Thoughts on "The Bear" Coming to an End

It was announced yesterday that "The Bear" is going to end with its upcoming fifth season. Let’s discuss.

This is bittersweet, but I think it is the right call. "The Bear" is an amazing show. I was floored when I saw the first episode, and every season since seems to build on what they have done before. But let's be honest, they have kind of done pretty much everything they set off to do. Minor spoilers ahead for people who may not be caught up on the show.

The first season was all about Carmy coming back to the Italian Beef shop and trying to keep it going after his brother's passing. We met all the critical characters in that season, but it was all Carmy's journey from fine dining back to the basics. Sydney and Richie definitely have their moments in the first season, but the whole idea was to learn all about who Carmy is, warts and all. The first season did give us one of the best, and coolest things I have seen in a tv show in quite some time. They did an entire episode in one long shot, and it all occurred during a massive rush when they had nothing at the ready. This was some of the best tv I had seen up to that point. And the finale kind of set the rest of this in motion when Carmy found the money he needed, the letter from his deceased brother reading, "Let it rip", and the idea to turn their sandwich shop into a fine dining establishment.

Season 2 was the lead up to the new restaurant. This is where we got to see a ton of cooking from the cast members, a storyline I was very much a fan of. We got to see how great of a chef Sydney was in this season. She knows her stuff and she just needed to be able to show it. The episode where Marcus made his way to Denmark to learn from Luca was beautiful and glorious to watch. That half an hour has made me want to visit Denmark more than ever. We also got what many consider to be the two best episodes of the show ever. "Fishes" is a walk back down memory lane for Carmy, and it is difficult. But it also helps you understand why he has the issues he has and why his family is so messed up. This is an amazing hour plus of tv and it is drama at its best. "Forks" is Richie's time to shine, and that is just what he does. Going into a restaurant that Carmy loved working for, and learning from that staff was incredible to watch. It is such an uplifting episode from this show that has kind of beaten the viewer up to that point. "Forks" is my favorite episode of the series. And they close out that season with the opening of the restaurant. We don't get to  see how it goes, but we get a small glimpse of the chaos to come in season 3.

Some people dumped on season 3, but i liked it. It was logical in the progress of the show for me. I understood why they did what they did, and I quite enjoyed my watch. We also got more episodes that just focused on certain people for half an hour. Sydney and Marcus have their moments here.We see all of Carmy's insecurities come to a head when trying to run a restaurant. We get a whole lot more of The Computer and Uncle Jimmy. We got another banger of a flashback episode with "Napkins", where we learn all about how Tina started working at the sandwich shop. that episode made me cry pretty hard in fact. "Ice Chips" was Abby Elliot's time to shine. Seeing her go through giving birth with only her mom at her side was some wonderful acting from Elliot and Jamie Lee Curtis. Curtis was such a phenomenal addition to this show by the way. And the season 3 finale was great because they brought on a bunch of famous chefs and just had them talk about what it is like to cook. I found this eye opening in a good way. We look at celebrity chefs with joy and think their job is easy when it is incredibly hard. This was a solid way to close out this third season.

The fourth, and most recent season, was kind of back to basics. We spend a ton of time with Carmy trying to figure out his life and what he wants. He is still in love with the girl he forced out of his life last season, and he is dealing with those feelings. Sydney's dad has a heart attack and she is grappling with another, much more secure job offer. She has a ton of plates in the air and she is trying to figure this stuff all out. Richie and Carmy will not speak to one another, but they have to find a way to work together. Luca comes back to work with Marcus in the restaurant. The waitstaff is still trying to find the right way to do things, which drives Richie up a wall. The restaurant is running out of money. There's a wedding, which is a movie length episode of the show, and totally worth every second. And the season closes with some hardcore questions unanswered. I'm sure we will find all that out with the upcoming season, and that makes me happy.

But I ask the question, after this fifth season, what else do they have to do and talk about? It feels like they've done it all and they're not going to overstay their welcome. The actors are all moving on to other stuff as well. Jeremy Alllen White is in the movies. So is Ayo Edibiri. Ebon Moss Bachrach is part of Marvel now. Matty Matheson has his own cooking show. Abby Elliot is going to continue to be a character actor. They all have bigger aspirations now and that is how it should go when you have a show as successful as "the Bear" has been to date. So while I'm sad to see it go after this season, my hat is off to what they accomplished in five seasons. They're doing the right thing and I'm stoked to see how they wrap it all up.  

