Jim-500

... that's the number of times I laughed. A friend recommended this movie to me. We have a similar sense of humor so I thought it'd be a fun show. I'm white and enjoy black comedians. I grew up listening to Bill Cosby, and love quoting Chris Rock; I've enjoyed all of Spike Lee's joints.

But this show was so tedious! I couldn't believe how boring it was. Now, it was easy to see that the audience was having a great time. But their experience was quite different from someone watching the movie. Being there in person, you get the thrill of seeing these famous guys on stage; that sort of sets the atmosphere for your night. And being surrounded by tons of people laughing, it's much easier to laugh.

But for me, the bottom line was that these guys simply were not funny. They told story jokes, they reflected on white/black differences, but it was all stuff I'd heard many times before. I liked Steve Harvey when he toyed with a guy in the crowd; I also liked when he mentioned how rap music is all about violence and mistreating women, and how the music he grew up with--from the 1970s--was all about love and respecting your woman. I grew up in the same era and know what he's talking about. Black groups like the Temptations, the O'Jays, the Stylistics, the Four Tops all had wonderfully beautiful and soulful songs about love.

Contrast Harvey's bits with Bernie Mac... I could hardly understand anything he was saying! The school bus joke was offensive at first, but then the punch line saved it and I had to give it to him. But there was nothing funny about homophobia and beating a little kid.

One guy who I think all these men had heard and learned from was Robin Harris. He had bit parts in a couple of Spike Lee's movies. In fact, Spike called his comedy "TOO black!" Not that it was bad; Robin just took his routines farther than most black comedians would go. I have a cassette of one of Robin's standups, and he was hilarious. But no one I know has ever heard of him.

Well, all in all, this was a very disappointing viewing experience. Perhaps if I'd seen it in person, it might have made a difference.

This SVU episode ranks in my mind as one of the best ever; certainly it's the best from the current season. It starts off quickly as Carisi interrupts a store robbery in progress and the remainder of the show is all about how he deals with the two robbers, the store owner and the two women trapped inside with him. Though he tries to keep his professional life hidden, little by little the thugs learn more about him until it's clear that he's affiliated with the police.

It seemed that at any moment something horrible could happen, and in the course of events, horrible things do happen. But because of the crooks' hair-trigger tempers, you never know when it's going to happen or to whom it is going to happen. The last scene with Tess is absolutely numbing in its realism.

This is the kind of show that leaves you limp. Indeed, after it was over I sat there for a few minutes trying to get over what I had just seen.

This episode reminded me of Season 17's "Townhouse Incident," where Benson find herself in a similar circumstance. In that show, too, I found myself having to remember to breathe.

I'm curious to see where things go from here for Carisi. He's a good man and I'm pulling for him.

Another infuriating SVU episode. Two teens--boy and girl--go to a secluded place to make out and perhaps more. She is into it, as is he. She becomes unsure and he becomes awkward. It ends up being nothing more than a kissing and petting session.

But then she decides to claim that she was raped. The story line meanders for a while until they end up in court. Both the girl and boy show themselves to well-intentioned but confused teenagers. Perfectly normal. But Benson decides to continue her crusade to put every man who has ever had a sexual feeling toward a woman behind bars.

This was the first time I agreed with John Buchanan's tactics. His cross examination of the girl revealed the truth--she was more confused and regretful than anything else. He even showed empathy for her.

Benson, sad to say, showed her continued bias against male suspects. At one point she even referred to the boy as a predator. I guess she never had any sexual experience when she was a teen, because she would have known that what had happened was something that happens every day when teens explore their sexuality. (Thankfully, none of them end up on the registry.)

I hope that if this was a "think" episode, in that it made people realize how ridiculous the idea that a young man can be convicted in court of sexual misconduct simply because he was innocently testing his sexual urges. And, by the way, that's exactly what the girl was doing as well. Near the end of the episode, she screams that she wishes she had never said anything. Indeed: the kids are the victims here while the adults are the criminals.