To Watch While You're Dying of Boredom
Some of you may not be able to see your families during the holidays because Damn It 2020.
If you're in that boat, and you need something to watch, I've seen a few interesting things in the last couple of weeks that you might enjoy.
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart (HBO, HBO Max)
I think quite a few of us actually liked the Bee Gees back the 70s and 80s, but didn't realize it until thirty years later.
This is a terrific documentary, and if you like the Bee Gees, you'll be fascinated. Even if you didn't like them, it's still tremendously interesting.
Here's a story as an example.
When the Bee Gees wrote the soundtrack for Saturday Night Fever, I assumed they watched a rough cut of a movie and then wrote the songs. Nope. They were given a script, which they didn't even read. All they knew was that the movie was about disco. Somehow they wrote a set of songs that tied in perfectly to the movie.
At one point, four of their songs from the soundtrack were in the top five in the U.S., which is unbelievable.
One other note: I always assumed that Stayin' Alive was about living by dancing. Symbolic and whatnot. It wasn't. It was about New York City in the summer that Son of Sam terrorized the city.
Listen to it knowing that and damn, it's on an entirely different level.
I'm Your Woman (Amazon Prime)
If you enjoy watching The Fabulous Mrs. Maisel, lead actor Rachel Brosnahan is starring in a movie that was just released last week, and it's a gritty crime thriller that is entertaining in every way. It's also remarkably gentle in places, which is a tough combination to pull off, but it's done flawlessly.
I Hate Suzie (HBO, HBO Max)
This is a brilliant, funny series that is so dark it's uncomfortable to watch at times (which is something for me to say, because I love dark comedies). It's a long discourse on the dark side of celebrity, and it gets progressively more complex as the episodes progress. It also, at times, has this magnificent visual style that reminds me of Killing Eve at times (something else you might enjoy).
That should fill a few hours of dead holiday time.
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