 Okay, we're back real live. It's it's 1 p.m. For the movie show with George Cason and I we're gonna discuss movies that you find on cable There are so many of them. We're awash in really interesting movies now Not all movies are interesting but a lot of them are and it's like, you know, there's something new something terrific every day I feel like my horizon is expanding every day. No, that's wrong because I'm doing it at home Sitting in the same chair not getting out much But the fact is that I am I am exploring the planet and the human experience through these movies And frankly at this point in time the news is repetitive the news is festooned with commercials I've seen a thousand times before so it's earlier and earlier that I will go to Netflix or Amazon every day George welcome to your show Thank you, Jay. Welcome. Welcome. Good seeing you So we're gonna talk about Michael Douglas. We're talking about the Kominsky method Which which had a very interesting season what a year or two ago. We like that, but they're back with another season and a very droll informative Kind of humor that that makes you if you're old it makes you feel a little better Because these guys are having the problems of age in every which way It's a study of aging isn't it? Yeah, part of it part Part of the plot is aging yet, but they talk about all their maladies, which I'll discuss while I don't have at my age I'm older than then then then Michael You know Sandy over there and and your two shows your vegan show with what's her name? kumic and then Yeah, I love you kumic. Yeah kumic and Wendy. Oh We have a third one too. We have a third with Larry Grimm. Oh, I haven't seen that We have three shows that deal with aging you do a lot of public service Jay with your think tech And you know if people would only be a little more Helping themselves rather than going as I was telling Eric before the show started going and popping a pill for every Stupid melody. They wouldn't have these in my old days. I don't have that I mean, I I've gone to my I don't have the prostate problems my Hector just he tells me that amazing 0000 PSA If Michael Douglas isn't telling you about things you have now, he's telling you about things you're going to have so make notes George Well, hopefully Hopefully if I keep this up, I should be okay, you know I'm 73 almost going on 74 in October. So this show is right up your alley It really is and anyone who is either, you know Conscious of growing old or will be conscious can learn a lot and enjoy the humor of it's very troll humor I mean Alan Arkin is really one of my favorite guys in the world. He is so So he looks he makes Larry David look dull Very good very good series very excellent I laughed a lot here, but a lot of seriousness to last you said true And a lot of people dying of leukemia and and other diseases. So it's it's but it's it's it's a comedy of sorts as well So talk about Michael Douglas, you know, I mean he's been in so much. We've seen him We've grown up with him and you know this kind of you know how the the mask comes off So to speak where you realize that even in movies where he was the number one hero There's a certain vulnerability about him a certain self-effacing quality That always made him appealing But it is much more the case in this series because even though he you know It doesn't go out of his way to admit era. He gets involved in all kinds of trouble Yes, I think things happen to him Yeah, and he handles it in a way that characters in his hero movies might have handled it years ago He's fairly consistent that way and I think he's well well cast for the series. Don't you think oh, definitely? I mean he's definitely you know is Perfect for the role that he's playing given his his persona and his acting ability from previous movies and series So for the benefit of our viewing off audience George, why don't you describe the role he's playing? Who is he and what does he do? How does he spend his time? He's an acting coach in Hollywood in LA right and he's got this class right and He's a failure sort of for not a failed actor, but just had bit parts like I had bit parts you know never really achieved that success and He goes through he's got this Mindy's got a daughter from this ex-wife played by She's very quick and very There is you know quick lines and all that well, it's very well written. It really is I mean, I like to meet the writer, but this daughter Mindy is not what you would call a beautiful woman not at all But a personality good. She's got personality and she's sort of strong woman feisty You know, maybe because coming from a family of divorcee, you know And and and Sandy Kaminsky played by Michael Douglas. He's had a Serious like Harry the eighth. He's had a series of marriages, right and his first wife Kathleen Turner, which I didn't read recognized because she's really doesn't look like she looked when she was younger, you know She's aged, you know and and she plays the first wife and she sort of got an interesting personality too And Mindy and her sort of have a similar personality So the casting was and then the way they the roles the writers are you know, right on on target So it's all the sort of all all meshes together very well, you know, so yeah, so Sandy's But then at the end because it's very close friends with the Alan Ark and role which is