EIGHTIES REVISTED ~ TENNESSEE STYLE

Another Dinner & Movie Night with our youngest. He's a movie buff and an artist, so the selections are always 'interesting'. Tonight's feature presentation ~ the HBO series Tanner '88, the first reality show, highlights the ins and outs of a U.S. political campaign. This series came out at exactly the same time we expatriated to Italia (maybe we were fortunate for this). I was amused with the 80's fashions and hair ~ made me think, strangely, of some of Natalie's pics from her recent birthday celebration in Tennessee ~ Exhibit A, 'Redneck 80's Guy Gone Wild' ~ he's bringing sexy back! ☺









Dinner tonight was not Italian menu fair, but instead, Mex-Americana ~ a favorite for Josh, 'King Ranch Chicken'. Here's the recipe:

1 boiled chicken, cooked and deboned
1 jalapeno pepper
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 (16 oz.) pkg. grated Colby Jack cheese
1 pkg. corn tortillas
1 onion, chopped
1 can sliced black olives (optional)

Saute bell pepper, onion, and jalapeno until onion is clear. Cut tortillas in quarters. Layer tortillas, chicken, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno mix, soup, and sprinkle olives as desired. Finish each layer with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.



The film was, as I said, 'interesting'. We watched the first disc in the set, and I will attempt to watch the others while on vacation in Tennessee. As one who appreciates the wardrobe elements, I was particularly amused by the leg warmers, and am actually regretting that I got rid of mine now that we are in the throes of a particularly freddo Ohio winter ~ burrrrr!!!!

The series portrays, in all too real fashion, the pitfalls of U.S. American politics, best exhibited by the theme song, Exercise Your Right to Vote.

Renegade filmmaker Robert Altman and Pulitzer-winning Doonesbury cartoonist Garry Trudeau created the Jack Tanner character, but they couldn't hope to predict the frenzy he'd create. Politicians were eager to meet him, and more than happy to pretend they knew him ~ if it would make them look good, of course. Everyone from Pat Roberston to Bob Dole happily talked to Jack and his crew, knowing he had a media blitz surrounding him. The catch is they didn't know why he had a blitz around him.

Here's a script excerpt:

[making a toast at his son's wedding rehearsal dinner]

Tanner's Father: One hundred years ago, William Gladstone, after a particularly acrimonious debate in Parliament, bellowed across the floor at his arch-rival Benjamin Disraeli, "You, sir," he said, "will one day end your days on the gallows or of venereal disease." Disraeli raised himself up and replied, "That, sir, would depend on whether I embrace your principles or your mistress."
Alex Tanner: Grandpa.
Tanner's Father: I tell this humorous story because it hasn't been altogether clear to me this past year exactly what my son is embracing.


The sad reality is that this film is an exact representation of the sad reality.







Working on my Southern accent and listening to a great Southern tune ~

♫♫ I hear leaders quit their lyin ~ babies quit their cryin ~ soldiers quit their dyin ~ one and all♫ ♫