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Mr. Iglesias (2019)
Room 222 with tacos
Some of us of a certain age remember Room 222, the implausibly integrated inner city high school with the wise (male) teacher, the dumb recent college grad in her first teaching position, the grizzled principal, and a bunch of cheery students of multiple races who never carved up desks, sprayed graffiti, or cussed out teachers. Not a lot has changed. We now have the wise male teacher who also cracks a joke once in a while; the dumb recent college grad in her first teaching position, a principal who may not be grizzled but isn't anywhere close to professional, and a bunch of cheery students of every race (yeah, right) who never carve up desks, spray graffiti, or cuss out teachers in either English or Spanish. One thing Room 222 didn't have: a petty bureaucrat who is openly adversarial to his students, pretty much making the case for abolishing teachers' unions. @Oscar Nuñez: If your character hates kids so much, why'd you get a job in a school?!The rest of the cast is a hash of stereotypes on both sides of the desk. I'm particularly disturbed at Sherri Shepherd's character: principals have to have at least a master's degree, and many have Ed.D degrees. I see nothing in Paula's personality that depicts any of that. She's just another horny single woman who likes her wine, setting the black women's movement back years!
Most of Fluffy's dialogue is a rehashing of his standup act. Other sitcoms featuring standup comedians have done the same thing (looking RIGHT atcha, Tim Allen)(you, too, Drew Carey!). It's a cheap way to get a laugh. I admit that's mainly why I'm watching: I thought all those guys were funny. So, I'm here for the giggles. I admit I'd also like to see where the story line with Fluffy dating a student's mom, like him a friend of Bill W., goes. That plot line has the potential to be sensitive and poignant....or, it could be one big stereotype. Wanna take bets on which way it goes?
AJ and the Queen (2020)
I won't be going back for seconds.
The literary definition of "farce" is "a type of comedy that makes use of highly exaggerated and funny situations aimed at entertaining the audience." This pretty much sums up what I saw of the pilot episode. There are just too many improbable but oh-so-convenient character and plot points that make this show too painful to watch. A blind guy GUARDING over a homeless, incredibly megalomanical orphan? Gee, what could go wrong there?! An overly trusting RuPaul handing over ALL his money (and credit) to a total stranger who turns out to be a rip-off artist? I don't know anyone, drag queen/king or not, who would do that. And that same RuPaul basically doing that orphan's bidding for no reason? Yeah, no, I don't believe it. It's as if the writers deliberately sought out the most destructive, painful events they could think of to put in the script. I'd rather watch something that could actually, y'know, happen.
The only reason to spend any time here is the outfits.
Sally4Ever (2018)
No amount of hot lesbian sex is going to save this one
Please don't tell me I don't understand British humor. That's not the issue. After five or six episodes, Emma's self-absorption almost to the point of mental retardation is painful to watch. Most of the other characters are off-the-charts abnormal also. Poor Sally, seemingly the only normal person in a sea of insanity. I assume Julia Davis is a phenomenal actress, because no one could possibly be that needy-greedy and narcissistic in real life.
I will give them this: the scene where David's mother loses her ability to talk after catching Emma and Sally scissoring is drop-dead funny.
Into the Homeland (1987)
Realistic, which makes it even scarier
TV Guide reported that the producer, Anna Hamilton Phelan, actually went undercover with a white supremacist community to do the background research for this film. She was impressed with how, well, normal these people were except for their agenda. One of my hobbies is following the antics of the white-power movement in the US and Canada, and I could find no flaw in her facts and representation of those involved in the movement. Powers Boothe, C. Thomas Howell, and Paul LeMat are completely believable in their roles. I found myself staying up until 4 am time and time again in 1987 to watch this one from beginning to end. In my opinion, Boothe (and Phelan) deserved a Cable ACE Award for this one. Twenty years later, the message is still relevant. A must-see for all thoughtful, tolerant Americans and others!