"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel": A-. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" opens with several introductory vignettes, as we briefly meet each of the seven senior citizens who, for one reason or another, have decided to leave their native England and head for a new adventure in India. Evelyn (Judi Dench) is a new widow whose departed husband made all of the big decisions in their family, but alas, has left her broke. Graham (Tom Wilkinson) is a college professor with a secret reason for returning to the place he once lived as a young man. Douglas and Jean (Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton), a couple who seem thoroughly mismatched, have been married to each other for almost forty years. Muriel (Maggie Smith) is a bigoted hypochondriac who needs a hip replacement more quickly than the English medical system can accommodate. Norman and Madge (Ronald Pickup and Celia Imrie) are both single, but not necessarily by their own choosing, and believe the change of scenery to the Indian sub-continent might bring them better romantic fortune.
What they all have in common is their trust that the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, in the heart of the city of Udaipur, will live up to the expectations hyped in their glossy brochures. When the hotel fails to pick up the seven Brits at the airport, a red flag goes up in their collective minds. With the help of Graham, who still knows his way around the city even though he hasn't lived there in decades, they manage to find their way to the hotel. As soon as they cast their eyes on the building, they realize that what they saw in the brochures bears little resemblance to reality. That realization is confirmed once they enter the hotel. No wonder the lodging rates seemed so reasonable!
The eighth main character to the story is the charming Sonny, played by Dav Patel who was the star of "Slumdog Millionaire." Sonny is young enough to be the Brits' grandson (or maybe even great grandson), but he runs the Marigold with endless energy. He has huge ambitions for the business, and puts a positive spin on all of the hotel's deficiencies as they are encountered by his guests. Some of the guests are more willing to roll with the inconveniences than others. Even so, they stay much longer than we (the viewers) might have originally expected.
This is a story about eight people whom we get to know fairly well. How many stories can make that claim? Even though each of them has her own burdens, some characters dwell on the negative while the others make the best of their new situations. The characters change, not only because being in a new country forces some changes, but because the present surroundings gives them the opportunity to take a closer look at themselves and realize that they are not young (or even middle-aged) anymore. Perhaps if they would not have left England, this self-inspection and reflection would not have occurred.
I have always favored movies with this kind of set-up. A small group of people are put together, removed from the rest of society with a common nexus (in this case, a hotel in a foreign land), with action including relationships within that group as well as adventures independent of the group. The characters are multi-dimensional and are not the same at the end of the tale as they were at the beginning. There is no one lead character, per se; rather, it is a film about all of them. Other films of that description which come to mind are "The Big Chill," "Ship Of Fools," "Grand Hotel," and two based on Agatha Christie novels, "Murder On The Orient Express" and "Ten Little Indians." In some ways it resembles the hit TV series "Friends," which had a ten year run. Like "Friends," "Marigold Hotel" has a large sampling of humor to offset the many serious moments, and the writers do a good job of spreading the best lines around the cast (although the terrific Maggie Smith delivers the most).
I almost opted out of choosing "Marigold Hotel," as it was not widely saluted by the critics. What changed my mind was that, of the folks I personally know who saw the film, there was unanimous approval and recommendation. Now, having viewed the film, I am definitely in that camp.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sports Yucks 'n' Nuggs - Volume I
During the telecast of last February's Super Bowl 46 - - er, excuse me, "Super Bowl XLVI" - - Al Michaels told a funny story about New York Giants left guard Tom Snee, a story that I have paraphrased below. Michaels' short anecdote started me thinking that, in the course of a typical month or two, I read and hear several sports-related stories that are either funny or are worthy of at least a nod or a salute because they are interesting. That latter group is what might be called "nuggets," and is the "Nuggs" referred to in the title. I am sure that I've encountered several of such items since February, but I hereby admit that I wasn't diligent enough to write each and every one of them down before they escaped my sixty-four year old memory bank. In any event, I now have compiled a baker's dozen from the last three and a-half months, so that's enough to provide fodder for The Quentin Chronicle. Once again, some of these items aren't necessarily funny, but I have included them because they went beyond the standard game previews, play-by-plays, and game summaries that comprise most of what we see and hear as sports fans. I have designated this post as "Volume I" just in case there's a Volume II. One never knows.