Norman Irving Newlander See season three season three you all it opens up with his funeral, you know with Newlanders funeral because I read that he didn't he didn't he didn't he didn't want to do a third season He had other gigs he had to do so they had to kill him off So there's no nothing that came of what he was sick. You didn't see him sick all of a sudden from season He's gone. Yeah, he's gone So that was because of the Circumstances so so Alan Arkins role was his very close friend of Sandy and they sort of have a Crazy relationship. They sort of put each other down on very New York very an odd couple odd couple You know the same thing odd odd Walter Mathau and and and the lemon Very nice, you know Interaction and the two of them how they back back and forth, you know, so Yeah, so Alan Ark and is also phenomenal in his role, you know, just like Mindy, you know, she plays that role very well They all the roles now Phoebe What's your name? Edelstein I got to get these names get them Lisa Edelstein. She plays her role She's a druggy and an alkie, you know, she's got all kind of and a problem child This is new lander's daughter new lander's daughter and then you show his first wife, you know Season in season two. She passes away Yeah, and Alan Ark in it at his age 70s 80s. He still has women and he's still active and sexually active as well, you know Viagra, whatever that shows all his girlfriends, you know and and then all of a sudden season three He's gone and they show his funeral and that really is a you know, a surprise because up to that point You thought the two of them were inextricably interwoven in the series. They had such Magic between them and they fit so well together. The two are perfectly together and Arkon You know for all the vulnerability that Michael Michael Douglas shows Arkon doesn't have that vulnerability. He's a self-contained individual. He's very funny very confident in his own skin And then you find out later that he left in a state of a hundred and fifty million dollars. You remember that part No one expected that And this happens, you know, this happens that somebody dies and you have no idea what that person was worth And then you find out it's a hundred and fifty million Family goes nuts dry humor because the the waiter in that restaurant Musso's grill or whatever He says to Sandy, you know after Alan Arkon's role died. He says, oh, yes Mr. New Lander was very kind and generous and Sandy turns around and says I'll give you generous. No, that's what he's So these two had had some kind of a back-and-forth, you know, I have friends like that, you know You know that the sort of a good dry humor, so Very good good series and I did have to look at season one and two to fill in all the pukas because if you don't I mean you had mentioned season three But you have to really see off to understand what came before, you know the deaths and and the Inter-interrelationships between people. So very good very good movie And as you said a lot of illness, you know prostate problems Hygiene hygiene issues Things that you never expect will be on on primetime television never talking about their issues in the bathroom Yes Yeah, he taught they talk about things that, you know, normally you're not, you know talked about but I mean I've had Training in our I went to Strasburg for a number of classes and then Bob Royals and you know this movie brings into my memory deja vu Beverly Hills flats and I found out that Newlander's house was in the mid-wilshire on Lucerne and then Sandy's house up in the hills Which is in also near Cwenga. I thought I used to live in Beverly Hills Hills and the hills near Mulholland. I didn't know that about you George. Are you sure you're not worth a hundred and fifty million? No, unfortunately not. I wish I was you know, I mean my group my grandfather and grandmother at one time were Filthy rich, but then they lost everything over So, you know what's what's interesting here is this you know, Michael Douglas and and you know, you've grown up with him We all have and Kirk Douglas, of course and and Kirk Douglas lived to over a hundred. Yeah. Yeah, but he was a little squashy at the end So, you know, you always ask yourself there was a movie years ago about Sunset Boulevard It was about a an actress who was all shut shut in her home. She wouldn't come out She had been a great star and everybody wondered what happened to the great star I'm and the funny thing here is that this is kind of an answer to that question. What happened to Michael Douglas He's getting old now. What's he doing? What's he like? What's his life like? Well, of course, this is fictitious But it's not that fictitious And you say to yourself this answers the question. What happened to Michael Douglas? What's his life like now and and that and that is very interesting kind of examination the same thing with with Alan Arkin what happened to him? I haven't seen him in a movie in a while. He must be getting older So this is the story of what what he really is and I would bet that in terms of personality types They really like that. They really behave like that. They have friends like that It's all about Beverly Beverly Hills and 150 million dollars and the other thing is, you know, who actually are these guys They they come from where you and you and I come George. They come from New York And