SHOWTIME
Okay, right up front I am going to acknowledge that Mary Louise Parker is my very favorite actress. I myself have been an actor for well over 40 years and I know just enough to spot a great one. And for quite sometime she's been my favorite. Nobody can deliver with such honesty. But this is about the show Weeds. And coincidently Mary Louise Parker is what makes this show happen.
Ms. Parker plays Nancy Botwin, a vulnerable suburbanite who is widowed by a loving husband who left her in financial straits. In order to maintain her current standard of living, she becomes the upper class suburban marijuana dealer. Business is okay, and then the no-good brother of her dead husband shows up, to keep things in a constant state of turmoil. Andy (played by the excellent Justin Kirk (of Angels in America and more recently Modern Family and soon a sitcom called Animal Practice which has all the promise of Me and the Chimp and is way beneath his talent) decides Nancy and a new hybrid form of pot she and one of her dope connections, Conrad Shepard have worked up should go big time. Since Nancy is the mother of two boys, the self-centered piece of crap Silas, and the younger too precocious for his own good Shane, the new pot becomes known as "Milf-weed". So toss in do-gooder neighbors, corrupt suburb politicians, the main weed suppliers (some who are just a little too stereotypical), and you have interesting plot lines. In fact the end of Season 2 was the single greatest cliff-hanger I have ever seen.
The pluses are so many, I know not where to begin. Elizabeth Perkins as Neighborhood Watch City Council neighbor Celia Hodes is interesting, quirky, and very daring. She is a joy, and adds that un-nerving element that helps make this show work. Kevin Nealon (SNL), and corrupt city councilman Doug Wilson is great, and the aforementioned Romany Falco as Conrad the dope man that believes in Nancy is superb. This guy has a big future. I hope.
Another plus is the opening theme song which is "Little Boxes" performed by a different and varied group of artists each episode.
The minuses? I only have one really. It's Silas. The oldest son. I hate him. He's well written, I just hate the character. He is self absorbed, whiney, narcissistic little punk and this miserable character hasn't added much. He helps add a few more problems for Nancy, but she doesn't need many more; she doing quite well at creating her own. Silas is the only weak link in the chain of wonderful characters.
Weeds like most of the shows on my list, requires regular watching or it won't make much sense. This is not a "catch it when I can" type of show. Get it season by season and watch every episode. Mary Louise and I would appreciate it.
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