Are you feeling FOX’s “Glee”?

It is approximately four episodes into FOX’s latest teen-angst primetime TV show, “Glee”.  This show is filled with some of the most cliched storylines of all time:  the extremely popular, handsome quarterback wants to be more than just an athlete, the nerdy glee club leader is really quite cute under her dorky apparel, a teacher’s wife fakes a pregnancy to keep her husband from ending their marriage.  But just when I feel myself cringing in despair over the lameness of “Glee”, in enters the cast of misfit characters that keep me engaged episode after episode: the artfully dressed and hypochondriac school counselor, the sadistic cheerleading coach, the ultra-feminine male glee club member, and the fabulous peace-keeping principal.

“Glee’s” main premise is reviving a dying glee club, fueled by the Spanish teacher, a former glee club star himself.  Set to an eclectic mix of new music, and oddly chosen older songs, “Glee” executes wonderfully choreographed song and dance numbers woven intermittently between the side stories of love, loss, and plenty of high school backstabbing.  Perhaps the diverse subject matter covered in each episode is an attempt to win a wider viewing audience, and perhaps it is also smart screenwriting.  I cannot place what the appeal of “Glee” is for me personally yet, but this show has definitely gotten my attention.

View “Glee” Wednesdays on FOX after “So You Think You Can Dance”.

Juno

This movie is about Juno MacGuff, a teenager who finds herself pregnant after one sexual encounter with her best friend.  She initially seeks an abortion, but when she arrives at the clinic and finds out the baby already has fingernails, Juno decides to keep her pregnancy and find an adoptive couple.

The storyline for a movie of this subject matter could have gone so many ways.  This particular film handled the situation of teenage pregnancy with sensitivity, comedy, and excellent acting.  Juno’s parents are super-supportive, protective, and honest.  I got kind of lost following the omg/bff texting-lingo in the teenager conversations, but these kids were also portrayed as funny, smart, and real.  I especially liked the scenes where Juno interacted with “Bleek”, the baby’s father (played by Michael Cera, from the t.v. show “Arrested Development”).  The awkward fidgeting and lack of eye-contact between these two characters was extremely genuine.  My major complaint with “Juno” was the creepiness of the adoptive father.  I don’t think that entire part of the movie was necessary to tell the story.  Perhaps it was included to further demonstrate the acceptance of single-motherhood, but again, I don’t think this movie needed additional side drama.

The soundtrack for “Juno” is good, but at times, the music seems to take over when I wanted to hear more dialog between the actors.  Also, I watched Juno after I had already viewed the new Comcast commercials, so even though the music and introductuary animation in “Juno” probably inspired those ads, it was distracting to see the movie and commercials in reverse order.

Overall, I really liked “Juno” because it put an unplanned, teenage pregnancy into sensible, positive context.  There is no shaming or preaching.  Life went on after the baby’s birth.  People act without weighing consequences, but situations can always improve.

Reviewing: Welcome to the Dollhouse

This movie features main character Dawn Wiener who is a major outcast at her junior high school.  Partly because she has an unfortunate name, and partly because she has the self-esteem of a beat-down dog, Dawn is mercilessly picked on by everyone.  She has a nerdy older brother who is in a garage band, and a sweet younger sister whom Dawn (and the rest of the family) thinks is perfect in every way.  Dawn is the middle child, and is regarded with the stereotypical middle-child lack of attention from her parents.  She has excruciatingly painful moments on screen that she doesn’t really appear to learn anything from.  Her role is executed perfectly by actress Heather Matarazzo, who later stars in “The Princess Diaries”.

“Welcome to the Dollhouse” is a true gem.  Moments in this movie made me cringe in a way I haven’t felt since I was in junior high myself.  At times I was caught off guard by the crassness of the characters, but every time Dawn got mad, and the angry guitar riff chimed in, I remembered, yah, being in junior high is exactly like that.  “Welcome to the Dollhouse” is a movie from 1996, and I regret I have missed out viewing it until this past week.