Month: July 2019

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza Coming to old Fuel Cafe Location

CREDIT: Michael Donahue

Michael Donahue

Miles Tamboli


Get ready for Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza restaurant, which is slated to open in September in the old Fuel Cafe at 1761 Madison.

Owner Miles Tamoboli, 30, says the menu will include a few items, which will be done well. Instead of many pizzas, he plans to do three or four of them, including his chicken parmesan pizza. He also will make lasagna and other entrees by hand. That includes the pasta. And he’ll use locally produced, locally sustained ingredients.

For the past year, Tamboli has been working upstairs making his homemade pasta, which he sells at the Memphis Farmers Market. Now he’ll be moving downstairs, where Eric Proveaux’s” Fuel Cafe operated until it closed last December.

“I bought everything that’s in here from Fuel Cafe,” Tamboli says. “A lot of stuff needs a little love.”

He began making pasta upstairs because he “needed a certified kitchen to make pasta to sell at the Farmers Market.”

But, he says, “I never seriously considered opening a restaurant.”

After Fuel closed, Tamboli did an Italian-themed popup farm-to-table dinner for friends and family. That gave him the idea to open a restaurant along the same lines. “That did it for me,” he says.

He wants to open a restaurant where family and friends “can have a great time.”

The food will be “locally sourced and locally sustained. Everything made in house – sauces, cheese, bread. We’re not trying to do everything. We’re trying to do a few simple things as well as they can be done.”

Tamboli wants everything to be simple “without creating a dining experience that’s exclusive to some people. It’s for everyone. Everybody will enjoy eating here.”

The entrees will include his popular lasagna. “The lasagna is done as well as I can produce it. The best way that I know how to do it that’s good for everyone.”

The pizzas will be three or four of his best pizzas. “I made pizzas all the way through college on and off in restaurants in Portland, Oregon and Lake Tahoe.”

Customers also will get a choice of three or four pastas, including his casarecce pasta with basil pesto.

And, Tamboli says he’ll feature “a lot of rotating specials based on what’s in season here right now.”

The food he will be “like Italian soul food. It’s comfort food. And it’s good.”

The wine list will be specially selected and not extensive. “A few house wines. Some reds, whites, something bubbly, and rose. I picked wines I know are good. Simple and straightforward and good. Like everything else on the menu.”

Tamboli will be general manager and president of the restaurant. He’ll be in front of the house and in the kitchen, but he will hire a chef. Cooking will be “collaborative,” he says.

As for being in front of the house, he says, “I love being around people enjoying the food.”

Tamboli built the lattice work on front of the patio. Customers in the glass-enclosed patio will be able to view the kitchen and see what’s going on. “It’ll make a nice show if you eat on the patio.”

But, because of the lattice, they won’t be on the patio “looking at cars.”

Tamboli already has some 40 types of plants in front of the restaurant.

The rotating artwork on the walls will include work by his dad, Roy Tamboli, and his stepmother, Carol Buchman.

Tamboli hasn’t come up with a color scheme, but he knows the ceilings will be painted “light robin’s eggs turquoise color. Sky color.”

Upstairs still will be used for pasta and dough making and other prep work. Tamboli will continue to sell his pasta at Memphis Farmers Market.

And, he says, the bathrooms will be updated. Now, he says, they “look like a gas station from 1922.”

Tamboli’s Pasta & Pizza will be open for dinner, but “lunch is coming soon.”

Categories
News News Blog

U of M President: Harris’ Request to Hold Funds Raises Ethical Concerns

After the Shelby County Board of Commissioners approved a $1 million allocation for swimming pool renovations at the University of Memphis, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris vetoed the commission’s decision, citing the university’s failure to pay a living wage of $15 an hour for some of its employees.

In a letter to the commission dated July 7th, Harris said he won’t support funding the Michael Rose Natatorium project until the university devises a plan to increase the employees’ pay to a living wage.

Harris said groups such as the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center and the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope, along with several unions who have been pushing for a wage increases at the university, have contacted him, speaking against the $1 million allocation.

