This week, Alex and Wesley discuss the new Will Smith caper/comeback vehicle Focus, in which he plays a master thief who falls for a pickpocket (Margot Robbie) who’s about a tenth as talented. They discuss whether Robbie is worth the bother, and Alex enumerates the ways in which this is not the caper movie for him.
Then it’s on to a remembrance of Leonard Nimoy, who died last week at the age of 83. He sang, he acted, he directed — he did not write parenting guides, Wesley reminds himself. He was the great cult star, embracing fame as cerebrally as the Vulcan he was forever presumed to be.
Alex and Wesley probably should have devoted more time to Girls, but life is short, and there will be a fifth season. So stay tuned. In the meantime, they take a few minutes to praise Lena Dunham’s show for its fearless social awkwardness.
Listen to the podcast here.
Here are links to topics discussed in this week’s show:
Focus and Will Smith
“Weekend Box Office Winners & Losers: Will Smith Picks (Almost) $20 Million From America’s Pocket,” Grantland, March 2, 2015
“Peaks and Valleys: The Career of Will Smith,” Grantland, February 27
“Back-ish: ‘Focus’ and the Partial Return of Will Smith,” Grantland, February 27
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy, 1931–2015, Grantland, March 2, 2015
Girls
“TV Check-In: ‘Girls’ Is More Than Just Acting Its Age in Its Fourth Season,” Grantland, February 16, 2015
“‘B.S. Report’: Lena Dunham on the Backlash to Her Book, the New Season of ‘Girls,’ and More,” Grantland, January 14, 2015
“R.I.P., Paul Mazursky, Counterculture Storyteller,” Grantland, July 2, 2014
“Television Critic Doesn’t ‘Get’ Why Lena Dunham Is Naked All the Time,” Slate, January 10 2014
Jam of the Week
“State of Independence,” Donna Summer, 1982