A Benihana Christmas

In the middle of season three of NBC’s show, The Office, the cast starts to take a new shape when the Scranton branch of Dunder Mifflin absorbs the Stanford branch. Viewers are introduced to several new characters Andy (Ed Helms) and Karen (Rashida Jones) along with a returning favorite Jim (John Krasinski).
In one of the funniest episodes of the season, the employees are busy preparing for the Christmas party while Michael (Steve Carell) plans to surprise his girlfriend Carol (played by Carell’s real wife Nancy Walls) with a trip to Sandal’s Jamaica.
After a hasty wedding proposal, in a previous episode, Carol is on the fence about their short-lived relationship. She decides to call it quits with him after he photoshopped himself into a family photo with her kids in place of her ex-husband, making for a hilarious set prop.
Michael is, of course, deeply distraught from his break-up and sulks around the office and tries to cancel Christmas, yes the holiday, not just the party. In his usual and overdramatic ways Michael tries to milk the break-up for all it’s worth until Andy decides to take Michael out to cheer him up.
Jim and office oddball Dwight (Rainn Wilson) tag along with Andy and Michael to Benihana for a guy’s lunch out. Dwight gets separated from the group and is forced to sit at the other end of the hibachi table and it drives him crazy. Andy and Dwight are still competing for Michael’s attention and approval and Andy’s character starts to progressively develop in this episode when he tries to assert himself with the guys.
Meanwhile back at the office Jim’s former and maybe still current love interest, Pam (Jenna Fisher) and Jim’s girlfriend, Karen are bonding over planning a better Christmas party than “The Party Planning Committee” headed by neurotic, cat-crazed Angela (Angela Kinsley).
Michael and Andy end up bringing two waitresses from the restaurant back to the office party after a few Nagasake bombs, “one part (egg) nog, three parts sake,” according to Andy. Michael “falls in love” with his waitress, but midway through the party can’t tell the difference between his waitress and Andy’s, making for some hilarious antics as Michael mark’s her arm with a sharpie after he figures out who she is.
After Michael’s waitress bails because the party is lame as she puts it, Michael is once again crushed because he thought he found “the one.” Jim convinces Michael that it was a mere rebound after his break-up and it wasn’t love. Here Jim reveals that his feelings for Pam are still there and dating Karen is a mere distraction to “forget about the girl who broke your heart.”
Karen and Pam decide to merge their margarita-karaoke themed party with Angela’s nutcracker Christmas party and all broken hearts and cat-fights are put on hold while everyone in the office enjoys the party.
Michael decides to ask his ex-fling Jan (Melora Hardin) to Jamaica, she accepts and viewers are left wondering what’s to come after their trip.

Almost Famous

“Almost Famous” is a semi-autobiographical film about Cameron Crowe as he became a music writer at the age of 15.
The film, written and directed by Crowe in 2000, follows the aspiring rock critic as he is tossed into the chaos of the world of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll. William Miller (Patrick Fugit) a boy genius, months away from graduating high school, convinces his overbearing and neurotic mother Elaine, played perfectly by Frances McDormand, to go on tour with the band to write a potential feature story for Rolling Stone.
William grew up with his mother and older sister, Anita (Zooey Deschanel) and lacked friends in school, most likely due to being skipped ahead a few grades at an early age. William often turned to his influential sister, who rebelled against their mother by bringing records home. Their mother always claimed every musician was stoned as she pointed to Simon and Garfunkel’s eyes on the cover of their “Bookends” album. Tensions built between Elaine and Anita and Anita leaves the home to set off as a stewardess. Anita gives William her record collection and some listening suggestions and this is clearly a notable point in his life.

A few years later, William meets rock critic and writer, Lester Bangs (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and convinces Bangs to mentor him in the art of critque. William’s first assignment is to cover a Black Sabbath concert. Here he meets Penny Lane (Kate Hudson) a “Band-Aide” or groupie. He also meets the fictional rock band “Stillwater,” and the group, especially singer and guitarist Jeff (Jason Lee) and Russell (Billy Crudup) respectively, take particular interest in William after he convinces the band he is a super fan, worthy of their time and attention.
The band decides it likes having William around and ask him to meet up at a few shows down the road. William accepts partly because of his interest in Penny Lane. When William starts submitting writing samples to Rolling Stone, the editors are convinced the kid, even though they don’t know he’s a kid, has potential. The editors take interest in his writing style and the up-and-coming band Stillwater and decide to let William have a shot at an in-depth piece about the band as they tour across the country.
Now, insert every cliché thing about rock-n-roll in the early ‘70s. And although the story isn’t anything fresh, the film rises above all others in its genre through the exceptional and honest acting done by the cast. The soundtrack paired perfectly with the film, with tracks from Led Zepplin, The Beach Boys, Cat Stevens and Simon and Garfunkel.
The film falls short with its fairy-tellesque happy ending as it steers away from the grit, grime and honesty of the cruel world of rock ’ n ’ roll it consistently portrays, but other than that, it pulls through with solid acting from the not-so-well known cast at the time and excellent cinematography to give it the film a ‘70s feel.