Thursday, September 04, 2008

Mad Men


I will start off by mentioning my bias: I am an ex-salesman. "Glengarry Glen Ross" is not a sad movie about desperate men for me but a tour de force by Mamet that captures the biz on key, perfectly. Additional bias includes watching the series on Blue-Ray with a beautiful woman that loves the show. No, she does not call me "Don Draper" at inappropriate times...
All that being said, here is a quick synopsis, and a couple o' comments. "Mad Men" are a self-promoting group of Madison Avenue advertising guys in the late 50's - early 60's. The 1st Season introduces the team, and their office -- and the politics of the office and the times.
This is done with a hyper saturated palette and sense of irony. The viewers already know the results of their campaigns (or at least we should -- I work in an office that thinks Pinochet is a wood puppet) but the entertainment is in the details. Like the Glengarry Glen Ross crew these guys are charismatic, focused, and completely wrong on so many levels.
The show is nuanced enough to keep you watching, and caring, for these b-(ad) men and the women that love them. As a period piece it may be way over the top. As a costume drama it is nearly as interesting as "Rome" -- yes, the costumes are at that level -- and the colors of Rayon and Polyester pop amidst the clatter of manual typewriters and glass doored office spaces.

I am so looking forward to Season 2!

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