"Smash": An Amusing Scarf of Stitched Cliches

On Saturday on my way to spin class, I listened to the soundtrack of A Chorus Line.  Later on Saturday, we watched Smash via Netflix.  It usually airs on network television on Monday night.  If I can avoid watching shows on regular broadcast, I do.  I just can't stand the commercials.  But I digress.  Back to the show.

I was underwhelmed.  I wanted to like it.  I'm a theatre geek from way back.  I was one of those weird kids who would watch the Tony awards.  I memorized theatre stats the way that some teens memorized baseball stats.  I wonder if kids memorize baseball stats these days.  Or any sports stats . . . but I digress.

As a way to pass the time, this show isn't bad.  I've watched worse T.V. shows and movies to be sure.  It just didn't break boundaries, the way I hoped.  It was, it must be said, a collection of cliches.  I must agree with one of the commenters on the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast who said that he saw every cliche coming, that the show did not surprise at all. 

I almost lost patience completely when the young actress (the brunette, the young inexperienced one from the midwest, who has a dream, and her parents, visiting the big city, just don't understand her dream) went to the apartment of the director who's casting a show and she's shocked--SHOCKED--when he's got something else in mind instead of talking about her acting.

Oh, puh-leaze!!!!  Even I, as a young, inexperienced 18 year old, would not have gone to a man's apartment at 10:00 at night and been surprised when he wanted sex.  Is anyone really this naive?

I love watching New York City on T.V.  It's so clean and traffic-free.  Everyone is polite, as they pass each other on the sidewalks.  The kitchens are HUGE and all recently remodeled--at least on T.V.  And it goes without saying, that in television New York City--unless it's a cop show--no one is murdered or raped.

One other thing I noticed is that every female on the show wore scarves, every day with every kind of outfit.  We saw filmy scarves and scarves with interesting textures and fibers and scarves that looked like fishing nets.

In terms of the plot of the show, that aspect may be the one that makes me tune back in.  I found it fascinating to watch a Broadway show being put together from the "wouldn't it be interesting if we did a musical based on ___________" stage.  I'm almost always fascinated by the creative process.

I wish I liked the singing more.  It was a little too American Idol for me.  At one point I said, "A real test would be to see if any of these people could hold a note for more than 10 seconds."  Everyone does that trilling, scatting singing that can sound more like warbling than belting out a showstopper.

But I'll probably watch it again.  After all, even with its faults, it's still more well-constructed than many a show.  And the faults are amusing too.