1. ABC television announcer Al Michaels told the story of an interview he had with New York Giants starting left guard Tom Snee, who happens to be married to head coach Tom Coughlin's daughter. Michaels asked Snee what his wife says when he comes home complaining about how hard Coughlin's practices are. Snee answered, "She tells me to suck it up."
2. Sean Payton and Bill Belichick, head coaches of the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots, respectively, both have a reputation of being smug. On April 5, after the news of the Saints' bounty program broke and Payton was suspended for a full year by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, this comparison was rendered by KSTP radio personality Judd Zulgad, a former Vikings beat writer for the Star Tribune: "During a press conference, Bill Belichick is the smartest guy in the room. Sean Payton just thinks he is."
3. The Twins new left fielder, Josh Willingham, is built like a linebacker. This is what Fox North's television announcer Dick Bremer had to say on April 7 after Willingham crashed into the wall along the left field line at Camden Yard as he was trying to catch a foul fly: "Makes you feel sorry for the wall."
4. During the April 15 telecast of the Twins-Rangers game, the cameras were focusing on Twins center fielder Denard Span while the announcers were describing his defensive prowess. One second into the shot, Span attempted to spit, but got his spittle all over the front of his jersey. The camera quickly panned to right fielder Clete Thomas, even though the announcers weren't finished talking about Span. Perfect timing! (My sense of humor is nothing if not unsophisticated.)
5. Ivan "Pudge" Rodriquez, one of the best catchers in baseball history (21 seasons, .311 career batting average, 1332 career RBI, and American league MVP in 1999) retired from the game this year. He spent his first twelve years in the Big Leagues with the Texas Rangers, who honored him with a pre-game ceremony on April 24. Rather than throw out the ceremonial first pitch, which is what most honorees do, Pudge got behind the plate and rifled a throw to former teammate Michael Young at the second base bag. Throughout the years, many base runners were thrown out attempting to steal against Rodriguez, and his final throw was a vivid illustration of why.
6. The Vikings drafted two players from Notre Dame (safety Harrison Smith and corner back Robert Blanton) two weeks ago, bringing to five the number of Domers currently on The Purple's roster. In a radio interview on KSTP, program host Phil Mackey asked Smith, "How long before you guys put up a 'Play Like A Champion' sign in the locker room?"
7. On May 2, Twins starting pitcher Liam Hendricks was shelled by the Angels for six earned runs and nine hits before exasperated manager Ron Gardenhire came out in the third inning with the hook. En route from the mound back to the dugout, Hendricks skipped over the chalked first base foul line, apparently in a move to avert bad luck.
8. Last week the Vikings released veteran place kicker Ryan Longwell. Not only is his name perfect for the position he plays, but so is his Twitter account:
@4thand Longwell.
9. Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys died on May 4. As a tribute to that native New Yorker, all nine of the players in the Mets' starting lineup that night chose a different Beastie Boys song for their walk-up tune.
10. Chris Davis had a dreadful night as the designated hitter for the Baltimore Orioles when they played the Boston Red Sox on May 6. He went hitless in eight at bats, as the game went seventeen innings and lasted six hours and seven minutes. Those ABs included five strike outs and hitting into a double play. However, Davis' fortunes did a 180 degree turn when the O's ran out of pitchers and had to turn to Davis (normally a first baseman) to pitch the sixteenth and seventeenth innings. He held the Red Sox scoreless, and was credited with the 9 to 6 Baltimore win. The losing pitcher was also a position player, outfielder Darnell McDonald, as the Red Sox ran out of pitchers too. The last time a MLB game was played between two teams which each used position players to pitch was October 4, 1925.
