Coupling | pinartarhan.com

Actors’ Pleasantly Surprising Roles feat. Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman & Russell Crowe

Posted on January 10, 2011 Written by ripitup

Actors’ Pleasantly Surprising Roles feat. Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman & Russell Crowe

Finding a good script is tricky. Constantly being after good scripts and trying to be versatile at the same time is even trickier. An actor might often find himself playing a character more often than other roles- such as being a cop or a villain too often. So just when you think you’ve seen all the cards up his sleeve, he surprises you as a character you have never seen before. Below are 3 examples:

* Harrison Ford in Six Days Seven Nights

Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford & Anne Heche

We are accustomed to seeing Ford in serious roles. Whether he is a cop (The Devil’s Own,Witness) or The President (Air Force One). Sure he had his characters with a sense of humor (Indiana Jones) but this one really caught me off guard.

In Six Days Seven Nights, he is a middle-aged pilot who lives on an island in Tahiti and is pretty pleased with his easy-going life. That’s until he meets Robin (Anne Heche) and a plane crash puts them both an island.

Ford’s character gets drunk too often and makes jokes at Anne Heche’s character Robin’s expense. He also falls down, gets beaten up and smiles a lot, all the while managing to be the masculine Harrison Ford we know him to be. Watch this one to see Harrison in an action/romance/comedy genre.

Two other movies if you like the combination of these genres:

Birds on a Wire starring Goldie Hawn and Mel Gibson

The Bounty Hunter starring Gerard Butler and Jennifer Anniston

* Gary Oldman in The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter starring Demi Moore & Gary Oldman

We saw Gary play the bad guy too often. Sure, when he isn’t playing the ultimate-villain (Léon, Murder in the First, Dracula), he does play a lot of shady/grey characters (Romeo Lies Bleeding, Sid and Nancy). So I am guessing I am not the only one surprised to find him as Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale in the film adaptation of The Scarlet Letter in 1995. He was a reverend, he was genuinely nice and he was playing a romantic character! And being Gary Oldman, he pulled this off brilliantly. You may or may not like the movie but Gary’s performance was…well, up to Gary’s standards.

* Russell Crowe in A Good Year

A Good Year starring Russell Crowe, Marion Cotillard & Albert Finney. Feat. Tom Hollander & Richard Coyle.

Russell Crowe might be an academy-award-winning actor, but hey let’s face it, he doesn’t have typically have a boyish charm. And he doesn’t really look like as if he is ready to make a fool out of himself. I am checking out his films to see another light-hearted role and I can’t. He played a warrior, a cop, an agent, an “insider”…. Sure, Mystery, Alaska is fun but A Good Year is even better. Not just because it features the Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies, Inception) but because it shows us the two sides of Crowe- one we know so well and we are not so used to.

A Good Year follows Max Skinner- a ruthless and successful British broker in London to Provence, France. His uncle has died and left him his vineyard. All Max wants to do get the paperwork out of the way and do whatever the hell he wants with it. But before he can change the property, the property, its residents, his uncle’s (Albert Finney’s) memories and a certain French girl changes him.

This movie is directed by Ridley Scott, a director that Russell collaborates with quite often. The duo also did Gladiator, American Gangster, Body of Lies and Robin Hood together. But among them all, this is the sweetest, lightness and the most romantic movie of them all. Here, Russell’s hotshot Max gets into funny situations, falls in love, falls in love with the vineyard and discovers a side to himself that he didn’t know or forgot that it existed. And best of all, Russell isn’t alone in providing the comic relief. His friend Charlie (Tom Hollander) comes to visit. And well, Tom’s scenes are usually not so charismatic in movies and this one is no exception. Max’s broker nemesis is played by Richard Coyle– who you might remember as Jeff from TV Show Coupling– the British series that had most viewers laughing their butts off. And that’s an understatement. So it doesn’t matter if you put Richard in a semi-serious, small role. I start laughing the moment I see the guy. Oh, and the female lead is so elegantly beautiful that the story wouldn’t have made sense if Max hadn’t fallen head over heels with her. This film really made me like Russell. Yes, he is a good actor but he was just not this fun before.