“They believe that, prior to any distribution, the University of Memphis should first present a timeline or plan to bring its lowest-paid workers up to a living wage,” Harris wrote. “They believe Shelby County government should delay this allocation until the issue of low pay for these workers is resolved. I am grateful to these groups because they have brought to light an important issue.”

Harris said that more than 330 employees at the U of M are making $11.11 per hour, “far below a living wage for individuals with children” and “far below the $15 per hour that Shelby County government has repeatedly recommended for public institutions.”

Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris

The mayor said the employees can’t sustain themselves with an $11.11 per hour wage and that the issues of poverty that continue to persist in the community are “interconnected to decisions like these.” Harris said many of the employees not making a livable wage at the university are African American with children and families to support.

“That is to say, for years they have not earned a living wage,” Harris said. “For years they have been working and still living in poverty. These employees include custodians and the very people who will likely have to clean the facility and swimming pool in question, once it is built.”

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Harris said until the university presents a timeline on increasing wages, he “cannot endorse this budget allocation.”

“I realize that my stance here may create some consternation, which is not my intent,” Harris said. “I take this stance after deliberation, and I am trying as best I can to follow my conscience.”

University of Memphis president M. David Rudd responded to Harris on Monday, writing in a letter that the mayor’s letter raises “serious ethical concerns” and that the university will forgo the county’s funding offer for the project.

“Given the request to directly influence university policy in exchange for the funding, I will have to decline the support,” Rudd wrote.

Rudd said Harris’ request could be a “potential serious ethical breach” of the university and a potential violation of a Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges accreditation standard, which states that “the governing board is free from undue influence from political, religious, or other external bodies and protects the institution from such influence.”

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Therefore Rudd said he will decline the county’s support for the natatorium, as the accreditation standards are “very clear.”

“I report to the Board of Trustees, not the county mayor,” Rudd said. “Our Trustees possess the authority to oversee and approve policy changes at the university level.”

University of Memphis President David M. Rudd

Rudd added that the university is in the process of implementing a plan to raise hourly wages to $15 an hour over the next several years.

“We’re doing so because we believe our employees deserve it, because it’s the right thing to do,” Rudd said. “Our employees are the foundation of our institution and the reason we’re succeeding. We’re not doing it because you’ve vetoed $1 million in support for the Michael Rose Natatorium.”

Rudd said the university will raise the hourly wages in a way that “doesn’t threaten the financial stability that we’ve worked so hard to attain, or result in dramatic tuition increases that threaten the success of our students and economic growth of the Memphis region.”

Harris did not immediately respond to the Flyer‘s request for comment.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

New Restaurants Headed to Shelby Farms

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Justin Fox Burks

The front porch of the FedEx Event Center overlooks Hyde Lake.

Two new restaurants are on the way to Shelby Farms Park.

Cheffie’s Cafe owners will open their third location in the grab-and-go space in the First Tennessee Foundation Visitors Center. Owners of Flight and Southern Social will open a new restaurant concept called Coastal Fish Company in the FedEx Event Center.

The moves come after The Kitchen, Kimble Musk’s fine-dining concept, closed in the FedEx Event Center in November.

“Shelby Farms Park Conservancy had the opportunity to select a new partner for food service at the Park, and we’re excited to welcome not one, but two new local restaurant partners to Shelby Farms Park,” said Jen Andrews, CEO of the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy. “Many Park visitors told us they were interested in fast-and-fun, family dining options for active park users, and many were also interested in special occasion and fine dining options capitalizing on the one-of-a-kind sunset views across Hyde Lake.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer two distinct dining experiences that create a wide range of options for our visitors.”

Tom Powers and Russ Graham, owners of Flight and Souther Social, are currently at work to open a new concept, Porch & Parlor, at Overton Square. The Shelby Farms concept will be the fourth restaurant in their portfolio, according to Shelby Farms.

Southern Social/Facebook

The filet at Southern Social.

The new concept will be announced soon. It will serve dinner daily and brunch on Saturday and Sunday. The 4,792-square-foot restaurant space is located on the east end of Hyde Lake next to the FedEx Event Center. It has an additional 3,200 square feet of patio space.