11. The Angels' Jered Weaver threw a no-hitter against the Twins on May 2 in Anaheim. In the history of baseball, only one pitcher, Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds in 1938, has ever thrown back-to-back no-nos. The Twins returned home from their disastrous west coast road trip (1 win, 5 losses, and only 8 total runs scored in those 6 games) on May 7, and had to face Weaver again that night. (It would be only the eighth time in MLB history that a pitcher's first outing following a no-hitter would be against the same opponent.) The sports world wondered if Weaver could match Vander Meer's feat. When the Twins' Erik Komatsu finally broke the ice by getting a single in the third inning, the Twins' home crowd derisively gave Komatsu and his teammates a standing ovation. Komatsu's fifteen seconds of fame did not last long. With two out in the top of the ninth inning and the game still within reach by the Twins, Komatsu dropped an easy fly ball in left field off the bat of Mark Trumbo for a two-run error, effectively icing the eventual win for the Angels.
12. With two out in the bottom of the ninth inning on May 10, the Twins' Trevor Plouffe hit a foul ball which struck the head of a woman seated in the third row of the box seats close to the plate. The woman was immediately assisted by stadium medical personnel. One pitch later, Plouffe struck out to end the game. The Toronto Blue Jays' catcher, J.P. Arencibia, went to the stands to check on the woman, and presented her with the game ball.
13. The NBA's Charlotte Bobcats (the majority owner of which is none other than Michael Jordan) finished the NBA season with a record of 7 wins and 59 losses, for a winning percentage of .106, the worst in NBA history. As of Friday morning, May 11, the Twins' record was a measly 8 wins and 23 losses. KFAN radio program host Mike Morris assessed the hapless Twins with this statement: "We are the Bobcats."
There you have it. As promised, a baker's dozen. Here is one more little gem to end this post. What follows is the answer given by WCCO TV's Pat Kessler, an expert on the state political process, to a question asked by KFAN radio host Dan Barreiro on May 8, the day following the Minnesota State House Of Representatives' approval of the Vikings stadium bill. On May 8, the Minnesota State Senate was engaged in a seemingly unending session to discuss the same topic. Dan asked Pat what could possibly remain to be said in the Senate, given the fact that the House debated the bill ad nauseam the previous day. Here was Pat's reply:
"It isn't that everything has not been said; it's that it has not been said by everyone."
If this were a political post instead of a sports post, I would point out that Kessler's clever answer is illustrative of why the legislature is sometimes accused of being a "do nothing" governmental unit. However, such an opinion would be out of place here, so I won't even mention it.
1. ABC television announcer Al Michaels told the story of an interview he had with New York Giants starting left guard Tom Snee, who happens to be married to head coach Tom Coughlin's daughter. Michaels asked Snee what his wife says when he comes home complaining about how hard Coughlin's practices are. Snee answered, "She tells me to suck it up."
2. Sean Payton and Bill Belichick, head coaches of the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots, respectively, both have a reputation of being smug. On April 5, after the news of the Saints' bounty program broke and Payton was suspended for a full year by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, this comparison was rendered by KSTP radio personality Judd Zulgad, a former Vikings beat writer for the Star Tribune: "During a press conference, Bill Belichick is the smartest guy in the room. Sean Payton just thinks he is."
3. The Twins new left fielder, Josh Willingham, is built like a linebacker. This is what Fox North's television announcer Dick Bremer had to say on April 7 after Willingham crashed into the wall along the left field line at Camden Yard as he was trying to catch a foul fly: "Makes you feel sorry for the wall."
4. During the April 15 telecast of the Twins-Rangers game, the cameras were focusing on Twins center fielder Denard Span while the announcers were describing his defensive prowess. One second into the shot, Span attempted to spit, but got his spittle all over the front of his jersey. The camera quickly panned to right fielder Clete Thomas, even though the announcers weren't finished talking about Span. Perfect timing! (My sense of humor is nothing if not unsophisticated.)
