52 | NOVEMBER 24 • 2022 

TROUBLED JEWISH 
FAMILY, CHALAMET THE 
CANNIBAL AND FUN 
STUFF

Fleishman is in Trouble is 
an eight-episode mini-se-
ries that began streaming 
on Nov. 17 on FX/Hulu. It is 
based on the novel of the 
same name by NY Times 
journalist Stephanie “Taffy” 
Brodesser-Akner, 46. The 
novel and the series are 
about a just-divorced couple. 
It was a bitter divorce. The 
couple are Toby Fleishman, 
a medical doctor (Jesse 
Eisenberg, 39), and Rachel 
(Claire Danes), a successful 
talent agent.
The couple’s two best 
friends (who are Jewish), are 
quite important characters. 
The friends are Seth (Adam 
Brody, 42) and Libby (Lizzy 
Caplan, 40). Josh Radnor, 
48, plays Libby’s Jewish hus-
band.
Early in the novel/series, 
Rachel disappears, leaving 
Toby with their two children. 
We see Toby trying to juggle 
his kids, new women and his 
job. In the midst of all this, 
Toby has a revelation: His 
wife’s disappearance is tied 
to things that happened in 
their marriage that he has 
never honestly faced.
Bones and All opens in 

theaters on Nov. 23. It is 
not for everyone. The film 
follows cannibalistic lov-
ers, Maren (a woman) and 
Lee, as they embark on a 
road trip across Reagan-
era America. Timothee 
Chalamet, 26, plays Lee. 
Michael Stuhlberg, 54, has a 
large supporting role.
You might call this film 
“high-art horror.” It has an 
A-list star (Chalamet) and a 
top European director. Bones 
got very good reviews fol-
lowing a showing at the 
recent Venice Film Festival. 
The film is based on a 
big-selling young adult novel 
of the same name. The 
novel, written by a woman, 
used cannibalism as a way to 
get into issues like feminism, 
loneliness and self-loathing. 
The novel left the cannibal-
ism details vague. Reports 
say that isn’t true of the film. 
Well, after that, some 
light stuff. First, there is 
Wednesday, an original 
Netflix series. The first sea-
son (all of it) will premiere 
on Nov. 23. It focuses on 
Wednesday, the very mem-
orable young daughter in 
the Addams Family TV show 
and movies. 
The Addams Family TV 
show and movies didn’t have 
much of a Jewish actor pres-
ence. Yes, Carolyn Jones, 

who co-starred as Morticia 
Addams in the TV show, con-
verted to Judaism when she 
married future mega-pro-
ducer Aaron Spelling. But 
she stopped practicing when 
they split in 1964 (the same 
year the TV show began). 
The two movies had, suc-
cessively, Jewish actresses 
play the part of Grandmama 
Addams (Judith Malina and 
Carol Kane).
I was peeved when I saw 
that not a single Hebrew 
actor was in the large cast of 
Wednesday. Then I saw that 
Kayla Alpert, produced the 
show and wrote (alone) three 
of the episodes. I figured she 
was Jewish. Every Alpert I 
ever heard of was Jewish. 
Some public record check-
ing revealed that her late 
parents were Jewish. Her 
mother arrived in the U.S., 
from Israel when she was 10 
(1956). Alpert, 52, a Harvard 
grad, has been a comedic 
jack-of-all-trades for decades 
— co-producing and writing 
sitcoms.
I wasn’t sure if many of my 
readers are Roku users and 
I wasn’t sure if Weird: The 
Al Yanovic Story, an original 
Roku channel comedy film, 
would be funny. Well, I just 
saw it and it is funny and, if 
you can watch it, do so. It 
began streaming on Nov. 4. 
Al Yankovic, of course, is 
the wacky comedic musician 
who writes and performs 
parody versions of hit songs. 
Weird is not a real biography 
of Yankovic. It’s a fictional 
comedic romp that Yankovic 
co-wrote.
Many erroneously think 
that “Weird Al” is Jewish 
because his last name 
sounds “vaguely” Jewish. 
Ironically, Daniel Radcliffe, 

33, who is Jewish, plays 
Yankovic (Radcliffe’s mother 
is Jewish and the secular 
actor identifies as Jewish). 
Radcliffe should do more 
light comedy — he’s wonder-
ful as Weird Al. 

 The supporting cast 
includes Evan Rachel Wood, 
35, as Madonna; Jack Black, 
53, as Wolfman Jack, the late 
radio DJ; Akiva Schaeffer, 
44, as Alice Cooper; and 
Jorma Taccone (not Jewish) 
as Pee-Wee Herman (aka 
Paul Reubens, 70).
In the film, and in real life, 
the first parody song Y
ankovic 
wrote is “My Bologna,” a 
parody of “My Sharona.” 
“Sharona” was a huge hit 
(1979) for The Knack, a 
Detroit-based band. The song 
was a tribute to Sharona 
Alperin, the Jewish girlfriend 
of the late Doug Fieger, 
the Knack frontman and the 
co-writer of “Sharona.” 

The film has a totally 
fictitious scene about the 
writing of “My Bologna.” In 
real life, Yankovic was in col-
lege (1979) when he wrote 
the parody and, by sheer 
luck, he ran into Fieger, who 
gave him permission to use 
the “Sharona” music. “My 
Bologna” was released as 
a single and the attention 
it got launched Yankovic’s 
career. 

CELEBRITY NEWS

NATE BLOOM COLUMNIST

ARTS&LIFE

PHILIP ROMANO 

Daniel Radcliffe

GAGE SKIDMORE

Jesse Eisenberg

MAXIMILIAN BHN 

Timothee Chalamet

