SNL trippin' the Light Fun Fantastic!

Culture is a bag of tricks that can be so slick. One mesmerizing element of our gigantic culture has a fierce social dynamic all its own. The essence I am referencing here is comedy...maybe one might call it bawdy comedy. I am a remarkable devotee of sleek, cunning comedy that at times can prove harsh and blunt and rather scatological. I find myself loving the ebullient comic brew that Saturday Night Live (SNL) is brewing up, lately. Last Saturday night Lorne Michaels and his clever folks hit a massive comic home run. Alec Baldwin was terrific....my man was at his political and cultural best playing at being Rick Perry and also the marvelous superstar vocalist, Tony Bennett. Alec Baldwin's encapsulating feisty quasi-political performance was visceral and raw and so right-on funny. Also, the crafty Bill Hader was so profoundly comic as always. The man has remarkable imaginative talents. Seeing grand comedy on tv represents a provocative and heady cocktail for edgy curmudgeons like me. I find the verbal brandy that is comedy a mighty yum-yum of a wowee drink.

Baldwin, Macy, Vegas; Electric Film Art

I've been thinking today about films that garner that special high-energy level of total hypnotizing emotional excitement. A real favorite in this category is the film called 'The Cooler.' This grand work from a few years back is an unusual story of the multi-level cultures that make up the shiny social infrastructure that is Las Vegas. Indeed the 'wowee' town that is Vegas is one of a kind. The vibrant atmosphere is so electric, yes Lord, Vegas is a truly magical city. Fine, creative souls are vital ingredients in 'The Cooler' and the bright colors capture the delicious palette of Vegas lifestyles. 'The Cooler" has masterful performances by two of my honest-to-goodness favorite actors, the so-cool, Alec Baldwin and William H. Macy. There is also delightful work from Maria Bello. Interesting is the bustling way the film moves right along with a pulse kind of a brash Nevada life rhythm that is so very compelling. Alec Baldwin is so vigorous and possessing of so much psychological depth that our friend, A. Baldwin kind of bowls us over, intellectually. It is so refreshing to experience intense, meaningful film artistry. Certainly William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin have lots and lots of this qualitative film ability. Vegas is a city where creative flow in a person can really come alive. Films like 'The Cooler' can help us to achieve some new dimensions and vivid depth and help us to get 'in sync' with the mysterious multi-structured world that is American culture.