John Mahoney on E.R.
Bobcat
but haven't seen it yet. In the meantime here's a review of John
Mahoney's performance I lifted from the "TV Squad" website:
"Let's talk about guest-star John Mahoney. For years he has played the
tough, no-nonsense guy in movies and television. For 11 seasons he
played crusty Martin Crane, Frasier Crane's dad on Frasier. So, seeing
him play a sensitive drag queen was interesting. I thought he played it
well. You could see the love he had for his partner, and the
disappointment he felt when his partner's family asked him to step out
of the room. On the other hand, he makes a fairly unattractive drag
queen."
3finger
everything said below - including the last part. But it was an
impressive performance. And a bit gutsy, considering some of the rumors
I have heard about him in the past.
In article <1160129610.2...@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
Starword
>I saw the show last night. Without giving anything away, I agree with
> queen)
> But it was an
> impressive performance. And a bit gutsy, considering some of the rumors
> I have heard about him in the past.
LOL! Ditto to all--especially the unattractive drag queen part.
He's an outstanding actor, so anything he does will be convincing and
powerful. OTOH, what is *not* convincing is that anyone would pay this guy
to perform as a woman. He's rather handsome as a man, and he sings pretty
well. I could believe him working in a nightclub as a singer--but not
dressed as a woman. To put it rudely, as a woman, he's sure a dog! <woof>
Even as a comedy act, it doesn't go over too well.
The show is so dumb now and has undergone so many cast changes, I rarely
watch anymore and I don't know who half the people are or what their
problems are, nor do I care much. But I tuned in last night just to see
John. Mainly, I followed just the storyline he was in. He was terrific, as
always though the plot has been done before on ER in different forms tons of
times. Not a drag queen before, but many times a gay lover. Yada, yada,
yada. So it goes. But no way would anyone pay to watch him perform as a
female impersonator. The only way he'd make a dime as that is if the door
was blocked and he charged people to leave, LOL.
Nat
(add sbc before global to email)
manitou
>
> >I saw the show last night. Without giving anything away, I agree with
> > everything said below - including the last part. (fairly unattractive drag
> > queen) But it was an impressive performance. And a bit gutsy,
> > considering some of the rumors I have heard about him in the past.
>
> LOL! Ditto to all--especially the unattractive drag queen part.
>
> He's an outstanding actor, so anything he does will be convincing and
> powerful. OTOH, what is *not* convincing is that anyone would pay this guy
> to perform as a woman. He's rather handsome as a man, and he sings pretty
> well. I could believe him working in a nightclub as a singer--but not
> dressed as a woman. To put it rudely, as a woman, he's sure a dog! <woof>
> Even as a comedy act, it doesn't go over too well.
Just saw this now via PVR (I was attending Chris Botti's knockout live
show here yesterday evening [he's doing Toronto tonight]) and found JM
very convincing in all aspects of this role.
I can't claim to be an expert on drag queens --- whatever I know (or
don't) is from movies and TV shows --- but my impression is that while
some resolutely do try for all-out realistic female impersonation,
others (especially older ones) just try for a low-key, non-extreme
performance which is exactly what JM delivered.
On an arguably related note, is it just my imagination or are young and
early middle-age females in the American entertainment world (and maybe
elsewhere..?) under increasing pressure to be overglamorized in the new
millennium? Do single women age 15 to 50 think they have to look like
a Frasier's-Supermodel/Date-Goes-Bad to attract a man?
Earlier this week I watched "The Bachelor" out of curiosity since the
current series is made in Rome (the Italian bachelor/prince is really
an American, and only two of the initial 27 bachelorettes were
Italian).
I couldn't help noticing that almost all these young women, some barely
in their twenties, were dressed and made up to look like either pricey
Las Vegas hookers, or desperate aging sex bombs. Most were so heavily
made up (including a supposed 23-year-old "socialite" from Texas!) they
seemed considerably older than their actual age. One darker haired and
heavily tanned lady, who IIRC was 29 or 30, looked like a 48-year-old
who decided to invest her grandparents' inheritance (or perhaps a hefty
divorce settlement...?) on everything a plastic surgeon can do for/to a
woman these days.
Aside from anything else, it left me wondering if the feminist movement
which took off during the 1960s has been forgotten by younger American
women?
Again, last night at Botti's show, there was a vocalist, a new young
singer, Jeanne Jolly, who was excellent and reprised the two songs done
by Paula Cole on Botti's new DVD (PBS show from last December in LA).
I met Ms. Jolly after the performance and she was a charming,
beautifully mannered and otherwise unaffected young woman. Some quick
net-sleuthing revealed she's from an upper-crust New England background
and has solid classical music training.
But why was she dressed like a pricey hooker? She wore a skin-tight
black (albeit, obviously expensive [better pricey, than tacky!]) dress
with plunging decoleté, obvious push-up bra, clanky necklace, and
stileto-heel 60s-retro suede boots. (I even wondered if someone told
her it might be snowing in Canada...)
What was the idea? I could even imagine such a get-up for something
like Botti's PBS special which had numerous big-name guest stars and
was produced on a glitzy scale. But this was a pop/jazz concert with
five guys dressed casually for a 50s-style bebop jam.
But when the guest vocalist appears she's done up like a harlot?
Do the record companies think everyone has to be turned into a PlayBoy
sex symbol?
The noted African-American jazz pianist, Geri Allen, who is circa 50
and whom I've seen in person, is done up like Leontyne Price for the
cover of her latest Telarc CD. Does this actually sell more discs?
> The show is so dumb now and has undergone so many cast changes, I rarely
> watch anymore and I don't know who half the people are or what their
> problems are, nor do I care much. But I tuned in last night just to see
> John. Mainly, I followed just the storyline he was in. He was terrific, as
> always though the plot has been done before on ER in different forms tons of
> times. Not a drag queen before, but many times a gay lover. Yada, yada,
> yada. So it goes. But no way would anyone pay to watch him perform as a
> female impersonator. The only way he'd make a dime as that is if the door
> was blocked and he charged people to leave, LOL.
Indeed, the base plot seemed pretty tired and clicheed in 2006.
Perhaps fifteen years ago the story would have been more 'daring' for
primetime TV.
This was pretty tame, for example, in comparison with the 'Vito' story
during S6.5 of "The Sopranos".
Charles
Bobcat
> I can't claim to be an expert on drag queens --- whatever I know (or
> don't) is from movies and TV shows --- but my impression is that while
> some resolutely do try for all-out realistic female impersonation,
> others (especially older ones) just try for a low-key, non-extreme
> performance which is exactly what JM delivered.
And then there was Brandy, a well-known personality in an older
Toronto, the star of a now-demolished hotel at Dundas and Jarvis which
was a notorious red-light district back then. The hotel had a bar with
entertainment where "Brandy", an aging potty-mouthed drag queen,
presided. Brandy's main attraction certainly wasn't his/her looks or
voice, but "her" raucous sense of humour. Needless to say, Brandy was a
favourite of the college crowd. Was I one of them? I'm not talking.