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Opus"

Last week I watched the movie "Opus". Let’s discuss.

Once I saw that Ayo Edebiri was going to be in a horror/comedy from A24 I was all in. I enjoy her work on "The Bear". She is the heart and soul of that show for me. I didn't finish "I Love LA", but I did see her small role as a European pop icon and I thought she played it perfectly over the top. I like her voice work on "Big Mouth", and now i'm stoked that she is getting more and more work.

As I found out more about "Opus", I got even more on board. John Malkovich was cast as a superstar pop icon. He was going to be playing one of the best singer/songwriters in the world. He also seemed to have a creepy aura about him, and you could see that from the trailers. From what I read, "Opus" was about Malkovich's popstar inviting people from the world of pop culture to hear his new record and then some flagrant stuff was going to go down. The two people I knew cast, and the premise were more than enough for me to want to watch.

Then some reviews came out and "Opus" kind of got panned. That bummed me out. That was when I decided to wait for it to come to streaming. It took me a bit, but I finally saw it and I have some thoughts. I do want to say, this review will have spoilers in it. Just a heads up.

So, this movie was not great. I want to start with that. It goes kind of nuts and off the rails in the final act. The stuff leading up to the climax was good and scary and thrilling, but you could tell what was going to happen from the jump. The rest of the cast was really great though. Besides Malkovich and Edebiri, we have Murray Bartlett, Juliette Lewis, Tony Hale and Amber Midthunder, among others. Whoever cast this movie did a wonderful job, and I don't necessarily blame the actors for the movie kind of unraveling the whole way through. Malkovich is good and creepy. I also appreciate that he actually sang the songs in the movie. Edebiri is great as the young and hungry journalist. She is a great actor and she did such a wonderful job in a co-starring role. Bartlett is funny, Lewis brings a solid veteran to the cast and Midthunder is downright terrifying. Tony Hale is barely in it, but he brings it for his two scenes in the whole thing.

For people who may not know, "Opus" is about a former pop star making a new album and inviting some people to his compound to be the first to listen. The compound is creepy. The people working and living there are clearly up to no good. The place is too pristine and too well manicured and taken care of. The invited guests, besides Edebiri, don't seem to see what is going on, and when they do, it is far too late. Look, while the movie is not great, it did keep my attention. Sure, it was easy to figure out what was going to happen beat by beat, but that did not take away from my viewing experience. Malkovich really brought it and he is scary to begin with. I didn't like the way they had him reveal his plan so quickly and abruptly, but again that is not his fault. And even in the end, when Edebiri finally gets to interview him, I could not take my eyes off his performance. Malkovitch is a good and dependable actor and you know he is going to bring it when he is cast in a movie. My biggest nitpick with the movie is the turn after the puppet show. This is when the whole plan is revealed and this is when they go way, way too gory. The kills were merciless and brutal. I felt like they took it a bit too far for my taste. The getaway was easy to spot. The wrap up from Malkovich in prison talking about how the survivors of his cult were still out there was way too easy to see coming. But I was still locked in the whole time. I think the better idea would have been to just keep the movie within the compound and slowly reveal the plan. That was the best part of the movie. When they let tension sit there and made the viewer think about what might happen, that was when the movie worked. They didn't let us sit in that long enough in my opinion.

I say one more time, the movie was watchable. So while not very good, I do think it is worth a viewing. Just go in knowing that the end product isn't great, but you will see some solid performances. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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Ty Watches "Bottoms"

Over the weekend I was finally able to see the movie "Bottoms". I remember previews for this and wanting to see it. I remember it getting very good reviews after it was released and wanting to see it even more. I remember hearing possible awards buzz surrounding the movie and wanting to see it the most. But time got away from me. The winter is the busiest time for me as far as coaching and dad duty goes. But, we had a date night, it was my turn to pick the movie and "Bottoms" was streaming on Amazon Prime for free. So we watched.

I loved this movie. I laughed at this more than most comedies that have come out in the past four or five years. The basic plot is, two nerdy, gay high school girls start a fight club to meet their crushes. That is the short version. But there is so much more on screen. First off, this is a high school spoof of a movie. When I looked up the cast, no actor was younger than 20 years old. But this was a situation where you could tell it was done with intention. The creators wanted actors that looked young, but we all know that they are not very young. This made some of the stuff we watched even funnier.

