{"id":1079,"date":"2007-06-11T11:19:55","date_gmt":"2007-06-11T11:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/idolchatter\/2007\/06\/a-dear-john-letter-for-john-fr.html"},"modified":"2007-06-11T11:19:55","modified_gmt":"2007-06-11T11:19:55","slug":"a-dear-john-letter-for-john-fr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2007\/06\/a-dear-john-letter-for-john-fr.html","title":{"rendered":"\u2018John From Cincinnati\u2019 Deserves a ‘Dear John’ Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"John-_idol.jpg\"To paraphrase the titular character, “Some things I know, and some things I do’\u2019t know. But I know that I won\u2019t be watching this show again.”
\nUnlike fellow blogger Valerie Reiss, I didn’t have the benefit of multiple advance copies of HBO’s new series, “John From Cincinnati,” (a spiritual portrayal of the surfing culture in San Diego) so I am only able to base my opinion on the premiere. But one thing is certain, I don’t quite see the “potential<\/a>” she does. Give me a premiere with real, kinetic energy like “Rome,” that captures my attention and has me sitting through the entire first season in one long afternoon, not “potential.”
\nInstead of a young “Johnny Depp,” I instantly pegged the character J.C. as a John Mayer look-a-like, idiot-savant who\u2019s able to pull things out of his pockets a la Captain Caveman–reaching into his khaki-covered caverns and pulling out precisely what is needed at that moment. Yes, John acts as a sort of “Zen mirror,” for the characters, but I saw him more as the id who facilitates what would be internal conversations, but externally. He plants suggestions with his Elmo-esque gibberish and pigeon-like head movements, so that the Yost family (the surfing family around which this show centers) can teach themselves and learn invaluable life lessons.
\n“It\u2019s a testament to both the writers and actor that this is more fascinating than annoying to watch,” writes Valerie. I just found it annoying. New age twee.<\/p>\n


\nWhere\u2019s the originality, the innovation for which HBO is known? An oft-times mono-syllabic, messiah-esque mysterious stranger comes to town and helps people rediscover their bliss. That could be a half dozen movies, if not more: “Starman,” “K-Pax,” or “Being There” with Peter Sellers. Perhaps centering it around a surfing family imbues it with an interest that I just don\u2019t see, as I grew up far from any coastline–waves of grain are my surf.
\nThe story arcs are as choppy as the waters, involving threads of vengeance by a gay, lotto-winning multimillionaire, a Jewish lawyer who surfs and worships the Yost family, and a hyper-vigilant, seemingly shell-shocked ex-police officer. A friend of mine summed it up perfectly saying, “It’s a character circus, or character assembly–putting a bunch of overly quirky characters in a setting to throw them into arbitrary conflicts eked out of their eccentricities for purposes of eliciting a moral lesson.” Right on, dude!
\nThe only reason I would give “John” another go is the remarkable cast: Bruce Greenwood (the patriarch of the surfing family), in particular. In the premiere, much of Brain Van Holt\u2019s (addict son Butchie) acting consists of flailing arms and screaming into a cell phone. Even Rebecca De Mornay\u2019s performance (the matriarch of the Yost family) lacks nuance at times and comes across as shrill. But Greenwood is solid. And, even though I find it ridiculous that this accomplished Quebecois actor is spouting out surf-jargon, in the end, it may be Greenwood that saves “John” and not the other way around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To paraphrase the titular character, “Some things I know, and some things I do’\u2019t know. But I know that I won\u2019t be watching this show again.” Unlike fellow blogger Valerie Reiss, I didn’t have the benefit of multiple advance copies of HBO’s new series, “John From Cincinnati,” (a spiritual portrayal of the surfing culture in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018John From Cincinnati\u2019 Deserves a 'Dear John' Letter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2007\/06\/a-dear-john-letter-for-john-fr.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018John From Cincinnati\u2019 Deserves a 'Dear John' Letter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To paraphrase the titular character, “Some things I know, and some things I do’\u2019t know. 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