they're both Jewish, right? They're they're, you know, they got this Jewish New York sense of humor, but transplanted To Hollywood to LA and the only, you know, a thing that happened in the meantime Is is they had a successful career and now look at them. So what you see is the larry david, you know Kind of dry humor The curb your enthusiasm kind of humor. They're all in the same ball game And I'm sure they are all like that to me Although it's not likely we're going to meet them. But we do meet them in these shows So I'm it's a valuable experience for everybody. You know I couldn't I was totally agree with you. That's one of the things I was going to say as well That this is a trans these guys are transplanted from the new york metro And there's a lot of new york metro there and you know from taking strasburg courses And and other That's what they teach you is to basically be yourself, you know, take things from your own life When you're acting and bring it into the scene, you know, and basically that's that's what we have here We have two aging I didn't recognize ellen arc and either or cathleen turner. I didn't recognize him at all Because he looks so different from what I remember him as but as to get back. This is definitely as you said, it's a new york These are new yorkers And I grew up. I mean, I'd only have distant jewish ancestry but but in a very Jewish neighborhood, I mean, there were only two talions and us, you know And everybody else was jewish and long island, you know, that's long island So i'm very familiar my closest friend ellen laskin in high school, you know, my closest friend So cathleen turner, I didn't realize that was her, you know He was she was the opening introduction to her is that she's a doctor She's doing some kind of activist medicine in south america somewhere She talks to him on the cell phone Any time all the time what have you she's his wife is very acerbic cutting Nasty Divorced husband and wife type of humor. They never let it leave themselves alone They never let the other guy get away with anything and in the end I I don't know if I saw the the end of their relationship, but What what happens is they are brought together by the daughter And now they have an opportunity to refresh their broken relationship But and this happens it happens in la and everywhere So here you have a divorce couple with a child who presents issues to rally around And they get closer and you almost see them You know restarting their romantic relationship And she is wonderful. She Again like like her daughter. She's not so good-looking these days, but boy, she's sharp And she's got these you know these fantastic remarks she makes and he doesn't he can't handle it Michael Douglas Sandy he can't handle it She's in charge. She's the strongest personality in the whole series You love her you like her because she's a doctor because she's an activist. She's a you know an altruistic individual And so I just love her influence on the family And and what brings them together of course is that Mindy who is in her what 20s early 30s? Mindy starts having a relationship With this guy who is hysterical And and he is like 60 65 years old old enough to be Her father possibly her grandfather And she's bringing this guy home And he is you know in the Yiddish expression. He's kind of a schmuck He can't get it right. He gets in all kinds of trouble and and Mindy has to pick up after him But you know, whoever thought this stuff up with the family dynamics is a kind of genius writer What what did you think of him? I forget his name Martin riser What was his name and martin was his name is martin. Yeah, and then he's it's Something riser wait a minute Philip riser or whatever. Yeah, Paul riser. He's the actor and they they got they they had he doesn't It showed him to be Bald no hair, but I know he has hair So maybe they they did special effects said to to put the ponytail and you know have no hair But he's phenomenal. He plays that role to a tee. I mean, he's just He's amazing You know Every one of them plays the role to the tee and one of the things that you alluded to The relationship between sandy and his ex his first wife played by cathleen her It's some ways is very similar to his friendship with you know his Alan arkans role where they're sort of putting each other down But they have a lot of good feelings love for each other So, I mean, it's a similar kind of thing But it's like it's all that uh that drive humor and and and sandy is is you know, he sort of accepts Martin, you know, but alan but new lander alan arkans role does not accept this May december marriage and he's sort of really down on on um on You know martin, you know being a school teacher blah blah blah blah blah You know because he's nice. He's like, you know, he's not so But you know mindy found a guy, you know, I mean, maybe she didn't have many suitors, you know I mean because you know, maybe she's a really strong personality like her mother And and then you have the acting class And you know, you know, as you said before at least in the plays In the series. He's not really a successful actor at least not beginning and and What's remarkable is that she is keeping it together and and somehow these people keep coming back to the class even though sandy is really not much of a teacher And he gives them all the wrong advice