How I Met Your Mother starring Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Neil Patrick Harris and Cobie Smulders

Posted on September 17, 2010 Written by ripitup

How I Met Your Mother starring Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Alyson Hannigan, Cobie Smulders and Neil Patrick Harris — How I Met Your Mother starring (from left) Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders and Josh Radnor.

How I Met Your Mother starts a couple of decades from now, as Ted decides to tell his teenage son and daughter how he met their mother. We go back to 2005, when Ted is hanging around with his best friends Lily (Alyson Hannigan) and Marshall (Jason Segel). He knows both of them from college and they are a couple. When Lily and Marshall get engaged, Ted (Josh Radnor) realizes that he might be ready for the long term commitment too. But his other good friend Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) has no intentions of settling down and he loves having Ted as a wingman and involves him in ridiculous situations to pick up girls. While his methods mostly work for Barney and his one night stands, Ted wants more. It is then he meets Robin (Cobie Smulders)- a Canadian news reporter who is currently living and working in the States. . He thinks it is pretty much love at first sight (and love after first date, to be exact) but Robin isn’t after anything serious.

The first episode ends by Ted (weirdly, Ted’s narrations aren’t done by Josh Radnor but Bob Saget); telling his kids that Robin isn’t the mother.

From then on, it is all about the adventures and mishaps of this group of 5 and Ted’s constant efforts in finding the woman of his dream while they hang at their favorite bar, crack jokes and analyze relationships .

I have to admit that had I been a producer, I’d never have thought this concept would catch up. The show first aired in 2005 and Ted has been telling the story ever since. The movie Definitely, Maybe has a somewhat similar concept, as Ryan Reynolds’ character tells his young daughter (Abigail Breslin) his romantic past, involving three different women – and one of them is her mother. I was frankly not that impressed with Definitely, Maybe as I found it a little slow, boring and not that interesting. While How I Met Your Mother is definitely funnier and more entertaining (and it was an instant hit among my Friends and Coupling-worshipping group of friends), I never quite got addicted to this show.

Now, don’t get me wrong. How I Met Your Mother has a great cast and the characters are not that hard to empathize with. But my problem is that the episodes aren’t quite as hilarious as I’d expect a sitcom to be. And the whole close friends dating thing has been done too many times. Oh, don’t give me that ”but you also love Friends (1994-2004) and Coupling (of course the UK version: 2000-2004)” look. I do. But you see, Friends characters had so much originality – with their characters occupations and back stories, jokes and use of the English language for cracking jokes, the characters’ eccentricities, guest appearances by your favorite actors (Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts, Tom Selleck, Sean Penn, Reese Witherspoon, Michael Vartan….) and the perfect sitcom combination of both funny one-liners, on-going inside jokes, hilarious events and wonderful use of physical comedy. Coupling had great original characters (Jane and Jeff), wonderful observations and shameless, original & hilarious jokes about sex (which wouldn’t disappear even at a funeral scene!) which was combined brilliantly by physical comedy (especially by characters Jeff and Steve).

And because those two were immensely hilarious, I overlooked the storylines that resembled all those soap operas (Dawson’s Creek, Grey’s Anatomy…) where friends dated all of their friends. I mean look at Friends: Ross dated Rachel and made out with Phoebe (one episode). Monica was his sister. Monica dated Chandler, but her “official” first choice was Joey. Rachel dated Ross and Joey. Thankfully Phoebe never exactly dated any of them. They all hung out together.

In Coupling: Susan slept with/dated Steve and Patrick – dated Jeff but couldn’t sleep with him because he got nervous. Jane dated Steve and attempted to sleep with Patrick and Jeff. Sally dated Patrick.

While as far as I know Lily never dated Ted or Barney, but Robin dated Ted and Barney. And then there is other thing getting old: the womanizer character who is certainly not all that good-looking and charming, but for some reason every girl on the show loved (doing) them. Friends had Joey, Coupling had Patrick and How I Met Your Mother has Barney.

