Kris Rasmussen: November 2006 Archives

Former “Seinfeld” actor Michael Richards has barely finished trying to convince the public--as well as the entertainment community--that the racial slurs he uttered at a nightclub do not mean he is racist. But now he is facing new allegetions regarding anti-Semitic remarks he made several months ago.

Richards newly-hired crisis expert, Howard Rubenstein, has admitted that Richards shouted anti-Semitic comments during a performance last April. But he blames Richards' tirade not on his obvious anger management issues, but rather on the fact that he was only "role playing" while on stage.

And while Jewish leaders may not be expressing the same outrage over Richards’ remarks as they did over Mel Gibson’s road rage a few months ago, they are taking Richards to task over something else: Richards claims that he can’t be anti-Semitic because he is Jewish. Jewish organizations have refuted Richards ties to Judaism by pointing out that his family is not Jewish (Richards was actually raised Catholic), and that Richards has not formally converted to the religion.

Rubenstein, however, has continued to defend Richards claim to be a Jew by saying that Richards has had two significant Jewish mentors in his life and agrees with the beliefs and customs of Judaism. Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, responded by saying "You can't feel Jewish. It's not a matter of feeling."

Seems to me like no one--from Jesse Jackson to the Anti-Defamation League--is feeling the love for someone who was once one of the most beloved sitocm stars of the '90s.

While Mel Gibson blamed his anti-Semitic rant a few months ago (most would say unsuccessfully) on a drunken lapse of judgment, Michael "Cosmo Kramer" Richards' only excuse for his racial epithets directed toward two African-American men is that he was angry because he was being heckled in the middle of a performance. The entertainment website TMZ acquired footage of Richards spewing various racial epithets during a stand-up comedy routine at The Laugh Factory nightclub last Friday--and by Monday night Richards, with the help of friend Jerry Seinfeld, was on David Letterman apologizing for his behavior and swearing he was not a racist.

So yesterday I was fully prepared for the media backlash to bury Richards in a pile of well-deserved criticism, just like it did to a certain other hate-spewing Hollywood figure recently. But other than the occasional soundbyte in which a moderately famous comedian or some Hollywood pundit mildly criticized Richards for his behavior, the backlash failed to materialize. Barbara Walters did not use the "Hot Topics" portion of "The View" to announce she would no longer watch "Seinfeld" re-runs. Denzel Washington did not make a public statement calling for Richards to have a meeting with the NAACP to begin the healing process. As far as we know, uber-agent Ari Emanuel didn't tell a single one of his clients not to work with Richards in the future. Worst of all, last night Leno only dedicated one joke in his monologue to Richards' fiasco before quickly moving on to other subjects.

All of which has left me feeling more than a little bit baffled. The man was doing stand-up. In a club. Where comediens often are heckled. Stating that hecking is an excuse for racial slurs is, in my opinion, about as strong of an excuse for his behavior as a student saying "a dog ate my homework." Pardon me, Hollywood, but your hypocrisy is showing. While I am well aware that Richards is not as successful as Gibson, and I understand Richards hasn't exactly announced that he will be playing Atticus Finch in an upcoming remake of "To Kill a Mockingbird," I still can't fathom why Hollywood isn't showing more outrage over this hate speech.

Such an underwhelming lack of response by some of the most visible players in Hollywood brings up uncomfortable questions I don’t have the answers to. Questions like: Are some slurs more forgivable than others? Is the level of outrage over such slurs linked somehow to how much future worth their career is to Hollywood? And the biggest question of all in my mind: Would the outrage be greater if more Hollywood players were African-American and had more of a voice??

Hollywood lost a cinematic legacy yesterday when the director of the such critically acclaimed movies as "M*A*S*H" and "Nashville," Robert Altman, passed away at the age of 81. For decades, Altman set himself apart from other directors by developing a non-linear form of storytelling and by often using long sequences of overlapping dialogue among his characters. It's a style of filmmaking that many younger directors copy today, but back in the 1970s was anything anything but typical.

Though Altman never experienced huge commerical success, and was not even recognized by the film industry with an Oscar until earlier this year, Altman has left behind a body of work that examines the best and worst of all segments of society. And while I never cared for his abrasive political and personal rantings, Altman successfully achieved what all revolutonary artists attempt to do: He shaped our culture and redefined an art form by insightfully questioning the conventions of society ("Gosford Park" ), religion ("A Praire Home Companion"), corporate America ("The Player"), and politics ('The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial") with a point-of-view that was unique, and for better or worse, steadfastly uncompromised in its worldview.

For me, the Altman films that I liked best where the ones that celebrated the creative process. These films--which include "The Company" and "Vincent and Theo"--are not considered his very best, but I think they reveal the true passion he had for beauty of art in it's purest form to communicate truth.

