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aphilsmith
Reviews
Living with Lydia (2002)
LWL is lighthearted, and funny
Not being Asian, it wasn't until my wife started watching Living With Lydia on AZN cable that I realized just how biased television is in the US. This is actually pretty funny, although in a 70's or 80's sitcom format. That's not bad, and can be refreshing to watch a show, get a laugh, and not think about it too much.
What I really enjoy about LWL is that it depicts a modern family in Singaore that any American family can relate to, and it's all English. Consider the amazing fact that despite representing a very large portion of the US population, there has NEVER been a single US television show (comedy or drama) starring an Asian cast. Only one Hispanic show (ever). As much as I complain about Black stereotypes on TV, it wasn't until LWL that I actually realized how much an Asian presence is TOTALLY missing in the stuff pumped out of Hollywood. That is a disgrace. Too bad Lydia wasn't on US broadcast networks. I think it would actually do well for a mass audience.
Chasing Liberty (2004)
"Homage" to ROMAN HOLIDAY? Try "rip-off"
This IS Roman Holiday. It always gets me how screenplays can plagiarize each other without reference or credit. The minor changes in character names and dialog aren't adequate to call it original by any stretch of the imagination...
Down to Earth (2001)
Remake of a remake
What the previous post didn't note is that this is a remake of 1978 "Heaven Can Wait" (Warren Beatty), which was a remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" the 1941 movie with Robert Montgomery in the lead role and Claud Rains as the head "collector" of lives. This movie could have been better, even with the comic spin, especially considering the better writing of the two predecessors. Still, solid performances help offset the bad dialog in the screenplay.