arts & life >> review
Bad Jews
They make
for good
entertainment
at JET.
JET presents Bad
Jews through June 14
in the Aaron DeRoy
Theatre at the Jewish
Community Center in
West Bloomfield. $41-
$48 with discounts for
seniors, students and
groups. (248) 788-
2900; jettheatre.org .
Celebrity Jews
Nate Bloom
Special to the
Jewish News
ENTOURAGE REDUX
Entourage, the HBO show
that ended in 2011, returns
as a feature film (opening
Wed., June 3). The series
ended with super-agent Ari
Gold (played by
Jeremy Piven,
49) becoming
a studio head.
The movie has
Ari risking
his career by
greenlighting
Piven
a big-budget
film star-
ring Vincent Chase (Adrian
60
May 28 • 2015
Ronelle Grier
I Contributing Writer
B
ad Jews makes good
entertainment, specifi-
cally in Joshua Harmon's
knife-sharp comedy, performed
by a talented ensemble cast
under the skillful direction of JET
Executive Director Christopher
Bremer. After watching the four
talented actors sling hilarious
barbs for the better part of an
intermission-less 100 minutes,
it is easy to understand why the
New York Times deemed Bad Jews
"the best comedy of the season:'
The story revolves around
three cousins who are reluctantly
thrown together following the
funeral of their grandfather,
"Poppy," a Holocaust survivor
and the family patriarch. As the
play begins, Daphna (Meredith
Deighton) and her first cousin
Jonah (Emilio Rodriguez) have
returned from the funeral and
are preparing to settle in for the
night in Jonah's New York apart-
ment. Daphna, who has changed
her name from Diana, is a self-
proclaimed "real Jew," as she is
only too happy to explain to any-
Grenier), his biggest for-
mer client. The whole TV
cast is in the film, including
Emmanuelle Chriqui, 37,
as Sloan (the girlfriend of
Chase's business manager,
Eric, was pregnant when the
series ended); Scott Caan,
38, as Scott Lavin, a ruth-
less actor's agent; and Martin
Landau, 86, as Bob Ryan, a
former top producer who still
has irons in the fire.
The TV series was noted
for cameos of real celebs
playing themselves. The
movie has a carload of cam-
eos, including Bob Saget, 59,
Dallas Mavericks' owner Mark
Cuban, 57, and supermodel
Emily Ratajkowski, 23.
Entourage was created and
largely written by Doug Ellin,
47, and he wrote and directed
the movie. A little checking
one willing to listen,
and even to those
who would rather
not. She is rail-
Lee
ing against Jonah's
Bad Jews at JET
brother, Liam, who
has missed the
funeral, presumably
somewhat vapid Melody (Katie
because of a mishap involving his Galazka) in tow, Daphna's ire is
iPhone and a ski lift in Aspen,
further fueled. When she learns
where he and his "shiksa" girl-
Liam already has the Chai in his
friend Melody have been vaca-
possession and plans to give it
tioning.
to Melody as part of a marriage
Daphna's ranting is not con-
proposal, the fireworks begin
in earnest. Daphna and Liam
fined to her cousin's questionable
absence; she decries the extrava-
are well-matched in the dirty-
gance of Jonah's studio apart-
fighting department; both are
ment, which has a bathroom
merciless as they pinpoint each
window view of the Hudson
other's weaknesses and attempt
River and was purchased for
to draw blood. Jonah and Melody
Jonah and Liam by their inexcus- eventually get drawn into the
ably indulgent parents. No sooner fray, despite their best efforts to
is Daphna finished with one
remain neutral.
tirade than she jumps to another:
The actors are superlative.
a manically delivered justification Deighton, with her unruly mass
of frizzy hair, is an exaggerated
for why she should be the one to
inherit Poppy's Chai pendant, an
version of that obnoxious person
heirloom he preserved through
we know but wish we didn't. Her
his time in the concentration
drawn-out "whatevers" and ani-
camps by hiding it under his
mated facial expressions serve to
tongue.
punctuate her tiresome tirades.
When Liam (Mitchell A.
While the verbal (and eventu-
Koory) arrives with blonde and
ally, physical) sparring evokes
reveals that while Ellin says
he grew up celebrating just
a couple of Jewish holidays,
he is now actively speaking
before Jewish and pro-Israel
groups around the country. I
give Ellin props for creating
perhaps the only 'all-Jewish"
power couple on TV — Ari
Gold and his wife, Melissa
(played by Perrey Reeves,
who isn't Jewish, but does
a great job of depicting a
woman with a "Jewish per-
sona" without being a stereo-
type or just an appendage of
her hard-charging husband).
SMALL SCREEN
Aquarius stars David
Duchovny, 51, as Sam Hodiak,
a Los Angeles police sergeant
looking for a missing teen
early in 1968. He is aided by
an undercover officer (Gary
Damon) who dresses like a
hippie. Unknown to both of
them, their investigation will
lead them to Charles Manson
(a year or so before Manson
became infamous worldwide).
Aquarius can be viewed on TV
(premieres 9 p.m. Thursday,
May 28, and shows weekly
at the same time on NBC) or
watch the entire 13-episode
first season at NBC.com
starting on May 29.
Now filming: American
Crime Story will focus on
one true-crime drama each
season (a spin-off of the FX
series American Horror Story,
which has a new storyline
each season). Up first is the
1994 O.J. Simpson arrest and
murder trial. The O.J. trial
was, in many ways, the first
reality show, so it's fitting the
reigning family of reality TV,
much laughter, there is a more
serious side to this story, with its
universal messages about fami-
lies, tradition and how we honor
those who came before us. One
of the most touching moments
comes when the cousins stop
fighting long enough to remi-
nisce hysterically about a family
dinner at a Japanese restaurant
where their "Jewish digestive
tracts" caused everyone to spend
more time in the restrooms than
at the table.
The studio apartment,
crammed with sofa beds, air
mattress and the guests' respec-
tive belongings, was created by
Scenic and Lighting Designer
and Technical Director Daniel C.
Walker, with props and set deco-
ration by Diane E. Ulseth. Mary
Copenhagen's costumes enhanced
the characters' personalities, and
Matt Lira provided the sound
design.
❑
the Kardashians, were promi-
nent in the O.J. saga. The
late Robert Kardashian was a
great friend of Simpson, and
he briefly legally represented
him after his arrest. He's
playedby David Schwimmer,
48, of Friends fame. Robert's
ex-wife, Kim Kardashian
Jenner, is
played by
Southfield
native Selma
Blair, 42.
The big-
gest real-life
Jewish par-
•
ticipants in
Blair
the Simpson
trial, defense
attorney Robert Shapiro, now
72, and prosecutor Marcia
Clark, now 61, are played,
respectively, by John Travolta
and Sarah Paulson.
❑