And you really wonder if there's any value there but then Some guy that he knows I want to say the character is called leavenson leavenson is a big producer and leavenson is making a movie of earnest hemmingway's The old man at the sea exactly so they pick sandy as the old man The hemmingway character And they make this ridiculous effort at the old man in the sea and guess what what happens you tell the people what happens He wins a golden globes award and then he's Finally reached makes that success that he wanted all his life and and So, you know finally reached that pinnacle that he wanted because his to his friendship with new lander, which was uh, you know his friend new lander had sort of talked about him to leavenson so This it's sort of now as you said what happened I mean to get it to us aside Kathleen turner's role, you know the first wife she passes away at the end of leukemia after Being the the pastor or whatever for the marriage of her daughter and all right But she starts she she pronounced herself the the minister didn't marry them She became the minister and she she married them. So but just A lot of interplay Between the different roles the different characters each one played their role to a tee And as you were saying these two elderly gentlemen initially from new york, you know, they they played their roles very well I mean they're sitting in a Sandy's late model Mercedes convertible right Chatting with you know the allen arc and role and michael douglas Just really I mean coming from new york, you know, this is like Well, they're they're blatantly honest Blatantly honest. I don't know if you remember this movie. It was with art carney and another actor of similar seniority Who lived on the upper west side on broadway? in manhattan and they would sit on a park bench And trade barbs and stories And it's part of an aging thing the same kind of relationship That michael douglas and allen arc and had in this movie And and what strikes me is that when you can portray that relationship, which isn't easy You know, you have to You have to Make it honest And so that that's a very important part of the writing for this series that they're complete They may be barbing each other and criticizing each other and making, you know, ranking remarks against each other But they're honest. It's always honesty. It's humor and it's honesty. Which is very appealing And one of the things I wanted to ask you about also is the strange The strange coming together Of of new lenders of allen arc and his children. One is this crazy woman who is She's had a useless life. She's a druggy and the other is this this guy who's in his 30s and he's uh into some kind of religion Scientology And the two of them find out that allen arc and uh has money or had money And they are all over michael douglas who has control of the money Not to get the money and it's so visible And the audience sing me anyway and i'm saying You know, doesn't the michael douglas character see that how greedy they are How salivating they are to get any money and they're really telling him all kinds of lies But no, um, that's the thing about the michael douglas character sandy for all of his vulnerability and all of the troubles he has He's able to discern Right from wrong. He's able to be a moral figure He's able to ascertain when somebody is giving him a line Exactly and that and that makes him a hero again He plays that I mean All the different aspects of his personality, you know that i'm sure that's the way he he is in real life as well That that play into the role he's playing and Totally Meshed, you know, every everybody's sort of The roles are played very very well I enjoyed this even though all the sadness the people dying, you know, whatever But there's a lot of comedy here too And then real life, you know illness. I mean I'm you i'm the outlier. I I don't have medical problems major medical problems But people my age a lot of them. I mean there's a row of pills You know, they got all these different pills that they have to take, you know every day And so it's similar. You know prostate issues and leukemia, you know This is going to be appealing to somebody who is old Is it more appealing to somebody who's old and somebody is young? And if you're old and you watch this and you see, you know, these characters decline and die that way And you know, you know have the challenges of people trying to take advantage of them Um Do you do you turn off or do you like it? How did you react to that? I mean personally Was this something you could learn from? Was this something that offended you? Was this something that you really rather not hear about? You know the thing is i'm pretty aware because I I mean i've had illness and my mother died of leukemia My dad had heart disease. My brother well had issues you know, but to me I wasn't offended by this I guess i'm in i'm in a never neverland because I think that coming on 74 i'm I haven't developed. I have a few minor menini issues But you know, so to me it wasn't offended. It wasn't scaring. It didn't scare me But would you would you be more or less interested in this series if you were 25? um I think there's enough in this series In terms of all the young students And the whole thing of hot, you know the hollywood acting thing acting class Which i'm familiar with because I did that To