The Wolf of Wall Street- Welcome to the Family

Last night, my wife and I saw The Wolf of Wall Street. We would've saw it on Christmas Day after our family dinner, but the show sold out before we could get our tickets; everybody was clamoring over Scorsese's latest film. When we finally got to see the show a day later, The Wolf of Wall Street was still packed, and being there felt like going to another kind of family reunion, a reunion with Martin Scorsese at his house, the theatre.

Scorsese has created his own version of a
trilogy with The Wolf of Wall Street

Within the first 5 minutes of the film, my wife and I knew we were in for a treat. There were midgets being thrown around, drugs being inserted up people's asses, and a crazed office setting that we all would like to be a part of; basically, the kind of stories you'll hear from your extended family during holiday dinners. The film is three hours long, and for the most part, this maddening tone never ceases. There are too many scenes to be re-counted, so I won't try to repeat them all. All I will say is that there is not one dull moment, not one bad scene or exchange in the entire movie. It was just Scorsese, the master, at his best.

The Wolf of Wall Street is inspired by and closely related to Casino and Goodfellas. In fact, Scorsese has said that it is part of his trilogy (along with the other two) about money and greed. There were techniques in The Wolf of Wall Street that are directly from Goodfellas: DiCaprio replacing Liotta in the narrator/main star role, quick cuts, montages, etc. Also, the dynamics between DiCaprio and Hill are eerily similar to many DeNiro/Pesci collaborations. However, as far as romantic relationships go,  The Wolf of Wall Street is closer to Casino. Belfort, played by Leo, and his wife have the same mad love turned to dysfunction that we saw between DeNiro and Sharon Stone twenty years earlier.

DiCaprio gives a career defining performance as
Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street

Seeing Scorsese return to these subjects and themes for a third time was a true delight. His version of a trilogy is perfect; it's the way trilogies are intended to be, the way God wanted them. Too often, studios and audiences get caught up in wanting to have continuations of old characters and completed stories. This only leads to bad films. Scorsese, on the other hand, has avoided being dull by wrapping each of his films in different characters and in different settings and times. Instead, he explores very similar themes, which creates this familiar atmosphere that turns each film into a different sibling of the same family. Each has their different quirks, but they all come from the same place, and in many ways, all of their characters have similar fates. Going to see Scorsese at work in The Wolf of Wall Street is something that every film fan needs to do.

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Is Brian’s Death a Good Thing for Family Guy?

If you haven’t heard already, Brian Griffin, the beloved dog on one of America’s top comedies (Family Guy), died just a few weeks ago. In the tear jerking episode, Stewie and Brian are preparing to play a game of street hockey when a car flashes through and hits Brian. After the injury, the audience was brought into the veterinarian’s office for a tearful farewell with one of America’s favorite fictional characters.

A Member of the Family

Now, Family Guy is just a cartoon, so no real dogs died during this episode, but Brian’s death still hurts the same. Brian was one of the primary characters of this beloved show for 14 years and well over 200 episodes. Brian was a well-educated, talking dog that at times seemed to be the show’s only voice of reason. Of course, over the years, he did find his way into trouble (sleeping with Quagmire's sex changed father was particularly disturbing) and battle some of his own personal demons (alcohol, womanizing, depression).

This passing is so sad because in many ways Brian had become the family dog for not only the Griffins but millions of Americans around the country. Think about it. Except for immediate family, many people spend more time with Brian than they do most of their relatives, so why wouldn’t we mourn his death in the same way?

Finding a New Family Dog

The beauty of Family Guy (and all classically formatted sitcoms) is the idea of reliability. We turn on the television to spend time with our favorite characters and families, so we can escape into a world of humor and relief. We don’t want our family members to die! It defeats the entire purpose of watching the television show in the f

irst place.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that a major sitcom has gotten rid of one of its main characters. Some have actually had success. Two of the biggest examples that come to mind are Two and a Half Men (they eliminated Charlie Sheen’s character: Charlie Harper) and Cheers (they eliminated Shelley Long’s character: Diane).  Both shows took the blows in stride and went on to have success postmortem.

But this question of continued success is now facing Family Guy as well. They too are already taking the change in stride. Just minutes after Brian’s death, a new family dog named Vinny was introduced . Vinny, who is reminiscent of a 1950s Italian mobster from New York, is certainly going to bring a new energy to the show. This means that the family- and its dynamics- that we once loved are no longer around.

Future Questions

My main question to show creator Seth Macfarlane is why would we want to watch this new show? Other shows that he has created like The Cleveland Show and American Dad have not had as much success and aren’t as funny because they didn’t have the chemistry and magic of Family Guy. Now tragically, neither does Family Guy.

The Great Lightnin' Hopkins

 Yesterday, on Thanksgiving, my wife was telling me the story of John Fante. I've read one of his book, but she's read them all. Fante has inspired a number of more relevant authors (more relevant to today's society anyway) like Charles Bukowski. She was telling me how his works are no longer in print, falling into the cracks of oblivion, because publishing houses don't want to spend the money to keep him around.

It made me kind of sad. And it made me think about things. I started wondering if that is the way that it just has to be in today's world. In the past, you know like 500 years ago, there weren't as many artists, so there wasn't as much art thrown away. Even if there was, would we want to read it or see it? There's only a certain amount that we can absorb, and most people want to absorb a substantial amount of contemporary art.

