HBO’s ‘Coastal Elites’ Enlists an All-Star Cast to Deliver Uninspired Monologues of Anti-Trump Exhaustion: TV Review

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticKaraoke in its purest form isn’t meant to be “accurate.” Even if an amazing singer steps up to the plate and crushes their song of choice, the best karaoke runs on enthusiasm and a willingness to look ridiculous.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticTen years ago, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and thousands of their shows’ most loyal fans took over the National Mall to throw their support behind a common cause. Having skewered American politics for years — Stewart with flustered liberal rage, Colbert with a barely hyperbolic spoof of conservative pundits — the pair was fed up with the polarization of politics that seemed to be taking over their every waking moment.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticAt this point, there are several things you’re almost sure to encounter when diving into one of Ryan Murphy’s gilded television worlds. No matter where or when it’s set, the show will have impeccable, eye-popping costume and production design.

Coastal Elites, the HBO special written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Jay Roach, are fictional people, each affected by the political atmosphere of 2020 and COVID-19 pandemic in different ways. Bette Midler, Dan Levy, Issa Rae, Sarah Paulson, and Kaitlyn Dever all deliver separate monologues reflecting how their characters are holding up as the world spins amid an unprecedented health crisis. For Levy in particular, who plays an aspiring gay actor named Mark who was on the verge of landing the

Coastal Elites was among the first series to announce a quarantined production, casting Bette Midler, Dan Levy, Issa Rae, Sarah Paulson, and Kaitlyn Dever to perform monologues about life before and during quarantine from five different "coastal elite" points of view. Written by Paul Rudnick and directed by Jay Roach, the roughly 90-minute special starts in January of 2020 with a monologue from Midler about getting into an altercation with a Donald Trump supporter as she worries about the fate

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticThe rules of the “Julie and the Phantoms” world and its omnipresent afterlife are deeply confusing. In 1995, three members of pop-punk band Sunset Curve die suddenly after eating bad hot dogs (yes).

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticWatch “We Are Who We Are” with the volume up. There are no high speed car chases or swelling orchestras in the new HBO/Sky drama. From co-creator and director Luca Guadagnino, the series centers a wandering pack of teenagers living on an American military base in an otherwise sleepy little Italian town circa 2016.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticIn the 175 days since Louisville police killed Breonna Taylor, she has become a fulcrum for a movement. Her unjust death, alongside too many others, galvanized a wounded nation into leaving their homes, taking up protest signs, demanding justice and the kind of accountability from law enforcement that rarely comes.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticIt’s not especially hard to make a triumphant sports season compelling. And for terrible seasons, there’s some perverse joy in satiating curiosity about what exactly went wrong.

Bette Midler apologises after mocking Melania Trump's accent in scathing tweetsAmber Riley to perform Naya Rivera tribute on Jimmy Kimmel Live!Steve Carell's final The Office scenes were 'emotional torture'Nas was too high for Notorious B.I.G.

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticCreating a post-apocalyptic story that feels genuinely new has become a near-impossible task. Even if the real world didn’t feel like it was blurring the line between fact and fiction every day, the “what happens to the world when the world’s already ended?” scenario has been done to death and back.

critics blasted Midler on their own platforms, with radio host Dana Loesch responding: “Xenophobe who speaks one language mocks immigrant who can speak five.”Xenophobe who speaks one language mocks immigrant who can speak five. https://t.co/zgZ9tWVwdr“The party of diversity mocks an American for her accent…” actor James Woods tweeted, while podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey wrote: “Called it.

Bette Midler has spoken out over the backlash she faced after tweeting that US first lady Melania Trump “still can’t speak English”.Earlier this week, the Oscar-nominated star offered her commentary on the Republican National Convention on Twitter, but came under fire when she tweeted during Melania’s speech: “#BeBest is back! A UGE bore! She can speak several words in a few languages.

Bette Midler made a few snide Twitter remarks about the First Lady that didn’t go over too well with her followers.

Read what Bette Midler wrote about Melania Trump – TMZ Lili Reinhart has a message about body positivity – Just Jared Jr These sisters introduced their newborn sons – Celebitchy Cardi B has something to say about “WAP” – TooFab You need these Netflix shows on your radar – Popsugar This star only needed one audition for her superhero role – Just Jared Jr

“Busted!” tweeted Bette Midler, hours after First Lady Melania Trump finished speaking at the second night of the 2020 Republican National Convention. Bette, 74, had been live-tweeting the Aug.

#beBest is back! A UGE bore! She can speak several words in a few languages. Get that illegal alien off the stage!Bette added: “You are one lucky Slovenian! And after all that surgery, you hit a kind of horrible jackpot, chained to (a) colossal idiot.”Anodyne, anodyne, nothing but simple minded pablum.