Tag Archives: jeremy-allen-white

The Bear S3 E10

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“Forever”

Season three of The Bear leaves off on a cliffhanger that was really frustrating… one that I should have seen coming.

The ever elusive restaurant review finally is published and Carmy is seeing the Google alert on his phone. There are also several messages and missed calls from Uncle Jimmy and the Computer which implies negativity. Or does it? This whole review plot has been scattered through the second half of the season and it has been anxiety-driven.

The finale included the “funeral” for the restaurant, Ever. It included a ton of guest stars and returning cameos throughout the evening.

Above all else, I have got to say… I love Olivia Colman.

She is such a joy on screen. I mean, in whatever role she is doing, it does not matter whether the episode or movie is good, Olivia Colman will rock every moment on screen. She is such a magnificent actor that creates a connection under every circumstance. Here, as Chef Terry, she is a jewel, a character who clearly should be emulated by Carmy, Sydney or anyone else.

There was also a return cameo by Joel McHale, as Carmy’s old boss who drove Carmy to be the chef he is today, as well as give him panic attacks and the source of his PTSD. The confrontation between Carmy and McHale was as powerful for Carmy as underwhelming as it was for McHale. One hopes Carmy can finally realize how much like McHale’s chef he has become and understand that he needs to change his behavior or else he could cause everyone around him at The Bear to feel of Carmy the way Carmy feels about McHale.

This season of The Bear had a lot of experimental episodes that felt different than what one expects on TV. While the performances continue to be top notch, especially some of the cameos (I have to call out Jamie Lee Curtis once again), the story itself could have progressed a bit more than what it did. Was there any real progress in the story from episode one to episode 10? Most of the big questions brought up in season three remain unanswered heading into season four. While I understand building toward the next season, I need a little more results from season three.

Still, I thought this season on The Bear had a lot of great moments and I still hope that the answers will come quickly in season four for some of the storylines left open.

The Bear S3 E8, E9

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“Ice Chips”

“Apologies”

Jamie Lee Curtis is just so good.

After the episode 7 cliffhanger with Sugar going into labor at the store, we picked up episode 8 with her desperately trying to call someone. No one answered.

Finally, out of desperation, she called her mom.

Jamie Lee Curtis’s portrayal of Donna has been one of the craziest characters of the show. Her performance in season two’s “Fishes” was epic, really showing the wildness of this character.

However, we get a new side to Donna in this episode as she is there to help her daughter through the labor, from her own first hand experiences to some uncomfortable truths.

This was an amazing episode.

The penultimate episode seemed to be setting up some major things for the finale. Oliver Platt came to speak to Carmy, having something to do with the money owed. They are making a big deal out of the review that is yet to come. They teased the review both ways, but Platt said that if the review is a bad one, he would have to cut the strings to the money.

Sydney is conflicted over the job she had been offered and nearly talked to Carmy about it. Carmy invited her to the final night at Ever. Neil and Theodore went to see Claire at her job to speak on behalf of Carmy. Carmy continues to feel the absence of Claire as he went into the freezer to reflect on everything.

One more episode in season three to go.

The Bear S3 E4, E5

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“Violet”

“Children”

The Champ is here!

Or at least John Cena is here, starting in episode 5, as Sammy Fak, Neil and Theodore’s brother. And he brings his excellent comedic timing to an amazing scene stealing cameo on the show that kills all the cameos.

I loved John Cena’s arrival and appearance. He was very entertaining as the show progressed. So was The Computer, a man brought in by Oliver Platt to tell Carmy and the rest of the staff what the future of their restaurant is and how they can improve it to make things better. Most of his suggestions are ways that they waste money and how they could do better.

The Computer was there basically to bring Oliver Platt back in. The whole scene in the back with Platt, The Computer, Carmy and the rest was really entertaining, especially when Sammy joined in.

Episodes four and five are two of the calmer episodes of the third season so far. The typical conflict the show has spotlighted over the first three episodes is toned down. There is a small bit of it, but the conflict is done more as a way for humor, such as Sammy ‘haunting’ Theodore because he had taken Sammy’s SD cards.

Carmy was at a lower level of crazy here, as he is starting to wonder if he is messing things up. Learning that his friend and mentor Chef Terry had to shut her restaurant had an impact on him and maybe brought him back to reality. Maybe he just kept his distance from Richie.

We get some sweet scenes with Richie and his daughter. Richie also shows how great of a dad he is when he asks Sugar if he should back out of his relationship with her so it would not be weird with Frank (Josh Harnett of all people).