John Fante is going out of print, hmmm. The book I read by him was good, and it's a shame that his voice isn't going to be heard too much longer. But, it's also sad that nobody is going to hear my voice one day, and it's sad that nobody is going to hear your voice one day. I've had great conversations with people over the years, and it's sad that those are also going to die. But, that is just the way it goes I guess. However, there are a few exceptions. Certain artists that society has deemed to be great will last through time. Shakespeare is not going anywhere, Beethoven either. That's the way it is. To never die, you have to be that good.

Today, we are doing our best to keep certain artists alive through the internet. There's something so eerie and magical about roaming Youtube, slowly unraveling a man's career. This past month, I've been obsessed with old blues musicians...Big Mama Thornton, Elmore James, John Lee Hooker, etc. But, none have been as great as Lightnin' Hopkins.

I've been stuck on him for days, watching his progression over the years. I love his weaving acoustic guitar solos and his drawling voice. He is so unbelievably cool in his fedora hat with his gold teeth. His stories tell about life, the way it really is, but he keeps his sense of humor with him. Right now, in my mind, I believe him to be one of the greatest artists, let alone blues artists, I've heard. He died thirty years ago, and like Fante, he's influenced countless artists along the way. But, right now, I'm also wondering how much time Lightnin' Hopkins has until his artistry dies.

So, I want to do my part to keep his memory alive. Here is the late, great Lightnin' Hopkins. Check him out and keep this dude alive.

Is Anybody Excited for "All is by my Side"?

"ALL IS BY MY SIDE"

How many times have we heard things like "Hendrix is God." Too many to count. Often, Jimi is thought of as a demi-god, but anybody that has read a great deal about his life would realize that he is a very complex person with a rich background. He spent time in the military, bounced around between family households, had a homeless brother that lived down the street, had an abusive father,  and the list goes on and on. The one constant for Jimi was always music. His entire life was a life dedicated to music. However, most people only think of Jimi's days of fame and fortune, but really, that is not the best part of the story.

The new Jimi Hendrix biopic, "All is by my Side," has been in the works for what seems like a long time. All I hear is negativity from every journalist that is covering the subject. Yes, I know that none of Hendrix' original songs are going to be in the film. Yes, I know that there are a lot of bad biopics out there. But, I do think this film could have great potential because Hendrix pre-fame life was so interesting and dynamic.

One reason that "All is by my Side" could be good is that Jimi was involved in all of the great movements of the 60s. Being an African-American, Jimi was forced to live in a very racist world. What is even more interesting about Jimi is that he was pushed away by both sides. Early in his life, Jimi was just another black guy from the street and faced the well documented persecution of African-Americans of the time. Eventually, Jimi moved his way up through the African-American music scene, but because of his rock n roll tendencies, he developed into an outsider in thAfrican-American world as well. Little Richard kicked him out of his band for a number of reasons, including wardrobe and his performance style. Also, in a memorable piece of journalism from Charles Cross biography, "A Room Full of Mirrors", Miles Davis expressed his displeasure with Jimi being a "white musician." While being cast out by his own race, Jimi embraced and was embraced by the "white" rock n roll community. He loved Bob Dylan, and during his time in New York, he would walk around with a Dylan record at all times. Jimi's time in New York could be a very fascinating study of racial dynamics during the 60s. For, Jimi would frequent caucasion, rock n roll clubs in Greenwich Village while other African-Americans were in jazz clubs miles away. Truly, there are a plethora of stories that could be used for "All is by my Side."

During a time that was filled with hostility concerning Vietnam, Jimi was doing time in the military. Jimi was a real soldier, for he spent more than a year in the army. During his time there, he went through training, was shipped around, and even had a sweetheart that he always wrote letters to. In all of his spare time, Jimi practiced his guitar and jammed frequently with Brian Cox (Cox would reunite years later to play at Woodstock and be a part of the Band of Gypsys). Eventually, Jimi was discharged because he claimed that he had homosexual tendencies, which was a story he invented to avoid military life and the Vietnam War. Jimi's time in the military could easily add to Jimi's life story being a representation of the 60s.

Then there is the music. The 60s is synonymous with music, and Jimi traveled the country and played with some of the world's biggest acts before he even wrote any of his own music. Some were even touting him as the greatest guitar player before he was even "discovered" by the mainstream music scene. While Jimi was frequenting New York's Greenwich Village scene, he was having countless run-ins with other famous musicians, including Keith Richards who will be featured heavily in "All is by my Side." That story will be very interesting! Jimi stole Richards' girlfriend at the time, Kathy Etchingham, and Richards scoured all of the bars, so he could kick Jimi's ass. I won't ruin the ending to that story, but it will play nicely on the screen.

One thing I do want to say is that the Experience Hendrix foundation is a joke. I can't stand those people up there. The Experience Hendrix foundation is run by Janie Hendrix, Jimi's half sister. Jimi only met Janie one time while he was alive, and she was just a child. Through technicalities, she gained control of his estate and has kept his closest relatives (especially brother Leon) out of the loop. Currently, she is refusing to work with producers on the film and won't let them use any of his original music. However, like I said, Jimi had such a great background that a great film could still be done.

Jimi Hendrix lived an exciting life in his pre-fame years. I am excited to see what will be brought to the screen by the writers, producers and actors (especially Andre Benjamin). For everybody that has lost excitement concerning the film, I just wanted to emphasize what a dynamic story/film this could be. Whether or not this will happen is another story.