James Wolcott

In the Tea Party era, it is the restless conservative Republican who has become passion's plaything, the toy of impetuous romance, an…

— James Wolcott

There was a time when idealistic folksingers such as myself believed that Reality TV was a programming vogue that would peak and…

— James Wolcott

After a decade this glum, we deserved a shot of 'Glee,' a show that restored our faith in the power of song,…

— James Wolcott

It's the contemporary woman that movies don't know what to do with, other than bathe her in a bridal glow in romantic…

— James Wolcott

I understand the people-watching, but I've never done it where people have to race to three different shows, from here to there.…

— James Wolcott

What had brought me to New York in the autumn of 1972 was a letter of recommendation written by Norman Mailer, the…

— James Wolcott

Historically, Hollywood comedy has arrived in skinny envelopes. From fence post Buster Keaton to herky-jerky Jerry Lewis to wiry nerve-bundle Woody Allen…

— James Wolcott

Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian would have left little more than lipstick stains in their passing had it not been for the…

— James Wolcott

On August 28, 2010, Fox News messiah Glenn Beck hosted a 'Restoring Honor' revival meeting featuring sexy guest star Sarah Palin, much…

— James Wolcott

I've always stayed on the periphery of things. When I used to go to the punk clubs and things like that, I…

— James Wolcott

My high-school papers, my college-application essays, read like Norman Mailer packed in a crunchy-peanut-butter sandwich.

— James Wolcott

Telling writers to shut up is a sure way to keep them talking.

— James Wolcott

As we divest ourselves of once familiar physical objects - digitize and dematerialize - we approach a 'Star Trek' future in which…

— James Wolcott

The advent of DVD/Blu-ray reissues of classic Hollywood and foreign films has been a boon to film buffs, who can now study…

— James Wolcott

Mitt Romney - he had a Rock Hudson thing going, shoeblack hair and a well-hung resume, but even for a shameless, position-shifting…

— James Wolcott

Truman Capote was a pop figure, but it wasn't until he went on David Susskind's show and had that extraordinary voice and…

— James Wolcott

Pop music has been all but relegated to the remainder bin at MTV and VH1, where high-maintenance concoctions such as Paris Hilton,…

— James Wolcott

The Internet and blogging made writing somewhat more solitary and more splintered. It removes the whole sense of the magazine as an…

— James Wolcott

What's happening to movie critics is no different from what has been meted out to book, dance, theater, and fine-arts reviewers and…

— James Wolcott

'Hairspray' was a movie turned Broadway musical turned Hollywood remake, and that is the 'Lion King' circle of life as we know…

— James Wolcott

Who elected Larry King America's grief counselor? We, the viewing public, did, by driving up his ratings whenever somebody famous passes.

— James Wolcott

Like 'Twin Peaks,' '24,' 'Mad Men,' and 'The Sopranos' before it, 'Downton Abbey' enriches the iconography and collective lore of pop culture.…

— James Wolcott

The whole ecosystem of celebrity has broken down for writers. If you go back to the '50s, '60s, and '70s, writers were…

— James Wolcott

“That vervey spontaneity became encounter theater therapy under the direction of the Marquis de Paar, who was peerless at grittily vapid chatter,…

— James Wolcott

I try to avoid Politico to spare myself psoriasis of the brain but so many journalists cite it that I'm forced to…

— James Wolcott