The restaurant space opened in 2016 along with the $52 million “Heart of the Park” capital project. The restaurant space is designed to generate revenue for the nonprofit Shelby Farms Park Conservancy (SPFC).

The Kitchen’s closing came as the company’s “national business strategy evolved,” according to a Shelby Farms news release. The conservancy began searching for a new operator in January and a team interviewed more than a dozen local operators before offering the opportunity to Powers and Graham.

Flight/Facebook

the Flight dining room.

“We immediately recognized the unique opportunity to provide an excellent dining experience in a signature Memphis setting at Shelby Farms Park,” said Graham. “The beautiful sunset views overlooking Hyde Lake will be the perfect complement to the exceptional hospitality, service, and cuisine we will deliver to our guests.”

Cheffie’s was chosen as the grab-and-go vendor to “ensure a wider range of dining options and price points to serve both destination diners and active park visitors and families.”

Cheffie’s Cafe/Facebook

A wrap and chips plate from Cheffie’s.

“At Cheffie’s Cafe, we serve fresh, healthy and delicious food in a casual, family-friendly environment,” said Cheffie’s spokesman Matt Wilson. “These choices are just what Shelby Farms Park visitors are looking for.

“We already know a lot of the Shelby Farms Greenline users from our High Point Terrace location, and we look forward to making new friends at our Shelby Farms Park location.”

Cheffie’s at Shelby Farms Park will offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner selections daily. The 950 square-foot, grab-and-go cafe has indoor seating, along with outdoor seating on the AutoZone Front Porch.

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Music Video Monday: Heels

Today’s Music Video Monday is reaching for that golden chalice.

Heels, Memphis’ own two-man punk riot, will release their debut full-length album on Altercation Records, Good People Even Do Bad Things, on Friday, July 12th. Brennan Whalen and Josh McLane will celebrate with a record release party at the Hi Tone featuring an expanded line up of musical guests.

The video for the first song from the album, “King Drunk,” was created by animator Nathan Parten. It’s like if a creature from classic Dungeons and Dragons illustrations came to life, and then sawed its own head off. One of its heads, anyway. Get some!

Music Video Monday: Heels

If you would like to see your music video on Music Video Monday, email cmccoy@memphisflyer.com. 

Categories
From My Seat Sports

The Memphis Redbirds: Shooting Stars

CREDIT: Courtesy Memphis Redbirds

Jake Woodford is rising. The 22-year-old Memphis Redbirds pitcher will pull off a rare trifecta when he takes the mound for the Pacific Coast League in Wednesday’s Triple-A All-Star Game in El Paso. It will be Woodford’s third All-Star Game in four seasons, across all three primary levels of minor-league baseball. Woodford first earned All-Star recognition with the Class-A Peoria Chiefs (Midwest League) in 2016. He represented Double-A Springfield in last year’s Texas League All-Star Game.
Courtesy Memphis Redbirds

Jake Woodford

Woodford is the second Memphis pitcher in as many years to start for the PCL in the Triple-A extravaganza, following Dakota Hudson (who went on to be named the 2018 PCL Pitcher of the Year). Considering Hudson can now be found in the St. Louis Cardinals’ starting rotation, it’s not a leap of imagination to see Woodford soon starting a game or two at Busch Stadium.

• The Redbirds have had no fewer than six pitchers start the Triple-A All-Star Game, but the honor seems to bring mixed blessings. Dan Haren started the 2004 game and went on to a fine big-league career, earning 153 wins for eight teams over 13 seasons. As for Larry Luebbers (1999), Bud Smith (2001), and Chris Gissell (2005) . . . not so much. Smith tossed a no-hitter for the Cardinals a few short weeks after his Triple-A All-Star appearance, but threw his last major-league pitch in 2002, still shy of his 23rd birthday.

• If the minor leagues are about developing big-league stars, the Memphis Redbirds have met the mission, and then some. With Cardinal shortstop Paul DeJong — a Redbird for 48 games in 2017 — playing in this year’s All-Star Game, a former Memphis player has appeared in every Midsummer Classic since 2003. The most All-Star appearances by a former Redbird? Albert Pujols has been honored ten times and Yadier Molina nine. J.D. Drew — a Redbird in 1998 and ’99 — earned MVP honors at the 2008 event (as a member of the Boston Red Sox).

