The Conical Glass: The five stages of "Dancing With the Stars"

Friday, March 28, 2008

The five stages of "Dancing With the Stars"

1. Disbelief: "That is the stupidest idea for a show I've ever heard."
2. Mocking: "These aren't even stars! Monique Coleman? Shandi Finnessey? Sabrina Bryan? Who are these people?"
3. Curiosity: "Paul McCartney's ex-wife with the fake leg is going to be on? Marlee Matlin is going to compete even though she's deaf? I wonder how that will go."
4. Anger: "Dammit, now they've actually gotten one of my favorite celebrities to appear on the show, which means I have to start watching it."
5. Acceptance: "Wait a second, this show is really fun and entertaining!"

The celebrity who finally got us hooked on DWtS was comedian and radio DJ Adam Carolla. I mean, we'd even watched the entire run of his home-improvement show, "The Adam Carolla Project." We had to find out if he could dance!

The answer: well, kind of. At least he was better than Penn Jillette, the tall, vocal half of magic duo Penn & Teller, a man with two impossibly large left feet. We made several phone calls voting for Adam and were extremely excited when he advanced. I suspect he will have to make almost superhuman improvement in the next week to survive further into the competition -- there are some really good dancers on the show, especially ice skater Kristi Yamaguchi and R&B singer Mario. But who knows, he might best Steve Guttenberg.

The thing is, even after Adam gets eliminated, I'm going to keep watching the show, joining the ranks of people around the world (local versions of DWtS are popular in over 20 countries, from Austria to the Ukraine) who have discovered that ballroom dancing is fun to watch. Plus, it's beautifully shot and looks fantastic in HD.

I suspect that the long-awaited release of Adam's movie "The Hammer" was somehow timed to coincide with his appearance on DWtS; it had played at film festivals in 2007, but no studio wanted to touch it because Carolla had insisted on playing the lead himself in the underdog story he created with writer Kevin Hench.

The movie finally got into a handful of theaters through a company called International Film Circuit, and, lo and behold, critics and audiences have been discovering its charms. Most of the reviews of "The Hammer" seem to have a tone of mild amazement that a film starring the former co-host of "The Man Show" is sweet and charming instead of crude and rude.

In "The Hammer," Adam plays Jerry, a just-turned-40 L.A. loser, a construction worker and part-time boxing instructor who was a promising fighter much earlier in his life. A couple of flukes bring Jerry to the attention of a boxing coach who invites him to an Olympic try-out. Jerry's powerful left hook knocks down some younger and seemingly stronger men, and he becomes a most unlikely contender. In a cute romantic subplot, Jerry woos a public defender played by Heather Juergensen.

One of the nice things about the movie is that Juergensen and Carolla seem like real people, and the supporting cast is equally authentic: for instance, Jerry's best friend is played by Oswaldo Castillo, a close pal of Adam's in real life who was one of the construction workers on "The Adam Carolla Project." The gym where much of "The Hammer" was shot, Pasadena's Bodies in Motion, was one of the construction sites Adam and Ozzie worked on together during their pre-showbiz careers. He may be an amateur actor with a heavy accent, but he's also funny as hell in the movie.

"The Hammer" is being held over for a second week in Berkeley, and is opening at a bunch more theaters today, so check and see if it's playing near you. If it helps his film get noticed, Adam's spins on the dance floor will have been worthwhile.

One final note about "The Hammer": It's rated R. I have no idea why. I don't even remember any curse words in it, though I guess there must have been a couple. In a just world, a movie like this would get a PG while "Saw" and "Hostel" and their sequels would be rated NC-17.

posted by 125records @ 11:05 AM

1 Comments:

At 5:49 PM, flasshe said…

The "missus" is really into DwtS, it's one of like two shows she watches these days (the other being Grey's Anatomy), so I've had to watch it occasionally. It is well done and I actually found myself enjoying it at times. And it's not without humor. Tom Bergeron is great with the quick quips (honed from years of hosting Hollywood Squares, I'm sure). Haven't seen it yet this season, but I'm sure I will. I was disappointed Penn got knocked out so soon, so that made me not want to watch it.