5. Ivan "Pudge" Rodriquez, one of the best catchers in baseball history (21 seasons, .311 career batting average, 1332 career RBI, and American league MVP in 1999) retired from the game this year. He spent his first twelve years in the Big Leagues with the Texas Rangers, who honored him with a pre-game ceremony on April 24. Rather than throw out the ceremonial first pitch, which is what most honorees do, Pudge got behind the plate and rifled a throw to former teammate Michael Young at the second base bag. Throughout the years, many base runners were thrown out attempting to steal against Rodriguez, and his final throw was a vivid illustration of why.
6. The Vikings drafted two players from Notre Dame (safety Harrison Smith and corner back Robert Blanton) two weeks ago, bringing to five the number of Domers currently on The Purple's roster. In a radio interview on KSTP, program host Phil Mackey asked Smith, "How long before you guys put up a 'Play Like A Champion' sign in the locker room?"
7. On May 2, Twins starting pitcher Liam Hendricks was shelled by the Angels for six earned runs and nine hits before exasperated manager Ron Gardenhire came out in the third inning with the hook. En route from the mound back to the dugout, Hendricks skipped over the chalked first base foul line, apparently in a move to avert bad luck.
8. Last week the Vikings released veteran place kicker Ryan Longwell. Not only is his name perfect for the position he plays, but so is his Twitter account:
@4thand Longwell.
9. Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys died on May 4. As a tribute to that native New Yorker, all nine of the players in the Mets' starting lineup that night chose a different Beastie Boys song for their walk-up tune.
10. Chris Davis had a dreadful night as the designated hitter for the Baltimore Orioles when they played the Boston Red Sox on May 6. He went hitless in eight at bats, as the game went seventeen innings and lasted six hours and seven minutes. Those ABs included five strike outs and hitting into a double play. However, Davis' fortunes did a 180 degree turn when the O's ran out of pitchers and had to turn to Davis (normally a first baseman) to pitch the sixteenth and seventeenth innings. He held the Red Sox scoreless, and was credited with the 9 to 6 Baltimore win. The losing pitcher was also a position player, outfielder Darnell McDonald, as the Red Sox ran out of pitchers too. The last time a MLB game was played between two teams which each used position players to pitch was October 4, 1925.
11. The Angels' Jered Weaver threw a no-hitter against the Twins on May 2 in Anaheim. In the history of baseball, only one pitcher, Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds in 1938, has ever thrown back-to-back no-nos. The Twins returned home from their disastrous west coast road trip (1 win, 5 losses, and only 8 total runs scored in those 6 games) on May 7, and had to face Weaver again that night. (It would be only the eighth time in MLB history that a pitcher's first outing following a no-hitter would be against the same opponent.) The sports world wondered if Weaver could match Vander Meer's feat. When the Twins' Erik Komatsu finally broke the ice by getting a single in the third inning, the Twins' home crowd derisively gave Komatsu and his teammates a standing ovation. Komatsu's fifteen seconds of fame did not last long. With two out in the top of the ninth inning and the game still within reach by the Twins, Komatsu dropped an easy fly ball in left field off the bat of Mark Trumbo for a two-run error, effectively icing the eventual win for the Angels.
12. With two out in the bottom of the ninth inning on May 10, the Twins' Trevor Plouffe hit a foul ball which struck the head of a woman seated in the third row of the box seats close to the plate. The woman was immediately assisted by stadium medical personnel. One pitch later, Plouffe struck out to end the game. The Toronto Blue Jays' catcher, J.P. Arencibia, went to the stands to check on the woman, and presented her with the game ball.
