July 2022 Movies & More

Despite screen restrictions due to cataract surgery, I managed to squeeze in 15 Movies & More this month. All programs are rated on a scale of 1-5, with 5 the top rating. No 5s this month! New entries are marked with an * and the numbering picks up from the previous months.

93. The Suitcase Killer: The Melanie McGuire Story* (2022, Lifetime TV) – I remember this case – or, should I say, suitcase? – ripped from the Star-Ledger headlines. Fertility nurse Melanie McGuire (allegedly) murdered her husband and sent him off for a long trip by stashing his body in a set of suitcases she threw off a bridge. The lady meant business! I can’t justify it, either, but this overly-dramatic Lifetime version of the story paints the husband as a cheating spouse with a gambling problem, giving some justification (huh?) to Melanie’s actions. Besides, by then, she was having an affair with a doctor at the clinic. The whole thing is Lifetime at its best/worst, showcasing a tawdry story with inferior acting, writing, etc. You can pack up all your cares and woes more safely than this. 1 can.
94. Gone Baby Gone* (2007) – When 4-year-old Amanda goes missing, her irresponsible mother (Amy Ryan) seems less concerned about the child than her Aunt Bea (Amy Madigan) and her brother Lionel (Titus Welliver). They are not happy with the police investigation, so Bea decides to get some publicity and brings in private detectives Patrick (Casey Affleck) and his partner/girlfriend Angie (Michelle Monaghan) to work with the cops. The police on the case (Ed Harris, John Ashton and chief of the unit Morgan Freeman) seem cooperative, but Patrick and Angie have some inside connections that help them make more progress. Just when you think the case has reached an end, you find out that it is far from over. This drama gives us the Boston suburbs full of tough-talking characters who have their own agendas. There are twists and lies and an ethical dilemma that are unexpected and engrossing. Casey’s brother Ben co-wrote and directed the movie and gave little brother a gripping part. 4 cans.
95. 37 Words* (2022, ESPN) – This is a four-part documentary tracing the origins of the legislation known as Title IX and its influence on expanding and insuring the rights of women to be treated fairly by institutions receiving federal funds. The legislation covers all activities in which women participate, which includes sports (which is not actually listed). The forces behind the legislation and its implementation – including efforts by some to get around it to protect sports like college football – are clearly depicted. I have seen several programs on this subject since 2022 marks 50 years since its passage, but this one is by far the best. 4 cans.
96. Carrier (2008, PBS) – Since I’m trapped I the house recovering from cataract surgery and I have to avoid bright light, this seemed like a good time to rewatch this documentary series on PBS. I knew nothing about life on an aircraft carrier, but I do now. This thorough and engrossing program introduces the viewer to the people on the ship, their jobs, their lives and their aspirations. They include a 21-year old who finds out on the ship that his new girlfriend is having his baby; a tough-minded enlisted man who loves to salsa dance; plenty of pilots who love to fly and many more. I felt compassion and pride for many of them. This is a very appealing series that was worth watching a second time. 4 cans.
97. Watergate: High Crimes in the White House* (2022, CBS) – It has been more than 50 years since the Democratic National Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, DC, was broken into by a group of five men who turned out to have connections in high places. What did President Richard Nixon know and when did he know it? This documentary traces the story from that break-in through the Nixon resignation in August of 1974, after the “smoking gun” of the Watergate tapes revealed his complicity. Absolutely fascinating. 4 cans.
98. Funny Girl* (2022, Broadway) – The original cast album of this show and of the movie played constantly in my house in the 60s. My mother saw the show early in its Broadway run and felt as if she had “discovered” Barbra Streisand, the transcendent talent who played Fanny Brice on stage and in her movie debut. To state the obvious, the star of this revival, Beanie Feldstein, is NOT Barbra Streisand. Nor should she be. But she's a damn fine Fanny Brice, with excellent comic chops, dance skills that carry her through relatively modest choreography and a fun tap number and a voice that handles the iconic numbers like “People” and “Don't Rain on My Parade” with power and authority. I think she has been unfairly criticized out of a comparison with the incomparable Barbra. This is an entertaining and enjoyable show that was well worth seeing, even with my protective post-cataract glasses and despite having to occasionally shield my eyes from the light. Feldstein was a controversial choice to play the lead and received tepid reviews from the critics and some audiences, but I was pleasantly surprised since my expectations were so low. Jane Lynch was also very good playing Fanny’s mother and leading the characters on Henry Street. Not the best show I have ever seen, but the nostalgia and the songs made my experience seeing it on the stage a good one. 3½ cans.
