Transparent – TV Review

Maura (Jeffrey Tambor) is discovering her life as a woman after a lifetime living in the male body she was born in. But she is not an island; she has three children – Ali (Gaby Hoffmann), Sarah (Amy Landecker)and Josh (Jay Duplass), as well as an amazing ex-wife, Shelly (Judith Light). Each of them has their own stuff going on, and Maura needs to find out how she can come out to them, and then make her new lifestyle still including them.

It is fabulous – half hour drama (which I think I have only seen previously in the magnificent In Treatment) that cuts to the important stuff really quickly. The characters need to deal with their past as much as their present, and wow, they are all so totally messed up. The cast is fabulous – apart from those mentioned above, there is also Melora Hardin, Carrie Brownstein, Kathryn Hahn, Bradley Whitford and just so many others. And it recently won some Golden Globes. Top notch.

Transparent won Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical (Jeffrey Tambor) and Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical

Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011) Film Review

There’s a guy called Jeff and he lives at home. That much is clear. Jeff (Jason Segel) is in his late-twenties and spends his time watching Signs (the 2002 M. Night Shyamalan film) and smoking dope. He is convinced that he is on the earth for some greater purpose, much to the despair of his mother (Susan Sarandon) and his brother, Pat (Ed Helms).

It’s fairly ridiculous, really. However, the last ten minutes or so blew me away – I guess I’d been lulled into such a state of boredom that when something actually happened, I got a bit too excited. For most of the film, I couldn’t really see the point of the Susan Sarandon sub-plot.  In fact, even looking back, it’s not really necessary. Plus, Ed Helms really annoyed me. He’s fantastic in The Office; an over-the-top character blends in there. This film seemed to generally be pretty realistic, and his portrayal of Pat for much of the film didn’t blend well. It was only in the final sequence that I really believed that Pat could have been a real character, and not simply comic relief.

Jeff, Who Lives at Home is a great title, but not a great film. Worth watching, but not really worth going out of your way for.