Page 48 - Sonoma County Gazette April 2020

The Pharmacist
One would not think that a limited series on Netflix entitled The Pharmacist would
generate any excitement. Pill pushers are not considered the epitome of compelling story telling. But the tale of Daniel Schneider, a mild-mannered Everyman, is a murder mystery, a thriller and ultimately
One of my favorite film festivals is the San Francisco Film Festival which runs from April 8 through April 21. The closing night film is “Bad Education” starring Hugh Jackman,
Allison Janney and Ray
Romano. There will be
tributes to actors Sienna
Miller and Steve Coogan.
It is definitely worth
the drive from Sonoma
County to San Francisco
for this event.
On April 3rd “Beastie
Boys Story” opens. Mike
Diamond and Adam
Horovitz tell an intimate
personal story of their
band and 40 years of friendship. I was in high school when the Beastie Boys came out so I am very excited to see this documentary.
Also on April 3rd, “The Burnt Orange Heresy” opens. It stars Donald Sutherland and Mick Jagger. It’s about an art critic who is asked to steal the work of a reclusive painter.
On April 10th “The Lost Husband” opens. It stars Josh Duhamel. Based on the novel by Katherine Center. It tells a heartwarming story of love, forgiveness and creating the family you need.
For my live theater fans we have “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” at the Curran Theater in San Francisco and if you haven’t seen “Hamilton” or “The Book of Mormon” yet you have a chance to go in San Francisco.
If you’re reading this month’s Gazette on April 1st you will appreciate that everything I have written so far is an elaborate April Fool’s joke.
Unfortunately, the San Francisco Film Festival was cancelled and all movie theaters are closed. HBO will show “Bad Education” later this month on their network. So you will have a chance to see it. You can imagine how frustrating it is for me not being able to see a movie at a movie theater. It’s time to Netflix and chill!
an expose’.
After Schneider’s son, Danny, is shot in
New Orleans’ Ninth Ward, a seedier section from the neighboring St. Bernard’s Parish, his
father who is the eponymous pharmacist becomes obsessed. The police indulge in a perfunctory investigation
but always their tone is a not too subtle, “he got what he deserved.” Danny was apparently addicted to crack cocaine, a secret to his family.
Consumed with grief and looking for a kind of closure, the senior Schneider takes the investigation into his own hands, venturing into dangerous turf, going door to door seeking answers.
His search becomes not only obsessive, it becomes pathological.
This documentary is a play in three acts.
The first deals with the search for Schneider’s son’s murderer. The motive for his death is murky: a drug deal gone bad? A gang initiation rite? No details seem to be uncovered. Eventually, due to the elder Schneider’s probing, the perpetrator is apprehended and is incarcerated. Surprisingly, after serving his time he appears to be interviewed, rehabilitated and articulate!
The second act deals with Schneider’s return to his job and discovering, after a while, an inordinate number of prescriptions for OxyContin. The orders were apparently for healthy young people who didn’t seem to have problems with chronic pain. Now conditioned to sleuthing and with an evident aptitude for it, he begins another crusade. The death of his son is the engine that fuels his zeal. He wants to save other addicts from the grave misfortune that happened to Danny Jr.
Thank God Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are feeling better.
His search leads him to an unscrupulous doctor who is handing out opioid prescriptions like candy. These two episodes are only stepping stones to act three and the delineation of the ultimate culprit: Big Pharma and corporate greed. The pharmaceutical company Purdue Pharma is largely responsible for the opioid epidemic.
As I write this column, I heard that Kenny Rogers just died. Hissong “The Gambler” was one of my favorites. It’s the 30th anniversary of “Pretty Woman” and you can catch it this Saturday April 4th on the Freeform channel.
A former drug representative serves as a talking head for this segment. It is an amazing testament to Schneider’s investigative and persuasive abilities that he is able to get his son’s murderer, the rogue doctor excessively prescribing drugs and a former Purdue drug employee to give extensive interviews.
Fans of “Love Actually” will be happy to know it airs on HBO April 3rd. Emma Thompson gives an amazing performance and I feel she was cheated not being nominated for best supporting actress at the Oscars that year.
What gives this documentary dramatic effect is Schneider’s excessive record keeping. Often invoking the Deity, Schneider kept meticulous files. He taped his phone calls and often narrated directly into his tape recorder. He had boxes and boxes of notes.
This is a good time to reflect who is important in your life.
Call them. Be Good to One Another. Hopefully we will see you at the movies very soon!
Email dongibblecast@hotmail.com with any questions.
Thank you for supporting the Sonoma County Gazette.
Ultimately the villain is us and a society that believes greed is good. The Pharmacist is a thriller. When Schneider is fleeing to an FBI office for help, there is even a car chase.
It’s sad the Olympics have been cancelled. Only three Olympic games were not held as scheduled. 1916 because of World War 1 and 1940 and 1944 because of World War II.
Fans of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” will be happy to see it come back on ABC in April with Jimmy Kimmel as host. I love Maya Rudoplh and she
is starring in an animated project on Netflix called “The Willoughbys”. It premieres April 22nd.
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