Just like the last few years, I wanted to make a list of the best pop culture that I saw in the past 365 days. That said, the past year has been insane, and I recognize that a list like this is heavily influenced by what gave me temporary comfort in trying times. Let’s be honest: if I could only watch one thing released in 2020, it would be this, on a loop:
So few of the entries are movies I saw in a theater (remember those?), and not present on the list are comfort viewings of old shows and movies that helped my wife and I survive the last few months (binge rewatches of “The Sopranos,” “Mad Men,” “Sex and the City,” “The Good Wife,” and viewings of “Tootsie,” “Big,” “The Money Pit,” “The Godfather,” etc.) So, let’s get to it, with the caveat that this year proved – perhaps more than ever – pop culture can actually help with mental and physical health, by providing shelter from the storm.
(And, as another quick aside, one of our rewatches was “OJ: Made in America.” There was a whole section of the documentary about racial injustice in Los Angeles in the 60s and 90s, and words said then could have neatly applied to America during the George Floyd protests. That’s a clumsy way of saying 2020 presented an interesting lens through which old entertainment took on new relevance.)
Pre-Pandemic:
– Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time Tournament: Wow, this feels like it aired a million years ago, doesn’t it? Jeopardy! always was great comfort food – I missed it dearly when it was on hiatus due to Covid – and it will be so tough to watch without Alex Trebek (more on him below). But what a fun entry in the gameshow canon this limited event was.
-Curb Your Enthusiasm
– Birds of Prey (the last movie I saw in a theater): this movie had no business being as good, as fun, as entertaining as it was. Ewan McGregor looked like he was having the time of his life. This is “camp” in the best sense.
– High Fidelity: Zoe Kravitz was really the perfect choice to play a gender-flipped version of Rob, and expanding to several episodes allowed the show to go deeper than the movie for a lot of characters.
– Little Fires Everywhere: Well, at least the first six episodes, before it gave a completely unsatisfying ending. But Reese (who seemed to be doing her best Madeline-from-Big-Little-Lies impression) was aces, and the kids’ casting was perfect.
– McMillion$: really insightful documentary into the scam of the McDonald’s monopoly game.
Started before the pandemic, but then Covid hit:
– The Plot Against America: Random fact, the week before Covid really hit New York, my wife and I went to the 92nd Street Y and saw a talk with most of the principal cast and David Simon. Remember going to things? Anyway, this show had Zoe Kazan, so the moment it aired I knew it was going to be on my best-of list for the year.
What everyone watched at the beginning of Covid:
– Tiger King: Joe Exotic may be the breakout star of the year. What a twisty, pulpy, goofy documentary.
What got me through the first few weeks of the pandemic:
– LEGO Masters: But how did Boone and Mark not win?
Hugh Jackman in “Bad Education.” Maybe the best performance of the year?
– Defending Jacob: Just a quality show, with some suspense, (family) drama, and good performances all around.
– The Parks & Rec Special and SNL at Home: When Covid first hit, and it felt like we might never see people again (at least, that’s how it felt in New York City), seeing some familiar faces and getting some laughs during the dregs of the stay-at-home days really came through. And the last pre-tape from the final SNL at home in May really hit me.
OK, this Covid thing is sticking around. What else did we watch?
– Palm Springs: I love movies about time travel, and time loops, and Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti were fantastic.
– The Last Dance: I’ll always root for the ’93-’94 Knicks more than any other team, but it was fun watching the ins and outs of the 90s Bulls. But just because, here’s John Starks with “The Dunk”
– Mythic Quest: From many of the people who write “It’s Always Sunny” came a really funny show about video game creators. One standout episode had Cristin Milioti (there she is again!) and Jake Johnson as a married couple who disagree about the direction of their franchise; it’s both heart-wrenching and hilarious.
– Sarah Cooper’s impressions: The only way I could find any of this funny.
– Class Action Park: Just an insane documentary about the, well, insane times at Action Park in New Jersey.
– Johnny Bananas wins his record seventh (!) Challenge: And he did it by beating long-time rival Wes in an elimination, too.
– Ted Lasso: What a fun, cheery, optimistic show. A rare ray of sunshine this year.
– I Know This Much is True: What a bleak, depressing, tough show to watch. Amazing performances from Mark Ruffalo and Rosie O’Donnell.
– Sports coming back: Still weird to see empty stadiums but having the Yankees, the US Open, an the NFL back brought back some comfort.
– A Teacher: Kate Mara gave an Emmy-worthy performance. What a great, pulpy, sudsy show.
– The Good Lord Bird: Ethan Hawke gave what might be the best performance of his career.
– Mank: The move that stick with me the most after I watched it all year. Knockout performance from Gary Oldman and I loved the flashbacks, especially to the 1934 California gubernatorial race.
– Weird shows: Flight Attendant, Dispatches from Elsewhere, and The Third Day were all decidedly weird, to different levels, but at least provided good distraction. And the Flight Attendant (pardon the pun) stuck the landing!
– The Mandalorian Season 2: Grogu! Ahsoka Tano! Bo-Katan! BOBA FETT! What a glorious sequel season.
– The Trial of the Chicago 7: Sure, I’m an unabashed Sorkin fan, but when you also get standout performances from Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, and (briefly) Michael Keaton, your movie is making my best-of list.
The Hardest I’ve Laughed All Year:
– Boart 2
Hope!
Glad Steve Kornacki finally got some sleep, too. He was MVP of election night/week.
Despair:
What a sad year. Beyond the hundreds of thousands of people who have tragically passed away from Covid-19, we lost giants in the entertainment industry, including Kobe Bryant, Kirk Douglas, Chadwick Boseman (what a huge, gigantic, incalculable loss), Alex Trebek (ditto), Carl Reiner (without whom we’d have no “Dick van Dyke Show” or some of the best “Sid Caesar” bits”, RBG, Sean Connery, Eddie Van Halen, John Lewis, Regis Philbin, Naya Rivera, Wilford Brimley, Kelly Preston, Jerry Stiller, Max von Sydow, Fred Willard, John Prine, and many more. RIP to all.
Swings and misses:
These were movies or TV shows about which I was excited…until I sat down and watched them: Let Them All Talk, American Pickle (two Seth Rogens is officially one too many), Hillbilly Elegy (and I am a die-hard Amy Adams fan!), Bill & Ted 3 (aka Bill & Ted Save the Music), The King of Staten Island, On the Rocks, Upload, Space Force, The Lovebirds, and the end of The Undoing.
It’s been a weird year, if “weird” weren’t a gross understatement. Australian wildfires, Kobe Bryant dying in a helicopter crash the day of the Grammy’s, the NBA suspending its season when Tom Hanks announced he was infected with Covid, the racial (in)justice protests, the election, murder hornets….2020 was a lot. A LOT. So, while I was derelict in posting, especially in the back half of the year, as always I want to thank you, dear reader, for sticking with me. Here’s hoping 2021 brings a lot more positivity.
The PSA 