Did I get too much into comparison mode? Whoops. Sorry about that. But if you look at the end dates of these two shows and the beginning of How I Met Your Mother, you see that it came out a time when two of the most hilarious sitcoms around ended. So I needed an instant substitute. While this show is might be a placebo, it really isn’t the real deal (pardon the metaphor). It is funny, but not constantly hilarious and it is not funny enough to send me to the floor laughing or cause me stomach pains. I realize that the part of the intended charm is that the characters are everyday people, but for me it is a turn off. I know a couple of Teds, Marshalls, Robins, Lilys and even Barneys (or who want to be Barneys or who kid themselves about being a Barney) in real life. So why should I follow events and characters I see on a regular basis?

When it is on TV and I am eating, it is a perfect show. But it is too ordinary to be addictive.

For Friends and Coupling (only the first three seasons), my vote is a 10/10.

How I Met Your Mother is a 7/10. I prefer Jason Segel’s movies for the time being.

When To Leave a Relationship: You 12 Cues to Leave

Posted on July 8, 2010 Written by ripitup

This post has moved to my dating blog Dating and Relationships in the 21st Century.

Coupling starring Jack Davenport, Sarah Alexander, Ben Miles, Richard Coyle, Kate Isitt and Gina Bellman

Posted on June 13, 2010 Written by ripitup

Coupling starring Jack Davenport, Sarah Alexander, Ben Miles, Richard Coyle, Kate Isitt and Gina Bellman. 2000. Characters: On the bed are Susan (Sarah Alexander) and Steve (Jack Davenport). Staring, from left: Jane (Gina Bellman), Sally (Kate Isitt), Jeff (Richard Coyle) and Patrick (Ben Miles). Image from: http://i26.tinypic.com/2u6ec60.jpg

Now, all I have to say is that there are only three mistakes ever made about this show:
1) This brilliant sitcom, like many UK TV series, has too few episodes.6 -9 episodes? Are you kidding me? I keep coming back to watch the show again and again and all episodes through 3 seasons are downright hilarious. Too bad they didn’t shoot more.

2) The 4^th season was a mistake. I am sorry, but taking Jeff (Richard Coyle) from Coupling? What were they taking. Think what could have happened if Matthew Perry a.k.a Chandler from Friends left. And put another actor as another character into the mix. Yep, it simply would suck.

3) Remaking this show? Are you nuts? Remaking shows a decade later is one thing. Remaking a British show in The USA, just failed. It might have worked for The Office. I didn’t like the original and I didn’t care for the American version. But Coupling? That show is very British yet very universal. Still, it is impossible to recreate the comic chemistry and timing with other actors.

Coupling has actually a very simple premise. 3 women, 3 men. They have all dated or will date one another at some point. While the everlasting and the more sensible couple remains to be Susan and Steve, the conversations and events will have you crying out of laughter.

Because with coupling, romance takes a very backseat to comedy. It is about sex, relationships and the eccentricities of these 6 characters. While Susan (Sarah Alexander) and Steve (Jack Davenport) have less quirks, Jane (Gina Bellman), Sally (Kate Isitt), Jeff (Richard Coyle) and Patrick (Ben Miles) provide enough weirdness to make your day. And don’t even think Susan and Steve are any less hilarious.

What’s so special about these characters? Well, it is the script and the acting- but let me start with Jeff. I suspect that he is probably almost everyone’s favorite character. Any sane girl would want to date Steve. But Jeff is…entirely in a league of his own when it comes to advice, views and philosophies on dating. I’ll provide you with some of the Jeffisms. The show’s fans will have a great time remembering and others might realize they should watch this show at once. If you think Jeff’s not funny, you really don’t need to read the rest. Of course plain writing won’t do Richard Coyle any justice, but will give you a rough idea.

“Unflushable”: Season 1, Episode 1 (These are terms coined by Jeff, not episode titles)

Jeff: (on Steve not being able to break up with girlfriend Jane): Steve..Do you know what I call this type of woman? You know, the one you can’t get rid of?

