Rediscovering the Past: The Inspiration of Kenneth Lonergan

Here's another 'classic' post that largely fell on deaf ears. This was originally published way back in 2008, on October 7th to be exact. I'd imagine many or most of you weren't coming around to these here parts back then, as this was still a raw work in progress at that point. The seemingly doomed Margaret finally came out this past fall with Anna Paquin drawing raves and a small segment of the critic community vociferously singing its praises. 

I was just struck with the certain notion that Kenneth Lonergan (By the way, nine goddamn years, Kenny boy? Took you long enough...) was definitely driven by the powerful 80's sitcom with the following theme song of epic proportions:

Now, some might say (No, not you Liam. Pipe the fuck down.) that there's no way that the brainchild of Michael Jacobs (who in addition to being the Executive Producer of this fine program and "Boy Meets World", penned the afore-embedded theme song and perhaps more importantly the theme song to "Charles in Charge" which surely needs no embedding) and Danielle Alexandra (who I had never heard of but apparently wrote G.I. Jane--clearly the next step in the career of the co-creator of "My Two Dads") could possibly have been the inspiration for the great 2000 Scorcese-produced Lonergan debut below.

To this I say, "Screw you, you short-sighted chimp."

Think for just a moment. Pretend Loggins doppelganger Greg Evigan isn't wearing a trenchcoat. And he isn't bearded. And he's really of Italian heritage. And he mumbles a ton. In fact, pretend you can't understand a word he says, but he's from Wisconsin, so he's intrinsically likable. Now embue that man with all of the carefree irresponsibility and sexual looseness of Evigan's Joey Harris. Eliminate the moralizing as we're talking about an indie film, not a network sitcom, and you've got Terry Prescott.

(L to R) Rock-bottom Reiser, that girl from Going Places, and poor man's Loggins

Now, take Paul Reiser (no, I won't denigrate the work of a certain musician by linking him here, Mark--fuck it, yes I will, check that caption), imagine him having sex with Matthew Broderick, and you've got Laura Linney's Sammy Prescott.

To take it a step further, add a sense of hope for a legitimate future in acting to Staci Keanan (Seriously, what the fuck happened to her?) and you've got Rory Culkin as Rudy.

Florence Stanley's Judge Margaret Wilbur is swung away from the secular and turned into a priest, but to maintain indie-cred he's hapless where she's omniscient, and Lonergan casts himself in the role.

Dick Butkus is a big dude and is therefore the rest of the supporting cast in the film.

There you go. And to further my theory, Lonergan's movie that is to come out next year is called Margaret, no doubt an ode to the late Florence Stanley.

All right...

I know you wanted it, so here you go. Powells not Pembrokes.