Not even aliens can shake up a clan of NY Jews in ‘The Magnificent Meyersons’

By Andrew Lapin

(JTA) – How did aliens find their way into a nice Jewish dramedy?

It’s hard to say for sure how extraterrestrials factor into “The Magnificent Meyersons,” a new independent film written and directed by Evan Oppenheimer. Even for those who watch the movie, the answer isn’t really clear.

But here’s what happens: The film’s prolonged first act is structured as a series of loosely connected conversations among neurotic Manhattanites, nearly all of whom are Jewish. They largely debate philosophical matters like the existence of God and what kind of weather event best describes them. We don’t quite know how these people fit together beyond the occasional onscreen text revealing that several are related.

Exactly 30 minutes in – too soon into the movie to qualify as a spoiler, but too late to be a proper inciting event – everyone’s phone buzzes at once. The characters stop what they’re doing to read the message, which seems to be some kind of emergency alert. Yep, aliens. Or, at least, the government suspects that a mysterious radio frequency has extraterrestrial origins.

Our multitude of characters handles this extraordinary event with what might best be described as mild bemusement. There’s a rabbinical student (Daniel Eric Gold), already suffering a crisis of faith, who briefly considers whether the existence of aliens might shake his uncertain belief system. There’s a book publisher (Jackie Burns) who has already confessed something deeply personal to her husband; she now decides she may, or may not, make a career change. 

We never actually see any aliens. Only the potential of their existence concerns anyone, and even this nugget of information is more or less forgotten by the movie’s end. Faced with the grand mysteries of the cosmos, self-absorbed yuppies, we learn, may well continue to play their part.

Indeed, it turns out that when it comes to dramatic potential, otherworldly beings have nothing on Richard Kind. The beloved “Spin City” and “A Serious Man” character actor, who plays the long-absent family patriarch, turns up even later in the film than the aliens. And it’s his presence, playing against type as a taciturn and deeply depressed loner, that finally crystallizes what “Meyersons” is trying to say about life, the universe and everything.

Until then, the four grown Meyerson children and their mother, a pediatric oncologist named Terri (Kate Mulgrew of “Orange is the New Black”), are trying to figure out this whole existence thing on their own. They talk a lot; they have a flair for the theatrical. Most scenes find one of them loudly voicing their thoughts alongside some secondary person who listens patiently. Everyone is walking around outside, “mostly within a couple blocks of 14th Street,” as the end credits helpfully note. There are a great many transitional exteriors of the Manhattan skyline.

There are so many characters, and in a scant 88 minutes so little time to get to know any of them, or how their father’s absence affected each of them. That said, with so many monologues, “Meyersons” is a formidable actors’ showcase, and the performers are compelling even when the filmmaking itself fails them. For example, the wonderful deaf Jewish actress Shoshannah Stern (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “Supernatural”) is magnetic as a steely realtor, even when Oppenheimer frequently cuts her signing out of the frame. 

Occasionally there’s a punch of brutal insight that seems like it’s fallen straight out of Woody Allen or Noah Baumbach.

“You don’t believe in God. That’s OK, you’re a New York Jew, you’re not supposed to,” a congregant tells the maybe-lapsed rabbi.

Elsewhere, Terri’s own mother (screen legend Barbara Barrie) bemoans that she’s too old to see how the aliens will wind up changing society.

“It’s as if I get to watch the first half of the show and I don’t get to see how it ends,” she says.

Maybe that’s what’s going on here?

“Meyersons” gives us glimpses of this family story, not the full picture. But who are we to demand the complete arc of these people’s lives? We’re not aliens or God; we’re only human.

Following media criticism, Spike Lee is re-editing his 9/11 documentary

By Andrew Lapin

(JTA) — Spike Lee has announced that he is re-editing the final episode of his new HBO documentary series about New York following reports of early media screenings that criticized the Oscar-winning filmmaker for prominently featuring a conspiracy theorist who has entertained antisemitic ideas.

“New York Epicenters: 9/11-2021½,” a four-part documentary examining the character of the city in the 21st century, began airing Sunday on HBO.

In its original cut, the final episode, which had been scheduled to air on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, featured extensive interviews with members of the conspiracy group Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. 

Lee did not specify whether he would cut the segment featuring the group or what other changes might be in the works. 

“I’m Back In The Editing Room And Looking At The Eighth And Final Chapter Of ‘NYC EPICENTERS 9/11-2021½,’” Lee said in a statement released by HBO and provided to Variety. “I Respectfully Ask You To Hold Your Judgement Until You See The FINAL CUT.”

The announcement follows articles in The New York Times and Slate about Lee’s flirtation with 9/11 conspiracy theories. 

Slate in its article critical of Lee focused on the interview space devoted to Richard Gage, the leader of Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth. At a 2012 event, Gage appeared to endorse the suggestion by another participant that Israel was behind the terrorist attack. He regularly appears on podcasts where conspiracies about Jews and the Holocaust are common. 

The Times, meanwhile, quoted Lee as saying that he still had “questions” about what caused the Twin Towers to collapse after they were hit by airplanes, alluding to an alleged government cover-up.

Could Mayim Bialik wind up hosting “Jeopardy!” solo? Maybe.

By Philissa Cramer

(JTA) – Two weeks after it was announced that Mayim Bialik was selected to host primetime specials of “Jeopardy!”, the Jewish actress is taking on an even more prominent role on the beloved game show. Bialik is hosting the first three weeks of the regular season after Mike Richards, the producer originally selected to succeed Alex Trebek, stepped down on August 20amid a backlash over his past comments, which included offensive statements about Jews. Bialik is also being considered for the full-time position, CNN quoted a source close to the process as saying. Earlier, the producers of “Jeopardy!” had said that Bialik’s other commitments would make it impossible for her to be the sole successor to Trebak, who died in November 2020. 

Sony Entertainment Studios, which produces the show, says it will announce additional guest hosts in the coming weeks. Their choice of Bialik, who had starring roles on “Blossom” and “The Big Bang Theory,” has also drawn some criticism over her past stance on vaccines. In a 2012 book, Bialik and her ex-husband wrote that they had not vaccinated their children. Three years later, she announced on Kveller that her children were in fact vaccinated and that she supports vaccines.

Bialik, who regularly writes about her Jewish identity and practice, produced a series of videos for MyJewishLearning this year.

Streisand sets another record: A top 20 album in every decade since the ‘60s

By Ben Sales

(JTA) – Barbra Streisand has become the only woman to record a top 20 album on the Billboard charts in every decade from the 1960s to the 2020s.

The only other person to achieve that feat is Bob Dylan.

Streisand’s latest album, “Release Me 2,” came out Saturday and debuted at number 15 on the Billboard charts, Billboard reported. The album features archival recordings as well as duets with Willie Nelson and Kermit the Frog.

Her first album to chart in the top 20 was her self-titled “Barbra Streisand Album,” which debuted at the 17th spot 58 years ago, in 1963. Streisand, 79, is also the woman with the most albums to chart in the top 40, with 54. That’s more than twice as many as the runner-up, Aretha Franklin, who had 26. The overall record for top 40 albums is held by Frank Sinatra, who had 58.

Main Photo: Meyerson matriarch Celeste (Barbara Barrie) and her daughter Terri (Kate Mulgrew) discuss the meaning of life in “The Magnificent Meyersons.” (Argot Pictures)