• I’m asked periodically about my “all-time Redbirds team.” Now with more than two decades in the books, such an all-star team actually carries some weight. Here’s my starting nine (based solely on players’ performances with Memphis):

FIRST BASE: John Gall (2003-06)
SECOND BASE: Stubby Clapp (1999-2002)
THIRD BASE: Patrick Wisdom (2016-18)
SHORTSTOP: Wilfredo Tovar (2017-18)
LEFTFIELD: Allen Craig (2009-10)
CENTERFIELD: Adron Chambers (2010-13)
RIGHTFIELD: Nick Stavinoha (2007-11)
CATCHER: Bryan Anderson (2008-12)
PITCHER: P.J. Walters (2008-11)

• Some All-Star aid appears on the way for both the struggling Redbirds and Cardinals. Outfielder Dylan Carlson represented Double-A Springfield last month in the Texas League All-Star Game. And Carlson was one of two St. Louis prospects to play in last weekend’s All-Star Futures Game in Cleveland. The other was third-baseman Nolan Gorman, barely 19 years old and already a top-50 minor-league prospect. Currently slugging for Class-A Palm Beach, Gorman is unlikely to make his Memphis debut this season, but could well be measuring the distance of the outfield wall at AutoZone Park this time next season.

Categories
Politics Politics Beat Blog

Lee Harris Endorses Council Candidate Davin Clemons

Endorsee Davin Clemons and Mayor Harris

In a move that had been rumored for weeks, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris has intervened directly in the Memphis city election, announcing on Sunday his endorsement of Davin Clemons, Memphis City Council candidate in District 6.

The move can be — and no doubt will be — interpreted as an escalation of the already festering feud between Harris and Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., whose father, Edmond Ford Sr., is making an election bid to recover the District 6 seat he once possessed.

Harris and the younger Ford have had heated exchanges of late, with Ford assailing the mayor publicly during commission meetings and with Harris apparently appearing to Ford to have taunted the extended Ford family during a recent appearance on local television.

In an interview with Richard Ransom of WATN, Channel 24, Harris jokingly blamed his troubles with Commissioner Ford on his previous electoral wins over two Ford family members

Ford took Harris to task for the TV remarks, telling the mayor at the June 24 commission meeting: “Don’t use any member of my family as backup when you don’t have answers. I can’t respect you.” At an earlier meeting, Ford had done the taunting, accusing Harris of looking beyond his mayoral duties to a projected future congressional race.

In his endorsement of Clemons, Harris may also be engaging in some political outreach. Clemons, a police officer who doubles as a minister, is openly gay and has served as the MPD’s official liaison with the LGBTQ community, encountering controversy here and there.

Clemons once filed a suit against the city for what he said was the department’s discrimination against him on the job, based on his sexual orientation and religion. The suit was resolved via a settlement between the parties.

Technically, the endorsement was not by Harris per se but by the Tennessee Voter Project, which Harris founded. The endorsement statement reads as follows:

Dear Friend,
The Tennessee Voter Project (TVP) invests in candidates who directly engage voters and who promise to expand voter access if elected.
Today, we are proud to endorse Davin Clemmons for Memphis City Council District 6.
It feels like Davin has been in service to this community his entire life. He is a minister, a police officer, a community organizer, and he is homegrown. Davin is a graduate of LeMoyne Owen College and his roots run deep in South Memphis. He is running an aggressive campaign in the same City Council district where he grew up. Because of his stances and proven record of accomplishment, supporting Davin is an easy call. That is why we are endorsing him in this campaign and that is why TVP has already contributed $500.

Categories
Food & Wine Food & Drink

Post-Kayak Brews at Meddlesome

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

It all started when Mrs. M was too polite to say, “Hey Chubs, get off the couch,” instead, opting for the more graceful suggestion that we should be one of those “active lifestyle” couples. I assumed that she meant fishing. It’s roughly considered a sport, but if you can bear never to be very good at it, you almost never have to put your beer down. As usual, I was wrong.

