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Opal (2020)
A difficult subject with pitch-perfect execution
You *know* this thing is good if I, who loathes and fears claymation, refuse to dock it any points for the visuals. They are at times hard to look at. But, if anything, they just add to the effect.
"Opal" is what happens when you take the standard trope of characters traveling from their ho-hum lives to a fantasy world, then flip it on its head, and bash that head in once or twice for good measure. It is a story about escapism; dysfunctional families; and the desire to be loved, and to have your needs met in a world that can't provide for them. Everything in this film feels deliberately "off," from the misshapen characters to the lighting and eerie score, from Opal's happy family seen at the beginning to the dysfunctional one that lives in the spooky house across the street. By venturing into that house, young Opal will encounter three adults who each view her as their "Claire," a child who they can use to feed their own self-destructive lifestyles. Along the way, she'll start to learn why these people are the way they are, usually through weirdly catchy musical numbers... as well as learning something about herself she might just wish she didn't.
Fair warning: Those who have been victims of child abuse or neglect may find Opal a difficult watch. Though it may also make you feel seen in a way that few other stories do---and that is probably true for anyone who watches the film, not just survivors.
With a twelve-minute run time, this short does far better at crafting characters who feel human than do most full-length films. The three adults, while all objectively bad people, are just so trapped by their vices that it becomes almost impossible not to relate to them. In particular, Claire's vain and self-obsessed father stands out as a fully realized character. His song, "Mirror Man," is the most visually inventive song sequence I've seen in quite some time (and a total bop, at that), almost like being in a hall of mirrors. You don't see too many male characters that struggle with their appearance... even though feeling insecure about one's looks is pretty much a universal human experience. It's little touches like this, avoiding stereotypes, using clever symbolism and visual allegory, and drawing on the emotional core of common problems, that take this short from just another creepy animation to something that can speak to things beyond itself.
This is actually my first encounter with Jack Stauber's work, and I will no doubt be exploring more of it in the future. The songs are great... but really, the story and the characters are what I'm here for. As not to give away the excellent twist, I'll just say that the subject matter is treated with the horror and gravity that it deserves. Whether you want to escape from Opal's story or return to it is up to you. But it's well worth a watch.
America's Got Talent (2006)
A talent show should be as good as its talents. This one is only as good as the judges and network allow it to be.
I love this show for giving a spotlight to variety artists, magicians, and types of performances you wouldn't get to see on television otherwise. That is the only thing I still love about it.
The show has fallen far from the heydays of Prince Poppycock, and the era of the Professional Regurgitator and Paul Zirdin. The emotions back then felt more genuine, somehow. Yes, the manipulative golden buzzer picks were always there, but they didn't detract from the overall package.
Now I feel like the show is just trying to hit its quota. They give at least two of the five golden buzzers every season to a cute kid singer (usually a girl) or chorus with a sob story. The editing tricks are so transparent, you are reminded constantly that a reality show does not equal reality. Acts can coast further by reminding the audience what they had to overcome to get to the AGT stage than actually doing something worthwhile while they're there.
The judges, hosts, and guests constantly plug the AGT as a show that's all about lifting people up--- giving a big break to artists who deserve it; about dreamers from around the world getting to shine on the world's biggest stage. It's ratings and inspiration porn.
This show has no real empathy for any of its contestants. It shirks its variety acts for singers, and shirks the ones with the best voices for the cutest ones. The golden buzzers, child acts, and the obvious faves get singled out and put in the best time slots within the hour. For novelty acts, sometimes NBC doesn't even play their full audition.
Part of the current problem is that Simon seems to be considered the show's main judge now. Half the contestants sing his praises in the audition round, like the real goal is just impressing him. Yes, Simon created the Talent franchise. But he really earned his rep through his successes in the record industry--- he's not an all-around talent expert. For indication of how bad he is at judging talents beyond singing, in season 16, he buzzed two semifinalists in the middle of their acts. One was comedian Kabir Singh, who called Simon out, in hilarious fashion, for buzzing him. The other act was Rialcris, three hand-balancers performing on a fiery set. A sudden loud noise could've made them drop each other, stumble into a set piece and suffer burns, or just get themselves killed. Does Simon care? No. He pretty much just thinks they're boring.
On the results show the next day, they call Kabir and Rialcris to the stage together and announce NEITHER of them will go through to the finals. It's like the show is making an example of these two acts because Simon Cowell doesn't like them. Maybe that's really how the audience voted, but it seems likely votes would be swayed by Simon giving them the buzzer. This was the moment AGT lost my respect for good.
At its best, AGT is original, surprising, funny, and entertaining for all audiences. Even in the recent seasons, you still get the occasional great act like BAD Salsa, Brandon Leake (shut up, I like poetry), Patrick Kun, Josh Blue, or Celia Muniz. These acts often don't go as far as they should... but that's as much an issue with the audience as the show itself.
If you like seeing awesome variety acts and don't care about the rest, this might still be the show for you. But if you're not big on obvious, manufactured feels, the judge's antics, or entertainers chasing social media trends, don't bother; this show just isn't worth your time.
Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show (2009)
The best possible finale for this series, or any like it
My thoughts here come with a backstory: I was not a *huge* fan of EEnE as a child. In fact, Eddy probably ranked among my least favorite characters in any show, for being a greedy punk and getting his friends in trouble. That said, I looked back on the show with the same vague nostalgia I had for most Cartoon Network shows of its era.
In high school, I found out this movie existed and decided to watch it online. It led me to rewatch, and rethink, the entire series. The Big Picture Show finds the bigger story rooted in an episodic slapstick comedy and runs with it. While funny, it hits more emotional beats than you'd expect for a show like this- and ones that other series finales can only dream of. It recontextualizes Eddy's character throughout previous seasons in a very sympathetic, tragic light, and let me appreciate many of the other characters beyond the often one-note role they played in episodes. It's been 7 years since I watched this film, and there are still scenes from it I think about sometimes. If you haven't watched the Big Picture Show, I can't recommend it enough. It's one thing to be nostalgic; it's another to make you rethink nostalgia.