ABC's "The Middle"

"The Middle" is Patricia Heaton's most recent and best shot at replicating the "Everybody Loves Raymond" success. This time, as the star. She plays Frankie, an everyday, working mom with a husband and three kids. Frankie faces typical struggles of tight finances in a bad economy, school projects, caring for elderly relatives, work, household chores, etc. etc. etc. Her schedule is full and familiar. What's different is how the producers decided to portray her husband Mike and the odd to oddest kids.

Mike (Neil Flynn) is not like typical TV dads. He is in touch, present, and a hard worker. He wants to have a unified front with Frankie both in child rearing and in life. Like real husbands, he just doesn't always understand what to do to support Frankie.

Charlie Mcdermott (Frozen River) is the brave actor who plays their oldest child Axl, usually wearing only boxer shorts. A lot of girls will find him interesting to watch. If they take the time to look up from his torso to his face, they will notice an actor who has a grasp on the difficult task of communicating with speaking. Charlie's facial reactions add a great deal to the way he plays this silly teen.


Sometimes it takes a pretty girl to play plain and ABC has done it again with the casting of the easy on the eyes Eden Sher as teen aged Sue. Eden sharply plays the accident prone, metal-mouth, who just can't win. Repeatedly trying out for various clubs and teams, trying to be noticed by boys she likes, or just be noticed in general. When she finally does get a boyfriend, it is a guy who is "as queer as a three dollar bill" and everyone knows it. Except her....and her boyfriend.

Brick (Atticus Shaffer) is in elementary school and is the oddest duck of the three. He'd rather read books than play. He whispers words aloud to himself in a way that the other characters can hear and be made throat clearing-ly uncomfortable.

Chris Kattan (Saturday Night Live) is Bob, Frankie's work buddy with his own baggage of oddity. He brings more laughter and talent to a show that already has plenty of both.

The Middle airs Wednesday nights on ABC.

TV Shorts

Film News Briefs reported last week that ABC has greenlit a new mockumentary show. "187Detroit" will star stage actor John Michael Hill. Hill has played in "Hairspray" and "The Boy from Oz." His character on the new show will be a rookie homicide detective. I like A&E's "The First 48" will follows real life detectives working real life homicide cases. I anxiously await this scripted version which will be able to offer satisfying endings. Check back for updates on this show.

The Lookout (2007)

When you carry around a driver license size card that starts with, "My name is Chris Pratt. I have had a serious head injury," you might be tempted to use that as an excuse in life. But, Chris doesn't want pats on the head. He doesn't want his roommate to leave dinner out waiting for him to come home. Instead, he wants to go into management training for the bank where he works as the night janitor in a small farm town. He wants to be viewed as normal, get laid, and more than anything else, forgive himself for the horrible crash that caused his injury, took the left leg of his then girlfriend, and the took the lives of two friends. Striking out for independence, Chris (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) becomes "THE LOOKOUT".

The movie begins with a beautiful scene of the four friends driving in the country. Chris wants Rachel to see all the fireflies near the road, so he drives with the headlights off. It's a shot that could inspire a musician named for a bird and an urban setting to write a song. But the beauty is short lived. Fast forward to present day, Chris is at Independent Living Skills class writing about his life in an exercise to help improve his short term memory.

This is Academy Award nominated Scott Frank's screenplay and first try at directing. It's a trilling heist story that also deals with the aftermath of trauma in a respectful and believable way. Most writers would have gone down the pity path to make us like Chris. Scott wisely allows us to think what we will.

My feelings towards Chris was sympathetic. Maybe because I grew up around handicap people of varying degrees. Or, maybe because Joseph Gordon-Levitt played it so well. Joseph was thoughtful and at ease with the character in which he played fully immersed. Because movies are visual, it helps that he is quite handsome and paired well with Isla Fisher (Definitely, Maybe/The Wedding Crashers) who is simply stunning. Particularly in a shot in front of a red barn. You'll know it when you see it.

Matthew Goode (Match Point) skillfully plays Gary, who slips into Chris' life. Introducing him to Luvlee (Isla's role) and by treating Chris as a serious guy. Then, gets him to join a group to rob the very bank Chris wants to learn to manage. It's unsettling how well Gary gets into Chris' head and you know that this friendship will not go well.

Finally, the great Jeff Daniels (who has played in many fantastic movies) plays Lewis, Chris' blind roommate. Lew seems to be able to survive on his own. He works, is a good cook, and does appear to be a good judge of character. I think it's fair to say he loves Chris like a brother, but he mothers him too much. Jeff is convincing in all his work, but I especially liked what he did in The Lookout. When not wearing sun glasses, he would role his eyes around the way the blind do. It must have been uncomfortable, but it's better than the actors who stare to one spot the way the blind DO NOT.

The movie foreshadows well with almost no, "I know what will happen next," moments. Scott Frank gave so much depth to each character that their back stories would be fun to explore. Strongly written, beautifully shot (DP Alar Kivilo), and a directorial debut that rivals Scott's contemporaries. The Lookout is a very good film.