Steve: Is this going to be tasteless? Am I going to be ashamed to be your friend?

Jeff: It’s a technical term. A harmless expression.

Steve: Alright. Hit me.

Jeff: Unflushable.

Steve: Turn around and walk away, Jeff.

*The Zone: Season 1 Episode 1

Steve (on how Jane “made” him have sex with her): She just leans over, looks me in the eyes and says “I’m wearing stockings.”

Jeff: No!

Steve: She had never worn them before. Not once in the entire relationship. I’d begged!

Jeff: But, Steve, you are entitled to her stockings!

Steve: Am I?

Jeff: Yes! You’re still in the zone!

Steve: The what?

Jeff: The boyfriend zone! This is the telling off period. You still have a lot of stuff in her flat, you might still have a wedding to go to together and you’re under joint headings in your friends’ address books?

Steve: That means I’m entitled to see her underwear?

Jeff: If it comes up! That’s the rules of the zone. Good luck in there.

Steve: You are a strange and disturbing man, Jeff.

Jeff: Thank you.

* The Sock Gap: Season 1, Episode 2

Jeff: OK. Have you thought through your foreplay yet?

Steve: What do you mean foreplay?

Jeff: What do you think I mean? I mean when exactly do you take your socks off? My advice is to get them off right after your shoes and before your trousers..That’s the sock gap! Miss it, and suddenly you are a naked man in socks! No self-respecting woman will ever let a naked man in socks do the squealchy with her!

Patrick: That’s your foreplay tip? Socks?

Jeff: Many men have fallen through the sock gap, Patrick!

*The Reason for celebrity marriages: Season 1, Episode 2:

On thinking about somebody else during sex…

Susan: Is it absolutely necessary to think about somebody else?

Jeff: I mean everybody does. That’s why there are so many celebrity marriages. If you fantazise about somebody else during sex and so does your partner, and those two people you are fantasizing about happen to meet while you are still doing it, they are bound to sense something, aren’t they? They are connectiong on like a virtual plane. So can you imagine what it was like when Posh first met Beckham? They were the epic center of a non-stop, nationwide virtual shag there! There is no wonder she got pregnant!

****

That’s Jeff for you. Oh, his gems are endless. The other are funny in different and original ways.

Jane loves creating stories about how she is a bisexual even when she is not, especially when she wants to excite a guy. She is very “unflushable”, persistant and downright weird. She is sort of attractive too, so her romantic life does get action, even though almost all her actions are mentally questionable. Sally is a beautician and loves youth. She freaks out at the idea of unnecessary smiles causing wrinkles on her skin, so she only smiles to single men, for instance.

Patrick thinks he is godsend to women. Even thought I can’t see what is particularly attractive about him, he is the one with many conquests. It is like Joey in Friends or Barney in How I Met Your Mother. It just works in the context of the story. And Steve…As cute as he is and comparably very normal and sweet compared to Jeff, he also has a tendency to freak out a lot, at the weirdest instances. And while Susan is normally the sexy, independent, sexually active woman every man dreams about, things change a bit when she is in a relationship. But then a relationship, especially a serious one, gets the best of almost anyone…

Sex and The City had a fairly female audience. In Coupling, you get the best jokes about sex, weirdest and most original dialogues about dating (thanks to the writers and Jeff), funny situations, physical comedy and more. The area that it is superior to Sex and The City is that it is purely funny with no drama involved and it includes lots of reality for both men and women. Like when Sally overhears Jeff trying to give Steve advice on foreplay, she is taken aback. She asks “Do they know about that”. And of course, they don’t…What Jeff means is that Steve shouldn’t be late to take his socks off and that he should call -whoever he fantasizes about sex- Susan. So there won’t be hell to pay if he says another girl’s name… Now, these two shows are very different in format and genre and I wouldn’t give up on either. But it is nice to have such a hilarious yet truthful sitcom on relationships where you can sit with friends of both sexes and laugh together…

Coupling on Amazon. com