That’s how we wound up at Shelby Farms, paddling around in a kayak. It’s cheap, it gets you moving, and the steering — if not exactly intuitive — isn’t hard to master. It’s wet, hot, and humid. The ducks, cub scouts, and other wildlife aren’t too obtrusive. In all, it isn’t a bad way to spend an hour. But be warned: Those kayaks do not have cup holders.

Justin Fox Burks

Meddlesome Brewing Company’s flagship IPA 201 Hoplar

Now I know I’ve written before about how those really hoppy IPAs get bitter and weird if you stand around and let them get hot, which makes them tricky to drink at outdoor events on a blazing day or sticky night. But where there is a will, there is a way. In this case, the way is to go inside. That’s why John Gorrie patented the first “cold air machine.” Granted, he did it for yellow fever patients, but you know how it is when you work up a hankerin’ for the hops.

For the Downtown, Midtown, or even East Memphis set, dropping into the Meddlesome Brewing taproom in Cordova seems a little out of the way, but I recommend it. It’s right around the corner from the boat house at Shelby Farms, and nothing is more important after a mild workout than replacing three times the actual calories you just burned, especially if you happen to be soaking wet and your shoulders are starting to hurt and you were seriously menaced by a turtle earlier. Yes, the brewery is basically in an office park, but inside it’s all “craft brewery chic,” and the food trucks circle. Get in out of the heat, or in our case, the rain — hot rain — and hoist a pint.

It’s hard to imagine a better post-kayak pairing than with a good hoppy IPA like 201 Hoplar. There’s just something about the slight bitterness that makes the experience crisp and refreshing, especially if you don’t have yellow fever. (If, in fact, you do have yellow fever, I’d recommend skipping the tap room and heading over to the nearby Baptist East.)

Meddlesome’s Brass Bellows Ale proved very popular in the Flyer‘s and Aldo’s Beer Bracket Challenge back in March, and with good reason: The beers that do well in these mano-a-mano tourneys usually aren’t very exotic or complicated. This light and malty brew fits that bill perfectly.

Perhaps because, in the beginning, the craft beer scene was dominated by ales, not too many brewers made lagers. Thankfully, that has changed over the last few years. Which — if you are drinking your way down the Meddlesome menu — leads us to a fantastic summer beer: Jerry “The King” Lager, named after a local celeb who has never had a drop of alcohol in his life yet owns a bar on Beale Street. This is because Memphis is a complete and utter mystery, even to Memphians. I digress.

Jerry “The King” Lager is a pale lager that is a little hoppier than you might expect, but it has a lighter touch than the IPA. It goes down easy — maybe a little too easy — and has a clean finish. This is a good hot-weather go-to and, along with air conditioning and things named after pro-wrestlers, is available all over town.

With our shorts now air-dried, we headed to the Cove to eat a dozen oysters. Mrs. M drove. Don’t you sneer; I did all the heavy paddling.

Categories
Music Music Features

Red Hot & Blue: Stanley Booth Strikes Again

In little more than a month following the publication in May of his fourth book, Red Hot and Blue (Chicago Review Press), Memphis writer Stanley Booth experienced a moment in which those close to him feared he might be called upon, in the words of a well-known Dylan lyric, to go knocking on Heaven’s door. Hospitalized for a scary spell and, as we speak, undergoing rehab, the 77-year-old Booth would seem to be on the mend, and his conversation these days turns ever more to the idea of completing yet another volume.

This would be The Pea Patch Murders, a long-planned treatment of some true-life skullduggery that occurred a century or so ago on the soil of the author’s native Georgia.

Meanwhile, the present volume has assembled 29 pieces, subtitled accurately as “Fifty Years of Writing About Music, Memphis, and Motherf**kers,” that go far toward illuminating matters of another kind — including, here and there, the pivotal one of existence. Booth, considered by many to be a nonpareil rock writer, prefers to be known as a “writer,” pure and simple, with no adjectives.

It is a fact, though, that Booth has mostly focused his attentions on matters musical and in particular on the major themes and movements of popular music, both in the American heartland (especially within the cornucopia of Memphis-related sources) and worldwide, as in his masterpiece, The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones, first published in 1984, a story of the Stones from their beginnings as working-class English R&B enthusiasts through the crucial year 1969 that culminated in the fateful free concert at Altamont, California.

