My Take on Twilight's Casting

I know that everyone and their little sister have already weighed in on the Twilight movie adaptation's casting decisions, but I can't help but throw in my two cents as well.

Of anyone in the whole world, I think the person who best embodies the vampire's combination of excessive beauty and inherent scariness is Jonathan Rhys Myers. There's certainly something other-worldly about him. Unfortunately, Twilight couldn't really capitalize on Jonathan's clear vamp-ish qualities, because he doesn't really fit any of the book's characters. Perhaps one of the other myriad of vampire related films and shows will be able to take advantage of them at some point.

I'm not sure entirely which Twilight role they should have given him, but I'm convinced that Ed Westwick should have been in the movie. These photos prove that he's got the pale, beautiful, and brooding thing down. Masterfully.

Personally, I don't have a problem with the casting of Twilight's leads. Kristen Stewart is okay by me, and I think she fits Bella pretty well. And Robert Pattinson has certainly turned out to be quite the find. What confuses me is the supporting cast. And namely that several members of the supporting cast were featured in the sub-par season three of The O.C. I don't think Josh Schwartz even liked that season, so why would anyone look there for casting inspiration? And if you had to scavenge amongst The O.C. season three actors, why wouldn't you pick Willa Holland or Johnny Lewis or Eric Mabius, who were definitely the bright spots among the new cast members that year? Why would you pick Volchok and Sadie and Caitlin's boarding school boyfriend? The choices just seem bizarre to me.

Frankly, I imagine I'll always hold some sort of grunge against Cam Gigandet for playing the guy who killed Marissa Cooper and Nikki Reed for her stint as whiny Johnny's annoying jewelry-making cousin. Ick. It's been years, and I still don't even like to think about that whole debacle. What's especially weird about Nikki's casting is that she's playing Rosalie who is supposed to be tall and blond and Nikki is neither of those things. And it's not like tall blondes are rarities in Hollywood, right? I would think you could walk down the sidewalk and swing your arms around and hit 20 or 30 of them.

But this necessary hair dying thing seems to be a trend with the Twilight casting selections. The blond kid from 90210 (Kellan Lutz) had to dye his hair brown. Peter Facinelli had to dye his hair blond. It seems like they were trying to force certain people into certain roles whether they really fit or not.

Peter Facinelli, for instance. I like Peter; I thought he was great in Damages. But I don't think I'd necessarily classify him as "more handsome than any movie star," which is what Dr. Cullen is supposed to be. (And especially not when he's got this freaky blond hair and white makeup.) My suggestion for Dr. Cullen, and I'm pretty confident about this one, would be Ryan McPartlin a.k.a. Chuck's Captain Awesome! I cite his appearance in Mad Men as proof of his handsomeness. I mean, Betty Draper wouldn't put down her gimlet and have a tryst in the back room of a bar with just any guy, right?

Oh, and I've also been pretty turned off to Elizabeth Reaser in general by her messing with poor Alex on Grey's Anatomy and her love of combining Ugg boots and shorts in The Ex List.

I am kind of excited that Rachelle Lefevre landed a role in the film. She keeps popping up in various television shows I watch, and I always wonder what else I've seen her in before I remember that it was Big Wolf on Campus. Yes, I'm admitting that I used to watch Big Wolf on Campus.

So, anyway, my copious television watching has certainly colored my opinions about the Twilight cast. Will any of this stop me from going to see the movie at my earliest convenience? No, it absolutely will not.

(photo: Twilight Official Movie Site)

Chuck: Boy Meets Russian Mafia

Chuck: "Chuck Versus the Cougars"

This episode of Chuck was especially exciting for several reasons, not the least of which was that it featured a guest star appearance by Ben Savage a.k.a. Cory Matthews from Boy Meets World. Like most members of the T.G.I.F. generation, I imagine I'll always have a special place in my heart for Cory, Topanga, Shawn, and even Minkus (although my allegiance to him thankfully doesn't mandate me to watch him on One Tree Hill). The last time I saw Rider Strong was his horrifying turn on Veronica Mars where he brutally harassed poor Neil from Freaks and Geeks during a prison simulation. I've made a point of checking out The Dish, Danielle Fischel's new The Soup-esque program on the Style Channel, so I now have semi-regular Topanga fixes. But how I've missed my Cory...and his amazingly hilarious facial expressions (see above).

Another interesting aspect of this episode was that we finally got some back story on Sarah and what her life was like pre-Chuck and pre-Bryce and pre-CIA. Like Chuck, I was really excited to find out that Sarah's real name is Jenny Burton...that is, until we found out that Sarah/Jenny and her father were seasoned con artists and "Jenny Burton" was just one of a long line of aliases. Still, we learned more about her than we knew before: her dad went to prison, she was nerdy, Nicole Richie terrorized her in high school, she joined the CIA as an alternative to going to jail, etc.

