Will & Grace Character Review: Grace Adler

*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television series Will & Grace. Read at your own risk if you have not watched either the previous series or the new series.

There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.

In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Will & Grace to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.

For many, Grace Adler (Debra Messing) is the iconic New York City single woman. She is an interior designer, lives with her gay best friend, Will Truman (Eric McCormack) is single, a little neurotic and also a little crazy. Grace’s story line begins in the pilot when she has broken up with her fiance. Will too, is newly single and they decide to live together.

Grace was born and raised in the suburbs of New York City. The second of three girls, she has the tendency to be dramatic, selfish and tries to get stuff for free if she can. The owner of her own design firm, Grace “employs” socialite Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) as her assistant. Using Karen for her contacts rather than for her administrative skills, Grace is often the butt of Karen’s jokes. But over the years, they have become friends and rely on each other outside of the office.

But while Grace takes all of these jokes in stride, she just has a big heart and treats her friends like family.

To sum it up:  When creating a character, the important word to remember is balance. No character or human being for that matter, is entirely good or entirely bad. We all have a mix of good qualities and bad qualities. As writers, our job is to ensure that the character you are creating has an equal mixture of good and bad. For example, Grace lets Will take care of her when necessary, but also mooches off of him from time to time. Without that balance, Grace would be a flat character, devoid of human complexities that can and will drive audiences away.

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Sticks And Stones Do Indeed Break Bones, But Words Hurt More

As children, many of us learned the following statement:

Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.

While the ideal of this statement is admirable, the reality is that words have the power to hurt even more than a physical blow.

Over the last few days, you know who has been disparaging the press at a rate that is becoming frightening.

Inspiring by the barrage of tweets and speeches claiming that the press is the “enemy of the people”,  Robert Chain called The Boston Globe newsroom fourteen times, threatening violence and murder. Thankfully, Mr. Chain was arrested before he could do actual physical harm to the newspaper’s employees.

All Presidents have a love/hate relationship with the press. However, most Presidents (with the exception of you know who) understand how vitally important it is for a living, thriving democracy to have news media that is not under the thumb of the government. If you know who had his way, only news media that complements him and his world view would be allowed to exist.

What is becoming increasingly scary to me is that there are far too many people in this country who don’t see what is happening. If we, as a nation, don’t step and stand up for our country and our Democracy, I fear that the America that our Founding Fathers dreamed, worked and died for will become a thing of the past.

 

 

 

Throwback Thursday-So Weird (1999-2001)

For some writers, using metaphors is a useful tool to advance the narrative and the character development in ways that the audience does not expect.

Between 1999 and 2001, So Weird was part of the lineup on the Disney channel. Fiona “Fi” Phillips (Cara DeLizia) is a preteen girl who has lost her father. Her widowed mother, Molly Phillips (Mackenzie Phillips) earns her living as a successful musician. Fi is obsessed with anything that is considered to be supernatural. While living on her mother’s tour bus, Fi has some really odd experiences and uses her laptop to discover the truth.

Granted this is a show aimed at young girls, but it’s not that bad. It’s charming enough to get by and the supernatural elements add to a twist to make it stand out from other programs of this ilk.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.

Throwback Thursday-The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000)

There are few old Hollywood performers as memorable as Audrey Hepburn. Remembered for her iconic roles in Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1961), Roman Holiday (1953) and her humanitarian work, Ms. Hepburn will always forever be remembered for heart and her trend setting fashion.

In 2000, Jennifer Love Hewitt starred in the TV movie/biopic, The Audrey Hepburn Story. As a girl, a young Audrey Hepburn (Emmy Rossum) wanted to be a ballet dancer. But her parent’s divorce and World War II changed all that. The movie then follows her career as she becomes a movie star and has to juggle work, fame and relationships.

As biopics go, this TV movie is not bad. But it’s not good either. While Jennifer Love Hewitt is not the best actress, she certainly gives it her all. I just wonder what could have been done differently to make this program more palatable.

Do I recommend it? Sort of.