Like those English troubadors and numerous others on both sides of the Atlantic, Booth has clearly operated under the spell of roots music and the practitioners of the blues, past and present. Red Hot and Blue is a testament of sorts to that fact, blending encyclopedic detail, revealing anecdote, on-point analysis, and, in many cases, Booth’s personal experiences. The book repeats several of the aricles from the author’s 1991 anthology, (the purposely misspelled) Rythm Oil, often in a newly expanded, unexpurgated form. Other pieces — notably the transcript of a proposed TV documentary on Memphis music and a scenic treament of a film biography of iconic Memphis rhythm-and-blues DJ Dewey Phillips — are brand new.

A number of the subjects dealt with in Red Hot and Blue, like Blind Willie McTell, Joe “King” Oliver, and Ma Rainey, preceded the author’s time, but Booth has done his research and provides good and sometimes graphic accounts of their lives, ordeals, and oeuvres. Other chapters are essentially biographical interviews, in which the artists, prodded at appopriate intervals by Booth, get to tell their own stories; cases in point are the white jazz-blues icon Mose Allison and bluesmen Bobby Rush and Marvin Sease.

A fair number of the chapters are long takes on figures Booth has known and interacted with. In many of these, the author’s own experiences are an essential part of the tale — most memorably, perhaps, in the two sections on ur-Memphis blues singer Furry Lewis. The first of these, “Furry’s Blues,” was the oldest Booth article to be written, circa 1966, but not published until 1970, when Playboy Magazine awarded it a prize for nonfiction. In it, Booth documents the hard but noble life of Lewis, an early blues recording artist reduced to the drudgery of a street-sweeping job. The article was an important factor in a late rebirth of Lewis’ career and reputation.

The author’s first chapter, “Blues Dues,” differentiates between experiencing blues — and life —  at the street level and coming to either through the medium of a record collection. The book ends with the aforementioned Dewey Phillips treatment, a loving take on the life and tragic death of the man who, on a late-night program called, yep, “Red Hot & Blue,” first played an Elvis Presley record on the radio, thereby launching a revolution.

In between are chapters on Elvis, James Brown, Phineas and Calvin Newborn, Otis Redding, photographer William Eggleston, Dr. George Nichopoulos, Charlie Freeman, and others too numerous to mention and too compelling not to read about.

Categories
Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Sushi Jimmi Will Close at the End of July

Sushi Jimmi is closing — again.

The Asian fusion restaurant at 2895 Poplar that originally closed May 23rd and reopened June 15th will close down at the end of July, says Jimmy Sinh, the original owner/chef of the restaurant.

“This is actually for real this time,” Sinh says. “I’ve already made up my mind.”

Sinh closed the restaurant in May to spend more time with his family. And he says he put too much of his own money into the restaurant, which was successful. He says he put a quarter of a million dollars into the business.

He planned to move to Florida, but his family didn’t want to let the restaurant go.

Sushi Jimmi reopened in June with Sinh’s brother, David Sinh, as the new owner, and Jimmy as head chef. But David felt he wasn’t getting much business, Jimmy says. “I told him that business takes a minute.”

But, he says, “I guess he feels like he’s not making money. He just started back up for two weeks. You can’t expect it to be slamming busy. A lot of people have stuff planned out.”

He doesn’t want to “put the pressure” on David, Jimmy says. “He wants to do his own thing. His own restaurant. Which he picks out. Not something that’s been passed down to him. He wants to do his own thing.”

Jimmy also found out he had a lot of responsibility, including dealing with his staff, as head chef. “I just want to end it so I can start over. I’m going to be temporarily working somewhere else. Not sure yet.

“I’m freed up by the end of this month. Whoever wants good help, I’ll be able to help them throughout the year.“

He plans to continue catering parties, including his regular gigs. “I’ll be moving from different kitchens. I’ll fill in spots for people, and that’s what I’ll be doing. I know a lot of restaurants need good help. I wouldn’t mind helping out. I have skills to do any work any restaurant needs.”

