The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Monday, September 24, 2018 — 5A

ACROSS
1 Answer with 
attitude
5 Female WWII gp.
9 Ink cartridge 
color
13 “ ... calm, __ 
bright”: “Silent 
Night”
15 Stone of 
“La La Land”
16 Revolutionary 
spy Nathan
17 How canvassers 
usually work
19 Correct a script, 
say
20 Satisfied sounds
21 Golf’s “Big Easy” 
Ernie
22 Raised-baton 
strokes, in music
24 Sauce with falafel
26 Desk tray words
27 How page-turners 
are often read
32 Prop for Chaplin
35 Lodge logo 
animal
36 Total failures
37 Novelist Tolstoy
38 Tallahassee sch.
40 Thanksgiving mo.
41 Blows volcano-
style
45 “Double Fantasy” 
collaborator Yoko
47 At the peak of
48 How apartment 
leases 
sometimes run
51 Prepare 
(oneself), as for 
a jolt
52 Hebrew greeting
56 “Definitely!”
59 “__ the 
ramparts ... ”
60 Org. that 
publishes the 
newsletter 
GoGreen!
61 Fictional estate 
near Atlanta
62 How pistol 
duelers typically 
stand
65 Close tightly
66 At any time
67 Count who 
composed “One 
O’Clock Jump”
68 Depresses, with 
“out”
69 Boxer Oscar __ 
Hoya
70 Catches on to

DOWN
1 1978 Egyptian 
co-Nobelist 
Anwar
2 “Welcome to 
Maui!”
3 Wade noisily
4 Round Table title
5 Ties the knot
6 Latin “I love”
7 Invoice figure
8 Use the HOV lane
9 Frito-Lay snacks 
with a speedy cat 
mascot
10 When said thrice, 
“and so on”
11 Touched down
12 Hockey targets
14 Courtroom 
transcript pro
18 Antipasto morsel
23 Osso __: veal 
dish
25 Cooler cubes
26 Annoying
28 Keebler sprite
29 Blow off steam
30 Suffix with switch
31 Answer the 
invite, briefly
32 Skelton’s 
Kadiddlehopper
33 Prefix with 
dynamic

34 Grammar, 
grammatically, 
e.g.
39 Crazy Eights 
cousin
42 WWII vessels
43 No __ traffic
44 Pierced with a 
fork
46 Initial stage
47 “Eureka!”
49 E to E, in music
50 Pulsate

53 Car dealer’s 
offering
54 Ref. to a prior ref.
55 Manufactures
56 Govt. accident 
investigator
57 Island near Maui
58 Percussion 
instrument
59 Pod in gumbo
63 “Snow White” 
collectible
64 Grocery sack

By Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski
©2018 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
09/24/18

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

09/24/18

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Monday, September 24, 2018

As a followup to the wild 

success of the award-winning 
TV show “This Is Us,” creator 
Dan 
Fogelman 
(“Crazy, 

Stupid, 
Love”) 
returns 
to 

the big-screen with the star-
studded film “Life Itself.” 
But, Fogelman is experiencing 
a 
burnout. 
“Life 
Itself” 

follows Will (Oscar Isaac, 
“Annihilation”) as he recovers 
from the end of his marriage 
with his college sweetheart 
Abby (Olivia Wilde, “Drinking 
Buddies”). Through therapy 
sessions 
with 
Dr. 
Morris 

(Annette 
Bening, 
“20th 

Century 
Women”), 
Will 

explores the key moments in 
his and Abby’s lives that led 
up to their separation.

Although the monologues 

have the same rhythm of the 
emotional speeches of “This Is 
Us,” a show that redefined the 
quality of network dramas, 

“Life Itself” is too muddled. 
While the multiple timelines 
on “This Is Us” play out 
coherently and impactfully, in 
the limited space of a film only 
confusion results. Fogelman 
also indulges in grotesque, 
sadistic violence, forcing his 
characters to undergo every 
possible avenue of trauma 
with no empathy toward their 
suffering, only an obsessive 
fascination 
with 
torturing 

fictional people. In a teenage-
rage response to the gooey 
sentimentality of “This Is Us,” 
Fogelman packs “Life Itself” 
with every R-rated sequence 
of trauma, from molestation to 
decapitation. 

Every 
actor 
tries 
to 

showcase their chops, but 
the 
terrible 
script 
creates 

unbreakable 
barriers. 