13. The NBA's Charlotte Bobcats (the majority owner of which is none other than Michael Jordan) finished the NBA season with a record of 7 wins and 59 losses, for a winning percentage of .106, the worst in NBA history. As of Friday morning, May 11, the Twins' record was a measly 8 wins and 23 losses. KFAN radio program host Mike Morris assessed the hapless Twins with this statement: "We are the Bobcats."
There you have it. As promised, a baker's dozen. Here is one more little gem to end this post. What follows is the answer given by WCCO TV's Pat Kessler, an expert on the state political process, to a question asked by KFAN radio host Dan Barreiro on May 8, the day following the Minnesota State House Of Representatives' approval of the Vikings stadium bill. On May 8, the Minnesota State Senate was engaged in a seemingly unending session to discuss the same topic. Dan asked Pat what could possibly remain to be said in the Senate, given the fact that the House debated the bill ad nauseam the previous day. Here was Pat's reply:
"It isn't that everything has not been said; it's that it has not been said by everyone."
If this were a political post instead of a sports post, I would point out that Kessler's clever answer is illustrative of why the legislature is sometimes accused of being a "do nothing" governmental unit. However, such an opinion would be out of place here, so I won't even mention it.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Maybe They Should Call It "53 Minutes"
I miss Andy Rooney's end-of-show verbal essays on 60 Minutes every Sunday evening, and I've got to believe CBS misses him too. The weekly show topped television ratings for many years, as it usually featured three stories per week on interesting personalities and issues of the day. The skilled interviewers, such as Ed Bradley and the late Mike Wallace, always managed to ask the question or two that the American public wanted asked. Many times I would be surprised, first, that the interviewee agreed to go on camera at all, and secondly, when the interviewer asked that one embarrassing question, that the interviewee didn't just end the interview right then and there.
No matter how hard hitting and serious the three main segments of each 60 Minutes show happened to be, there was always Andy Rooney's three minutes of commentary to furnish more food for thought right at the end. Rooney looked the part of a curmudgeon, but at the same time could come across with a wink as a kindly old grandfather. Sometimes, even if I wasn't interested in any of the three main segments of the program, I would tune in at 6:55 just to hear what Andy had to say. Anything and everything was fair game: old books remaining unread for years on his bookshelf; product labels which were either indecipherable or misleading; gift certificates for stores at which he would never shop; various collections in his possession, such as paperweights or clocks; modern music which, to him, simply couldn't compare to the American standards. Sometimes he would chime in with clever commentary on mundane things that we might never think twice about, such as talking in an elevator or hailing a cab in the city.
After delivering 1097 of his verbal essays for 60 Minutes, Rooney bid adios to his viewers on October 2, 2011. Thirty-three days later he died.
I have continued to watch 60 Minutes this year, and their main stories, for the most part, are still top notch. But the program clearly misses the cherry on the top - - or should I say, at the end - - of its telecast, viz., Andy Rooney. About three or four weeks ago I noticed that after their third main segment ended, the remainder of the hour was filled with promos and commercials. They never put anything substantive on the air to fill the void between that third segment and the sign-off at the top of the hour. In other words, they have not found a way to replace Andy Rooney. My earlier observations have been confirmed by watching the subsequent shows on April 29 and again on May 6. Here is what CBS expected its 60 Minutes viewers to watch last Sunday night after the last of the three segment's ended at 6:53 p.m.:
* A CBS sports update
* A commercial for Ford Focus
* A commercial for Discover Card
* A commercial for Lowes
* A CBS promo for Amazing Race
* A CBS promo for Person Of Interest
* A CBS promo for NYC 22
* A commercial for Menards
* A commercial for the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
* A CBS promo for the local (Channel 4) news
* A CBS promo (with Scott Pelley) for next week's 60 Minutes
* A commercial for Listerine
* A commercial for the US Postal service
* A commercial for V 8 Fusion Energy Drink
* A CBS promo for Survivor
* A CBS promo for The Big Bang Theory
* Closing credits for 60 Minutes
* A CBS promo for the 60 Minutes I-phone app
I, for one, have decided not to watch this barrage of filler any longer. Once the third main segment ends, I am turning off the tube. Maybe ol' Andy is irreplaceable, but if that's the best that CBS can come up with to absorb the final seven of the allotted sixty minutes, count me out.
