In Plain Sight: Trojan Horst
Okay, this was the best episode of In Plain Sight to date. Action-packed and filled with character revelations, if this is where In Plain Sight is going, it’s going to definitely make it beyond this premiere season.
The set up has Marshall and Mary taking custody of a seemingly innocuous, diabetic, asthmatic accountant/arranger for a hit man named Lola. He’s been caught in an FBI sting and will go WITSEC in exchange for “delivering” Lola.
Expertly played by Dave Foley (News Radio), he’s just enough of an unctuous ass to make him amusing. When Mary throws him to the ground and pounces on him, he says, “Could you get off of me, you’re not exactly petite.”
The role was very much like Charles Grodin, a mob accountant, in the movie Midnight Run, with Robert DeNiro as the bounty hunter forced to take him cross country. (If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and rent it; it’s great!)
The subtext of the episode was more fascinating than the case itself. Mary snoops into Marshall’s mail and discovers he’s been interviewing for a new job outside the Witness Protection Service. She acts out, getting moody, but not revealing why she’s pissed with him. There’s an interesting workplace dynamic between Marshall and Mary; they’re really good at doing their business while doing this back-and-forth battle about their relationship. Do you wonder if they would they have walked into a trap if they were not bickering? I don’t think so, because at the rest stop, Marshall is suspicious of the bottle drop.
So their Jeep breaks down, it’s a trap. They’re outside cell phone range — good! I hate when you can just call out of a perilous situation, don’t you? While checking out the engine, Marshall and Mary are ambushed by two shooters in a car — the couple from the rest stop. There’s a tremendous amount of shooting, but only Marshall is hit on first shot. Excuse me for complaining, but these people need to get to the shooting range! Mary shoots and shoots and doesn’t hit either of the bad guys. There’s lots of bullet holes, but only Marshall’s blood.
Thanks to Marshall, they get away and find shelter in an abandoned building. Did anybody else notice how much it looked just like the NCIS finale where Jenny was killed? Anyway, Marshall he passes out and Mary gets desperate. She really needs him, despite what she says. He comes to and manages to temporarily mend his wound with a plastic tube and a bottle of water. You gotta love Marshall’s ability to know what to do when - bravo.
Mary suspects the bad guys have a GPS device. They’re trapped, outnumbered and vulnerable, and in this tense, dangerous situation, Marshall admits he wants to leave the marshal service because of their relationship — but it’s not a love thing (at least that’s not what he’s saying). He tells her, “I feel like I’m this keeper of an exotic animal.” He’s protecting Mary — the exotic animal — from the world and the world from her. The responsibility of caring for her is getting to him. Mary gets it.
She kisses him — as a friend — says he can’t quit. He’s her friend; she needs him. When he starts bleeding, Mary acts boldly because she must. She tries to get the drop on the baddies, and when she uses their Jeep to get position, she realizes Horst was never shot at. She confronts his and in a rapid connect-the-dots way, she sings words to the Kinks’ song “Lola,” and confirms that Horst is hitman Lola. He got himself arrested to do a job. Acting decisively, Marshal Mary exchanges Horst for a car and rushes Marshal Marshall to help. Horst is apprehended and Marshall’s fate hangs in the balance.
Other points of interest
— Mary brings “expensive coffee beverages” to the office. Marshall is stunned: “You’re not a treater. …It’s just an observation, not a criticism.” He’s right, though. Mary wants to be reimbursed.
— After discovering that Marshall’s looking for another job, Mary cracks wise, “Why did I put up with your running commentary for three years?”
– The weakest part of the In Plain Sight continues to be Mary’s family. Brandi busts Jinx for not doing her cosmetics job. Jinx claims that “The dog ate my samples” which is dumb, but true. Brandi forces Jinx to turn to her “box.” No, not that box. It’s her jewelry. Guess what? All her gems are paste — DOH!
— Back at the bar, Jinx and Brandi drink to Mary, their meal ticket. By the way, who’s paying for their drinks?
— Great line when Mary confronts the woman from the shootout. “You shouldn’t have shot my friend; I only have one friend.” She then kicks her to the ground. Nice.
— As “Lola” plays on the soundtrack — “She walked like a woman and talked like a man” — you realize the lyrics kind of describe Mary.
— In voice over (the only time during the show), Mary quotes Nietzsche: “We go into the world alone and come out alone.” At hospital, Mary really breaks downs and we see that she does need the emotional connection to her dysfunctional family. She is, as she says, “Infuriatingly dependent on others.”
