Who says August is a TV wasteland? The series “Weeds” inspired me to order up Showtime, especially after HBO’s precipitous decline after cancellations of “Rome,” “Deadwood” and “The Sopranos.”
01/28/2007 - Mary-Louise Parker - 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards - Press Room - Shrine Auditorium - Los Angeles, CA © Chris Hatcher / Photorazzi
The third season of the Mary-Louise Parker starring show is a masterpiece of acting, writing, casting, locations, camera work, costuming and art design.
I watched the first four episodes of season three where Mary-Louise’s character Nancy embraces her profession, and come clean with her family and all the dysfunctional friends around her.
This season Parker is joined by "Weeds" costars Justin Kirk as Andy Botwin, Elizabeth Perkins as Celia Hodes, Kevin Nealon as Doug, Hunter Parrish as Silas Botwin, Romany Malco as Conrad Shepard, Tonye Patano as Heylia James, and cast newcomers Matthew Modine, Carrie Fisher and Mary-Kate Olsen.
This Monday, the first episode, “Doing the Backstroke” will reveal Nancy's attempts to resolve her predicament with the Armenians and U-Turn, the nasty gangster dealer over a pot deal gone awry.
Nancy's family and friends hamstring her efforts to make good with U-Turn. Capped in the knees at every turn, so much so that she has a mini breakdown at the end of the first episode.
Both of Nancy's sons are in different types of peril. Zooey Deschanel plays crazy Kat and takes young Shane on an ill-advised road trip, while Silas is hauled away after smart mouthing a cop. Draft dodging Uncle Andy has a final adventure tracking down his now Amber-alert nephew Shane with a bounty hunter from Alaska, and winds up meeting Nancy in the precinct a day late and dollar short.
Boozy Celia (Elizabeth Perkins) intercepts Silas’ car, the repository of the weed, and decided at the worst possible time to make a point and teach Nancy a big lesson.
Nancy picks up Silas in Jail episode one
Agrestic is under siege this season, buttressed by the growing shiny new Majestic, an adjacent development built around a corporate Joel Osteen-inspired mega church that has Agrestic feeling a bit intimidated.
The show plays on the classic western and southern state phenomenon of the sprawling suburb that grows atop another. The grass is always greener; the floor plans more spacious, the next sub-divisions are always just a bit, better.
A delightful carry-over from season two is the quirky opening theme to show, "Little Boxes" being performed by a different musical performer, such as Elvis Costello, Deathcab for Cutie and now, in season three they have Randy Newman, Angelique Kidjo, Keke, Donovan, Joan Baez, The Decemberists and The Shins performing unique renditions of the same song. That is a gem to look forward to.
Mary Kate Olsen plays Tara, a complicated yet good Christian girl with a twist, like a Rastafarian, she finds her God through ganja.
Matthew Modine plays Sullivan Groff as a Tony Robbins meets Ron Popeil type who wears the lapel pin and walks the talk, until the cameras are off him.
Groff is a religious charlatan who profits off the Prophets in typical all-American fashion, and the show’s writers do a clever turn at skewering the commerce of religion while being respectful of the nature of spirituality and faith.
Carrie Fisher plays a vicious divorce lawyer, Arlene Cutter, who advises Celia in her divorce from Dean.
Season three has hit its stride, Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin now is at peace with her decision, owning what she does, and she’s learning her business the hard way.
The writers have provided a boon for all the female talent, as Heylia becomes more prominent in this season and redefines her path and relationship with Conrad, her nephew. Her fight scene with Nancy a cathartic shock in the first episode.
Parker and Perkins chemistry on the screen is electric. Both women are over forty, and when they are in frame you cannot take your eyes off them.
Perkins as Celia
Perkins is a powerhouse actress, the role of tortured Celia was made for her, a whip smart WASP caught in an unfulfilling marriage, a mediocre sexual affair that satisfies no one, rampant disdain for minorities, a major drinking problem combined with failure as a parent and an overall mid-life malaise. She owns it, and has never been better in this series that shows her off.
Nealon as Doug
Nealon as Doug has never been better professionally either. His character is hilariously repulsive and completely relatable. Doug's scene with Celia's husband Dean at a neighbor's party where the two compare their manhoods after raiding the medicine cabinet prescription drugs is unforgettable.
Warning, “Weeds” is highly addictive and completely recommended must see TV.Grade: A
Weeds: Season 3 premieres Monday, August 13th at 10:00 pm ET/PT on Showtime.
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