Where Have All The Stories Gone?

Is it me, or is there nothing on TV these days?
Yeah, yeah I know I should be reading, writing or learning to play Mah Jong like half the planet seems to be doing.
Truth is, I am reading and writing but I’m also eager to lose myself in a good movie or streaming series.

I have the usual array of pricey services: Netflix, Apple TV, HBO, Prime. Something happened to my Hulu account. I don’t know what. I’ve  given up on trying to get it back.

Regardless, I can’t find anything to watch. I don’t want to be terrorized, I don’t want a documentary about a serial killer and I don’t much care for the endless array of derivative stories that mine the Super Hero canon.

Nothing wrong with them,  but I just want to lose myself in a story, a romantic comedy or a well written drama.
There was a time, a few years back, when I had the opposite problem. Too many things to watch, not enough time. I think they called that era “Peak TV”. They may as well call this era Bleak TV.
Anyway, I found a station called Tubi, that has old shows and old movies.

So I decided to dive back into some old favorites to see if they held up.

I started with Neil Simon’s “Goodbye Girl” and “Chapter Two” both starring Simon’s ex-wife Marsha Mason.
Marsha was great. The movies were OK. The Goodbye Girl held up better,  but Chapter Two was lacking something. I can’t quite name it.

Then I tried “State and Main” by acclaimed playwright David Mamet, a terrific writer not such a terrific guy. Mamet has become irascible as he’s aged. I suppose that’s understandable. But State and Main didn’t hold up. Only two characters to root for out of a large cast of creeps.  It just wasn’t enough.

Wanting to feel better, I spent a rainy evening watching Dudley Moore in Romantic Comedy. It was…not very good.
Then I turned to “Love and Death” with one of my favorites Diane Keaton. Yes, I know it’s a Woody Allen film and it’s not politically correct to watch but I was feeling nostalgic. Love and Death held some sentimental value for me. It was the movie I took my first ever date to see at the Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove Long Island in 1975.

I was in 6th grade, the new kid in school and a very nice young woman named Sue took pity on me. We went to the movies with her older sister and her boyfriend who drove. Sue and I sat in the back seat and watched them kiss at every red light.

That behavior continued throughout the whole movie. They didn’t see a single frame. I sat in my seat frozen, staring straight ahead as Sue waited for me to hold her hand, or put my arm around her. I couldn’t.

I arranged for a friend to meet me at the theatre. I made several excuses to leave the movie and seek advice from my friend in the lobby. He had no wisdom to offer.
Just some raisinettes. To this day, on the rare occasion when I go to the movies, I always try to buy those chocolate covered raisins—a genius invention that all these years later I still find irresistible.
But I digress.

Love and Death was unwatchable. Diane Keaton was magical.
Still, optimistic I turned to an old favorite “No Way Out” an early Kevin Costner vehicle that also stars one of my favorite actors Gene Hackman.
I remember this film as being extraordinary. My memory was… wrong.
It felt very 80s, complete with annoying synthesizer music and some serious holes in the plot.
Sigh.
I give up. For now.

I haven’t lost my faith in old movies. But I think I have to be a little bit more discerning. “The Godfather”, “Unforgiven”, “All The Presidents Men,” “Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid,”  “American Graffiti”,  and “Good Will Hunting” hold up well.

Still, while I love those movies I long to be swept away by something new.
A modern day “When Harry Met Sally” or a new buddy movie with stars that gel like Newman and Redford.
That would be something.
Come on Netflix. Come on HBO. You can do it.
Meanwhile, any suggestions?