There is also a review that is being written of The Bear that is causing some anxiety.

These two episodes were solid with less hectic drive of the first three this season which made for a nice change before things clearly will amp back up as the second half of season three gets underway.

The Bear S3 E3

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“Doors”

Another absolutely tense and stressful episode as we see several days at the Bear and how the conflicts are driving everyone nuts.

Carmy, Richie and their baggage exploded at least once and threatened to do so several other times. The stress of having to do everything perfect is pushing the chefs to their breaking point. Oliver Platt made another guest appearance raving over the cost of what was being purchased. He said the restaurant was filled every night, but why was their no money?

And after every intense scene, someone hollers “doors” indicating that everything is starting over again.

Things are at a high level of intensity at The Bear and it is clearly leading to trouble.

By the way, Carmy had another round of flashbacks during a particularly stressful moment in the kitchen, making me wonder if that PTSD comment I made from episode one was right on the money. How these flashbacks are triggers for Carmy when the PTSD is getting to high.

Need to take a break from this show for a little bit. It is so anxiety-filled that I feel the same way. It is amazing, but I just do not like the binge method for this show. Needs some down time with it.

The Bear S3 E1

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“Tomorrow”

WTF was that?

I have to say that the first episode of season three of FX’s series The Bear (which is listed as a comedy for awards consideration, but there are not very many laughs inside), was a visual trip. About half way through the episode I had to stop and go back to read a synopsis of the final episode of season two to try and remember exactly what happened to see if I could determine what was going on.

I did not succeed.

I am guessing that this flashback episode, which jumped between moments from Carmy’s distant and recent past, was designed as a consciousness of thought. In my research, I found a site that mentioned that flashbacks could be a sign of PTSD, or perhaps dissociation (Tully, verywellmind). I found that intriguing since the final episode of season two certainly put Carmy through the ringer, being trapped in his freezer, breaking up with his girlfriend all on the night of his big opening for the restaurant The Bear, albeit friends and family night.

Could this first episode be a mental response from Carmy for the trauma from the first night?

Some of the moments we saw in the flashbacks we had already seen, such as the flashback to the family dinner from season two episode “Fishes” and we saw scenes that I either did not remember or that we new. I do not remember seeing the phone call from Sugar to Carmy dealing with their brother’s suicide.

This first episode absolutely required the viewers to stop and give the show its complete attention because there was no straightforward narrative structure to the episode, but it provided some deep investigation inside the mind of Carmy.

The Bear is currently streaming on Hulu and on Disney +.

The Iron Claw

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As a pro wrestling fan, the story of the Von Erich family was one that I was very familiar with so when I heard that there was going to be a movie called The Iron Claw that told the story of their family, well I was anxious to see it. I saw it today and it was special.

The film was centered around Kevin Von Erich (Zac Efron) and his career as a pro wrestler. He worked in the ring with his brothers David (Harris Dickinson), Kerry (Jeremy Allen White) and Mike (Stanley Simons). They were all under the sight of their overbearing father Fritz (Holt McCallany). Kevin spoke about the “Von Erich Curse” and we see how tragedy would strike this family over the years.

This was an amazing film. Zac Efron’s performance was sensational. He went through so much emotional trauma with the loss of his brothers and he portrayed it perfectly. I kept thinking about how much Harris Dickinson and Jeremy Allen White looked like the Von Erichs they were playing, but Efron did not necessarily look like Kevin Von Erich. He did not have to because he embraced that character in more than just a visual style. 

That is not to say that Dickinson and White only looked like David and Kerry. They both did a spectacular job in their roles, in particularly White, who, as Kerry Von Erich, faced his share of obstacles. 

It was fun watching other actors playing many of the wrestlers of the time such as Harley Race, the Fabulous Freebirds, Gino Hernandez, Bruiser Brody, and The Sheik. I have to admit that I was not a fan of the portrayal of Ric Flair in the film. It felt way too much like an imitation instead of a performance. 

The film was very heavy. It was difficult to watch at times because I knew a lot of what was going to happen because I lived through much of this in real time.

Interestingly enough, there was a fifth Von Erich brother, Chris, who was left out of the film for narrative reasons. Apparently, the youngest Von Erich from the film, Mike, was kind of a blend of the real Chris and Mike.

Maura Tierney played the mother of the boys and the wife of Fritz, Doris. Lily James starred as girlfriend and eventual wife of Kevin, Pam. Both women held their own in the testosterone-filled film and built humanity into the story.

This was a powerful, painful and emotional movie of a real life series of tragedies that devastated millions of fans and the remaining family members.

4.8 stars