99. Yellowstone* (2018-2022, Peacock) –This series is about the Dutton family, headed by patriarch John (Kevin Costner), ranchers in Montana since they stole the land from the Native Americans generations earlier. John is determined to hold on to his ranch as business interests threaten to buy it up or acquire it through nefarious means so they can “improve the local economy” and their own interests by building an airport, casino, housing, hotels, a ski resort – anything that will line their pockets. The story reminded me of a much less melodramatic and campy “Dallas.” Costner is outstanding in his role as a steely but dedicated family man, a widower with grown children. His son Jamie is a smarmy lawyer and politician; daughter Beth is a ruthless and foul-mouthed executive who will do anything to protect her family; son Kaycee was born to ride horses and loves the land. There are good guys and bad guys and lots of horses and cattle. This show must cost a fortune to produce with all of the sets, the livestock, the horses and a million and one cowboy hats. I watched all four seasons while stuck in the house recovering from cataract surgery and now I eagerly await Season 5 when it debuts in the fall. 4 cans.
100. The Bear* (2022, Hulu) – No, this 8-episode series is not about wildlife – at least not in the conventional sense. This chaotic “dramedy” takes place at a family-owned casual Chicago restaurant that was inherited by acclaimed chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White, perfect in this role) when his older brother Michael committed suicide. The place is a mess. Bills haven’t been paid, there are debts to mobsters, health code violations, a fractured staff and Carmy feels a sense of obligation to make it all work. Once considered a rising star in the food world, Carmy’s new gig has him mostly preparing sandwiches and other non-fine dining. If you are looking for something relaxing to watch, this series is NOT for you. The frenetic pace of the kitchen, the unending demands on Carmy – who looks ready for a nervous breakdown most of the time – stand in the way of running an organized, successful business. If you watch this, don’t start when you are hungry. Carmy’s food looks mouth-watering, and the pastry chef is turning out some amazing looking baked goods. When Carmy hires young chef Sydney (Ayo Edebin), the whole place seems to improve, but it’s not long before the restaurant loses power and reverts to its old ways. If you can’t take the heat, you might want to stay out of this kitchen. I plan to go back for seconds. 4 cans.
101. Dopesick* (2021, Hulu) – This 8-part series is a scathing indictment of the real-life Sackler Family, owners of greed-driven Purdue Pharmaceuticals, purveyors of OxyContin, the pain drug that was used and abused by millions of Americans. The good guys here are the tireless assistant district attorneys and dedicated DEA officials, who pour over volumes of data to understand the addictive nature of the drug and get it off the market. The pharm guys are played as cartoon characters. The victims of the Oxy nightmare are shown as blue collar, uneducated people who got themselves hooked. This series is a sad testimony to off-label prescribing of drugs, the execs who kept coming up with stronger formulations while ignoring abuse data, and the sales reps who were rewarded by their ability to push the drug to doctors. Michael Keaton gives an understated performance as a doctor whose life is adversely affected by the powerful drug. 4 cans.
102. The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie* (2021, Paramount TV +) – Devoting an hour and a half to a documentary about one song might seem excessive, but not when that single song is the classic Don McLean tune “American Pie.” Even if you aren’t old enough to remember the day the music died in 1959, you probably know the song well enough to sing along. McLean himself delights in telling the story about how he wrote his tribute to the three rock & roll giants who died in a plane crash in a cornfield in Clear Lake, Iowa – Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. He got the idea and took his time until the words just started rushing out of him. When the song was released in 1972 no one thought the 8-and-a-half-minute opus would get any radio airplay, but listener demand made the stations play it in its entirety off McLean’s album. In this loving documentary, he even gets to meet Connie Valens, the sister of Ritchie, who was only 17 years old when he died. The song is about the fabric of America, and how the death of these three young, vibrant performers represents a changing society in America. Even though I will never understand all the lyrics (or why the last performance of the trio took place in the “Surf Ballroom” in Iowa), I thoroughly enjoyed listening to musicians discussing the iconic song and especially McLean himself recounting the magic he created. 3½ cans.
103. Where the Crawdads Sing* (2022, at the movies) – My BFF says that my reviews tend to run too long, so I’ll keep this one brief and not spoil the plot or the word count. If you have read the book, see the movie. If you haven’t read the book, see the movie. It is a compelling story in any format. 4 cans.