Highlights and observations:

• Wow, high school Sarah had terrible hair.
  
• Sarah used to live in San Diego and now works in LA and her cover hasn't been blown yet?
• Oh no, Cory's in the intersect. That's not a good sign.
  
• Chuck does not seem to spend much time in the BuyMore these days. Luckily for him, the management is lax.
• Shades of The O.C.: Chuck talks about cilantro, which Caleb Nichol notably hated. What is it with Josh Schwartz and cilantro? It seems like it's bordering on an obsession ;-)
• Chuck: "Cilantro--very controversial. You either love it or you hate it. I love it."
• Chuck and Cory are not a very unbeatable combination.
• Chuck: "A self-defense class I took at the Y. It was very comprehensive."
• How gullible is Cory if he believes Chuck is "Mad Dog"?
• Lester is the worst manager ever.
• I'm surprised the BuyMore is only out $3700 after these stupid sales practices.
• Whoa, they decorated the reunion with humongous yearbook photos? That's harsh!
• "Mmm Bop"! I hope high school seniors didn't like "Mmm Bop."
• This Dick Duffy joker was on the last episode of The Ex-List. Ugh, I'm embarrassed that I know that.
• Hahahaha, Casey being the deejay was hilarious.
• Ahh, Nicole Richie is Russian mafia. Who'd have thought?
• Sarah should be able to beat up skinny little Nicole Richie.
• Why did Sarah go back into the reunion all wet and bleeding from the mouth? That would seem a bit suspicious.

Next week we meet Chuck's ex! The one that Bryce stole from him? Who we haven't heard a thing about since the very early episodes? The one who was seemingly forgotten all about? Awesome! I've been wondering what was up with her.

(photo: nbc.com)

Premiere Watch '08: The Ex List

The Ex List: Pilot


Just bullets for this one. I'm not convinced it's worth further comment:

• How did this show get on CBS? It's not about forensics!
• If Bella doesn't get married within the year, she'll never get married? Doesn't that put a time limit on the series? Like one season? That seems like they're just expecting to fail.
• It looks like Elizabeth Reaser spent a lot of time in the tanning bed.
• It's Mr. Matthews, Cory's dad.
• Bella was riding her bike without shoes on. Is that the best idea?
• Is this mystery guy who is her soul mate really Alex Karev? What about Tom Everett Scott, since he played her ex-boyfriend on that show about paramedics?
• Oh noooooooo. It's Eddie from The O.C. With some majorly hideous long curly hair. He's being quite dramatic.
• Who are these people Bella hangs out with? Where'd they come from? What's their story?
• I've never seen so many rubber platform flip flops on television. It's bringing back bad memories of college...
• Ha, it is funny that Eddie's song is about how she dumbed him on his birthday.
• Umm, totally could do without an entire subplot about the intimate shaving habits of her blond friend. Like, seriously, must we? I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt uncomfortable with this whole thing.
• Sister: "Maybe you're just supposed to get back together with him long enough to dump him on Christmas so that he can put out a holiday album."
• Ugh, it was creepy when Eddie just walked up to her and kissed her.
• Wow, she's really pushing this thing with Eddie hard. She's beginning to look desperate. Oh wait, I guess she is--she's only got a year, after all.
• Oh no, she's turned him sappy again. Oops.
• Mr. Matthews: "What are they, shipping out tomorrow?"
• Bella: "So how am I the most stupid person in the world? When did that happen?"
  Friend: "I think you've actually been working on that for a while."
• Thank you to Eddie for suggesting that maybe she should have the mole looked at by a doctor if it's that gross.
• This is a really long show........
• Wow, this guy went to some major extremes to get revenge on her. He had to put up with all the fake craziness and he faked crying... Umm, I find his plan to be a little sketchy. If the fake crying had driven her away before his next gig, how could he embarrass her by singing a mean song about her?
• Wow, I realize that she wants to get married, but talking about it every time she sees Elliot is just annoying. ("I thought you could go to brunch with me?" "Forever?")
• Umm, they canceled Moonlight and put this in its time slot?
• Well, at least Eric Winter is showing up next week. He's generally a little more likable than Eddie from The O.C. at least.

This wasn't the worst show I've ever seen, but it wasn't the best one either. I'm not seeing the long-term potential here. First, there's the one year time limit. Also, if Bella insists on sleeping with every guy on her admittedly lengthy list of past boyfriends, she's going to look pretty skanky pretty fast. And, can a whole show balance on one girl's year-long husband search? There's going to have to be something else going on. Plus, if they used a sub-plot about waxing in the pilot episode, I think that's a sign that the writers are already running out of material. I'm not very optimistic about this one, folks.

Premiere Rating: 4.0/10