SO MANY FALL COMEDIES... SO LITTLE TIME...

As we approach the fall season, some people get excited for pumpkin spice lattes, scarves, and the changing leaves. While all of those things are nice and festive, I must say that I most anticipate the return of my favorite shows for their fall seasons and the arrival of new shows that will either rise to the top, or disappear quickly.

While most of you are busy studying or picking out your stellar Halloween costumes, you probably don't have time to check out all the fall shows to see what is worth, not only watching, but investing in following week after week.

This is where I come in!! Since I LOVE watching everything and then weeding out those unworthy shows as to better appreciate the gems, I have decided to do the work of giving YOU the insight you need to decide what you need to be watching, and what you can avoid adding to that ever-growing Hulu queue of yours!

Here is part 1 of what will be my reviews of the fall season!! :-)

Brooklyn Nine Nine

This Andy Samburg police comedy (set in, you guessed it- Brooklyn!) follows a team of ragtag detectives who are learning to work with their new, intensely by-the-book captain. 

With the antics of fire extinguisher roller chair racing, fruit tazing, a running tally for who has the most arrests, and a mouse in Sandburg’s character, Det. Jake Peralta ‘s desk, lovingly named Algernon, there is a constant shtick laugh around the corner.  We also find a humorous interchange between a dopey, depressing divorcee (Joe Lo Truglio) and the rough-edged, leather-wearing yet lighthearted and beautiful one (Stephanie Beatriz) that will surely bring some interesting scenarios. Then there is also the sergeant played by Terry Crews (who I continually see as Herbert Love from Arrested Development) is a muscle bound man who is overwhelmed at the drop of a hat, be it his past as an overweight bullied kid, his new twins aptly named Cagney and Lacey, or trying to assemble those little girls a new dream castle.

            Finally, and potentially my favorite, the civilian administrator Gina Linetti, played by Chelsea Peretti. A character who is lackadaisically funny and unmotivated while continually trying to up her salary by doing less. The only thing we do see her partially passionate about is her apparent hobby of interpretive dance, of which she uses to inspire at-risk kids to sign up for a junior detective program.

            All in all, with its modern pop culture references and balance of physical and smart comedy, I’d say Brooklyn Nine-Nine is worth checking out. It has the potential to develop into something that may have some staying power… but we shall see!

I give this 3/4 Turtleneck sweaters...

 Check out this clip of snappy one-liners :-)

Super Fun Night

This one I was definitely looking forward to checking out as I just think Rebel Wilson was hilarious is movies like Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids. I learned Rebel not only is the star of the sitcom, but also the writer, and after watching it, I fear it might be a little too much for her to handle. 

Not that it was horrible by any means, but it didn’t make me start counting the hours to the next episode or anything. Maybe it’s the fact that Rebel’s character, Kimmie Boubier , doesn’t have that signature accent we’ve come to love and laugh at in previous projects. Maybe it’s because it was full of trying-to-hard-weight jokes, cliché lines, and cut a-ways that are WAY over done, i.e. like walking into a room and seeing a trophy and spouting off all this info about it, being asked “How did u know that?!”, only to cut away to the sign she was reading with the exact line of “humor.” Enh…. 

Maybe it was because the low-key, mundane sidekick, Marika (Lauren Ash), who was supposed to come off dry and disconnected, but it just came off as a bad presentation, poor acting, and comedic timing. Like smack my head kind of dumb moments that I may have caught myself saying “uggghh” out loud .

It feels as if they tried to chock-full the pilot full of “sure-fire” comedic moments and physical laughs that just came across as over done and disconnected. It’s worth watching another to see if it will improve over the pilot, which happens a lot in these new comedies, but I have a feeling if they’ve already pulled what they have, that they are outta ideas, or it will just be full of the cliché “please laugh at me” moments that I can only deal with so long.

This gets 2/4 Undecided Jack-o-lanterns...

 Let me know what you guys have watched so far and what you think! 

What are you either NOT MISSING, DVRing for LATER, or CHOOSING TO DO WITHOUT??

NEXT UP- my reviews on the return on New Girl, The Mindy Project, and the new series, Dads!

*Katy

July=Awesomeness.

So I got a chance to discuss a bit in detail the greatness of the beginning of the month of July... but I was so busy from there on out that I didn't have a chance to catch y'all up on my INCREDIBLE week in California, some great opportunities at work, and a crazy awesome night with Chelsea at the Britney concert in Cleveland. Here is my solution... a 9 minute, super entertaining video to highlight the highs of the 7th month of my efficacious year :-)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wtd3l9udX6Q


Sorry, I just attached it form youtube because, for whatever reason, it didn't like being uploaded here directly. boo.

Thanks to Lauren Winstead for some of the fabulous photos!

A fabulous 4th...

Starting last year, the tradition was started to head out to D.C. for the 4th of July weekend to join our fabulous friends and metropolis hosts, Molly and Lauren. This year, the trip became an extended weekend due to Clob's wedding (more widely known as the nuptials of Bob and Clara Lutz).

I flew out Thursday afternoon to Baltimore to be welcomed by the bright, shiny, happy faces of Paul and Molly. We then headed back to D.C. to pick up our friend, Lauren who flew in all the way from Oregon.

After a fabulous evening hanging in Shirlington and getting some fantastic Mexican food, we got to bed to prepare for the long day ahead of us. The team of us shipped out by 7am to drive to the Harrisburg, PA area. Although the wedding was not to start until 7pm, Clara had asked that we come and help set up some things. It turned into quite a long day where all of our decorative and event planning skills came into play, but it worked out because we are all pros and we had a blast laughing through it all.

