The Grouchy Editor

Don’t mess with these two

A common complaint about “reality” shows like Survivor: They aren’t real.

Outlast on Netflix might not be the real deal, either, but it certainly seems a lot more lifelike than most shows of its ilk. Rather than a bunch of Millennials lounging on a tropical beach gossiping about each other, Outlast has an ex-con heroin addict stealing sleeping bags from a competing team, the members of which must then spend a sub-freezing, rainy night at their camp in the wilds of Alaska. 

We’ve got conditions so dire that not one, but three, contestants drop out of the show in the first couple days. Oh, and the whole area is swarming with bears.

And did I mention the two female contestants (pictured above) who make Eva Braun and Lizzie Borden seem like Laverne and Shirley?

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After watching this awkward, delightful Oscar-night interview with Hugh Grant, I’ve decided that he is my new favorite movie star.

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We have to stop bailing out these banks. Let them fucking fail and if there is hell to pay, then there is hell to pay.

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The year 2023 — just like 2022 and 2021 — sucks. I advise that you do what I’ve been doing. Escape, if only for a few hours, to a simpler time.

I’ve been watching the 1950s Francis comedies. You remember Francis, the talking mule? Whoever was responsible for casting the series was a genius — and I’m not talking about the performing mule. Chill Wills as the gravel-voiced jackass and Donald O’Connor as the sidekick whose voice cracks like a kid at puberty, are a hoot.

For some unfathomable reason, YouTube doesn’t have the original movie (they made seven Francis movies), so I recommend Francis Goes to the Races and Francis Covers the Big Town.

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This is the kind of story you find in Popular Mechanics these days?

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We need lawsuits — and we need them yesterday — against publishers like Amazon who are hiring snot-nosed college grads to “edit” classic books by retroactively removing “sensitive content.”

Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming — even George Orwell, who warned us about this kind of crap — I really don’t care if their descendants are fine with “sensitivity readers” censoring these books. Leave the damn stories alone.

It’s especially egregious to alter an e-book (talking about you, Kindle) after it’s been purchased:

I suppose this means nothing is safe. Music, movies, TV shows … all of them subject to the whims of woke “editors.”

Lawsuits, please. Yesterday.

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Poker Face

I am going back and forth on this show. One of the early episodes, 2 or 3, had a completely arbitrary bit of MAGA-bashing, when the heroine is listening to the radio in her car. There was no narrative reason for the scene, other than to trumpet to Trump supporters: We here in Hollywood think you suck.

On the other hand, the fourth episode, with Chloe Sevigny as an aging rock star, had a truly brilliant final reveal.

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Scott Adams has been cancelled. OK, he’s one guy.

But if this poll about race relations that Adams was referring to is accurate, how is that not a much, much bigger story?

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Yup, what she said.

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

Gutfeld on Maher’s Podcast:

1)  I enjoyed watching the two veteran funnymen reminisce about old TV shows, old movies, and old music, probably because I am, in terms of age, a fellow traveler in their world. (I’m a bit younger than Maher, and a bit older than Gutfeld.) It was good to see longtime liberal Maher and longtime conservative Gutfeld mostly avoid politics — and completely avoid tearing each other’s throats out.

2)  I don’t know if it was the booze and marijuana talking, but it was a bit rich to listen to Maher expound on the secret of his success — speaking truth to power and always telling it like it is — when, in terms of our current political climate, in which nearly every entertainment institution embraces the political left, it is Gutfeld, not Maher, who is David battling Goliath.

3)  Maher is the wittier of the two; Gutfeld is the nicer.

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The Weasel and the Wuss 

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.                                         Weasel                                                                   Wuss

The problem with interviewing people like Merrick Garland (by Congress) and Christopher Wray (by Fox News) is that any topic that might prove embarrassing to them — or worse — is declared off-limits due to “ongoing investigation,” “internal protocols,” or “national security.”

On the other hand, if answering the question might put them in a positive light, they have no problem complying.

The only way to get accountability from these liars is to put them on trial.

But what are the odds of that?

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After two stellar seasons on Netflix, Mindhunter has been cancelled by the streaming service. That’s too bad. It was a good show. The serial-killer drama was a David Fincher project.

The problem: Season one premiered in 2017. Season two streamed in 2019. The show’s future was in limbo until now, which you might have noticed is the year 2023.

That’s a long time between seasons. With so many shows on so many channels, it’s difficult to keep track of the series you’ve watched, much less maintain any sort of “buzz” to support a favorite show’s renewal.