— Lesley Ann Warren needs a new outfit. Her hot “Mary Kay” pink suit is tired.
— This episode was really well-directed by Bryan Spicer (24, House). The pacing of the show was great; it seemed to fly by.
Jason Segel talks New Muppet Movie
When we reported last week that Forgetting Sarah Marshall director Nick Stoller and writer/star Jason Segel had signed on to develop the next Muppet movie, I speculated that these would be the guys to get it right (”The early Muppet films were absolutely genius, but the last few failed due to an attempt to dumb down the plot/jokes to appeal to young viewers”). Segel spoke with MTV, and his views seemed to mirror my early thoughts.
“I’ve just grown a little disappointed with ‘Muppets in the Old West,’ ‘Muppets Under Water,’ and all these weird concept movies. I just want to go take it back to the early 80’s, when it was about the Muppets trying to put on a show. That’s what I’m trying to bring back,” said Segel, who also wants to bring back the big name cameos of the earlier films. “All of our friends that I’ve brought it up to are pretty excited by the prospect of it. Everyone loves the Muppets; they’ve got a warm place in most people’s hearts. We want a lot of cameos. You look back at Charles Grodin, Charles Durning, there were just such great performances in those movies.” “We’ve got a great plot. I think if we can execute it right, it will be terrific. But I can’t tell you more - it’s top secret.”
When asked if he plans to star as the lead human role in the new film, Segel admitted “We haven’t figured that out yet. Right now, we’re just focused on trying to turn in an amazing script.” Segel would only say that the plot would focus on Kermit the Frog (duh). And if Segel has not yet convinced you that he might have the vision to make the next big muppet film, I think this next quote will:
“I remember thinking that Kermit was the original Tom Hanks - he was the everyman for a kid. I remember watching Kermit and thinking ‘That’s what I want to do when I grow up.’ I don’t think I realized he was a puppet.”
One of the fey factors of the original muppet movies was that the muppets were treated like normal people in the real world, and I think Jason gets that. The later films focused on Muppets being part of these magical fantasy worlds (be it Pirates, Oz, or Treasure Island).
What You Don’t Know About A Christmas Story
Every year A Christmas Story endlessly plays in the background in most family Christmas parties thanks to TBS. I know I’ve personally seen the film over 60 times, and its also the first film I remember seeing theatrically. But seeing and knowing are two different things. For example, did you know that Jack Nicholson was very interested in playing Ralphie’s dad, but was never hired due to budgetary concerns? That’s just one of the 11 things you might not know about A Christmas Story. Here are some other highlights:
- Ralphie says he wants the Red Ryder BB Gun 28 times, that’s approximately once every three minutes and 20 seconds.
- A Christmas Story supposedly inspired the creation of The Wonder Years. In fact, in one of the last few episodes, Peter Billingsley appeared as one of Kevin Arnold’s roommates.
And here are a few more interesting tidbits that Mental Floss left out:
- Director Bob Clark made a cameo as a dim-witted neighbor, who marvels at the Leg Lamp from outside.
- Author and narrator Jean Shepherd makes a cameo as the irate man in line who directs Ralphie to the back of the line.
- An elaborate fantasy sequence which featured Flash Gordon teaming with Ralphie to fight Ming the Merciless was reportedly filmed but dropped from the final cut.
And finally…
A sequel to A Christmas Story actually exists. Filmed in 1994 under the title It Runs in the Family. Based on other stories from Jean Shepherd’s novels, the story takes place in Summer.
Ralphie is searching for the perfect top to use to beat the school bully with, the Old Man is in battle with their hillbilly neighbors, the Bumpus, while eagerly awaiting the discovery of the perfect fishing spot, and the Mother is attempting to collect all of the pieces of a glass china set at a local movie theater.
Shepherd returned as narrator, and Tedde Moore returned to play Miss Shields, but the rest of the cast was entirely new. Charles Grodin played the old man Mr. Parker, while Mary Steenburgen played the mother. Macaulay’s younger brother Kieran Culkin played Ralphie. The film was a mess, and faired poorly at the box office ($70,936). The film was also released under the title of “My Summer Story” on home video in an attempt to capitalize on the success of A Christmas Story.
