Up & Coming Weekly

Amazing Toy Story Hides Quite a Few -Isms Toy Story 3 (Rated G) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS The film starts off with one of the most artistically challeng- ing Pixar shorts to date, Night and Day. The idea is that the anthropomorphized “Day” meets the anthropomorphized “Night” and beautifully scored brilliantly animated hijinks ensue. With that taken care of, feel free to skip the next four paragraphs, since I am about to indulge in a rant. I don’t know how to react to Toy Story 3 (103 minutes) with the childlike wonder that everyone else in America seems to reserve for movies that remind them of lolli- pops and teddy bears. Ok, the sec- ond and third films in the trilogy worked on adding some adventur- ous and determined female charac- ters (even while subtly undercutting their agency by pairing them with romantic interests). Progress, not perfection, I suppose. However, while everyone else is worshipping at the altar of Pixar, I am won- dering why all the characters are white. I also can’t help but wonder why the toys all paid so much hostile attention to the Ken doll (Michael Keaton). It is repeatedly emphasized in the film that as a girl’s toy the Ken doll possesses many feminine qualities. Not only are these qualities emphasized and mocked, Ken is never shown affirming his right to behave as he wants. In fact, his behavior (en- joying clothes, being romantic, writing in the color purple) is played for laughs throughout the film, the implication being that since he is a so-called girl’s toy he is not “masculine” enough. This begs the question; do presumably neutered toys care about your gender? But the most egregious –ism is in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene towards the end of the film. It happened so quick I can’t be sure I heard what I think I heard and a number of web searches failed to turn up any solid evidence. Never one for spreading rumors, I want to throw this out to see if anyone else noticed: a toy refers to the character of Big Baby as “mongo.” It is one thing for a movie like Shrek to use the term when referring to the giant gingerbread man. Not okay, but contextualized as part of a film in which boundary pushing was the name of the game. On the other hand, in a film such as Toy Story 3 rated G and marketed to children should the slur “mongo” be an acceptable way for one toy to refer to another? But this might be a tempest in a teapot. I heard the word, but I haven’t been able to get independent verification. End rant. All possible racism, sexism, heterosexism and other forms of prejudice aside, on the surface Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the gang are in fine form. Andy (John Morris) is packing for college and clearing out his room. Inevitably he is forced to decide what to do with his beloved toys. After a mix-up his toys end up at Sunnyside Day Care under the seemingly benign Lotso (Ned Beatty). Life for the toys heads rapidly downhill as they discover the TERRIBLE SECRET haunting the seeming paradise of endlessly rotating children to play with. Of course, the whole plot is a kind of tribute to Orwell’s famous Animal Farm, where all toys are created equal but some toys are more equal than others. Honestly, 90 percent of viewers can just go to the theater with their kids and enjoy a nice afternoon without worrying about all the subtext. But for those of you bored with a conventional understanding, feel free to take your sociol- ogy textbooks along. HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com Medical Drama Malpractice Children’s Hospital rips dopey doctor shows TV by DEAN ROBBINS I hereby proclaim Rob Corddry America’s most under- rated comedian. He killed on The Daily Show; he killed on the short-lived sitcom The Winner; and he killed in Hot Tub Time Machine. So what thanks does he get? A late-night extended-basic-cable time slot for his lat- est series, Children’s Hospital (Sunday, 10:30 p.m., Cartoon Network). But don’t expect Corddry to slack off just because rela- tively few people will see Children’s Hospital. He turns in a ruthless satire of TV medical dramas, based on his Web series. It’s an Airplane-style hit job that perverts the genre’s clichés, including the heroic surgeons, philosophical voice overs and melodramatic relationships. Cast members Megan Mullally, Lake Bell and Malin Akerman play memo- rably stupid doctors and nurses, though Corddry himself steals the show as a Patch Adams type in clown makeup who believes — a little too much — in the healing power of laughter. “It used to be that I could pull a quarter out of a kid’s ear and — poof! — Leukemia gone,” he says. I don’t know if humor can cure leukemia, but Children’s Hospital is definitely curing my summertime blues. Masterpiece Mystery Sunday, 9 pm (PBS) Agatha Christie is the author of many creaky mysteries, but Murder on the Orient Express creaks literally, as a train rattles down the tracks with murderers aboard. Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) happens to be on the train, too, with his pointy waxed mustache, cane, bowler hat, bow tie and minc- ing gait. So much for traveling incognito. In the absence of rich characters and great actors, the only thing to hold our interest is the question of whodunit. And since many of us already know who- dunit, given the novel’s familiarity, this Murder on the Orient Express proves to be a tiresome journey. The sole mystery is whether Suchet’s fellow actors will be able to keep a straight face as he speaks in his preposterous fake Belgian accent. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM The Closer Monday, 9 pm (TNT) As the sixth season begins, Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson and the squad move into a new multimillion-dollar headquarters. The high-tech giz- mos don’t work, and the cops can’t find their stuff in all the boxes. This subplot doesn’t do much to get you excited about The Closer’s sixth go-round. Watching these char- acters unpack is about as compelling as watching anyone unpack — that is, not compelling at all. There’s a mur- der to solve, but the investigation feels halfhearted, and the perp might as well have P-E-R-P printed in capital letters on a T-shirt. I hope Chief Johnson unpacks a few good scripts from those boxes, or it’s going to be a mighty long season. Rizzoli & Isles Monday, 10 pm (TNT) This new series begins with a disgustingly graphic scene of rape, torture and murder. Enter detective Rizzoli (Angie Harmon) and forensic pathologist Isles (Sasha Alexander), who examine the corpse’s gory wounds. Then a hunky new FBI man appears on the scene. Rizzoli and Isles shoot him flirtatious looks, and …wait a minute. A vicious serial killer has just struck, and these two law-enforce- ment professionals are making goo-goo eyes at a hunky new FBI man? Welcome to Rizzoli & Isles, which can’t decide if it’s a gross-out criminal drama or a cute romantic comedy. Harmon and Alexander occasionally furrow their brows to sig- nal that they’re, you know, concerned about dead women. But mostly they banter about clothes, guys and makeup. If you’re the kind of person who likes your cutesy romance served with mutilated bodies, check out Rizzoli & Isles. And then you might consider call- ing a psychiatrist. JULY 7-13, 2010 UCW 19

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