Big Little Lies MVPs: Episode 2.4 – “She Knows”

Previously: Episode 1 (Nathaniel) Episode 2 (Spencer) Episode 3 (Lynn)

Let's face it. This fucking lie has had quite a shelf life.

by Nathaniel R

I can't be the only person to have made this observation but occasionally Big Little Lies is rather like a high-end version of Desperate Housewives. There are the core group of women who maybe wouldn't be friends in real life but whose distinctive personalities make a juicy combustible mix as a cast (within the alloted tight geographically region: cul de sac in one case, beachfront in the other) Didn't Housewives also have a crime or murder mystery each season to mix in with the soap opera theatrics? At any rate, it's worth mentioning because the writing on Big Little Lies this season is... questionable. It's not a patch on the first season cumulatively, alas, but scene by scene it's still great evening entertainment in the old tradition of the "watercooler" show; it certainly gives us a lot to talk about!

In this episode, Mary Louise (Meryl Streep) makes her big move -- suing Celeste (Nicole Kidman) for custody of "her boys". That's the huge story beat that will undoubtedly take us through to the finale (episode 7) but it's more like a prologue this time around as the bulk of the episode deals with 1) Amabella's birthday party 2) Madeleine and Ed's flailing marriage, and 3) the bizarre 'are they really going there?' subplot of Bonnie's mom having a stroke while also possibly being psychic and predicting that Bonnie will drown. We suspect everyone in the writer's room of Big Little Lies wore matching Regina George"A Little Bit Dramatic" t-shirts while they wrote "She Knows"

Top Ten MVPs of Big Little Lies, Episode 2.4: “She Knows”

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Beauty vs Beast: I Ain't Sayin' He's a Gold Digger

Jason Adams of MNPP here with another round of "Beauty vs Beast" silliness, wherein we ask you to lay claim to your loyalties with regards to a pair of typically warring movie characters, naughty and nice or sometimes something a bit grayer -- this week we're wishing a happy 103 years young to the great Olivia de Havilland, turning our eyes to her Oscar-winning role in William Wyler's 1949 film The Heiress. Olivia plays "Catherine," a spinster-type who falls for "Morris"... who is played by Montgomery Clift so it's quite easy to know right off the bat why she falls for him. But is he only in it for the ruby buttons?

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PREVIOUSLY Pride Month is kaput and with it our fourth and final LGBT-related poll, which had you choosing between gay Meryls -- Clarissa from The Hours managed to both buy the flowers and storm the poll, taking 71% of your vote. Said Biggs:

"Clarissa partnered up with Allison Janney; Jill with Woody Allen. Clarissa wins."

"The Prom" gets a starry cast for its film version.

by Nathaniel R

Two girlfriends in the midwest just want to go to their prom in "The Prom"

The Prom, running through August 11th at Broadway's Longacre Theatre, has defied expectations more than once in its short life. That starts with the plot synopsis which reads like a lecturing social justice message play (Broadway stars fight against discrimination to get a young lesbian to her prom when her school balks at the idea) but is in reality a sweet often hilarious comedy which has more targets than just homophobes in its sights. The musical began previews last October on Broadway and while it wasn't expected to be a big hit (given the sad state of Broadway where branding is all important - it came with no bankable stars, no jukebox score, wasn't based on a movie) it managed to stay open for months, snag high profile Tony nominations, and secure both touring and movie adaptation deals. (It is also a total delight, as Dan told us in his review which we co-sign.)

As you've undoubtedly heard, Netflix snapped it up some time ago. Originally we thought it was going to be a straight to streaming situation, given what Netflix is planning for the new Boys in the Band (with the all-gay Broadway cast reprising their roles for the camera), but it turns out they have an Oscar run in mind. And with that a starrier cast and some degree of a theatrical release in 2020 (so we'll have at least two musicals in the mix that year given Spielberg's West Side Story remake).

But are The Prom's days of defying expectations over?

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Big Little Lies MVPs: Episode 2.3 – “The End of the World”

Previously: Episode 1 (Nathaniel) Episode 2 (Spencer)

by Lynn Lee

As someone who loved the first season of Big Little Lies, I have to admit I haven’t been enjoying the show’s sophomore outing as much, in large part because the tone has been so much more subdued, almost dirge-like.  It feels like the fire’s gone out of many of the key characters: Bonnie (Zoe Kravitz), of course, but even more so, Reese Witherspoon’s Madeline.  (Not Renata, bless her – yet even her manic aggressiveness seems driven by a desperation that wasn’t there before.)  This isn’t a choice I quarrel with, exactly: it feels like a necessary reckoning as the inexorable aftermath of a violent death, and the cast is beautifully illustrating the strain the “Monterey Five”’s silence is exercising on each of their lives and relationships. 

That said, the moments of humor – mostly courtesy of Laura Dern as Renata, of course – came as an especially welcome break, and figure heavily in this week’s MVPs...

Top Ten MVPs of Big Little Lies, Episode 2.3: “The End of the World”

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Beauty vs Beast: Say it With Streep

Jason Adams from MNPP here with our fourth and final LGBT themed "Beauty vs Beast" poll of this year's Gay Pride Month, and what happier -- dare I say gayer -- coincidence could we stumble into than a rainbow bright overlap with the 70th birthday celebration of our queen, all hail, Meryl Streep. Yes it was this past Saturday, but this is the sort of thing that should also get its own month, ya know? For our purposes we turn our eyes to Meryls two explicitly queer roles, that of the wife-turned-lesbian-turned-author Jill in Manhattan and that of the party-tossing Janney-kissing Clarissa in The Hours. 

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PREVIOUSLY Y'all killed Eve, but just barely, with last week's Killing Eve poll, giving it voer to Jodie Comer's turn as the villanous Villanelle with just 52% of the vote. Said Dancin' Dan:

"Look, I LOVE Sandra Oh and I LOVE her performance as Eve... but Jodie Comer's Villanelle just steals the show. I love the little smile she gets whenever she's about to go into assassin mode and kill somebody. She just enjoys what she does, and enjoys the lifestyle it has allowed her to live. She's an icon."