84 | APRIL 14 • 2022
AN AMBULANCE AND A
HEDGEHOG; MINI-SERIES
HERO IS JEWISH; MIRIAM
IN A TUB —WHAT?
Two big-budget films with a
“Jewish connection” opened
“wide” last week and are still
in theaters: Ambulance, an
action-thriller, and Sonic: The
Hedgehog 2, a combination
animation and live-action
film that is appropriate for
“children of all ages.”
Here’s the capsule plot of
Ambulance: William Sharp,
an African American war
vet, needs $231K for his
wife’s surgery. He turns
to his adoptive brother
Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal,
41), a career criminal. Their
attempt to rob a bank goes
wrong — they shoot a police
officer and flee in an ambu-
lance carrying the wound-
ed police officer and an EMT.
In a recent Esquire inter-
view, Gyllenhaal said it was
time for him to do some
big action movies again —
and that’s the type of films
that Ambulance director
Michael Bay, 57, makes
(Transformers, Pearl Harbor).
The first Sonic The
Hedgehog film (2020) was
based on a popular video
game of the same name. It
was a huge box-office office
hit despite getting mixed
reviews (story not so great;
cast very good). The title
character is a “humanized”
blue hedgehog who can
travel at supersonic speed.
He’s a good guy who wants
to help people. Sonic is ani-
mated in the original and in
the sequel.
Ben Schwartz, 40, voiced
Sonic in both Sonic flicks.
Schwartz has had many film
and TV roles, but it hard to
cite a role everyone knows.
I best remember him in
his recurring role as Jean-
Ralphio Saperstein (what a
name!) on Parks and Rec.
Henry Winkler played his
father, a doctor, and Jenny
Slate played his crazy sister,
Mona-Lisa Saperstein.
Reprising their original
Sonic film roles are Jim
Carrey (as Sonic’s arch
enemy) and James Marsden
(as a sheriff who is a friend
of Sonic).
Adam Pally, 40, makes
his Sonic debut in Sonic 2.
He plays a deputy sheriff
who serves under Marsden’s
character. Pally is a real-life
pal of Schwartz. The two
have long been in a three-
man comedy improv troupe
that performs on stage now
and again.
MINI-SERIES HERO
The six-part, NBC true-crime
series The Thing About
Pam concluded on April
14 (binge it on Peacock or
Hulu). Reviews were mixed,
but the true story was so
weird that the series held
my attention. As I previously
wrote, the title character
(played by Renee Zellweger)
murdered a close female
friend and attempted to
frame her friend’s husband
(Russ Farina) for the mur-
der. Gideon Adlon, 25, has
a supporting role as the
Farinas’ daughter.
I noticed that Pam and the
Farinas lived in a St. Louis
suburb and Joel Schwartz,
now 60, was the defense
attorney who represented
Farina at his two murder tri-
als. I contacted the St. Louis
Jewish Light, a paper that I
write for, and asked the edi-
tor if he knew Schwartz to
be Jewish. The editor then
“reached out” to Schwartz,
who confirmed he is Jewish.
Schwartz (played by Josh
Duhamel) is the hero of the
series. He is a super-compe-
tent, super-ethical defense
attorney who did everything
humanly possible to uncover
the evidence that ultimately
proved Farina was com-
pletely innocent.
In a brief interview with
the Light, Schwartz said that
he and Duhamel became
friends during the series’
filming. They have much
in common, he said. Both
are musical and enjoy act-
ing. Schwartz said he and
his band played many bar
mitzvahs when he was a
teenager, and he has long
“dabbled” in amateur acting
roles. His first role, he said,
was acting with his dad in a
play put on at the St. Louis
JCC.
Every year, around
Pesach, ABC airs The Ten
Commandments, the 1956
blockbuster about the life
of Moses and the Israelites
flight from Egypt. This year
it will be shown on April 17,
starting at 7 p.m.
In a March column, I said
I was recently contacted
by Cantor Riselle Babette
Bain, 74, who played “Young
Miriam” in the film. I just con-
cluded a long interview with
Bain and her life story is truly
amazing — and “celebrity
laden.” Just too much “good
stuff” to relate in this week’s
column.
But do watch The Ten
Commandments and look
for Bain in the scene in
which Young Miriam steps
into the Nile River and puts
the basket holding the baby
Moses into the river. Actually,
Bain told me, she wasn’t in
a river. She was in a big tub
filled with warm water.
In the film, it seems like
Miriam is looking out on the
Nile. But Bain wasn’t really
doing that. It was a special
effect. She was actually look-
ing at director Cecil DeMille,
who told her exactly what do
(facial expressions, etc.)
CELEBRITY NEWS
NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST
ARTS&LIFE
IMDB
Adam
Pally
BY TOGLENN
Jake Gyllenhaal
Riselle
Babette Bain