Fogelman, 
in 
a 
show 
of 

pretentious douchery, inserts 
a meta excuse for the haggard 
narrative: 
Abby’s 
college 

thesis that explores unreliable 
narrators, 
challenging 
the 

way stories work. Fogelman, 
in all his ego, believes he 
has imagined a new format 
for stories, one that all the 
writers before him could not 
fathom. But, in reality, he has 
created the scribbled mess of a 
kindergartener learning their 

ABCs. Hold up, I’m sorry — 
that’s the first half of the film. 
Halfway through, Fogelman 

switches 
the 
narrative 
to 

a family in Spain with a 
complete tonal 180° and little 

preparation or 
explanation 
for the move.

The 
story 

refocuses 
on 

olive 
farmer 

Mr. 
Saccione 

(Antonio 
Banderas, “The 
Expendables 
3”) in Spain as 
he navigates a 
love 
triangle 

with the wife 
of his foreman. 
Although still 
interested 
in 

trauma, 
the 

second 
half 

feels like honey 
compared 
to 

the first. But 
the 
storyline 

fades due to 
the distracting 
question: Why 
does it exist 
in 
the 
same 

film? 
Rather 

than lean into 
the success of 
“This Is Us,” 
Fogelman tries 
too 
hard 
to 

prove he could 
do 
something 

different. 
Fogelman 
wants 
the 

parts of “Life 
Itself” 
to 
fit 

together 
like 

a complicated 
knot. Instead, 
he 
shows 

that 
there’s 

a 
difference 

between 
an 
expert 

constructing 
a 
beautiful 

puzzle and an 
amatuer trying 
to undo a knot 
only to make a 
bigger mess.

‘Life Itself’ does not live 
up to work on ‘This Is Us’

“Life Itself”

Amazon Studios

Michigan Theater

FILM REVIEW

MEGHAN CHOU

Daily Arts Writer

AMAZON STUDIOS

Fogelman, 

in all his ego, 

believes he 

has imagined 

a new format 

for stories, one 

that all the 

writers before 

him could not 

fathom

Prince 
has 
long 
been 

regarded as one of the most 
talented musicians the popular 

music world has ever seen; a 
multi-instrumentalist, he had 
the ability to independently 
churn out hits throughout his 
illustrious 
career, 
striking 

the perfect balance between 
complexity and simplicity. Yet, 
because of his mysterious aura, 
few knew his music making 
process, and even fewer actually 
witnessed it. Finally, with the 
posthumous release of Piano & 
A Microphone 1983, a live album 
that captured Prince sketching 
out song ideas on a piano, fans 
have a window into the Purple 
One’s creative process at the 
height of his career in 1983.

The album’s title is self-

explanatory; the only elements 
featured 
are 
a 
piano 
and 

Prince’s striking voice. With 

such stripped down production, 
the project lures you into 
the basement in which the 
35-minute project was recorded. 
When Prince asks his sound 
engineer to turn his mic down 
in the middle of the first track, 
an “OMG that’s him” reaction 
ensues, and visions of the artist 
stomping to a beat or wincing at 
the beauty of his own falsetto 
populate the mind.

The album’s live and private 

nature 
provides 
extremely 

special insight into how Prince 
worked. On “17,” you can hear 
him 
spontaneously 
voice 
a 

synth rhythm to accompany 
the melody he has already 
tracked out. On “International 
Lover,” Prince begins to beat-
box the drum beat he saw fit 
for the completed version of 
the song. Across the album, 
improvised 
vocal 
riffs 
and 

piano licks provide a refreshing 
twist on Prince’s music that is 
typically only heard polished 
and produced. These elements 
also highlight Prince’s musical 
prowess 
from 
a 
technical 

standpoint that many might not 
be aware of.

However, Piano has one major 

issue: Prince didn’t want you to 
hear it. Historically a pioneer 
for proper compensation for 
musicians, from his dispute 
with 
Warner 
Bros. 
to 
his 

outspoken 
disapproval 
of 

streaming services, he removed 
his entire discography from all 
streaming services when the 
platform became fans’ primary 
mode of consumption. His work 
wasn’t made available on these 
services until after his death, 
posing the controversy between 
the desire to to enjoy his art and 
the obligation to respect his 
wishes.

What’s worse, this album was 

never even intended for release 
on 
traditional 
consumption 

platforms, let alone streaming 
services. It was a secret project 
that sat comfortably in hiding 
until Prince’s archival music 
vault was literally drilled open 
and a deal was struck between 
the artist’s estate and Sony to 
release the vault’s exclusive 
content for profit.

So, if you’re a big Prince fan, 

it’s tough to enjoy Piano without 
the little voice inside your head 
screaming “traitor!” With that 
said, the project is ironically 
most geared towards Prince’s 
admirers who could appreciate 
the value of its look behind 
the scenes. How do you deal 
with such an ethical dilemma, 
with an angel perched on one 
shoulder and the devil on the 
other? My advice: Consume 
with caution and hope Prince’s 
improvisational scatting dilutes 
the heavy guilt that sits in your 
stomach.

