Archive for May 2015
MAD MEN Season 7 Finale
Sally & Her Brothers
Children Who Can’t Grieve
We’re all still talking about Mad Men Season 7 Finale. And, yes, I agree – the characters often hit close to home with many of life’s painful realities. Yet, I have to say that the tongue-in-cheek jingle at Mad Men’Season 7 Finale was a bit too disturbing. Leaving Sally (Kiernan Shipka) doing dishes in the…
Read More
GIRLS OCD #4
Help I’d Give Hannah
Since I’m Not Dr. Rice
Dr. Rice didn’t get Hannah at all. Season 2, It’s Back, leaves Hannah obsessively counting in 8’s. She needs a different kind of help. If Hannah was in therapy with me, I’d listen closely to her conflicting and ever-shifting feelings. To her “I need your help. No, I’m fine.” “I’m sad. No, I’m not.” This…
Read More
WHILE WE’RE YOUNG
What Josh’s Alter Ego Teaches Him
Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young is much more than a look at how youth wants to outdo the old. How the older envy youth. Or, how a mid-life crisis leads to all kinds of desperate shenanigans. It’s also the story of 40-something Josh (Ben Stiller) who can’t move forward for complex psychological reasons. And, of…
Read More
MELISSA MCCARTHY & SEXIST REPORTER
A Teaching Moment
A male reporter told Melissa McCarthy that she’s only a good actress when she looks attractive. And that she, in fact, looked “really bad” in her role as Tammy. She quite understandably was angry. But, Melissa McCarthy took the time to make it a teaching moment. To the reporter’s credit, he listened. He heard what…
Read More
MAD MEN Season 7 Finale
Therapy For Don Esalen Style
Is It Enough?
Mad Men Season 7 Finale takes Don Draper (Jon Hamm) to the ultimate darkness of the soul, only to end up … Where? It seems a tragic cosmic joke to leave the Draper – Francis family the only ones with loose ends. Don might be back on his game, conjuring up the world’s greatest Coca-Cola…
Read More
NANCY MEYERS THE INTERN
Mentorship Can Go Both Ways
I just watched the trailer for Nancy Meyers The Intern, coming to theaters on September 25th. It looks like it’s going to be right up there with The Holiday, Something’s Gotta Give, and It’s Complicated. Nancy Meyers is a master at exploring the intricate emotions and complex difficulties that relationships bring for women and men.…
Read More