Q: So, I just watched "Escape From New York" for the first time (one of your favorites), and as much as I enjoyed it, I found that the only thing I ended up paying attention to during the movie were Adrienne Barbeau's SPECTACULAR bosoms. I kept trying to concentrate on the plot, but they were just too distracting and seemed completely out of place. Can you think of other "good" movies where obscene amounts of cleavage or the overall hotness of a female character distracts from the movie to the point where it may even hurt the film?
-- Travis, San Francisco
SG: That's what we call "a good problem," my friend. It just happened with my favorite new show of 2009: HBO's "Eastbound and Down," which could be best described as "A crazier and even more offensive John Rocker-type named Kenny Powers loses his baseball career and goes back home to become a still crazy and still offensive teacher." Kenny's well-endowed ex-girlfriend overshadowed every one of her scenes; you just kept thinking, "Come on, it's HBO, get this girl in a shower or something!" (Let's just say those wishes pay off in the season finale. Just call me the Mr. Skin of sports columnists.) But again, this was a GOOD problem. I don't think this is a show for everyone -- it's silly and raunchy -- but it made me laugh at least twice an episode and nothing makes me laugh anymore.
(My only issue was Kenny's pitching motion: For someone who allegedly threw 101 mph, it looked like he was tutored by Tim Robbins and the guy who played Kevin Costner's dad in "Field of Dreams." I couldn't get past it. It's not a good sign when your flamethrowing pitcher looks like Lamar throwing the javelin for Lambda Lambda Lambda. Regardless, I loved this show and hope it comes back. Knowing HBO, they'll probably only bring it back if Season 2 revolves around Kenny seeing a therapist.)