And if you'd like to read what other film critics have to say about Altman's life and work, I encourage you to go here and here.

Last season, the VH1 celeb-reality series "Breaking Bonaduce" found ratings success by exploiting former "Partridge Family" star Danny Bonaduce as he spiraled out of control. There was no end to the footage in which Bonaduce was abusing alcohol, steroids, and other substances, all the while emotionally abusing his wife, Gretchen.

Some equally salacious footage started off Season Two, but last night's episode began to ducument Bonaduce's quest for spiritual answers to his problems. The episode followed Bonaduce as he read his Bible daily, met with a pastor over coffee, and went to church with his family.

Teasers for feature Bonaduce episodes give even more hints of Bonaduce finding religion. But all of his newly-acquired goody-two-shoes behavior can only mean one thing for the fate of the series itself: "Breaking Bonaduce" is destined to be canceled.

At least that's what Bonaduce himself has alluded to in a recent interview with Anderson Cooper. In that interview he said that there would absolutely be no Season Three because there is a "life altering change" at the end of Season Two that would make Season Three impossible.

All I can say isthat if Bonaduce does indeed become born again, I really hope he doesn't have Stephen Baldwin's phone humber.

Do we control our future? Or is everything that happens to us decided by fate? If there is a creator, do we have a dynamic or static relationship with him--or her? Such deep, philosophical questions don't seem like the stuff of a Will Ferrell movie, but his latest flick, "Stranger Than Fiction," will surprise many of his fans with a more thoughtful, restrained--yet still absurd --take on one man's attempt to control his destiny.

We've all heard little voices in our heads from time to time, but hopefully none quite like the one IRS agent Harold Crick hears. Harold's life is perhaps not much more exciting than yours or mine: He has worked the same job for years, he takes the same route to work, eats the same food for breakfast. But his predictable life takes an unpredictable turn when he begins to hear a voice in his head, which narrates his every move and predicts Harold's imminent death.

We soon learn that the voice Harold hears is the voice of a successful, eccentric, and reclusive author Kay Eiffel (actress Emma Thompson) and that Harold is a character in her latest novel. The only problem is that while Eiffel always kills her characters at the end of her novels, she is having trouble figuring out how to kill Harold. As Harold tries to alter the course of his life to prevent his death, he encounter a wacky literature professor (Dustin Hoffman), a feisty and sexy baker (Maggie Gyllenhaal), and, finally, the author of his life story, Eiffel herself.

It takes a leap of faith to go with the premise of this movie and embrace this kind of alternate reality, but if you do, "Stranger Than Fiction" makes it worth your time. The characters and the plot are smart-funny, not goofy-funny, like other Ferrell movies , and the story is not as bizarre as past movies with a similar premise--films like "Adaptation" or "Being John Malkovich," for example. Instead, the movie cleverly explores the aspects of our lives that are affected by whether or not we believe in free will or predestination. Even better, we see a touching relationship develop between the author and the character she created, which certainly has serious spiritual implications about the true worth of any one person's life.

The only disappointment is that for all of "Fiction"'s sharp storytelling and clever references to historical figures--Harold Crick is most likely linked to the teachings of Francis Crick, for example--it doesn't have the courage to give us the ending that Harold (not to mention the audience) deserves. The movie would be far more interesting and worthy of water cooler talk if Harold's realization about his life had played out as the author always intended.

Still, "Stranger Than Fiction" is a refreshing story in the midst of a lot of recent releases that look and feel too familiar. Even if it may not be quite as profound as it wants to be, there's enough truth in "Fiction" to make me want to recommend it.

While I understand why so many critics gush about the talent of writer/producer Aaron Sorkin, last night's episode of "Studio 60" was a blatant reminder to me that this show is quite possibly more about Sorkin working out his personal...

According to Sir Elton John, the world could be a more compassionate place free of "hateful lemmings" if only all religion was banned. In an interview with Observer Music Monthly magazine, Sir Elton says that while he loves "the idea...

With Apartheid in South Africa having officially ended in 1990, a political thriller like "Catch A Fire," which went to wide release this past weekend, could easily feel like it is outdated or, at the very least, feel like a...

I honestly thought that by the seventh episode of producer/writer Aaron Sorkin's backstage drama "Studio 60," he might choose to start backing off the over-the-top religious rhetoric of past storylines just a wee bit. Shows you just how much I...

Whether he's appearing with Oprah to promote his latest fundraising strategy for aid to Africa or meeting with global leaders to convince them to commit more funds to African debt relief, it's hard to find any negative press surrounding Bono's...

While the controversial documentary "Jesus Camp" has inspired plenty of criticism and little box office success, the film has had one significant impact for the director of the camp depicted in the film, Becky Fisher: The camp, Kids on Fire,...