Ayo Edibiri and Rachel Sennott are the leads, and they are perfect. Sennott is the more outgoing, funny and talkative one. But, she will never be confused as a "cool" kid. Edebiri is more soft spoken. She doesn't want any trouble. She just wants to get to college. These two are sensational. When they finally get alone with their crushes, I was stoked, and then devastated for Sennott's character. These two used to be college roommates, and you can tell from their electric chemistry on screen. Sennott really keeps your attention when she talks. And the moments where Edibiri gives a speech, or does a monologue, are pretty powerful. They filled the cast with other actors that I don't really know. The crushes are played by Havana Rose Liu, this is the first thing I've seen her in, and Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford's daughter. They were excellent. Ruby Cruz is the one who kind of gets the whole fight club going. She was funny and had a solid arc. Punkie Johnson plays Edibiri's wild aunt who lives in a trailer. Zamani Wilder, Summer Joy Campbell and Virginia Tucker are members of the fight club, and all three bring some hilarious traits. The football players, namely Nicholas Galitzine and Miles Fowler, are wonderfully goofy. The whole stuff with the QB, Jeff, is riotous. And then we have Marshawn Lynch. What a star-making performance from him. He is hilarious, he pretty much improvised all of his lines, he took this role to make up for the way he reacted to his sister coming out, and he absolutely crushed. They took a chance and they were paid off tremendously by his performance. All of the actors did a wonderful job.

What most impressed me was the writing. This is an absurd movie, but it is absurd in all the best ways. The spoof of the football team's importance landed perfectly. The way teachers and administrators behave was tremendously done. How the main characters arc from nerdom to popularity and back to nerdom paid off. I was overly impressed with how well thought out and how simply insane the movie came across on screen. We need more comedies like this.

"Bottoms" is just as good as "Booksmart" and "Superbad". I actually think I may like it a bit more because of the presence of Ayo Edibiri and how ridiculous it is supposed to be. I definitely recommend watching this movie. It is very funny and very good. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty Watches "Theater Camp"

Over the weekend my wife was out of town so I watched the movie "Theater Camp" on Hulu. She wasn't interested, I knew she was going out of town, so I took advantage and cued it up. I wanted to see it when I first heard about it, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity.

I loved this movie. It is kind of a perfect movie for me. I like indie movies, comedies and I especially like mockumentaries. This is all three rolled into one. For people who may not know about this movie, the plot is pretty simple. Amy Sedaris owns a prestigious theater summer camp. She is recruiting kids for the upcoming summer session and, while watching a performance, she has a seizure and slips into a coma. I promise it is funny. While she is in the hospital her son, an excellent performance from Jimmy Tatro, has to run the camp. This is a perfect role for Tatro. He plays an influencer who is in over his head. He doesn't know how to run the camp. He is self indulgent. But, he does have a heart of gold. Deep down he is a good dude. The top two counselors are played by Ben Platt and Molly Gordon. They nail it as well. Platt, who I am not the biggest fan of, plays this role great. He is narcissistic. He holds people back. He is always fighting with everyone. But he truly cares about his job as a theater teacher. Gordon plays a hippyish actor who is trying to find her place. She was in love with Platt's character, but acts like she doesn't like him romantically after he comes out of the closet. But, you can tell the attraction is still there. She also gets to do a little bit of dramatics, which is used right next to comedy in a great way, and she nails it.

Those are the three main characters, but the rest of the cast does great in their bit roles. Noah Galivn is awesome as the tech guy who has some talent and gets a chance to showcase it. Caroline Aaron is great as Sedaris' business partner. She has some of the funniest lines in the movie. Ayo Edebiri is a lying counselor who just needs a job. This is a departure from her usual roles, but being the dynamite actor she is, she crushes it in this movie. She also has the coolest clothes in the movie. Nathan Lee Graham and Owen Thiele are exceptional as teachers who thrive in a theater camp scenario. The students are great too. This movie works on every level. The teachers are smug and arrogant. But they love what they do. They take their jobs very seriously and that comes through. But this movie is really about Tatro, Platt and Gordon. They command the audience. When they are on screen, especially together, they make all of this movie work. You can tell that Platt and his partner have been working on this story for a long time. You can see Gordon's influence as well.

Seek this movie out. It really deserves to be seen by many people. They need to keep making movies like this because these are some of the best comedies out there right now. "Theater Camp" is awesome. Go watch it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.