Art Fair Specials

7

Thursday, July 21, 2016

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ARTS

TV REVIEW
Red card for ‘Ballers’

By SHIR AVINADAV

Daily Arts Writer

Booze,
boats
and
women

constitute the opening of the
season two premiere of “Ballers”
and characterize
much
of
the

ostentatious
imagery
of

football in all its
professional and
personal glory on
the show. Though
the partying and
excess
depicted

in
“Ballers”

may be the TV
incarnation of some repressed
fantasy of what it’s like to have
that much success and wealth, the
show does more than just flaunt
it. It uses tropes of the industry to
show another side — a side where
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who
plays former NFL star Spencer
Strasmore, must find fulfillment in
his post-career life.

This desire is the driving force

behind Spencer’s aspirations as
he settles into his new career as
the go-to financial manager for
professional football players. As
season one taught us, success
is
capricious
—
and
Spencer

charms his way into helping his
clients navigate the personal and
financial perils that come with
overconfidently indulging in it. He
adds a much welcomed maturity
and depth to counter the abundant
antics of his clients.

But even a character as measured

and composed as Spencer begins to
show cracks in his armor, especially
when his past resurfaces. In the
season two premiere, this takes the
form of Andre Allen (Andy Garcia), a
competing manager from Spencer’s
financial firm who used to represent
him and who he blames for his
injury
and
ultimate
departure

from the league. It’s clear from the
beginning of the episode that Andre
will be implicated in the central
conflict of season two both as a
remnant from Spencer’s past and as
new competition. At the restaurant
opening of one of Spencer’s clients (a
cameo appearance by Ndamukong
Suh), Spencer refuses to even shake
Andre’s hand.

Fittingly, Spencer’s Achilles heel

is his pride, which is threatened by
Andre’s belittlement of Spencer.
But “Ballers” may have shown
their hand too soon by openly

identifying Andre as the primary
conflict that will drive season
two’s plot. After hinting later in
the episode that Andre’s actions
spurred the downfall of Spencer’s
career, the mystery surrounding
the animosity between the two is
unceremoniously lifted and Spencer
vows to steal all of Andre’s clients
–– a brazen statement and a bolder
mission characteristic of Spencer’s
determination, cementing the roles
both Andre and Spencer will play
this season.

Though season one hinted at

Spencer’s weaknesses, it’s clear the
writers intend to trigger them in the
current season. Johnson’s charm
carried him through season one and
effectively pulled together a great
ensemble, but it appears that he’s
shed his characteristic good nature
in an attempt to reflect the tipping
balance of his confidence and
composure. However, it seems that
both Johnson and the writers know
that the emotional range required
to develop Spencer’s character
are beyond Johnson’s charismatic
grasp, and he’s better left lashing
out in short bursts of emotionally
charged bravado than brooding and
acting troubled because he hasn’t
gotten closure on his past.

This is proven in his spat with

football player T-Sizzle (NFL player
Terrell Suggs), who’s represented by
Andre, on “Glazed and Confused.”
Sizzle manages to prod Spencer into
a violent altercation on live television
following a round of sharply written
verbal
smackdowns.
Though

heated, the sequence is intercut with
reactions from Ricky (John David
Washington, “Malcolm X”) and
his crew, who are simultaneously
entertained by Spencer’s comebacks
and shocked at the crack in his
impermeable veneer. The comic
relief briefly allowed to us during
the awkwardly tense interaction
serves as a reminder that the show
— though it addresses serious topics
in the football industry — shouldn’t
be taken too seriously.

While head injuries and partying

entire fortunes away are not joking
matters, “Ballers” is able to address
them with both poignant brevity
and adjunct humor. Though, these
qualities may go unnoticed among
gratuitous
scenes
of
snorting

coke off strippers (scenes that
were bizarrely absent from this
premiere). In fact, the energy in the
premiere was lacking so sorely that
more strippers would have been

welcome. Maybe if greater attention
had been given to the supporting
cast, including the comically brash
Joe (Rob Corddry, “Children’s
Hospital”) and the unassumingly
sweet Charles (Omar Benson Miller,
“CSI: Miami”), the episode would
have succeeded in capturing our
interest in the overall season.

The best the show could muster

was more contract trouble for Ricky
and Charles, a recycled conflict that
was already overused in season one.
What makes the show so great is
how Spencer and Joe manage to pull
through for untethered characters
like Ricky and Charles, who are
essentially lost without Spencer’s
well-meaning,
but
floundering

guidance.

As a start for what’s been hyped

up to be an exciting season, the
premiere is certainly a let down.
But then again, “Ballers” is brought
to us by the same creators as
“Entourage,” and has shaped up
to be the product of an identical
formula (just sub out Hollywood
for the NFL). Let’s just hope that the
Andre-Spencer conflict pans out to
be more promising than Ricky and
Charles’ contracts.

C

Ballers

Season 2
Premiere

Sundays at 10 p.m.

HBO

historic Wednesday through Satur-
day timeslot to a Thursday to Sun-
day one, anticipating the attendance
of over 500,000 people over the four
days.

“That’s a huge change, and it’s

been a couple of years in the making.
There were a lot of people involved,
a lot of stakeholders involved in the
decision,” she said.

Artists supported the shift and

local businesses have jumped at the
opportunity to benefit from Satur-
day night Art Fair patrons.

Riley highlighted aspects of the

fair that create a singular artistic
experience that’s constantly evolv-
ing and highly interactive.

“Every year the art is new.

Whether it’s new artists or old
favorites
returning
with
new

bodies of work, you’re never going
to see the same thing from year
to year and that’s what makes Art
fairs exciting. If you have a favorite
artist that you follow over the years,
you get to watch the evolution of
their style and technique and it
becomes a friendship,” said Riley.

Riley spoke about an Art piece at

the fair that’s to take place in real
time. “We do a large scale street
painting, which this year is a chalk
drawing in the style of the Ancient
Italian Modenari and this year our
artist is named Tess Tobolic and

this year she is recreating Salvador
Dali’s melting watch.”

“She’ll start creating the piece

on Thursday and it will be done
on Sunday and you can watch the
progress as she creates it in chalk on
the sidewalk on East Washington
and Ingalls Mall,” Riley continued.

There will be a demonstration

area on North University where
attendants can watch artists and
craftsman in action, taking a peek
into an often-mysterious artistic
process.

“It’s really a broad, broad range of

styles and people and our visitorship
really comes from all over the
country, while a lot of it is from
Michigan, 20% of our visitors come
from out of state,” she said.

Above all else, Riley believes in

the accessibility of the Art fair. “You
take a thousand artists and put them
in the streets of Ann Arbor. You find
artwork to suit everyone’s taste and
price point and then you add the
unique ambiance of Ann Arbor into
the mix and it’s just a fun time,”
Riley said.

Ann
Arbor
will
open
its

streets for the 57th time, letting
local creative juices flow and
undertaking festivities to honor the
innovation and whimsical talent
that brews below the surface of
a quieter and more relaxed Ann
Arbor populace.

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