Jimmy and his wife and five children, including their newborn, are going to relocate to Florida, he says. “We’re going to be saving up some money so that we can move.”

He and his wife are already pricing houses in Florida to see what will fit in their budget. “I’m moving to Florida next June. I got about a year.

“I just want to spend more time with my family. Not just family and kids, but be with my mom and dad, too,” he says.


Michael Donahue

Jimmy Sinh

Categories
Film/TV Film/TV/Etc. Blog

Spider-Man: Far From Home

Tom Holland as Peter Parker as Spider-Man

What is the essence of Spider-Man? Is it the hyphen?

In a time when people are pushed to accept some kind of singular identity, Spider-Man is hyphenated. Peter Parker (Tom Holland) would prefer to be just an ordinary teenager, but he got bit by a radioactive spider, and with great power comes great responsibility. So he’s trying to live the best of both worlds.

Spider-Man is both a teenager and a superhero, which means he is both a powerful archetype and a member of the target audience for Marvel Comics. He’s like Shazam in that way. Superman is an alien; his everyman routine is just that — a routine. Bruce Wayne is so super-rich, he’s aspirational, but that also makes being Batman unattainable to us down here among the proletariat. Wonder Woman is literally a demigod. Spider-Man is just a teenager like you, only he’s got an opportunity for greatness. How he balances that opportunity with the needs of teenage life is the essence of the Spider-Man.

In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Parker just wants to go on a class trip to Europe, and possibly get with MJ (Zendaya) in the process. Being Spider-Man is cool and all, but kissing MJ on the Eiffel Tower would be truly amazing. Unfortunately for him, Spider-Man is on the agenda of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). Newly Avenger-less after the deaths of Iron Man and Black Widow, and the retroactive retirement of Captain America, he needs a new team, and Tony Stark picked Parker as his successor. Plus, there’s a new threat brewing.

In an opening scene reminiscent of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Fury arrives upon a scene of devastation at a Mexico town with his S.H.I.E.L.D. right-hand woman Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders). A group of inter-dimensional elemental monsters is causing havoc worldwide, and only one hero, the similarly inter-dimensional Quintin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal), aka Mysterio, knows how to fight them.

Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio

The key to making a good superhero movie is having a good villain. Gyllenhaal delivers as the vain, weaselly Beck. He and Holland, who is now in his fifth friendly neighborhood outing, have an enviable chemistry as they move from allies to enemies.

But remember, Spider-Man is also a teenager. So there’s a second movie going on at the same time as the Spider-plot. This one is more Hannah Montana. Peter’s plan to present MJ with a token of his love is repeatedly thwarted by his teacher (J.B. Smoove), Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), and Nick Fury’s catspaws. His best bud Ned (Jacob Batalon) gets a chance to have his own relationship arc while covering up for his super friend’s unexplained absences when Spider-Man shows up.

If those were the only two movies unspooling here, Far From Home would be pretty good. The action sequences are decently constructed, even if some of Mysterio’s psychedelic sequences invite comparison to the superior Into the Spider-Verse. The tour of Europe frame allows for a Bond-esque travelogue feel. It’s a fairly simple comic plot, with thematic overtones that make it relevant in our world, where people rule by illusion.

Spider-Man: Now more like Iron Man!

What drags Far From Home down is the perceived necessity to fit the story into a continuum with the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. Way too much time is spent cleaning up after the events of Avengers: Endgame, especially during the film’s early passages. Tony Stark posthumously chooses to tap Peter Parker as the heir to his technological superhero operation, and it somehow diminishes the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Yet another subplot with Peter’s Stark handler Happy Hogan attempting to woo Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) is simply wince-inducing.

I understand the need to bring Spider-Man into the MCU after years in the Sony wilderness, but after the unabashed triumph of Into the Spider-Verse, there’s a strong argument for making Spidey an animated franchise and turning Marvel’s live-action resources towards finally doing a decent Fantastic Four adaptation. Spider-Man works better when he’s alone, just a scared high school kid trying to negotiate a crazy world where Jake Gyllenhaal wears a fishbowl on his head.