sort of make them into this this factors that are interesting Plus the whole federally hills scenes, you know the the hills sandy's house and and rulander's house and there's enough in there for the young people as well a lot of interesting factors and then you know See how the old farts live, you know Give them a window on how the old farts live and what it's like to get old But i'll tell you my my reaction to you know, the aging issue and the health issues and family issues I say to myself, uh, and maybe this is inaccurate. I say to myself It's okay that I that i'm watching this because Thank god. I don't have those issues um, and I have it like a window on People real people who do have those issues who may never tell me as much as these characters are telling me About their issues because most people won't talk about it But this is a kind of a it's a window into their lives So you learn and thank god you don't have their problems, but you learn about what problems you might have going forward so I think there's um There's a real value there and I think the the writer knew this and michael Douglas knew this and certainly alan arc and knew it So it's a it's it's well worthwhile, you know, that's why I had no trouble watching it because I felt that it was educational I always feel that I have to get some education out of everything I watched and this was one example of that How do you feel about that? Did you learn? Oh, yeah, I mean there was there was educational for me too because uh, you know you show, um Catherine Kathleen Turner's role, you know, she was taking medication. My mom was not actually she was she was seeing dr Canty rye over at L. I. J. You know new height part, but and she was just she had blood transfusions But she so I learned that there's medication now For for leukemia because Kathleen Turner's role was ejecting herself with something for her leukemia. I think that's a hurry I think it's an important point George. So yes, you know, your mother we've all had somebody who died of something like leukemia um And uh, we may not have had the opportunity to really know about it What I mean is we might have been too young or other people were closer to this individual though We were and and you know created a barrier for you know Barrier so that we could not really relate to this and learn about it So that's why this is so interesting to see somebody a character With all the detail Getting sick and dying In a situation where We we might have known more before but we were not permitted to learn it as you know young people So now this this gives us that that opportunity And I think that's one of the great things about this series if they intended to appeal to a broad array of generations they succeeded So, um, okay, what would you give it? five on a scale of five or 10 on a scale of 10 Scale of five. What would you give it? I'm not five. Yeah, it's it's it's got all the different aspects You know that that that that that make it a good series an interesting series, you know, and and you know For me, I've done a lot of reading. I I know where we're going to go when we when we leave this earth So I'm not a fear of of dying but for those who don't who don't Want to face this, you know, it's really very educational as you said, so sure and you got to keep your sense of humor until the very end Yeah, so so and I would also give it a five by the way um, but There are so many other movies. I know I'm watching them all the time And I jump from one good one to another good one and my wife finds them And we are awash in good movies. So do you have any ideas about what you want to cover next, George? You suggested that bad education, you know Uh, and which I did see it because you know, you you peak my interest because it is on in Rosalind on Long Island and similar to my background, you know, and You know in terms of the locations, you know, they discuss Sayas at Farmingdale all these different places on Long Island So I I did you peak my interest But I mean, that's that's a possibility, you know, then there's I don't know what else, you know, I I you know I haven't been watching many movies lately because I've been focused on on going to school in my old age And it's a tough program, you know, so um I used to go to a lot more movies in my youth. So I'm gonna have to Put my thinking cap on and we'll discuss it, you know After the show and you know, if you want me to do Bad education at least I've seen it already and that's an interesting story about Invezlement, you know and and all it's a true story very true story. Well, it It's true, but there's some change. They made some changes for the screenplay, you know, but But uh, it's it's it blocked by I mean they they stole millions. I mean He's the administrator and he was superintendent. It was interesting as it starts a Hugh Jackman And it's not the kind of role that you would expect Hugh Jackman to play Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, George. I I must say I really enjoy these discussions with you. It's great fun To watch the movies and it's great fun to have a moment to compare notes about them And I look forward to our next discussion. Very good today. You you made a lot of good points today, Jay Same for you. Thank you, George. George case and our movie reviewer here on the movie show on think tech Aloha, George