PAGE 26 • TV
THE BULLETIN • JUNE 10 - 16, 2021
What’s Available NOW On
“Movie: Willy’s Wonderland”
Nicolas Cage (“Mandy”) stars in
this 2021 action comedy as a loner
tricked into doing janitorial work at a
condemned family fun park where the
animatronic mascots are possessed by
a demonic entity. Emily Tosta, Beth
Grant and Ric Reitz are also in the
cast for director Kevin Lewis (“Malibu
Spring Break,” “Dark Heart”).
BY GEORGE DICKIE
Checking in with
PAUL REISER
“Movie: Not Fade Away”
David Chase (“The Sopranos”) helmed
this 2012 drama of 1960s New Jersey
friends who form a rock band. The
soundtrack — overseen by Steven
Van Zandt, a “Sopranos” actor for
Chase and (of course) a veteran of
Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band —
encompasses tunes by everyone from
Bob Dylan to the Rolling Stones.
The cast consists largely of relative
unknowns including John Magaro.
“Movie: Her Name Is Chef ”
“Born To Play”
From ESPN and director Viridiana
Lieberman (“Fattitude”) comes this
2020 feature length documentary
that follows the athletes of the Boston
Renegades women’s tackle football
team as these unpaid players put
their bodies on the line to pursue the
championship that had eluded them
the year before.
Paul Reiser feels a kinship with other comedians.
They generally have similar life experiences, admired the same
people growing up and certainly understand the struggles of trying
to make people laugh under the glare of hot spotlights.
So when he got to work with fellow comic Kevin Best in the
Netflix comedy “Fatherhood,” a feature-length movie that begins
streaming Friday, June 18, it was like working with an old friend –
even though the two had never met previously.
“We all started the same,” the New York native explains. “We
all started in clubs and we all have that background, so there’s a
brotherhood. Like we all know each other’s reputation even though
we haven’t met so there’s an immediate warmth and a bond that
makes it very easy to hit the ground running. But I’m sure he’s that
way even without that particular bond.”
In “Fatherhood,” Reiser has a secondary role as Howard, the
boss of Best’s character Kevin, a single dad trying balance work
and raising a baby daughter following the death of his wife a day
after giving birth. The shoot was short and sweet for the 65-year-
old “Mad About You” star, whose part required him to be on set
for only a few days. But he gleaned a lot about his co-star from
watching his interactions with other cast and crew.
“He’s just very welcoming and he brings a levity and just a joy to
the set,” he says. “And watching him with this beautiful little baby,
who’s adorable, who’s like so beautiful she almost looks fake. ... And
Pete Ferriero (“The Price of Fame”)
directed this 2021 documentary
that shines the spotlight on six
accomplished women of the kitchen
and how they broke down doors to
earn the title of Chef — Elizabeth
Falkner, Fatima Ali, Hillary Sterling,
Esther Choi, Juliet Masters and
Caroline Schiff. Host Leia Gaccione
conducts the interviews. (ORIGINAL)
just seeing him interact with the kid and with the kid’s parents on
the set, you can gauge a lot by how somebody is when you watch
them with kids. And he just exudes a genuine warmth.”
Name: Paul Reiser
Birth date: March 30, 1956
Birthplace: New York City
Education: Has a Bachelor’s Degree in music from the
State University of New York at Binghamton
Family ties: Has two children with wife Paula
TV credits include: “Remington Steele,” “My Two Dads,”
“Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Paul Reiser Show,” “Mad About
You,” “Married,” “TripTank,” “Red Oaks,” “The Romanoffs,”
“Fosse/Verdon,” “Stranger Things,” “The Kominsky Method”
Movie credits include: “Diner” (1982), “Beverly Hills
Cop” (1984), “Aliens” (1986), “Beverly Hills Cop II” (1987),
“Cross My Heart” (1987), “The Marrying Man” (1991), “Bye
Bye Love” (1995), “One Night at McCool’s” (2001), “Funny
People” (2009), “Behind the Candelabra” (2013), “Whiplash”
(2014), “Concussion” (2015), “The Book of Love” (2016),
“I Do ... Until I Don’t” (2017), “The Spy Who Dumped Me”
(2018)
Hidden talents: Recently took the piano back up, after
learning it in childhood