Comments on: Mad Men Season Four, Episode 5: “The Chrysanthemum and the Sword”

By: Jennifer Baldwin

Jennifer Baldwin — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:52:34 +0000

Anton, I almost wrote that Don and Faye would hook up in the next episode too, but I think Faye is gonna be a tough gal to crack and that she’ll hold out for at least another episode. The old Don Draper would have seduced her by now, but he’s lost his mojo so it’s going to take longer, even though, yes, the foreplay in this ep was pretty good.

As far as Betty, I’ve sensed that Weiner has been setting her up for a total hippie transformation all the way back in season one. Girl is just wound too tight!

I’d like to see him avoid it, though. Too many shades of that Diane Lane movie with Viggo Mortensen where she’s a middle class mom who goes and hangs out with the hippies at Woodstock and discovers herself. Bleh. Somehow I see Betty going the Jackie O route and finding a rich, jet-setting European type to help her shake loose.

And yeah, Don is DEFINITELY going to trip out on LSD!

By: Govindini Murty

Govindini Murty — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 22:05:15 +0000

Jennifer – if you like James Shigeta, then you have got to check out Chi Cao, the handsome as hell star of “Mao’s Last Dancer.” My two favorite scenes in the film are of him dancing in “Don Quixote” (he looks fabulous in Spanish toreador garb) and in “The Rite of Spring” (painted with gold leaf, next to no clothes on). Talk about eye candy for women!

By: Jennifer Baldwin

Jennifer Baldwin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:57:48 +0000

Nancy Kwan is a goddess! She's also one of my favorite things in Flower Drum Song (though, if I'm perfectly honest, the hotness of James Shigeta wins top prize). Her debut film performance in The World of Suzie Wong is simply wonderful. Apparently, a new documentary has just been made about Ms. Kwan's life: To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey. I don't know anything about it other than what it says on IMDB, but it would be interesting to see.

By: Jason Apuzzo

Jason Apuzzo — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:34:31 +0000

It’s charming that people still use the term ‘rogering.’ I thought that was out of style.

By: Anton

Anton — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:12:13 +0000

Jennifer…I think Don and Faye will be sweating between the sheets (sweating…because their affair will be hot, fiery and PASSIONATE) in the next episode. OK…maybe the next episode will just be the foreplay (though that kitchen talk sure seemed like it) and maybe they close the deal one or two episodes later…but we know where this is headed: nasty breakup

As for Betty, she needs a good “rogering,” but not by our Japanese hating WWII vet with the silver hair. He is going to AA and then drop out of the advertising business. Betty needs a real man and not the Mr. Bland she is now married to. I think she will become a hippie chick and go out with long haired guys whom she meets at protests. I can’t see her remaining Grace Kelly forever. She might even..hook up with a Jewish guy!! I am seeing this show branch out from the Town and Country squares that currently hold center stage.

OK…Don and his daughter: Sally is definitely going to join the Manson family. Don will experiment with LSD and become an even better at his craft.

By: Govindini Murty

Govindini Murty — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:08:10 +0000

I agree – that was pretty ironic in “Memoirs of a Geisha.” I thought all three actresses did a great job of playing the geisha though. Jason and I had the opportunity on a trip to Japan some years ago to meet some real geisha at a dinner party hosted by friends at a famous old Japanese teahouse in Kyoto, and these actresses were not far off the mark in approximating what they are really like – very elegant, coy, and flirtatious. However, I wonder what the Japanese thought of that casting in the film!

And speaking of “Flower Drum Song,” my favorite part by far was Nancy Kwan’s singing and dancing. I thought she was terrific – sassy, glamorous, and poignant. It was also fun to see her in the opening episode of “Hawaii 5-O,” which Jason and I were just recently watching on DVD. She is great. They should have brought her back for more episodes. Nancy Kwan makes a good pair with Jack Lord. They’re very different as characters (she’s a flirty hippie, he’s a tough cop), but somehow it works.

By: Prehistoric Woman

Prehistoric Woman — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:52:59 +0000

I saw “Flower Drum Song” on TCM a few months ago and enjoyed it, but it did surprise me that the leads, who are supposed to be Chinese, were played by Japanese actors. There are so many good Chinese actors in America, including in the ’60s, that I was surprised by that. I suppose it was a reverse revenge then some thirty-odd years later when the leads in “Memoirs of a Geisha” – Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, and Michelle Yeoh – were all played by Chinese actresses even though they were supposed to be Japanese geishas!