NAME: Courteney Bass Cox
AUDIT DATE: August 11, 2006
AGE: 42
OCCUPATION: Actress, America's friend
EXPERIENCE: Since 1984, 44 TV shows, movies, and voice-work appearances, including one soap, one long-running sitcom you may have heard of, and one wrongfully cancelled series about some totally awesome misfits of science
For someone who's not exactly a huge Hollywood star, Courteney Cox has had a surprisingly iconic career.
Not a huge Hollywood star, you say? The linchpin of Friends and star of Scream, not to mention the fact that she lent her voice to the currently popular Barnyard: The Original Party Animals and stars in this week's Zoom?
Well, to truly gauge her the luminosity of Cox's star, ask yourself this: what was your first reaction when you saw the words "Courteney Cox's Fame Audit"? Probably something like "The fuck?" Or, "Why her?" Or, "Why now? Or: Mel Gibson's a drunk!"
All good points.
But let us consider, or reconsider -- no, actually, "consider" is more accurate -- Lady Cox. Here's how you probably think of her: woman hired as ostensible star of sitcom about sextet of friends, later eclipsed by all five of her co-stars. Currently coasting along on stream of pure money, while married to famously slouching goofball. Once starred in possible hoax-stunt in Bruce Springsteen video. Pre-fame, co-starred on Family Ties and guest-starred on Seinfeld. And, for you obsessives: once starred in Misfits Of Science.
Nothing to get too excited about. Yet consider this: of all the Friends alumni, who's fared the best? Jennifer Aniston, with her tabloid infamy and parade of similar-sounding flops? (Pop quiz: Aniston once starred in a movie called Something To Talk About. True or false? Not sure, are you? Not really!)
Or how about Matt LeBlanc, with his spinoff-cum-punchline? Or Lisa Kudrow, whose boredom and apparent contempt for her meal ticket, so evident in the final, oh, four seasons or so of Friends, translated all-too-well to her curdled, sour sitcom The Comeback?
Or Schwimmer, whatever he's up to?
Arguably, only Matthew Perry's navigated a better course, and that's just because he's landed himself a plum role on an Aaron Sorkin series. Before that, he was only navigating his way into porches.
By the way, if you want to know more about what the Friends stars - or any celebrity, for that matter - are up to now, check out Hollywood Insider.
Now consider Ms. Courteney: voice-overs! Horror franchises! Daisy Does America! (She produced it.) Not spectacular, but no spectacular failures either. And in that there's a quiet dignity, no? In knowing what you're good at, and sticking to it?
We say hurrah for Courteney Cox! (And hurrah for Misfits Of Science while we're at it. So terrible. So good.) Hurrah for the lady pulled conveniently up on stage to dance with the Boss! Hurrah for the one ex-Friend who's not engaged in a patently fake (or fake-seeming, which is worse) tabloid-friendly engagement, not mounting self-loathing comebacks, not off-handedly mentioning her willingness to do a reunion show in the press.
You know who probably couldn't give a rat's heinie about a Friends reunion show? Ms. Cox, that's who!
You know, it's fitting that Cox should end up co-starring with Tim Allen; after all, he too has the air of the Hollywood survivor, buoyed by sitcom money, confident in his limited talents and at peace with his place in the world. And if that place is starring in tossed-off kid movies, why not? It pays for the pool-cleaning service. And the pool.
Frankly, we never thought we'd say it, but Courteney Cox is the former Friend we're the most not sick of.
And that, friends, is saying a hell of a lot.
Current approximate level of fame: Meredith Baxter
Deserved approximate level of fame: Sally Field
Native New Englander cinematic siblings Bobby and Peter Farrelly bring their sketchy brand of hilarious hardball to the forefront in the sporting romantic comedy Fever Pitch. The co-directing brothers, who previously presented to us the zany and revered entries Dumb and Dumber and There’s Something About Mary, wanted to make off-kilter fodder out of a well-known New England-based obsession. You ask what obsession? Well, it’s the trial and tribulations of the rabid Boston Red Sox fan and his/her endless embracing of generations full of traditional expectations that defines the competitive passion of an entire Northeastern region of diehard baseball fanatics (excluding the domineering rivals in the New York Yankees of course).
As with the filmmaking Farrellys, anyone who has grown up in the New England area can attest to and identify with the on-going agony that was the “cursed” Boston Red Sox. Naturally the recent miracle-winning 2004 World Series championship team finally put a critical halt to the 86-year old suffering of a storied baseball franchise that couldn’t get over the victorious hump to save its soul. The bleeding may have temporarily stopped for Red Sox Nation after eight decades plus of promises and pitfalls. And now the Farrellys want to tap into the indelible psyche of its fervent followers via an oddball romantic laugher that tests the love of opposing forces: loyalty in rooting for the beloved Red Sox versus the emotional presence of stable female companionship.
