Art imitates life in Nashville
“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows,” sang Bob Dylan. But these days, a guide through the seemingly endless flurry of pop culture is just what we need. With that in mind, here is what’s on the radar screen in TV, music and film for the coming week.
MOVIES Big release: Seven Psychopaths (Oct. 12) Big picture: Hollywood has surprised me. This film’s not another revamp of Snow White — even though this version could have been far more entertaining. ( Behind the smile, I’ve always thought Dopey, at the very least, had psychopath written all over him.) Colin Farrell reunites with his In Bruges director, Martin McDonagh, for another comedic caper flick. And this time they bring in a couple of master clowns: Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken co-star and neither ever misses a comedic beat. The film follows a struggling screenwriter (Farrell) who gets caught up in the criminal underworld after his eccentric friends kidnap a gangster’s treasured dog. It’s like Snatch meets The Big Lebowski (only replace Tara Reid with a Shih Tzu). Forecast: Seven Psychopaths was heavily praised when the film premiered at TIFF. The eclectic cast is rounded out by Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish and Tom Waits (who is always fun to watch when he chooses to leave the studio for the screen).
TELEVISION Big events: Nashville (Oct. 10, CTV Two, ABC, 10 ET/PT); Beauty and the Beast (Oct. 11, Showcase, 9 ET / 6 PT; CW, 9 ET/PT) Big picture: Nashville could have been called Beauty and the Beautiful Beast. The most promising new drama on TV plays out a head-to-head confrontation between a fading country superstar (Connie Britton of Friday Night Lights and American Horror Story) and a callous, ruthless and promiscuous (the three secrets of music industry success?) young diva (played by Hayden Panettiere of Heroes).
This sudsy series about the country music business is everything Smash should be: deftly written, superbly acted, perfectly scored (by T-Bone Burnett no less) — and an undeniable guilty pleasure. Panettiere’s sexy, amoral young starlet makes the Christina Aguilera’s and Britney’s of the world look like Mother Teresa. Forecast: Nashville isn’t just home to country music, it’s home to the best new show on fall TV.
MUSIC Big release on Oct. 9: The Wallflowers (Glad all Over) Big picture: Yes, the album title does sound like the world’s worst pickup line: “Hi, my name’s Jacob, and you make me glad all over.” But it’s good to see the younger Dylan riding shotgun again with The Wallflowers — over 15 years since the band drove One Headlight to the top of the charts.
Meanwhile, Kiss delivers its 20th studio album. Forecast: The first Kiss album since 2009 is bound to be a monster. For Wallflower fans in withdrawal, this comeback album is a surefire cure for 6th Avenue Heartache.