The always stunning Molly Ann...

And check out Lew rockin' that headgear...

The wedding itself went off very well and although there was no dancing at the reception (boo…), the food was pretty fab. It was a fun little Cedar-reunion and a great first full day to kick off the stellar weekend.

(Thanks Lew for the pic!)

Oh yah, and Grant was there, too!

And this is him singing Lady Gaga ALLLLLL the way home :-)

(you're welcome, Grantly...)

During the weekend we also got to celebrate Paul's birthday, and we did so in wondrous D.C. summer fashion. After church, we went to a Nats game.

Aside from the borderline skin-melting heat, it was perfect. Well... ok... and the Nats are pretty horrible, BUT we had Ben's chili, dippin dots, and each other's company.

OH YAH- then there is what I learned was a tradition of Nats games (and potentially the most exciting part of the game)... THE PRESIDENT'S RACE! A bunch of presidental "mascots" if you will race across the outfield. This time they did so along side Mrs. T's perogies. Well, I didn't get it, but politics have never looked so good :-)

To keep things in Paul fashion, we went back home, got dressed up, and went to a fancy lil French spot for dinner. That was followed by Dangerously Delicious in Georgetown for pies. It was pretty great, and that's coming from a cake and ice cream girl.

The evening was topped off by heading to the W for a gorgeous look over the city and a few more laughs with friends.

Incredible, right?

Great evening all around :-)

Then it was THE day. And we were in THE place to be, Washington D.C. I can say that I have never enjoyed a 4th weekend like I have the past 2 years in D.C. Maybe it's the spirit, maybe it's the scenery, maybe it's the great friends. Whatever it is, it's unbelievable.

We started the day off by getting some food together, getting packed up, and getting into the city to get in line to get on the Mall for a great seat for the concert and fireworks.

Once inside, we met some new friends, pure hilarity, in the form of Luis and Jim.



So we sat around, ate, joked, and some of us burned (hehe) awaiting the concert that would star Josh Groban, Jordin Sparks, Ray Charles, and my personal favorites, Mark Ballas and Chelsey Hightower, just to name a few.


Sandra and I made a Starbucks run for Passion Ice Tea :-)

Oh, and this is our new friend, Kyler from Chicago who is pretty darn awesome.


Then the fireworks.... beautiful.


Being in DC for the 4th of July is where it's at. Just like NYC for NYE... I feel blessed to have been in so many amazing places with such incredible people.


As tradition, one visiting the casa of Molly and Lauren must sign the "guestbook." And as tradition, our trips entail such fabulous memory keepsakes with quotes, memories, and jokes.


And this is just the BEGINNING of what promised to be the most amazing July EVER :-)
Keep an eye out as July video highlights are in the making!


(photo credits to http://laurenandlincoln.blogspot.com/ for the great scenic shots!)

My Jumbled but Joyous June...

Absence makes the heart grown fonder…. So, didya miss me?

A lot has been goin on, but I guess it’s good that I’ve been livin’ life and havin’ fun, not having an abundance of downtime to sit on my neglected couch with my pearly white macbook and blog everyday. As much as I’d like to do such, that’s just not how I roll most of the time HAHA.

So, I left off talking about my new job at P.C.-Goenner Talent Agency. So far, things have been pretty great. It’s definitely a job that can be pretty chaotic, but it’s great to be doing something I enjoy, but one where I am also learning more everyday. I love the variety of what comes in… of course we get local commercials and such, but things like a global Miracle-Gro commercial, a national Best Buy commercial starring Peyton Manning, and castings for Modern Family have also crossed my screen.

As I entered the new job, I also had the chance to revamp the office. Thanks to Sarah and Paul for the assistance :-)

Here are the in progress shots...

Sarah and I found wine and cheese was a necessity :-)

Here's the lobby with pics of my fabulous talent!

The hallway...

to the bathroom...

ANNND my office room...

Please excuse the broken blind.... i'm TRYING to find one that will fit it!

That’s the job… but let’s see… the end of May and the month of June was pretty exceptional in several other ways as well.

Let’s look at highlights:

Meeting Mark Ballas at the Taste of Cincinnati

But we also had a blast with a magician...

and winning blow-up monkeys that we named Maurice and Moe.

Oh yah… and PUH-LEASE watch this video of this man dancing during one of the concerts BAHAHHAA.

There is SO MUCH WIN in this video. Accolades also awarded to the stylish camo crop top lady for best ill-fitting, drunken dancing.

Then he started a dance lesson... apparently crack is a necessary part of his instruction.

And this is for my friend, Rachel... she can't resist old men or Asian children.

Maurice and Moe had a blast. They sang all the way home... or were throwing up gorilla gang signs... we were unsure.

NEXT- I spent Memorial Day at Cincinnati Zoo with Chelsea and her family...

Sarah and I had a fun night out with some of her old friends...

Sarah and I did an independent film in Cincinnati entitled "Call Me"…

Then Sarah and I, along with her brother and one of my talents, Zach, spent a day Huntington Field in Columbus shooting an independent film, "Gibsonburg," that will be shown at Sundance and potentially on Disney Channel.

Oh yah, and sidenote...in the midst of it all, I did a murder mystery.

Creepy Caper, eh? (P.S. it's me...)

Yea, so I was a little angry... I'm just misunderstood!

All in all, everybody had a good time :-)

June was definitely a month of run-around, but it was full of new beginnings, drama, and new connections.

Overall, aside from the high gas receipts, a pretty stellar 30 days :-)


(Photo credits: Sarah Brown, Cliff Fawcett, and Myself)