The King's Speech

In prewar England, Prince Albert, Duke of York (Colin Firth) is afflicted by a speech impediment that renders him a stuttering mess in front of an audience. As his father, King George V (Michael Gambon), is aging, and his brother, David (Guy Pearce), is too smitten with a scandalous American socialite to exercise his royal duties, Albert is terrified that he may one day end up on the throne. To remedy this, his wife, Elizabeth, Duchess of York (Helena Bonham Carter) seeks the services of Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), a failed Australian actor-turned-speech therapist. Though the temperamental prince clashes frequently with Logue over the latter’s unorthodox methods, progress is made and the two become friends.

As The Queen proved a few short years ago, critics and moviegoers alike can’t resist a good film that pries into the guarded lives of the royal family. In The King’s Speech, the emphasis is on good. Oscar winner Colin Firth handles his difficult role superbly, transforming a future king (the epitome of prestige) into a sympathetic underdog, a competent naval officer thrust unwillingly onto the thrown. He nails not only the stutter, but the frustration, fear, and fatherly benevolence as well. Carter and the chameleon like Rush match him at every turn; as the future Queen Mother, the former is plucky and resolute, and as the quirky, irrepressible Logue, the latter never misses a beat. Pearce (several years younger than Firth and an Australian) feels miscast, but he does his best to make the future King Edward VIII a weak, irresponsible bastard.

Directed by Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech is well-shot, with a convincing period feel. The script comes courtesy of David Seidler, himself a stutterer. Though Logue’s actual notes were incorporated, there is some obvious dramatization and fictionalization at play. It’s highly doubtful, for instance, that the titular speech drew cheering crowds outside the palace, but were this rendered as it happened, it would have made for a very flat conclusion.

Even without the royal intrigue, The King’s Speech makes for a compelling study in overcoming adversity. The fact that being able to address his people allows the king to go toe-to-toe with the notoriously well-spoken Hitler ups the stakes and makes this all the more rewarding.

8.25/10

Emma Key's Flat Top Grill

Located at 2206 Walker Avenue, Emma Key’s Flat Top Grill offers burgers, sandwiches, salads, milkshakes, and more with a New Orleans twist. Takeout and limited outdoor seating are available.


The intersection of Walker and Elam Avenues in the heart of the Lindley Park neighborhood has become a haven for repurposing. Just as the Lindley Park Filling Station is a former gas station, its across-the-street competitor used to be a barbershop. That gives Emma Key’s some retro charm, but it also makes for very limited seating. Come here during a busy lunch hour and you’ll barely have room to stand, let alone find a seat and eat. That and the meager (though friendly) staff make this a poor choice if you’re famished or in a hurry.


Depending on your cravings though, the food may be worth the wait. The burgers here are among the best in Greensboro. Made fresh and served hot off the grill (so hot you shouldn’t try to pick them up right away), the misshapen patties might not be much to look at, but they are juicy and flavorful. A plethora of toppings (including several kinds of cheese and house-made Tabasco ketchup) lets you have your steak(burger) and eat it too.


Emma Key’s offers no steals, but you’ll still pay less here than you will next door (Sticks n Stones) or across the street (Fishbones or The Filling Station). Burgers with no sides run from $4.50 and up while plain fries are $1.85. At $4.50, shakes are half a buck away from spawning Pulp Fiction jokes.


As bare-bones burger joints go, Emma Key’s satisfyingly delivers, but the potential for crowding and wait times and the less than ideal parking situation means would-be patrons should come with a backup plan in mind.


7.25/10

Chemistry and Other Stories

This 2007 collection features 13 stories, including O. Henry Prize-winner “Speckled Trout” and “Pemberton’s Bride,” which was later expanded into the novel Serena.


Fishing, hunting, faith, working the land – these are among the most stock elements of Southern writing, and it takes a certain virtuosity to make them seem bold and engaging. An established poet, Ron Rash has just that virtuosity and puts it to good use in this collection. In the title story, a boy finds horrors at the bottom of a lake when tries to emulate his father, who took up diving (and religious fervor) to cope with a mental illness. “Blackberries in June” deromanticizes the bedrock values of hard work and family by showing how a young couple’s relatively modest ambitions are crushed by obligation and misfortune.


As a self-professed fan of “gut-punch” fiction, the author’s penchant for uncompromising endings sits well with me. But for those who expect their fiction to offer at least a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel, “Deep Gap” shows how a father and a son are able to reconcile after the former loses everything. Rash’s fiction often ventures into strange territory – a woman encourages her husband to go on a date so he can write an article about the experience, a country woman hires a surveyor so she can accurately fill out her murdered son’s death certificate, etc. – but it never feels inauthentic.


These stories are not for the faint of heart, and some may feel that Rash incorporates a monotonous level of tragedy. But if ever there is a book that does the Appalachians right, this is it.


8.5/10

Waiting For "Superman"

This 2010 documentary from Davis Guggenheim examines the failures of the American public education system. The lives of several students and their families are explored, and prominent figures in education are interviewed.



The state of our schools is not something that can be fully explored in a two-hour movie, but Waiting For “Superman” serves as an excellent starting point. It pulls no punches, rightly assigning blame to change-resistant, accountability-shy teacher unions and their political surrogates who believe the solution to everything is “more money!” For that, it was savaged. Interestingly enough, Guggenheim is not a free marketer, but a political progressive. He is perhaps best known for the paean to climate change advocacy that was An Inconvenient Truth.


Of course, Waiting For “Superman” still could have been a failure even if it hit all the right philosophical notes. Either a dry-as-dust presentation or a mega-dose of bombast would have alienated the viewer. Thankfully, the even-voiced Guggenheim picked his spots carefully. Standouts include the charismatic Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone, and Michelle Rhee, the no-nonsense former Washington D.C. schools chief whose courageous push for merit pay for teachers sparked a firestorm of controversy. There is also a look at New York City’s infamous “rubber rooms” (where bad teachers are sent in lieu of being fired) and an emotional closing montage of lotteries that determine placement in successful charter schools. The pacing is inconsistent at times, but the slow moments are never long or numerous enough to make you want to give up.


Because of the weight given to the charters, some have criticized the film as offering them up as an idealized solution. It’s a fair point, but, in the scheme of things, also a minor one. Waiting For “Superman” does not – and should not – attempt to provide all the answers when it comes to education, but it at least asks the right questions. That alone makes it worth watching.


8/10