OF MAD AND ITALIAN SPIDER MEN

The two things I've enjoyed watching immensely this month are Mad Men and Italian Spiderman. I know what you're going to say, but oddly enough they have a lot more in common than you might think. They both were conceived and filmed in the past year, yet both take place in the 1960s in a carefree, misogynistic world that men (not so) secretly wish still existed. Both are focused around an enigmatic, suave, and powerful leading man who does what he wishes with females, smokes and drinks heavily, and will step on whomever he must to get ahead. One might be more Cary Grant while the other is more Jack Black, but both are unmistakably 100% man.

However, only one has a kick ass moustache.

That lascivious lady tickler belongs to Italian Spiderman, who parodies such movies as Turkish Star Wars (Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam), dubbed and circulated VHS tapes decades ago and given a second life on the internet. In his world in 1968, he treats women with respect yet simultaneously keeps them in their place, as he demands they prepare his macchiatos, pronto!



Mad Men's Don Draper is a mellifluous voiced mystery, sporting a Brylcreamed hairdo and a no-nonsense business acumen. In 1960, he and his Madison Avenue advertising cohorts are on the top of the world, living a swinging life of unlimited booze and broads. He keeps women in check telling them such things as, "What you call love was invented by guys like me to sell nylons."



These two mavericks live in a world we can only enjoy vicariously. Which is a good thing, since if we tried to live like them now, we'd get kicked in the collective balls.

Season 2 of Mad Men premieres July 27 at 10 PM ET. Part Two of Italian Spiderman coming soon.



Even the Yankees' Jason Giambi is fashioning his look after The Italian Spiderman.




Mad Men [Official AMC Site]
Basket of Kisses - The Lipp Sisters' Unofficial Mad Men Blog
Alrugo Pictures Site
Alrugo Blog
Alrugo [MySpace]
Italian Spiderman [MySpace]