104. Non-Stop* (2014, HBO) – Word to the wise: Don’t travel on a plane, train or automobile with Liam Neeson, the taciturn and unlikely action star. Here he is an alcoholic air marshal who hates to fly. And that’s the least of his problems when he starts getting text messages from someone on his flight to London demanding $150 million or someone on the plane will be killed every 20 minutes. He has no idea who is sending the messages and who to trust. Some of this seemed a little far-fetched; I can barely turn around in an airplane lavatory, but Liam finds a way to fight a bad guy there. How did the bad guys get his text number? Impossibilities aside, this movie is non-stop in its approach to the landing. 3 cans.
104. In the Heights* (2022, live theater) – Here’s the thing about going to small, local theaters to see shows: The producers, designers and cast have to use considerable ingenuity to stage a show that might have originated in a big, Broadway theater and do it with a limited budget and stage size. At Music Mountain in Lambertville, NJ (more on that later), the people responsible for this production did a commendable job. This is the exuberant story of the immigrant Latino population living in “the Heights” – not quite Manhattan, not quite the Bronx. The main character is a young man who runs a bodega, while others work in the local hair salon, operate a taxi and limo service or just hustle. This is a Lin-Manuel Miranda production, so there is plenty of rap-style music and plenty of attitude. It is vibrant and colorful and the company did a terrific job. As for the venue, I think the last time I was there – when the building was called Lambertville Music Circus – was to see a concert by The Association (“Cherish” and “Never My Love” were their big hits) in 1969. The place is now comfortable, air conditioned and an excellent place to see a show. I’ll be back. 3½ cans.
105. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris* (2022, Manville Cinema) – I was delighted to join the bouncy Mrs. Harris on her jaunt to Paris to achieve her dream of buying a haute couture gown from master couturier Christian Dior. A widow, Mrs. Harris (Lesley Manville – appropriately) has spent her life cleaning and caring for the rich and obnoxious of London, squirreling aside meager savings. One day she hits the number and realizes she can go to Paris and buy her dream dress. Of course, it is not that easy, but Mrs. Harris charms the famed designer and most of his staff. This story is a fantasy, especially in how she becomes the toast of Paris and saves the House of Dior. I found it unbelievable but enchanting, and the dress is absolutely stunning. 3½ cans.
106.  I Love That For You* (2022, Showtime) – Saturday Night Live alum Vanessa Bayer created, wrote and stars in this quirky series partially based on her own childhood experience with cancer. Her Joanna Gold bombs her audition for a slot on SVN, a home shopping network, but then lets it slip that she has cancer. Not exactly true, since she recovered from a childhood bout of leukemia and now, as an adult, is cancer-free. But it gets her the job at a place filled with phonies, show hosts with plastic good looks and relentless on-air cheer. She fits right in, an awkward young woman whose life experiences were stunted by disease but who worships the home shopping model and its hosts like Jackie (fellow SNL alum Molly Shannon) and who can pitch products and pity. Jenifer Lewis plays the tough-as-nails network boss. This is an office comedy on the order of “The Office” or “Mary Tyler Moore” but with a different vibe, fresh characters and an appealing Bayer, who walks on eggshells fearing that someone will figure out that she is actually healthy. Thanks to Xfinity for a free Showtime weekend so I could binge the whole thing. Not as good as “Hacks,” but worth seeing. 3½ cans.
107.  The First Lady* (2022, Showtime) – Three stellar actresses – Viola Davis, Gillian Anderson and Michelle Pfeiffer – have the unenviable task of portraying three women who are well-known to the American audience for their prominence as the First Lady. Davis, as Michelle Obama, probably has the narrowest lane since she is the most recent of the three and we know her well after watching her for eight years on TV as the first Black First Lady. Anderson is Eleanor Roosevelt, shown here as the conscience of her husband Franklin and very much her own woman. Pfeiffer’s Betty Ford is frustrated by the limitations of her role and her husband Gerald Ford’s handlers, who want her to stay clear of endorsing the ERA or taking positions that will cost him Republican votes in the 1976 election, which he lost to Jimmy Carter. All of the First Ladies come across as confined and trapped in their roles, with only Eleanor leading her own life. Their unelected positions are tricky to navigate, not entirely rewarding, and probably not something they would have sought on their own. Still, a fascinating look inside the White House, the marriages and the dreams of three strong women. This is an 8-part series that I can see having another season with three different First Ladies. Jackie Kennedy, anyone? 3½ cans.
 

