The ShowBuzz Weekly Forecast
Two movies starring box-office favorites Chris Rock and Sandra Bullock are coming out this week, and the world of music is alive with Celtic arrangements, just in time for St. Patrick's Day.
Lisa Scottoline has a new book on the shelves, and they're doing Shakespeare at the Guthrie in Minneapolis.
But for a lot of people, the best news will be on DVD, with the release of all those hour-long "I Love Lucy" episodes that had the Ricardos and the Mertzes living in Connecticut and having star-studded (and unlikely) adventures with the likes of Tallulah Bankhead and Betty Grable.
MOVIES
Chris Rock is the star and the director of "I Think I Love My Wife". He plays a man, happily married but who has a habit of fantasizing about other women. It all seems harmless until one of them actually tries to seduce him.
In "Premonition," Sandra Bullock has a flash of ESP that is just unreliable enough to keep her off balance. After her husband dies in a car crash, he shows up alive the next day, which understandably leaves her simultaneously relieved and alarmed. Just exactly when and under what circumstances is this premonition going to come true? Or can she do something to stop it? Julian McMahon co-stars.
Photos: "I Think I Love My Wife" Premiere
"Dead Silence" involves not a premonition but some kind of an ancient curse that is uncovered by a man who is trying to figure out why his wife was murdered. The cast includes Leigh Whannell, Amber Valletta, Ryan Kwanten and Donnie Wahlberg.
TV
Just in time for tax season, here's accountant Andy Barker opening his own brand-new office.
Unfortunately, he isn't getting any customers. Then, much to his surprise, a slinky blonde in a bright red dress walks in the door, seeking his help to find her long-lost husband.
"You seem so kind," she purrs in a fetching Russian accent, then plunks down $4,000 in cash.
So begins "Andy Barker, P.I.," a new NBC sitcom with Andy Richter at his nerdiest as a CPA with a P.I. sideline.
He's happy about it, even though wife Jen (played by Clea Lewis) voices her concern.
"No column of numbers has ever tried to cave in your skull," she frets.
She needn't worry. This is a comedy, after all. Besides, Andy is the sort of versatile guy who can keep an appointment with an accounting client while bringing him along on a hair-raising car chase to crack a missing-person mystery.
It all adds up for Andy, who knows that multitasking pays off. The show premieres 9:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, March 15.
Other shows this week to look out for:
MUSIC
"Quartet" is the second offering from guitarist Path Metheny and pianist Brad Mehldau, sounding very much like a simpler incarnation of the Pat Metheny Group.
"Celtic Treasure" is the third solo album from Hayley Westenra, a very young artist with a very mature vocal instrument. She's singing Irish and Maori folk songs (like "Danny Boy") on this one, as well as classical arias like "One Fine Day (Un bel di)" from Puccini's Madama Butterfly.
"Dreams: The Corrs Collection" walks the Corr's customary line between pop and traditional Celtic music. This CD includes such favorites as "Angel," "Summer Sunshine" and "Long Night."
"Undiscovered" comes from James Morrison, whose debut album brings to mind the soulful and ruminating styles of artists like Cat Stevens. He'll either melt your heart or break it.
BOOKS
The reliable Lisa Scottoline is out with "Daddy's Girl," but her heroine this time might surprise her fans. She's a law professor, Natalie Greco, who is drawn into a mystery when a riot breaks out at a prison, where she is delivering a lecture. Greco smartens up pretty fast as she tries to unravel the meaning of the dying words of one of the prison guards.
"You Don't Love Me Yet" by Jonathan Lethern is billed as a funny, affectionate send-up of the alternative band scene, the city of Los Angeles and the genre of romantic comedy in general. Lucinda Hoekke spends eight hours a day at the Complaint Line, listening to anonymous callers air their random grievances. Most of the time, the work is excruciatingly tedious. But one frequent caller, who insists on speaking only to Lucinda, captivates her with his off-color ruminations and opaque self-reflections. In blatant defiance of the rules, Lucinda and the Complainer arrange a face-to-face meeting — and fall desperately in love. After the Complainer's ruminations inspire several big songs for Lucinda's band, things get considerably more complicated.
Poet Mark Doty writes a heavy requiem for his two dogs, Labrador retrievers named Beau and Arden, by setting his lives and the lives of his pets against the canvas of real life, including the tragedy of 9/11 and the death of Doty's partner. "Dog Years: A Memoir" is not a lighthearted affair, but in its fashion, it is a celebration of the time Doty had with his two dogs.
THEATER
James Kerr directs his own translation of the Aeschylus tragedy "Prometheus Bound", which begins preview performances Tuesday, March 13, courtesy of New York's Aquila Theater Company/Classic Stage Company.
"Blackbird," a play by David Harrower that focuses on a man trying to come to terms with a relationship he had many years ago, begins preview performances in New York on Thursday, March 15, starring Jeff Daniels and Alison Pill. It's presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club at City Center Stage I.
And at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Minn., a production of William Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" opens Friday, March 16.
DVDs
"Casino Royale" is out on DVD, with the "blond Bond" Daniel Craig. It seems gimmicky, but there were plenty of critics who felt that Craig was the best 007 since Sean Connery.
"The Holiday" might not be everyone's cup of tea, with its comedic couple-swapping plot device. But it's a draw because of its cast: Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black.
"I Love Lucy: Seasons 7, 8 and 9" consists of a series of hour-long specials that aired from 1957 to 1960. It relocated Ricardos and Mertzes to Westport, Conn., and sent Ricky away on a lot of business trips. The door was opened for plenty of guest stars, including Tallulah Bankhead, Fred McMurray, Betty Grable and Harry James, and Ida Lupino. Features include deleted scenes and color footage from the set, vintage 1951.
The main claim to fame of "Bosom Buddies" is the fact that Tom Hanks played one of the two leading characters. (The other guy was Peter Scolari.) They're single men who must disguise themselves as women so they can be eligible to live in an affordable apartment. Season One is out on DVD, with all 19 episodes from the 1980 season.