Fever Pitch is based on best-seller Nick Hornsby’s personal account of sordid fandom and its worshiping spell in the arena of soccer. Hornsby’s insightful autobiographical book and the 1997 film version definitely translates cleanly into the realm of the baseball world. This giddy and cuddly comedy is surprisingly a sweet-toothed turn for the risque Farrellys that are strictly known for their foul-mouthed flippancy. At times Fever Pitch has its awkward moments in trying to weigh the perspectives of its intended turmoil involving one man’s unbalanced priorities for his treasured hometown team. But for the most part, it’s wry enough to reach home plate with sympathetic Boston Red Sox lifelong lingerers.
The wacky preoccupation with living vicariously through the angst-ridden Red Sox commodity is indeed a hoot to cherish. The film probably would have been more of a desirous scream had the goofy antics and lopsided love affair with Boston’s Local Nine been highlighted exclusively in favor of not concentrating so much on a predictable and lukewarm union between a cad and his attention-starved cutie. Still, Fever Pitch makes its glorious absurd statement about an incurable sickness that persists in all our empty hearts—the need to cling to an arbitrary diversion that gives us feigned hope for completeness. The Farrelly Brothers step up to the batter’s box with cockeyed confidence looking to take a quirky swing at the famed Green Monster with uneven but high-spirited results.
It’s only fitting that Jimmy Fallon takes a stab at mocking the average crazed Boston baseball nut in Fever Pitch. After all, Fallon was riotous on Saturday Night Live while taking an obnoxiously funny knock against Red Sox loyalists by portraying a thick-accented Boston blue-collar baseball fan in a series of offbeat skits. Here Fallon plays Ben Wrightman, a high school teacher heavily devoted to his bat-swinging buddies at Fenway Park ever since his late uncle took him to a Red Sox game for the first time. In short, Ben eats, drinks, sleeps, and breathes his precious Red Sox and nobody can destroy his focus from concentrating on his base-stealing brethren. Or can they?
Enter business consultant Lindsey Meeks (Drew Barrymore). Lindsey has had her share of bad luck with former suitors that seem to cater to their self-absorbed needs. When she hooks up with Ben, things look very promising regarding her new schoolteacher main squeeze. But Lindsey doesn’t realize how hooked Ben is with his feverish feeling for the Red Sox. During the baseball off-season, Ben is understandably attentive and willing to give her the time of day. But once it’s ready to put the batting gloves on and take in the sunshine rays at the ballpark, Lindsey feels like an abandoned wife who’s lost her cheating hubby to another woman. In this case, the other “lovers” are colorful millionaire ballplayers that routinely seduce Ben and thousands of fellow avid Sox groupies that cannot contain their hearty adulation for a cherished baseball team that rescues them from their drab everyday existence.
The Farrellys do an adequate job in tapping into the cultural pulse of the Fenway Faithful. If one resides outside the New England boundaries, they’ll certainly get an honest-to-goodness taste of the indescribable allure that bombastic Bostonians have reserved for their community property that is the highly-profiled Boston Red Sox. There’s an eerie moodiness and honesty about the erratic behavior of impenetrable Red Sox rabble-rousers that is strangely endearing.
Beyond panning the camera over the claustrophobic crowd at Fenway Park or peeking at the unconventional relationship between Fallon’s baseball-loving brainwashed Ben and Barrymore’s tolerant Lindsay, Fever Pitch is about a composite of working class stiffs hitching their wagon to a common experience that radiates an exuberance of sorts. Granted there are several sporting organizations that could have been featured in the mindset of the Farrellys and their gently warped commentary about lost souls looking for stimulating identity through a historical homegrown outlet known as the Boston Red Sox. But give credit for the brotherly moviemakers wanting to spotlight their hometown team thus shining the light on their regional roots as well.
Unfortunately, Fever Pitch is never as impulsively involved as it could have been in content. And ironically, the film would have made for more of a riveting spectacle had the Red Sox continued its usual choking tendencies at the hands of their dreaded on-field nemesis in the form of the New York Yankees. Thus, we could have scratched our heads as to why Sox fans continue to attach their heartstrings to a batting bunch that invites a teasing tablespoon of excitement and eventually manages to turn it into an inevitable summertime of disappointment? Nevertheless, the characterizations are shallow but somewhat winning when everybody forges a “zombie-like” trance when being tuned in to every single pitch being thrown.
