What the Hellenic! Why is Christopher Nolan’s new Greek epic entirely devoid of Greeks?

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Set to be this year’s biggest blockbuster, The Odyssey’s cast has been selected to ‘represent the world’. Fair enough – except that one key country seems to have gone completely unrepresented … There are the American accents, gleaming body suits and a muddy Dunkirk palette. And then there is Lupita Nyong’o as Helen of Troy, a casting choice that recently drew racist attacks from the usual moaners of the internet , including Elon Musk, who complained it wasn’t authentic. Authenticity matters. He’s just focusing entirely in the wrong place. To many Greeks, what concerns us most about the first look at Christopher Nolan’s adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey is the whereabouts of Billy Zane. Zane, like other beloved members of the Greek diaspora in Hollywood, has recently appeared on “Alternative Odyssey” lists on the Greek side of social media, as well as over dinner table debates from Patras to Palmers Green. (Theo James, Jennifer Aniston, Hank Azaria, and Dave Bautista are among the other no...
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The Problem with People review – old-country lark takes on blarney-fuelled family feud

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Paul Reiser and Colm Meaney go into cliche mode when an Irish patriarch wills half his legacy to his son’s unknown American cousin

Never mind people. The problem with this comedy is the cliches. It could not be more Irish if it was dropped into a pint of Guinness and rolled in shamrocks by a dancing leprechaun. The script is co-written by the American actor Paul Reiser, with a very broad sense of humour, though it’s likable enough. Colm Meaney is also on decent form as undertaker Ciáran, whose elderly father Fergus (Des Keogh) has a deathbed request: he wants to heal a rift with the American side of the family that has rumbled on for a couple of generations.

Over in New York, Reiser plays American cousin Barry, a real-estate tycoon. He’s recovering from the double whammy of a heart attack and divorce, which puts him in the sentimental mood for a family reunion. So off he flies, back to the old country. Initially, Barry is charmed by the beauty of the landscape and the quirky locals – among them a B&B owner with Mrs Doyle levels of pushiness and a pair of teenagers constantly putting on terrible American accents. The poor actors seem to have been directed to play it full-on, with exaggerated facial expressions and slightly embarrassing oversize performances.

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