Bonnie Hunt Biography
Described by Entertainment Weekly as “the hands-down best (talk show) guest in America,” Chicago-born Bonnie Hunt began pursuing her acting career while working as a nurse at that city’s Northwestern University Hospital. (Reportedly as late as the early 1990s, she returned to that profession for a month or so each year.) The smart, pixie-like writer-performer co-founded the Chicago improvisational troupe An Impulsive Thing before joining the famed Second City improv group, appearing in their productions “Bright Lights, Night Baseball,” “Jean Paul Sartre and Ringo” and “How Green Were My Values.†After making her feature debut as the waitress who spills toothpicks before a calculating Dustin Hoffman in Barry Levinson’s Oscar-winning Best Picture “Rain Man” (1988), she moved to Los Angeles with a short-lived West Coast offshoot of Second City and turned down three offers from “Saturday Night Live” while working to get her own show on the air.
Hunt’s first leading role cast her as second fiddle to both Charles Grodin and the galumphing Saint Bernard “Beethoven” (1992), with whom she reunited for “Beethoven’s 2nd” (1993). She also had a memorable 30-second cameo as a fanatical tour guide in “Dave” (also 1993) but had less luck as Marisa Tomei’s best pal in the uneven “Only You” (1994), despite savoring the three-month shoot in Italy. Though critics were indifferent to her portrayal of Robin Williams’ love interest in “Jumanji” (1995), her years at Second City had prepared her well for the Williams whirlwind, and the film earned over $100 million at the box office. No such fate awaited the reception of “Getting Away With Murder” (1996), an embarrassment for Jack Lemmon, Lily Tomlin and Dan Aykroyd, from which Hunt emerged relatively unscathed as Aykroyd’s cast off girlfriend. After a small role in the coming-of-age drama “Now and Then” (1995), she impressed reviewers as the bitter older sister of Renee Zellweger in Cameron Crowe’s romantic/sports comedy “Jerry Maguire” (1996).
As for TV, she made her debut as a regular on the short-lived, soap-like sitcom “Grand” (CBS, 1990), followed by a stint on the elementary school sitcom “Davis Rules” (ABC, 1991; CBS, 1992), co-starring with Randy Quaid and Jonathan Winters and displaying her considerable comic talents, which included holding her own opposite the exuberant Winters. Her friendship with talk show host David Letterman led to her becoming the first woman to create, write, co-executive produce (with Letterman) and star in her own short-lived series, “The Building” (CBS, 1993). The ensemble comedy featuring Hunt’s Second City colleagues attempted to recreate the feel of an improvisational troupe with its rich characterizations and overlapping dialogue. Again with Letterman’s backing, she created and produced the “The Bonnie Hunt Show/Bonnie” (CBS, 1995-1996), on which she played a Chicago TV station reporter. Taped in real time without retakes, each episode combined scripted and improvisational material, including a “man-in-the-street” report by Hunt, but in spite of sterling reviews and a small but loyal following, the show died after one season.
Though there were no more stabs at series TV, Hunt remained busy with a starring turn as a woman trapped overnight in a locked subway exit in the “Fern’s Heart of Darkness” segment of HBO’s “Subway Stories: Tales From the Underground” (1997) and small roles in “Kissing a Fool” (1998) and Sydney Pollack’s anachronistic “Random Hearts” (1999), in which she played an old friend of Kristin Scott Thomas. She also voiced the character of Rosie the black widow spider in the delightful, animated adventure comedy “A Bug’s Life” (also 1998) and played Tom Hanks’ plain-speaking, ever-warm wife in “The Green Mile” (also 1999). Hunt signed to direct her first feature, “Convenience”, in 1997, but with it on hold, she made her directorial debut at the helm of “Return to Me” (2000), co-scripted by longtime collaborator Don Lake, a regular on both her TV series. Shot almost entirely in her hometown of Chicago, the romance starred David Duchovny as a man who falls in love with Minnie Driver, the recipient of his deceased wife’s transplanted heart.
In 2002, Hunt got the chance to become the hands-down best TV talk show host—fictionally, anyway—playing local Chicago morning show personality Bonnie Molloy, who finds it hard to separate her professional and personal lives in the ABC television sit-com “Life With Bonnie” (2002-2004). The show—with scripts that were largely improvised and benefited from guest spots by many of Hunt’s showbiz colleagues such as Duchovny—was not on the air long before Hunt took near-total control, removing many of the writers and handling many of the production details herself. With Hunt at the helm, the show was renewed for an even more successful second season as part of ABC’s “TGiF” lineup, and the actress received Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy in both 2003 and 2004. She also continued her successful career in film, teaming with Steve Martin as the parents of a dozen demanding kids in the mild but commercially successful remake of “Cheaper by the Dozen” (2003).