Fallon’s Ben is passable as a Red Sox today but merely conducts himself as a novelty act more so than being an embodiment of a true blue staunch-driven fanatic. Barrymore seems convincingly natural as the puzzled gal pal who has to compete with the affections of a professional baseball outfit that has effortlessly hypnotized a whole geographical segment of her surroundings. It’s clear that the baseball gods and the sole Red Sox mantra are the ultimate captivating religion for Ben and his posse. Hence, the disconnection that Lindsey sometimes demonstrates for her boyfriend is out of expected frustration and silliness.
One thing that we learned in the infectious comical period piece A League of Their Own is that there’s no crying in baseball. In Fever Pitch, millions of Boston Red Sox revelers will be relieved to acknowledge that there can be some scattered genuine laughs in baseball as well.
Wondering what Drew Barrymore and the rest of the cast and crew are up to today? Check out Hollywood Insider for the latest entertainment news and hollywood gossip.
Across the Universe (2007) Columbia Pictures
2 hrs. 13 mins.
Starring: Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, Joe Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy, T.V. Carpio, Eddie Izzard, Bono, Salma Hayek, Spencer Liff, Bill Irwin, Harry Lennix
Directed by: Julie Taymor
This film is rated: PG-13
The conception behind filmmaker Julie Taymor’s (“Frida”, “Titus”) Across the Universe isn’t necessarily an original one in a musical romancer that dares to examine nostalgic love set against turbulent times. In this case, Taymor’s patched-up 60’s-era love story wants to bring passion and prominence in a hippie-dippy style foundation courtesy of vibrant visuals and its “ace-in-the-hole” gimmickry—the feasting of classic Beatles tunes set to conveniently convey the sentimental, psychedelic pulse.
While ambitious and experimental in telling a familiar tale of mismatched affection between two star-crossed lovers from different walks of life, Across the Universe is sometimes poised as a flat and broad finger-snapping spectacle. Nevertheless, Taymor’s creative (if not opportunistic) usage of the Fab Four’s memorable tunes is more or less inspired and certainly will do the trick to lure ardent followers of Paul, John, George and Ringo into seats with all the enthusiasm of puffing on a “funny cigarette” during a Woodstock festival. Still, the invitation of using the Liverpool lads’ legendary tracks to guide a stilted romancing musical doesn’t warrant any craftiness in the conscious-minded malaise that Taymor wants her audience to feel instantaneously.
Taymor, known for pulling off a radiant and resounding edition of her Broadway production The Lion King, does maintain an active eye for her pop-musical leanings. Convincingly, she does score some valid points for utilizing the Beatles’ affecting lyrics to give credibility to her on-screen couple’s intimate connection. Universe wants to take on all sorts of emotional revelations in the moodiness of the story through animated dance numbers, delirious mixtures of spry imagery and of course the aforementioned influx of Beatles’ songs that flow throughout this peculiar yet playful proceeding. Sadly, Across the Universe is stuffed and gagged with so many floating elements of festive forethought that the film forgets to balance its various tendencies accordingly.
For instance, how can this movie capture the essential political freedoms and frustrations of the chaotic 1960’s so effectively yet still gloss over the loose-minded idealism of love and liberation of the erratic times by smothering this melodic showcase with aimless Beatles beats? Taymor never really challenges the lacking script by questioning the radical ramblings and hazily presents a synthetic slice of the 60’s that doesn’t feel as involving as it should in its dazzling shell. Sure, the music is joyous and will make Beatles fans reminisce thanks to the pop cultural artistry of revered singles such as “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”, “I Am The Walrus” (as sung by U2’s Bono in a dismissive cameo) and “I’ve Just Seen a Face”. The crying shame is that the inventive Universe reaches for so much while not concentrating on the basic expectations of its lackluster lovelorn angle while favoring an over-indulgent Beatles’ playlist.
The center of this pronounced tune-making tale involves Liverpoolian Jude (Jim Sturgess) attending Princeton while searching for his real father. Jude makes an instant buddy in Max (Joe Anderson) on campus and is privileged to eventually meet and greet his pretty sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood, “Thirteen”). A mutual attraction is decidedly formed as Jude and Lucy finds that loving bond an irresistible one to shake.
Soon, the kissy-poo pair will travel to New York City and further their special relationship as they come across a few colorful personalities—most notably in the likes of Jo Jo and Sadie (Martin Luther McCoy and Dana Fuchs) and lesbian activist Prudence (T.V. Carpio). As one can imagine, the gang weaves in and out of numerous scenarios as the soundtrack predictably matches a Beatles hit with whatever the wind blows across as a representing sensation or mood swing.
