Madison Messenger - April 4th, 2021

www.madisonmessengernews.com
opinion
April 4, 2021 - MADISON MESSENGER - Page 19
Odenkirk saves ‘Nobody’ from being unwatchable
What does it take to be a believable action
star? In the past, all it took was being
a male with a mountain of muscle, a spoton
oil game to highlight the tan, or a strategically
shorn tuft of hair on an otherwise
smooth chest.
Over the years, the qualifications have
changed, allowing a new wave of people
(women, even!) with less buffed and bronzed
physiques to share a place on that mantle.
The latest example of an actor playing
against type and donning the glistening cape
of a potential new action star is the great and
underappreciated Bob Odenkirk. With a
background in comedy and his most known
role being the morally dubious attorney Saul
Goodman in the “Breaking Bad” universe,
Odenkirk has not had many chances to be a
man of physical action. After all, with his
slight frame and sweet face, he doesn’t exactly
scream, “I can mess you up.” But he
was given that chance with “Nobody,” and
you can tell he relished the opportunity.
Taken as a whole, “Nobody” is not a great
film. There is little substance and the secondary
characters are paper thin, but
Odenkirk makes it watchable. He plays his
role with vulnerability, gravitas and slyness,
all the while giving the audience a
the reel deal
Dedra Cordle
wink, knowing
you’re thinking,
“This is the guy
they chose for this
role?” But that is
what makes the
film somewhat compelling—
he plays it
so well that if any other actor, especially a
known action star with muscles, had said
yes it would be largely unbearable.
In “Nobody,”Odenkirk plays Hutch
Mansell, an ordinary man living an ordinary
existence. A montage shows that all of
his days are the same: he wakes up, jogs,
does chin-ups in a passive-aggressive manner
near a billboard with his wife’s face on
it, rides a bus to work, and stares at spreadsheets
for hours while working alongside
his father-in-law and obnoxious brother-inlaw.
It’s a normal life, minus the chin-up
thing, and he is mostly OK with it.
All of that changes one night when
Proper mowing techniques
improves lawn’s appearance
Proper mowing practices are a critical
part of a healthy lawn. The length at which
grass is mowed is the most important part
of mowing. When a lawn is mowed too short,
the grass thins out, and during the dry days
of summer, it will quickly brown out with
decreased chances of recovery.
Current best practice is to set your
mower for a minimum of three inches in
height. Three-and-a-half or four inches is
even better. By doing this, you will need to
mow less frequently. Oftentimes, with a
very short lawn, it is not the grass but the
invasive weeds that grow faster and need
mowing sooner.
By mowing the grass as high as possible,
the increase in surface area for each grass
blade promotes increased photosynthesis.
This provides energy to the roots which enlarge
and, in turn, can then provide more
nutrients to the green blade. It is a very
nearly perfect cycle rudely interrupted by
the occasional mowing and the subsequent
decrease in surface area.
A lovely plus to the higher grass is the resulting
reduction in weed growth. Because
the lawn is taller and thicker, the weed
seeds are now more effectively shaded and
less inclined to sprout. Also, the thicker,
healthier tangle of roots under the surface
will prevent some of the seeds that do sprout
from gaining a foothold. Your lawn will look
Ask a Master Gardener
greener and healthier, and have fewer
weeds, just by mowing higher.
In addition to allowing the grass to grow
longer, it is also very important to sharpen
the cutting edges of your mower blades. Dull
blades will leave a ragged, frayed edge on
the grass. The grass will have a lot of work
to do sealing off those open surfaces and injuries.
The increased surface area of a
ragged cut also will provide more opportunity
for bacteria, fungi or viral agents to invade
and cause disease in your lawn. A
sharp blade will provide a cleaner cut so the
grass can more easily repair the injury and
get back to normal function more quickly.
Sharpen the mower blades in the spring
before that first mowing event. It’s a DYI job
if you’re handy and, if not, garden shops can
do it for you. If you have extensive lawns,
those mower blades will need sharpening
again mid-season.
Improved mowing practices are such an
easy way to help your yard look better. Your
lawn will reward you for your efforts.
This column is written by the Madison
County Master Gardeners. Watch for details
about their new Ask A Master Gardener Help
Line, coming soon.
Hutch interrupts a home invasion. After
startling the two robbers, a man and a
woman who seem unsure of themselves, he
calmly tells them to take what they want
and leave. In their mad dash, they take a
handful of loose cash, items in a fruit bowl
and his watch. As they demand his ring, his
teenage son (Gage Munroe) tackles one to
the ground and chaos ensues. Rather than
unleash a smackdown that you know is bubbling
under the surface, Hutch allows them
to escape, drawing the scorn of his son, wife,
neighbor, and the police officer who responded
to the scene.
Knowing that his actions, or lack thereof,
were correct for the situation, Hutch soaks
in the ridicule from his wife’s family and accepts
it at face value. “I did the right thing.”
But when his daughter indicates that the
robbers stole her beloved Kitty Cat bracelet,
he snaps and goes looking for trouble.
Unlike most characters in similar movies,
Hutch isn’t a man with a past who is pulled
back into the mix after a series of unfortunate
events. Instead, Hutch is a man with a
past who willingly goes back into the mix
after a series of unfortunate events. No matter
how ridiculous his motives are, the movie
is all the better for it because it allows
Odenkirk to shine—and give shiners.
While it’s fun watching Odenkirk get his
action game on (no oil here, though he does
break out in a sweat after dispatching some
baddies), the movie does not live up to the
potential of his presence. The writers and
director had a genuinely great actor on their
hands, one willing to go just about any place
they want (even the close quarters of a bus
for a tense and prolonged fight sequence).
But the material, with its odd Russian drug
lord side plot and thin construction of the
Mansell family, does him a disservice.
Overall, “Nobody” is not a film that takes
itself too seriously—always a bonus in relation
to action films—and it does feature some
excellent fight choreography. But if the creators
(who also created “John Wick”) want
to make the transition into a franchise,
they’re going to need material that better
fits the actors’ talent and satisfies an audience
starved for a storyline that is not completely
convoluted.
Grade: C
Dedra Cordle is a Messenger staff writer
and columnist.
In Memory Of
Donna Marie (Nance) Smith
Date of Birth: May 22, 1935
Entered Eternal Life: April 8, 2020
Graveside Services: Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Madison Mills Cemetery, Fayette County, Ohio
Rader-McDonald-Tidd Funeral Home
1355 W. Main Street, West Jefferson, Ohio
Remember Her
Remember her laugh, her grin, her stories, and her smile,
And remember these things for quite a while.
We all know she loved being a wife.
Her husband, children and grandchildren
were the love of her life.
We will remember her with laughter and tears,
and will never forget her in the upcoming years.
Don’t be afraid to say her name
As we will know it will never be the same.
Heaven gained a new Angel Today
Soar High Donna as you will never be forgotten.