The Eyes Have It

Note: Please excuse any typographical errors in this month's blog entry. Read on to understand.

Normally, I would never complain about too much sunshine. But since I had my first cataract surgery on June 29, there has been nary a cloud in the sky, just when I have to avoid the sun. My Alexa kept telling me that there was a 51 percent chance of rain one day and a 73 percent chance another day, even specifying hours, but she was mistaken. And since my surgery on the other eye on July 5, we have had nothing but more blue skies and plenty of sunshine headed our way, just when I have to avoid the light.

I’m told that almost all people of a certain age (translation = OLD) will need cataract surgery eventually. We all know people who can’t or won’t drive at night (raising my hand). I knew I was working on cataracts, but with my macular degeneration, the eye doctor assured me that cataracts were the least of my problems. And then we had a two-year pandemic stretch where I simply didn’t go anywhere at night. My Rutgers Women’s basketball games were cancelled or banned spectators, and I didn’t do much of anything that required night driving. This past season, we were back at the RAC again and I noticed a serious decline in my night vision. Even those yellow glasses they advertise on TV didn’t help reduce that glow around oncoming headlights. My retina doctor confirmed that the cataracts were no longer the least of my problems but had gone to the top of the list.

So, I went to the recommended doctor, filled out the medical history that demanded a list of previous surgeries that included even colonoscopies (as a colon cancer survivor, I had literally too many to list; I put down my most recent and a note that said “many prior to this date”), got an EKG and medical clearance and we set the dates.

You have to administer drops to your eyes the day before the surgery and for several weeks afterwards. They gave me a chart to check off when I put I the drops, and I copied it so I would have one for each eye – one of the best ideas suggested by my sister.

Here's the essence of the surgery: The doctor makes a small incision in your eye and removes the cloudy lens, replacing it with a tiny artificial lens. The procedure itself takes 5-10 minutes, though you are at a surgical center for a few hours getting numbing drops in your eye, an IV in your arm for a mild, short-lasting sedative, and trying to remain calm at the thought of someone slicing into your eye. They prop your eye open during surgery, so you can’t blink, and the whole thing is over in a flash, so to speak. You ARE awake, but the only pain you feel is from the rounds of drops they put into your eye to numb it. They sting a bit.

Then the fun begins.

They gave me special glasses and plastic eye shields to tape to my face to cover my eyes at night so I couldn’t rub it or whack myself in the eye with my pillow. Taping the plastic shields to my face was the only part of the instructions I did not follow religiously. I bought a soft satin eye mask at Ulta weeks before the surgery and I used that after a few nights with the shields.

You can’t rub your eye or let the shower hit you in the face. You can’t bend over or lift anything heavy, you are not allowed to exercise – I wonder how long I can milk that one? – and you can drive if you feel comfortable doing that, which I am trying today.

The benefits of the surgery are immediately noticeable. I “watched” tennis at Wimbledon, even though all I could see initially was two figures in white on a big green background. The colors were so vibrant that it seemed like I had a new TV. And everything is so much brighter! Opening the refrigerator seems blinding to me. I tried working on my computer but the brightness of the screen was overwhelming and I couldn’t see the controls to figure out how to dim it. The eyestrain was immense and nearly debilitating, and you can’t rub your eyes!  I am writing this blog post in short segments since I can’t tolerate looking at the computer screen for too long without eyestrain.

I guess my eyes were much worse than I knew, but the decline in vision happens gradually, so you don’t realize how bad it gets until you get it fixed.