Suffice to say Across the Universe never legitimately establishes the realm for its corrosive canvas of the sixties as the hearty merriment of the story neglects the true symbolism of that historical duration. Understandably, the constant turmoil painted a vast picture of racial strife, war protests, drug infiltration and the hotbed politics and policies that plagued the American landscape with confusion and complexity. Sure, the main purpose was to heighten Taymor’s preference for flower-power frivolity. Unfortunately, she fails to underscore her celebratory look at lyrical love by burying her intent in a misguided musicfest that could have embraced a sense of urgency in the truth for a rollicking disturbance to accompany the bombarded Beatles-centric ballads.
The performances are thoroughly zippy for the most part and some will allow their instincts to give way for Taymor’s penchant for an extravagant quirkiness that is gleefully saturated in her half-hearted cinematic jamboree. The characterizations needed to be fleshed out resourcefully and put right in the middle of the missing societal hostilities. If only the dramatic heft in Across the Universe was adequately complimented by the surreal toe-tapping shenanigans then this rousing but rickety musical could have stressed more of its outrageous, bewildering buzz in defiant song and concrete slaphappy spirit.
Somehow, the Beatles’ precious diamonds are glaringly missing from Lucy’s sky if not in Julie’s unevenly charismatic but cluttered and customary Universe.
If you love musical romance films like this one, we highly recommend La La Land - the fact that it features Ryan Gosling is a huge bonus.
Michael Moore's Sicko Examines Pitfalls of Privatized Health Care
"You're not slipping through the cracks," says an ex-HMO investigator. "Someone made that crack and swept you towards it."
Laughing so hard that you cry is one thing – crying so hard that you laugh is another. Prepare to do both with Michael Moore’s Sicko.
Courteous as ever, Moore gives George W. Bush the first word on health care: “Too many good docs are getting out of business. Too many O-B-G-Y-N’s aren’t able to practice their, their love with women all across this country.”
For the remainder of the film, Moore uses his usual mix of statistical and anecdotal evidence to examine America’s ailing health care system. His focus falls on the top-to-bottom problem of structuring health care as a corporate enterprise, rather than a social service.
The results are mutually comedic and tragic. A woodworker named Rick, is forced to choose between reattaching the top of his ring-finger ($12,000), or his middle finger ($60,000), because he doesn’t have health insurance. “Ever the romantic,” Moore comments, “Rick chose the ring-finger for the bargain price of $12,000.”
18-month-old Mychelle gets a bacterial infection. After being rushed to Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center hospital in Los Angeles, she’s denied treatment because her mother doesn’t have the right kind of medical insurance; their health plan is Kaiser, and MLK hospital is not a Kaiser facility. En-route to a Kaiser facility, Mychelle goes into cardiac-arrest and dies.
Moore makes an important distinction between incidental neglect and deliberate neglect, on behalf of the insurance companies. Acting as middlemen between doctors and patients, they strive to deny their clients as much treatment as possible. Each denied treatment gets tallied as a savings to the company.
“You’re not slipping through the cracks,” says an ex-HMO investigator. “Someone made that crack and swept you towards it.” Out of the business now, he laments the time he spent dealing in misfortune.
Claims that Moore’s documentary style is manipulative are as true as they are moot; he’s saying what needs to be said, in the way we need to hear it. If his movies were not as concise, informative and entertaining as they are, no one would attend. If we moviegoers have collective ADD, we ought to accommodate it, instead of ignoring it.
No American politician, republican or democrat, comes out shining. The movie briefly harkens back to Hilary Clinton’s championship of universal health care 14 years ago, but closes with the fact that the senator is now the second largest recipient of health care industry money. Just as no one escapes the lobbyists, no one escapes Moore’s scrutiny. As with the rest of his movies, Sicko has prompted a good deal of backlash. Anything that screams social responsibility as loudly as this film does will have its share of sociopaths screaming back at it.
Admittedly, Moore’s film is an awfully big pill to swallow. Seeing the health care of the U.S. ranked 37th in the world, abreast with Costa Rica and Slovenia, has to be jarring for any nationalist.
On June 20th, Moore went to Capitol Hill and implored members of congress to “bring health care to all Americans, and remove the profit incentive from health care. It’s not a political issue,” he said. “It should not be made a partisan issue, we should find common ground with people across the political spectrum. Every American has a human right, when they get sick, to go to a doctor, and not have to worry about whether or not they can afford it.”
Moore went on to say that he foresees no trouble drumming up support for universal health care. “The health insurance industry and pharmaceutical industry, through their tactics, through their price gouging, through their denial of care to our fellow Americans, have done our organizing for us. They’ve turned the American people against the private health insurance companies.”
As one of Moore’s neighbours to the north, I hope he’s right.
For more in-depth articles on entertainment, cinema, and beyond, visit Hollywood Insider.