No matter how hard hitting and serious the three main segments of each 60 Minutes show happened to be, there was always Andy Rooney's three minutes of commentary to furnish more food for thought right at the end. Rooney looked the part of a curmudgeon, but at the same time could come across with a wink as a kindly old grandfather. Sometimes, even if I wasn't interested in any of the three main segments of the program, I would tune in at 6:55 just to hear what Andy had to say. Anything and everything was fair game: old books remaining unread for years on his bookshelf; product labels which were either indecipherable or misleading; gift certificates for stores at which he would never shop; various collections in his possession, such as paperweights or clocks; modern music which, to him, simply couldn't compare to the American standards. Sometimes he would chime in with clever commentary on mundane things that we might never think twice about, such as talking in an elevator or hailing a cab in the city.
After delivering 1097 of his verbal essays for 60 Minutes, Rooney bid adios to his viewers on October 2, 2011. Thirty-three days later he died.
I have continued to watch 60 Minutes this year, and their main stories, for the most part, are still top notch. But the program clearly misses the cherry on the top - - or should I say, at the end - - of its telecast, viz., Andy Rooney. About three or four weeks ago I noticed that after their third main segment ended, the remainder of the hour was filled with promos and commercials. They never put anything substantive on the air to fill the void between that third segment and the sign-off at the top of the hour. In other words, they have not found a way to replace Andy Rooney. My earlier observations have been confirmed by watching the subsequent shows on April 29 and again on May 6. Here is what CBS expected its 60 Minutes viewers to watch last Sunday night after the last of the three segment's ended at 6:53 p.m.:
* A CBS sports update
* A commercial for Ford Focus
* A commercial for Discover Card
* A commercial for Lowes
* A CBS promo for Amazing Race
* A CBS promo for Person Of Interest
* A CBS promo for NYC 22
* A commercial for Menards
* A commercial for the film The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
* A CBS promo for the local (Channel 4) news
* A CBS promo (with Scott Pelley) for next week's 60 Minutes
* A commercial for Listerine
* A commercial for the US Postal service
* A commercial for V 8 Fusion Energy Drink
* A CBS promo for Survivor
* A CBS promo for The Big Bang Theory
* Closing credits for 60 Minutes
* A CBS promo for the 60 Minutes I-phone app
I, for one, have decided not to watch this barrage of filler any longer. Once the third main segment ends, I am turning off the tube. Maybe ol' Andy is irreplaceable, but if that's the best that CBS can come up with to absorb the final seven of the allotted sixty minutes, count me out.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Movie Review: "Monsieur Lazhar"
"Monsieur Lazhar": A-. This is a touching movie about a middle aged man, Bachir Lazhar, who convinces a Montreal school principal to hire him to replace a young teacher, Martine, who hanged herself in her own classroom. Her body is discovered by Simon, a student in her class who she probably knew would most likely be the first into her room and who was the kid who gave her the most trouble. In many ways Lazhar is the opposite of the departed Martine. Initially he is more about having the kids toe the mark than he is about interaction, creativity and spontaneity. For example, rather than using curriculum-approved books for teaching grammar and composition, he has the kids working with excerpts from Balzac. He instructs them to rearrange their desks into straight lines. He mildly disciplines a misbehaving student by tapping him on the back of the head, then later learns any physical contact whatsoever with the students is taboo. He has a tough assignment, as would any mid-year replacement teacher, because the children thought highly of Martine and may be traumatized by her suicide. He is not supposed to interfere with the psychiatrist hired by the school to help the kids through this tough period, but he puts in his two cents anyway from time to time.
