Reviewed by Jason LockardWhen I reached my late teens early adult years I was deemed old enough to watch the reruns of Norman Lear comedies. And I instantly fell in love with the way he approached social issues with laughter.
Norman Lear is a genius! He brought us such comedies as Sanford and Son, Good Times, Maude, One Day At a Time and many more. But probably his most controversial and most well known was,A in the Family and The Jeffersons. Who didn't sing "Movin on up to the Eastside..." at least once in their lives.
It's hard to believe that Norman Lear is now 96 years of age and still as sharp as ever! At the time of this review this past Wednesday we witnessed a retelling of two classic episodes of All in the Family and The Jeffersons, brought to us on behalf of Norman Lear and Jimmy Kimmel.
Now let's be honest here this was going to be a hard things to pull off no matter who they would have cast! And I would hate to be in an actor to have to step into the shoes of Carol O'Connor, Sherman Hemsley, Jean Stapelton, Isabel Sanford and all the other great actors and actresses that made up the cast of these iconic shows
Woody Harrelson and Marisa Tomei were cast as The Bunkers and Jamie Foxx and Wanda Sykes as The Jeffersons. In my opinion Marisa Tomei did a good job as Edith Bunker, while Woody Harrelson seemed off to me. He had Archie's mannerisms, but his New York accent left a lot to be desired. Wanda Sykes didn't not seem to me to embody the spirit that made Louise, George's foil. Isabel stood right up to George. Wanda didn't seem to have the same feisty demeanor. Probably the best performance of the evening belonged to Jamie Foxx. While not as small in stature as Sherman Hemsley, he had his vocals and mannerisms, although at times he over played it!
As for the supporting cast there were some hits and some misses in my opinion.
* Ike Barinholtz as Mike and Ellie Kempler as Gloria (MISS)!
* Will Ferrell and Kerry Washington as Tom and Helen Willis (MISS and HIT)
* Anthony Anderson as Henry Jefferson (HIT)
* Sean Hayes as Mr. Lorenzo (MISS)
* Jovan Adepo as Lionel Jefferson (HIT)
* Amber Stevens West as Jenny Willis (HIT)
* Stephen Tobolowsky as Harry Bentley (MISS)
* Jackée Harry as Louise’s friend Diane (HIT)
* Fran Bennett as Mother Jefferson (MISS)
* Marla Gibbs as Florence (BIG HIT)
I give everyone a lot of credit for stepping into these iconic roles! And a huge shout out goes to Jennifer Hudson for her amazing rendition of The Jefferson's theme “Movin’ on Up.” And what an amazing surprise to see Marla Gibbs reprise her role as Florence.
The Episode chosen for The Jefferson's was the best one of the night! However the All in the Family one was a bit of a miss in my opinion! I think they could have come up with a better episode to let the audience relive! The best part was Jamie Foxx's flub and recovery! So funny!
The reason Norman Lear comedies are still relevant to this day is because we still have a lot of the same social issues and sometimes it helps to address those issues with laughter. We have become so much of a political correct society that we have forgot how to laugh at ourselves. That is something I think we all could learn to do more of!
The Norman Lear live special won the night! Gaining a huge rating for ABC. With this it wouldn't surprise me that ABC does another one of these specials. I just hope next time they take their time and really get the right actors for the roles.
If you missed it and would like to see it, it is streaming on Hulu and the ABC app.
So did you watch the Norman Lear Live special? If so, What did you think of them? Weigh-in in the comments and let your voice be heard!
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