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I must be getting (more) lazy. Last week, I posted short “reviews” of the political clowns we see in the news.

This week, I’m posting short reviews of movies and TV shows I’ve been watching.

The good news: Unlike the aforementioned political clowns, most of these movies and TV shows are pretty decent.

Red Rose — A British miniseries aimed at, I guess, the young-adult demographic. The twisted plot reminded me of The Game. Or The Truman Show. Or Black Mirror: bad things happening to teenagers, thanks to modern technology.

I liked the kids and the premise, but the ending was less than satisfying. Grade: B+

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Top Gun: Maverick — Read my review here.

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The Strays — Based on the plot synopsis, I was expecting super-woke dreck. But after a slow start, this British thriller about the perils of trying to ditch your past becomes … interesting. To say the least. Grade: B+

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M3GAN — It was … just OK. At heart it’s simply yet another evil doll movie. You know, like the “Chucky” franchise. Grade: B-

Next week — short reviews of my short reviews.

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Speaking of “Zelinaky,” the Ukrainian pit bull is sounding more and more like he believes he is the de facto American president. He does not just want, but is entitled, to your tax dollars.

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Apparently, “Libs of TikTok” are now leading our grand juries.

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Unfiltered Opinions

Hey, I don’t know any of these people personally. Maybe they just come off as awful human beings on TV. Their mothers probably love them. They might have pets. The following opinions are just my gut reactions to them.

There are more liberals than conservatives on this list because liberals are in power and are doing the most damage.  The scum:

Pete Buttigieg — a clueless, cowardly mother’s boy.

John Fetterman — a liar who gets depressed and then expects your sympathy.

Don Lemon — a narcissistic idiot who never had a “prime,” and never will.

Graham and McConnell — establishment hacks who have disdain for their constituents.

Kamala Harris — too stupid to have the job. Any job.

Biden — the biggest traitor in American history.

Joy Behar — a loud-mouthed fool.

Liberal “firsts” (gay, female, black, fill-in-the-blank) — setting back their individual “tribes” by being, in general, astoundingly incompetent.

Zelenskyy — this guy needs to negotiate with Putin, or find a new sugar daddy to fund his war.

Raquel Welch — an amazing piece of ass.

Teachers — always wanting more money but already have more than they deserve (and stop blaming your unions; you voted for them)

Greta Thunberg — a spoiled brat turned homicidal adult.

I could go on and on.

I also could be wrong.

But I doubt it.

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

Sadly, the above headline is wishful thinking. Nothing bad ever happens to liberals in power. Instead, they get golden parachutes and new jobs at Harvard.

She’s not the most articulate person in D.C., but I admire Boebert for saying out loud what so many of us are thinking.

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If I was an activist, I would organize large, pro-life-apparel-wearing groups to swarm the damn place every day until summer. Oh, yeah, and heads need to roll at the Smithsonian.

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Want to know how low I’ve sunk? Today is a relatively nice, sunny day, yet I’ve spent the afternoon watching a televised double-bill of Willard and Ben. The 1970s rat movies. 

I have no excuse.

Although I’ll have to say, the Michael Jackson title tune “Ben” remains oddly compelling.

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I might be sinking to new lows, but I haven’t reached the depths of Rip van Dinkle, who continues to be emasculated by Filipino artist Kryanne. (That’s her in the lower-right corner pulling down Rip’s pants.)

© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)

The Chinese Balloon

At least we now have an idea of what to expect in the event of a nuclear attack on America.

The Biden administration will either Plan A: not do a thing, and hope that no one notices that Montana has been obliterated off the face of the Earth, or Plan B: dither for a week trying to decide what to do, during which time the rest of the continental U.S. will become a pile of ashes.

This is the doddering, perverted, traitorous fool you voted for, American Democrats. Because, you know, you didn’t like Trump.

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YouTube kept telling me to watch talk-show host Lex Fridman, so I finally caved and watched a few episodes. My thoughts? Fridman is just a new Charlie Rose for the current generation. Rose was just the new Tom Snyder for his generation. Snyder was just the new … I dunno, Edward R. Murrow, perhaps?

That’s not a slam on Fridman, just an observation.

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Shows to watch (or not)

Fauda — Israel’s defense-forces thriller is still as tense and exciting as ever in its fourth season. But I will have to say, I am becoming a bit burned out on its repetitive formula: scheming bad guys, vacillating decision-makers, family angst. Repeat, rinse, repeat, rinse.

The Snow Girl — The Netflix series is nothing you haven’t seen before (child kidnapping drama), but it’s very well done.

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