A guilt-ridden listen to 
Prince’s ‘Piano’ of 1983

Piano & A 

Microphone 1983

Prince

NPG Records

MIKE WATKINS

Daily Arts Writer

MUSIC REVIEW

Sometimes it seems like moms 

are invincible. They find the 
thing we swear we lost forever 
ago. They can tell when we’re 
feeling down, and know exactly 
how to bring us back up. They 
predict when it’s going to be cold, 
even before the weather itself 

does, so that we always have a 
jacket when we need it. Moms 
can seem like superheroes: strong 
women that push through their 
days selflessly and efficiently. 
But as much as we all may say 
our moms are unstoppable, they 
are only human. And sometimes, 
they feel bad. NBC’s new family 
comedy, “I Feel Bad,” tells us 
why.

Sarayu Blue (“No Tomorrow”) 

plays Emet Kamala-Sweetzer, a 
mom that’s constantly concerned 
with the lives of her children but 
tries very hard not to show it. 
And in the first two episodes, 
she feels bad about something. In 
the premiere, she stresses over 
becoming her mother. Next, she 
feels guilty for taking just one 
self-care day from her stressful 
life. Emet takes viewers through 
each story in her voice-overs, 
taking an omniscient approach 

to the events unfolding. Her 
narration is endearing, though 
unnecessary at some points. It 
makes for an easy flow between 
scenes, but this is often broken 
by the inclusion of events Emet 
was not present at, thus making 
her voice useless.

Emet is a busy mom, and 

the people surrounding her 
aren’t exactly lightening the 
load. 
She 
is 
complemented 

by 
the 
quintessential 
goofy 

husband David (Paul Adelstein, 
“Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce”) 
who seems to just be there for 
comedic relief, which isn’t to 
say he’s not good at providing it. 
Her overbearing parents, played 
by Madhur Jaffrey (“The Only 
Living Boy in New York”) and 
Brian George (“The Big Bang 
Theory”), are always around, and 
they never miss an opportunity 
to critique her parenting.

“I Feel Bad” has all of the 

components meant to make it 
a lovable and successful show 
— cute kids, a cohesive theme, 
witty humor — but before it gets 
there it needs some serious TLC. 
This is essentially NBC’s attempt 
to emulate ABC’s “black-ish,” 
just from a mother’s point of 
view. Both shows are narrated by 
an amusing and likable parent, 
and follow that parent through 
both their family and work life. 
In Emet’s case, that work life is 
being the only female artist for 
a video game developer who’s 
primarily interested in nerdy 
men drawing big boobs on 
bikini-clad heroines. It’s a smart 
choice by writers, and easy to 
laugh at, but the men that Emet 
works with are often shown in 
scenes that Emet wouldn’t know 

were happening, like when they 
gather at a bar in one scene to 
discuss Emet’s concern that she’s 
turning into her mother. There 
is no reason these men should 
be given their own scene, and 
Emet having no way of knowing 
this is happening messes with 
the linear narrative that carries 
the show. Much like how Dre 
Johnson’s coworkers in “black-
ish” are nothing more than an 
allegory 
for 
institutionalized 

racism in the workplace, Emet’s 
vulgar coworkers would work 
best if they remained background 
characters, just a representation 
of the sexism woman face at 
work, especially in the field of 
video games.

With funny dialogue, clever 

storylines and a powerhouse 
producing lineup that includes 
Amy Poehler (“Broad City”), “I 
Feel Bad” is certainly not a lost 
cause. It’s genuinely a funny 
show, and the story has depth. 
Emet and her husband have a 
biracial family, and her Indian 
heritage is not something that 
gets ignored. Representation is 
important, especially in a show 
that develops enjoyable themes 
that appeal to the masses, like 
not wanting your daughter to 
join a provocative dance club or 
desperately trying to find just 
10 minutes for yourself. Every 
show has its kinks to work out in 
its first season, and “I Feel Bad” 
isn’t immune to that. But the 
prognosis is a good one, and soon 
enough the characters of “I Feel 
Bad” will be another charming 
TV family millions of everyday 
viewers and critics alike will 
tune in to see time and time 
again.

Endearing ‘I Feel Bad’ 
off to a promising start

“I Feel Bad”

Episodes 1-2

Thursdays 9:30 p.m.

NBC

SAMANTHA DELLA FERA

Daily Arts Writer

TV REVIEW

NBC