Lazhar is new to the city, having fled his native Algeria. He keeps his past close to the vest, but in scenes outside of school we learn that he is having difficulty convincing an immigration panel that he should be granted asylum in Canada to avoid deportation back to his homeland. He manages to keep these personal problems from his students and his colleagues. One of those colleagues is Claire, who invites Lazhar to her home for dinner. She inspires him to try different approaches toward becoming a more effective teacher.
The students in Lazhar's class provide some of the humor for the story, a counterbalance to the sometimes stoic Lazhar. The kids are pretty savvy for middle schoolers. They are not afraid to challenge some of Lazhar's methods, but he deftly keeps things under control. His rapport with his charges improves little by little as the weeks roll by. Teacher's pet is the very pretty Alice (Sophie Nelisse), one of Simon's close friends who has conversations with her teacher almost as if they were peers. These conversations reminded me of the teacher-student relationship in "To Sir With Love," one of my favorite movies of all time.
I subscribe to the notion that great teachers are born with that talent. Taking education classes and going through training only gets you so far. Like other great teachers in real life, Monsieu Lazhar is a natural. Although he is a little stiff at first, he acclimates to the job. He has the best interests of the kids foremost in his mind, and they are astute enough to sense it. He does not look at his days in the classroom as a chore; instead it is a vocation to which he has been called. Even though he was hired by a desperate principal as a matter of expediency - - he applied for the position before anyone else did, and the kids needed a teacher - - he is the right man to take on the challenge presented by the dire circumstances.
The tension level in the movie is, in all honesty, a little too low. Will Lazhar succeed in his proceedings with the immigration officials? Will he be able to get his students over the hump of the traumatic event they experienced? Will his budding relationship with Claire go anywhere? While these story lines are present, they do not have us biting our nails. Still, watching this movie brought back some great personal memories for me of the best job I ever had, teaching. If you are or were a teacher, or if you have ever been lucky enough to be taught by a natural such as Lazhar, this movie is one you will enjoy.
Lazhar is new to the city, having fled his native Algeria. He keeps his past close to the vest, but in scenes outside of school we learn that he is having difficulty convincing an immigration panel that he should be granted asylum in Canada to avoid deportation back to his homeland. He manages to keep these personal problems from his students and his colleagues. One of those colleagues is Claire, who invites Lazhar to her home for dinner. She inspires him to try different approaches toward becoming a more effective teacher.
The students in Lazhar's class provide some of the humor for the story, a counterbalance to the sometimes stoic Lazhar. The kids are pretty savvy for middle schoolers. They are not afraid to challenge some of Lazhar's methods, but he deftly keeps things under control. His rapport with his charges improves little by little as the weeks roll by. Teacher's pet is the very pretty Alice (Sophie Nelisse), one of Simon's close friends who has conversations with her teacher almost as if they were peers. These conversations reminded me of the teacher-student relationship in "To Sir With Love," one of my favorite movies of all time.
I subscribe to the notion that great teachers are born with that talent. Taking education classes and going through training only gets you so far. Like other great teachers in real life, Monsieu Lazhar is a natural. Although he is a little stiff at first, he acclimates to the job. He has the best interests of the kids foremost in his mind, and they are astute enough to sense it. He does not look at his days in the classroom as a chore; instead it is a vocation to which he has been called. Even though he was hired by a desperate principal as a matter of expediency - - he applied for the position before anyone else did, and the kids needed a teacher - - he is the right man to take on the challenge presented by the dire circumstances.
The tension level in the movie is, in all honesty, a little too low. Will Lazhar succeed in his proceedings with the immigration officials? Will he be able to get his students over the hump of the traumatic event they experienced? Will his budding relationship with Claire go anywhere? While these story lines are present, they do not have us biting our nails. Still, watching this movie brought back some great personal memories for me of the best job I ever had, teaching. If you are or were a teacher, or if you have ever been lucky enough to be taught by a natural such as Lazhar, this movie is one you will enjoy.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Corporations As Quasi-Peeps?