She next starred in a little known indie feature, “Loggerheads†(2005), a family drama about a mother (Hunt) who makes a last ditch effort to find the son (Kip Pardue) she was forced to give up for adoption as a teenager. Hunt then reprised her role as the overburdened mother in “Cheaper By the Dozen 2†(2005), costarring Steven Martin as the patriarch of a family of twelve. Meanwhile, she crossed over to animation, providing the voice of Sally in “Cars†(2006), the latest soon-to-be animated classic from Pixar Studios about a hotshot race car (Owen Wilson) stuck in a sleepy Route 66 town populated by an eccentric array of characters who help steer him right.
- Born:
on 09/22/1964 in Chicago, Illinois - Job Titles:
Actor, Producer, Screenwriter, Director, Nurse
Family
- Brother: Keving Hunt. older
- Brother: Patrick Hunt. older
- Brother: Tom Hunt. older; played small roles in “Bonnie” and “The Building”
- Father: Bob Hunt. died while Bonnie was in nursing school
- Mother: Alice Hunt. provided a voiceover as Mom for CBS sitcom “Bonnie” (1995)
- Sister: Carol Hunt. older; played small roles in “Bonnie”
- Sister: Kathy Hunt. older
- Sister: Mary Hunt. younger
Significant Others
- Husband: John Murphy. married in 1988
Education
- Second City, Chicago, Illinois
Milestones
- 1982 Worked as an oncology and emergency room nurse at Northwestern University Hospital (dates approximate)
- 1984 Co-founded Chicago improvisational group, An Impulsive Thing, centered at Bob’s Bar across from Wrigley Field (date approximate)
- 1986 Joined Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe
- 1988 Feature acting debut, “Rain Man”; first onscreen collaboration with Tom Cruise; still working as a nurse, she took three days off to film her cameo
- 1989 Helped form the L.A. offshoot of Second City
- 1990 TV series debut, co-starring in the NBC sitcom “Grand”
- 1992 First feature in a lead role as Charles Grodin’s beleaguered wife in “Beethoven”
- 1993 Created, wrote and co-executive produced (with David Letterman) the TV sitcom “The Building”; despite great critical response, ratings were not stellar; CBS ofered to renew the series if Hunt replaced all of her co-stars (Chicago friends) with more well-known actors; when she refused, the axe fell
- 1993 Enjoyed hilariously memorable cameo as White House tour guide in “Dave”
- 1994 Portrayed Marisa Tomei’s best friend in Norman Jewison’s “Only You”
- 1995 Was Robin Williams’ love interest in “Jumanji”
- 1995 Wrote, created and co-executive produced (again with Letterman) the TV sitcom “The Bonnie Hunt Show/Bonnie” (CBS)
- 1996 Reteamed onscreen with Tom Cruise in “Jerry Maguire”
- 1997 Signed to direct first feature, “Convenience”; project eventually put on hold
- 1997 Starred as Fern McDermott, a woman who becomes trapped in a subway exit overnight, in “Fern’s Heart of Darkness”, a segment of HBO’s “Subway Stories: Tales From the Underground”
- 1998 Contributed voice of Rosie (the black widow spider) to animated “A Bug’s Life”
- 1999 Cast as Kristen Scott Thomas’ old friend in Sydney Pollack’s “Random Hearts”
- 1999 Played Tom Hanks’ plain-speaking wife in “The Green Mile”
- 2000 Feature directing and co-screenwriting (with longtime collaborator Don Lake) debut with “Return to Me”
- 2002 Starred in the comedy series “Life With Bonnie”; received Golden Globe (2002, 2003) and Emmy (2004) nominations for Best Actress
- 2002 Acted in the “Project Greenlight” winning feature “Stolen Summer”; screened at Sundance
- 2003 Co-starred with Steve Martin in the comedy “Cheaper by the Dozen”
- 2005 Reprised role as the matriarch of 12 kids in “Cheaper By the Dozen 2″
- 2006 Voiced Sally in the Pixar animated feature “Cars”
- Co-starred in the sitcom “Davis Rules” (ABC then CBS), portraying Jonathan Winters’ daughter
- Had a part-time job as nurse’s aide during high school