Weeds: Season One (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)If a show is dark, funny, subversive, and controversial, you know its on HBO or SHOWTIME, the only channels bold enough to have produced shows that network TV would run away from. Weeds is exactly one of those shows. A comedy about a young suburbanite mother with two kids who turns to dealing pot after her husband dies, Weeds flies directly in the face of the conventional comedy. That's what makes it such a good show. Weeds has already been picked up for a second season, so this show will be around for a while!
Nancy Botwin (Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker) has a normal life as a housewife in the LA suburb of Agrestic. She has a nice husband and two wonderful kids and a slacker brother-in-law named Andy(Justin Kirk). When her husband dies suddenly, Nancy needs a way to come up with a steady income so she can support her family. So she turns to dealing pot, and becomes the pied piper to the pot smoking denizens of Agrestic, including her accountant, Doug Wilson (Kevin Nealon). So how can you be a full time dealer and mother without getting busted, without your brother-in-law horning in on the action, and how can you lecture your kids when you break the law to support them? This show explores the humor in these predicaments as well as the drama in the 10-episode First Season.
The acting in Weeds is superb. Parker was wonderful in West Wing and is even better here, and Elizabeth Perkins makes a great comeback with her role as Nancy's frenemy Celia Hodes. Kevin Nealon is hysterical as Doug, reminding people how good a comedian he really is when not starring in bad material. Like other Showtime hits, this show not only explores Nancy's life and loves, but develops dramatic arcs for the lives of the other main characters, giving the show much more depth and range.
The complete first season on 2 discs contains all 10 first season episodes with a run time of 283 minutes. There are 6 cast and crew commentaries, and several featurettes including "Smoky Snippets" and "Smoke and Mirrors: Original Marijuana Mockumentary." It is in 2.0 and 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio. Check out their website for more info. Reeommended.
A.G. Corwin
St.Louis, MO

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Leaves of Grass (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Leaves of Grass isn't a movie that you can easily categorize. While it doesn't offer up laughs every few minutes, it's still a clever comedy in the vein of a Coen Brothers film. But you also can't quite call it a black comedy completely in the spirit of Burn After Reading or Fargo. It's equal parts crime drama, humor, romance and philosophy.
The film revolves around the intertwining lives of two identical twins, played by the incredibly talented Edward Norton. Ivy League philosophy professor Bill Kincaid is lured back to his Oklahoma hometown as part of a scheme cooked up by Mary Jane growing brother Brady. The first half hour of the film moves slowly but quickly gains momentum when the two siblings eventually cross paths.
The best part of this movie is easily watching Norton put on brilliant performances as both brothers. The supporting cast is top-notch as well, especially director Tim Blake Nelson in the role of Bolger, Brady's partner in crime. Nelson slips into the role effortlessly, which is no surprise considering he himself is a real-life Okie (a Jewish one at that, which influences a subplot of the movie). My only gripe with casting was Richard Dreyfuss as Jewish gangster Pug Rothbaum, with Dreyfuss giving one of the most bizarre attempts at a Southern accent in film.
I enjoyed the cinematography, Jeff Danna's work on the score, and the infusion of philosophy into the film. As a Southerner, I appreciated the fact that Brady's accent was no reflection on his intelligence. While not as well-read as his sibling, he still gets the occasional profound message across. The only real complaint I have about the film are the jarring scenes of violence. Considering it's not entirely a dark comedy, scenes that involved murders seemed extremely out of place in this movie.
Overall, watching Edward Norton effectively tackle two completely different roles was a real treat. If you enjoy a good drama or comedy that makes you think, definitely check this one out.

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Weeds: Season Two (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Yes, it's a drama all right, despite the half-hour format. The tone of its second season reminds me more than anything of the venerable "Six Feet Under": it's extremely funny, and extremely smart, and it moves from ultra-dry sitcom territory into much darker places (and back) without warning or apology.
"Weeds" casts its satirical throwing stars in 360 degrees. While drug warriors get their well-justified comeuppance, we more libertarian types don't get off exactly scot-free. Just the right medicine when it comes to a debate that's been all but shut down in more mainstream circles.
Not that you need to have an opinion about pot politics to enjoy the razor-sharp dialogue or, failing that, Mary-Louise Parker's big brown eyes and diabolical deadpan delivery.

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Funnier, darker and more daring, the second season of this acclaimed Showtime series reaches a higher ground. Golden Globe winner Mary-Louise Parker stars as Nancy Botwin, the soccer mom who had to learn how to deal - pot, that is - after the death of her husband. Now, her business is a hit. But keeping up with the neighbors in this suburban utopia isn't easy. She's joined up with a few of her closest friends, and together they're facing life's highs and lows - because even in paradise, nobody's perfect. Don't miss WEEDS, an addictive comedy, the highest grade TV has to offer.

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