Like my hero, Tina Turner, I never do anything “nice and easy,” and this surgery was especially rough because I got the top-of-the-line, “light adjustable” lenses. I know dozens of people who have had cataract surgery but no one who has had these kinds of lenses. They cost an extra $5000 each, but my doctor assured me that J&J’s insurance plan would cover them, a fact that I verified before I agreed to have them implanted. He tells me that because the lenses are adjustable, I have a better chance of reaching optimal vision than with a fixed lens that they have to estimate is the best prescription for the patient.

These light adjustable lenses don’t dim when you walk into a bright room. The adjustable part takes place in the doctor’s office, where he applies a light that reshapes the lens to the prescription of choice – we hope. Several weeks after the eye heals from the surgery, the doctor makes a series of adjustments before the prescription is “locked in,” which means that’s the final one. No going back now! My first adjustment is at the end of July, three weeks after surgery. Until this process is through, I won't know whether I will need glasses, reading glasses or no glasses. Please give me the name of a good plastic surgeon to remove those bags under my eyes if that is the case!

Meanwhile, I have to avoid any exposure to UV light. The doctor told me that exposure to the sun could alter the implanted lens, so I have to wear those special protective glasses for at least a month to make sure that doesn’t happen. I have a set of protective sunglasses, clear glasses and one pair with a small bi-focal lens to help me see while the prescription is not finalized. I also have two pairs of protective “overglasses” – sunglasses and clear ones – that fit over my reading glasses so I can do work on the computer for brief periods. The doctor told me I had to wear them at all times and I am taking that seriously; I have them on at night, in a dark room, while I watch TV before bed. I went to see “Funny Girl” on Broadway this week (tickets I had had for months) and spent much of the play with my head down, covering my eyes with my hand to avoid the harsh stage lights. It was so sunny on the bus on the way home that I took my ever-present face mask and used it to cover my eyes. Hey – it worked. The doc put the fear of God in me, and I am in the running to be his most compliant patient ever, even if I look like Mr. Magoo in the interim.

Now I wash my face in the sink without bending over, take a shower with no lights on (I can’t wear the glasses in the shower!) and tilt my head back so water doesn’t hit me in the eye. I don’t open the shades or the windows and I go outside to water the plants just before dusk to avoid sunlight as much as possible. 

Despite the restrictions, I have found a way to muddle through. I made some meals before the surgery to have on hand, and I made zucchini parm with one eye after the first surgery. Not my best effort, but it was fresh and cheesy and acceptable under the circumstances. And I even shaved my legs – slowly and ever-so-carefully – in the shower. Let’s face it, now I can see the hair!

I have enlarged the font on my phone so I can read texts, and my Kindle now has about 10 words on a page. The book I am reading will have about 2000 pages this way, but if I can read, that’s a win in my book. I can’t see well enough yet to file my nails, but a friend took me for a much-needed mani-pedi, so I was thrilled. The polish looks more vibrant than ever.

Going through this experience gave me a whole new empathy for people who have any kind of visual impairment. When I am up to it, I will write a letter to People Magazine to tell them that the light font they use in the magazine is difficult to read for anyone with these kinds of issues. I thought so before the surgery and it’s much worse now. I started watching the series “The Old Man” on TV and had to stop because so much of it was filmed in the dark. (This has been one of my pet peeves for years; on TV sets, all offices are lit by lamps for mood, but I have never worked in an office or facility that didn’t have bright overhead lights). I simply could not see what was happening on the screen.

It is tougher to see when I first wake up, but my sight improves as the day does on. The guide on the TV screen is way too small and I can’t see what I recorded on the DVR. I think of it as wandering around with the wrong prescription until the adjustments are made.

I also found out that my right eye has been slacking off for years! The first surgery was on my left eye, so the right eye had to carry the load. If I were grading it, I’d give it a C-. 

In the end, I should be seeing better than I have in years. I can already see that my hair is much more gray than I thought it was! And I should even be able to tell the difference between black and blue for the first time in years. I’m especially looking forward to being able to drive at night again and not to have to impose on other people for rides. And since the cataracts have nothing to do with my macular degeneration, my monthly injections for that will continue. I’m always seeking rides there, too, just in case you have a few hours to kill.

Although the doctor briefed me on what to expect, there was so much more than I could have anticipated (hence this public service blog post). This whole experience is like one of those signs on the highway that say, “Temporary Inconvenience – Permanent Improvement.” Let’s hope so!