Ken Carpenter, a mid-50s Average Man, suddenly loses his faith. His pastor, Reverend Todd, suggests Ken take a vacation. Ken’s wife, Nancy, is completely floored by her husband’s decision to travel to London (where Ken was stationed when he was in the Air Force) to “find himself”…alone. On the flight from Nebraska to London, Ken meets Pat Monday, a middle-aged divorcee looking for a sexual partner for her stay in London. Ken also meets Tamyra, a young bartender who listens to his problems. Man From Nebraska (2006) lacks the intensity of August: Osage County and the humor of Superior Donuts. But Tracy Letts captures the angst of a man who becomes unmoored from his belief system. This is another play I would like to see performed. GRADE: B-
I never heard of this one before. Loved August: Osage County.
Jeff, I loved AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, too. And Tracy Letts is a pretty good actor, too.
This is a play that might resonate now because there’s apparently an “epidemic” of loneliness among middle-aged men. I, on the other hand, want to pull a Cher in “Moonstruck” and slap the guy upside the head while yelling “Snap out of it!”
/Full of the milk of human kindness, indeed.
Deb, I’d love to be there when you pull a Cher!
I saw Superior Donuts in San Diego a few years ago and enjoyed it. And also enjoyed the play version of Osage but not so much the movie.
Patti, like you I prefer the movie version of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY better than the play version.
Oops. Reading comprehension error.
Jeff, hope the Ravens beat the Rams tomorrow!
I agree.
We saw Superior Donuts on Broadway in 2009, with Michael McKean.
Also saw his The Minutes, a darker play about a City Council meeting, in 2022. Letts was in this one – playing “Mayor Superba” – along with Noah Reid, Blair Brown, Austin Pendleton, and K. Todd Freeman.
Jeff, I want to see THE MINUTES but it hasn’t shown up in WESTERN NY yet.
Is this a movie, a play, or a book? I’ve never heard of it, of course, or any of the others you mentioned!
In casino news, I won again today but not as much as I would have if I went home after lunch! Still, this makes four successful visits in a row and about $470 to the good!
And how about those Mariners? That 15-inning epic against Detroit nearly wiped me out, but I can’t complain about the happy totals, as Dave Neihaus used to say!
Bob, the Mariners are going to have a tussle with the Blue Jays! MAN FROM NEBRASKA is a play and a book. A movie might be in the works…