
OCAL COMEDY TROUPE
`IN ALL
SERIOUSNESS'
will be performing
"WHOSE LINE AT THE
ROADHOUSE"
AT THE
Roadhouse
Theatre
145 W. 11TH
SHOW TIMES:
FRIDAY, SEPT. 20
SATURDAY,SEPT. 21
SHOWS STARTS AT
8 PM
GREAT PRICES
$lO singles
$l5 per couple
Although it deals with issues of
racial prejudice, class, sexism and
crime," Barbershop" manages to
keep things light and lively. That
may make things sitcom-ish at
times, but it's also part of the
picture's charm.
BARBERSHOP
Produced by Robert Teitel,
George Tillman, Jr. and Mark
Brown, directed by Tim Story,
written by Brown, Don D. Scott
and Marshall Todd, photography
by Tom Priestley, music by
Terence Blanchard, distributed by
MGM Pictures.
Running time: 1 hour, 40 mins.
Calvin Palmer/Ice Cube
Eddie/Cedric the Entertainer
Terri Jones/Eve
Jimmy James/Sean Patrick
Thomas
Ricky Nash/Michael Ealy
Parent's guide: PG-13 (profan
ity, sex, comic violence)
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