Mallena’s Musings: Supernatural 13.15 “A Most Holy Man”

It’s a dark and foggy night in San Francisco. Humphrey Bogart and Mary Astor are…sorry, I forgot I was supposed to be watching Supernatural.

Okay, let’s get one thing straight. I’ve never seen The Maltese Falcon, I don’t understand references from The Maltese Falcon, because I’m not reviewing The Maltese Falcon.  My lovely editor Nightsky called me a movie buff and The WFB’s cinema encyclopedia girl/woman on social media, this week. While I’m flattered and amused, I’m afraid that the hype isn’t exactly true. I do love movies and television, but my love extends between the 1960’s and the early 2000’s mostly. Yes, I love the big, colorful productions from earlier times, but black and white classics…not so much. Technicolor’s one of the greatest advances of mankind, I think.

Also, I’m going to use a new format for my reviews, hence forth. Details about why; they will follow – at the end of this book (but, there’s a monster at the end of this book, Grover!) …I mean, at the end of the review.

The Road So Far

Mary and Jack are still in the rolling hills of gloomy sand and our brothers need a special ingredient to help in opening another rift. Obtaining that certain substance will not be easy as Sam and Dean must battle gangsters, sweet-talk a femme fatale, and help a priest in his holy quest.

Review

There’s nothing wrong with this episode of Supernatural, except for the fact that it’s not very spooky. There’s also no classic music to be heard, just moody music. The plot moves along rather slowly, making sure to give ample time to the bad guy to make a speech, or two. There are some light-hearted moments that enrich this production and without them, I’d be a little bored. The priest is a delightful character and the red-headed mysterious woman’s a nice addition. Sam always needs a little more appreciation from the ladies, I think. Dean’s in fine form as he winks his way through the story and gives us some great dialog about what he’d do to someone who stole his Baby. My favorite part is when one brother actually acts concerned about another brother and makes a joke about Princess hair. That’s nice to see, since injuries seem to be ignored on this show, nowadays. I miss the sewing up of bleeding flesh with large needles. I can’t believe I mean that, I used to be so squeamish, but I do.

Massi Furlan, as Father Lucca Camilleri, is another great casting choice and really sells all his scenes as a priest on a mission. I appreciate his speech about man contributing to his own society and not expecting God to make everything better. I’m not as enamored with Sam’s speechifying. Haven’t we heard this same thing about a hundred times by now? To me, it’s not telling me anything new and it feels like Sam and Dean just keep trading places on their views of their unusual lives. Is it worth it? Can we stop? Should we stop? Who gets hurt? How can we ever have normal lives? I am interested in these ideas, it just feels like the same story and emotions are being used over and over.

My main complaint with the episode is that Sam and Dean in suits, shooting at other men in suits, isn’t my idea of a good time. I prefer the boys in flannel and chasing monsters in the mud and the dark. There’s got to be a scary monster or supernatural being left out there somewhere that can they battle, right?

Musings

Here’s a brief history of my favorite movies; you might notice that there’s not a single gangster movie or film noir.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Gone with the Wind (1939)

The Sound of Music (1965)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

Jaws (1975)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Ice Castles (1978)

Ordinary People (1980)

SW: The Empire Fights Back (1980)

Airplane! (1980)

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Annie (1982)

Poltergeist (1982)

Kiss Me Goodbye (1982)

Yentl (1983)

Romancing the Stone (1984)

Amadeus (1984)

All of Me (1984)

Aliens (1986)

Beetlejuice (1988)

The Fisher King (1991)

A League of Their Own (1992)

Prelude to a Kiss (1992)

Jurassic Park (1993)

Twelve Monkeys (1995)

Jumanji (1995)

Titanic (1997)

Miss Congeniality (2000)

Moulin Rouge (2001)

Minority Report (2002)

Wall*E (2008)

The Blind Side (2009)

Plus, most movies starring Bill Murray.

I like to laugh, cry, scream (occasionally), and be taken to galaxies far, far, away when I’m at the cinema. For me, the golden age of romantic/sweet comedies and adult/family dramas is mostly in the past. There are still great movies being made, but since so many movies are full of superheroes, explosions, car chases, or are R-rated comedies – I just stay home and watch television, for the most part. Did you like the style and substance of this Supernatural episode? What movies have influenced you and enriched your life? I could have included many more, but things to do and places to go, I’m afraid.

Author’s Note

I’m going to be doing mostly shorter reviews for the following reason: My daily life’s getting unmanageable. Not long ago, an nine-year-old Boy Scout visited my house for a meeting. When he walked through the door he exclaimed, “Wow, your house is clean! My house’s never this clean.” Okay, fast-forward a few years to now – the same young man would not say that again, if he came into my home. He’d probably say, “Why are there piles of junk stacked up against the walls? Are you preparing for the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse?” “Yes,” I would sadly say as I gazed on the multitude of clutter and wept. So, there you have it, instead of scaring children with zombies (and dust bunnies), I’m going to have to spend more time paying attention to getting the other things done I have to do. But, never fear – I’ll still be writing articles and if I leave out things that you really want to discuss, just let me know in the comment section and I will respond. I’m also looking forward to doing more retro reviews, in the future. My passion for Supernatural’s early episodes still burns brightly. Of course, if we get a fantastic new episode, I’ll be sure to unbury myself from the clutter pile and write a glowing review. Till then, the rest of The WFB staff has all the deep analysis covered, thank Chuck.

 

Movie images courtesy of:

Amazon.com