Movie: The Wife (2018)***

In The Wife, Glen Close illustrated "the act" that so many women have to do. That we're okay with what's happening around us - sometimes acting as if appalling and offensive behavior is not out of the ordinary. "Oh! Look at little Billy peeing in your rose bushes! Those boys!" 

The Wife & Collette (2018) were about women who were talked into being overshadowed by their male partners. Allowing their skills to be overtaken. What The Wife brought to the similar stories was a sense of seriousness and focus. Flashbacks of the younger version of the wife were played by Close's daughter and painted a picture for the audience of how it came to be. But Close's skill showed us how it boiled over and the relief she felt once the truth was revealed. Close's performance was a masterclass of facial expression, contorting her face into a plastic contentment tinged with pain and disgust.

See The Wife, if you haven't already because of the powerful acting it offers the audience, but also see it as a fictional creative piece straight out of the Me Too era.

Big Love (2006 - 2011)***

I'm re-watching Big Love, a show that was one of HBO's early golden era offerings and that I watched religiously (Ha!) when it originally aired.

Big Love starts out great. I binged season 1 and 2 easily. It is a fast-paced, intricately plotted, character-driven show about faith and relationships in a world full of secrets covered by shiny, righteous smiles. Each show is high-drama and hopeful at the same time with a large cast of likeable, flawed and sympathetic characters. But along with DoctorBlake Mysteries, The Mentalist, and so many other shows and films, the central character of Big Love, Bill, is what I have come to call the Lucky Reckless Man.

As with all shows that have this Lucky Reckless Man trope, Bill is surrounded by amazing people with dynamic stories and that's what keeps me coming back for more. By season 3 and definitely in season 4 it becomes more obvious how horrible and selfish Bill is. He puts everyone close to him in physical, spiritual and emotional danger with his schemes stacked upon shaky schemes. Like a stupid superhero, he reveals his plans to his adversaries then believes that his faith will make things happen. And it does. He either has dumb luck or an eyes-half-shut Heavenly Father.

My favorite episode is season 3, episode 6, Come, Ye Saints, where the Henrickson family goes on a Mormon pilgrimage, visiting sacred landmarks along the way. Bill is shocked because he finally stops his scheming long enough to take a good look at his family only to see how unhappy they are. All the while other issues rise up like the angel Moroni.

I hate that I wrote a paragraph about how horrible Bill is, but the show and the other awesome characters wouldn't be if it weren't for him and his scheming, so I'll continue to re-watch until the end of the season, which if I can remember correctly, is very fulfilling. Bye, Bill.

This fall into Fun because I will probably watch it again, and it gets three stars ***. Geez.
I rewatched this on Amazon.