It appears that the November presidential election is set: Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama. The Republicans will try to make the election about the President's first term record. Did he deliver on what he promised when he ran successfully four years ago? The Dems will try to cast Romney as a super rich guy who is out of touch with mainstream America. So far the three sound bites which the Obama strategists like to play the most are (i) Romney proposing a wager of $10,000 to Governor Rick Perry during a Republican candidates' debate, (ii) Romney telling a Michigan audience that his wife, Ann, drives "a couple of Cadillacs," and (iii) Romney asserting to an Iowa State Fair crowd that "corporations are people." The first two of these are clearly gaffes, particularly the second blurb. (The first blurb was, I think, said in jest, so although it was an ill-advised bit it should not signal his political death knell.) He could not have picked a state worse than down-on-its-luck Michigan to utter the Cadillac factoid. But was he really so off-base with his "corporations are people" proclamation? I have a feeling that a good chunk of those pointing the finger at Romney on that one, especially Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, know little about corporations. Schultz pounced on Romney as if he were a lunatic. His statement was a "shocking admission" of misplaced priorities, she said. Upon hearing Schultz' accusation, one would have thought he was guilty of unwittingly whispering a secret to the head of a communist nation over a live microphone! Her take on corporations, and the take of others who castigated Romney for his "people are corporations" statement, stops with the inalienable truth that corporations are, in fact, inanimate objects. True enough. But let's look a little closer.
Although the last couple of decades have introduced some hybrid forms of business formations, such as limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships, the three base types of business formations are sole proprietorship, partnership (aka general partnership) and corporation. In a nutshell, a sole proprietorship is owned by a single person (as the name implies), and a partnership is owned by two or more persons who are each almost always jointly and severally liable for each others' debts. A corporation, on the other hand, is owned by one or more persons, and the individual monetary
A person who invests in a corporation is called a shareholder, so named because a share of stock is what the corporation gives to that investor as proof of her ownership. So, a corporation is owned by shareholders, the overwhelming majority of whom are people, sometimes thousands of them. A corporation employs people, and with that comes not only a salary but also benefits such as health care, sick leave and retirement programs. A corporation produces goods or services which are used by people, sometimes out of necessity. Many corporations are what's commonly referred to as "good corporate citizens," because they sponsor the efforts of local non-profits, they donate money to non-profits, they organize and encourage their employees to participate in activities (e.g., paint-a-thons, Habitat For Humanity projects) which benefit their communities, they establish foundations (looked upon as a "charitable arm" of the company), they provide expertise among the civic leaders, and they often help establish the face of the city in which they're located. If a corporation does well, the shareholders are rewarded with an increase in the value of their shares, and maybe even dividends (a form of profit sharing).
Corporations are the lifeblood of the economy of their communities, and it's not only because they provide jobs and their employees spend their wages as buyers of goods and services. The corporations themselves are also buyers. A corporation which sells goods gets its raw materials or inventory from other businesses. In order to keep their own operations going, corporations are customers of public utilities, security personnel, insurance providers, food vendors, maintenance workers and other types of companies in the area. Also let's not forget that corporations pay taxes.
The word "corporation" carries with it an almost immediate negative connotation, kind of like the word "dentist." But could you really live your life without them? The food you eat, the clothes on your back, the car or bike you use for transportation, the television you watch, that i-phone which seems like an appendage on your ear, that beer you inhale. Almost all of those things are brought to you by corporations. Do you participate in a 401(k), 403(b) or pension program? If so, there is little doubt that through those programs you are invested in mutual funds which, in turn, invest in corporations.
Corporations are owned by people, led by people as officers and board members, operated by people as employees, and benefit people directly and indirectly. Romney was technically incorrect in saying that corporations are people, but think about it. Was he really out of touch on that one? I'll bet you ten thousand pennies he wasn't!
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