Overrated/Underrated: An ‘Atypical’ ‘scene-stealer and New York celebrates itself in ‘Meet Me in the Bathroom’
UNDERRATED
Brigette Lundy-Paine in “Atypical”: This Netflix series primarily about the dating misadventures of a high-functioning autistic teenager is far from perfect, despite its often smartly handled, underrepresented subject. But one of its bright spots is the performance by this young actor who plays the main character’s younger sister, Casey. Fiercely protective of her brother even as she carries resentment over the bulk of family attention he requires, Casey’s track ambitions and brusque impatience with the usual TV teen angst tropes reveal her character as pleasantly atypical in her own right.
Simona Premazzi’s “Outspoken”: Based in New York but raised in Italy, this pianist has been heard backing some top-flight talent in Greg Osby and Jeremy Pelt, and her fourth album as a leader firmly establishes her as a distinctive voice in her own right. With nods to Billy Strayhorn (a solo take on the standard “Lush Life”), Andrew Hill (her own spiraling composition, “Up on A. Hill”) and even Harold Pinter (“It Is Here”), “Outspoken” knows its history with help from a band that includes saxophonist Dayna Stephens, but its restless sound continually pushes jazz forward.
OVERRATED
“Meet Me in the Bathroom: Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011”: Of New York’s many gifts, maybe its greatest is a bottomless capacity to celebrate itself. Chronicling the rise of the Strokes, Interpol and other bands from the city’s last era of semi-affordability, Lizzy Goodman’s book offers solid gossip but mostly memorializes a time that birthed the modern hipster (uh, thanks?) and rock stars and their excesses carried a built-in nostalgia by recalling moves from decades ago. There was some great music, but let’s hope the myth-making stops before HBO green-lights a stylish new series called “MP3.”
Tom Cruise, stuntman: Already living dangerously by attaching himself to box-office explosive devices like this summer’s reboot of “The Mummy” that no one asked for, now Cruise’s action addiction is threatening his health. Long holding an inexplicable preference for performing his own stunts, Cruise was injured on set last week while trying to leap onto a building in yet another forthcoming “Mission Impossible” installment. Tom, you’re 55 years old. If you’re not going to revel in your advancing years with a career-reviving role in an indie drama, at least recognize stunt performers need jobs too.
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