Netflix imports “Lolo and the Kid” from the Philippines. It seems you have to scour the world to find a sentimental movie that hews close to comedy themes once common in Hollywood entertainment. Lolo is a hustler who takes in a homeless child from the streets and teaches him to live by his wits. Together they con clueless rich people out of their money.
For at least a generation, most entertainment has depicted a world where everyone is rich or wants to become rich. This stands in stark contrast to the themes of comedies dating back to Charlie Chaplain silent films and shorts, which depicted the little guy as clever and the wealthy as pathetic boobs, at best. Several generations raised on “Little Rascals” serials learned to pity rich people as sad and delusional snobs missing out on the rough and tumble quality of life enjoyed by street urchins. Gilligan may have been a dim bulb, but on “Gilligan’s Island,” it was the millionaire and his wife who were the most out of touch.
One could write a book, or a doctoral thesis, on the cultural shifts that made popular entertainment so much more friendly to the wealthy. I’m not sure it’s that complicated. As they said in “All the President’s Men,” simply “follow the money.”
When “The Little Rascals” films were produced in the 1930s, the economy was deeply depressed, and studios made oodles of movies extolling the virtues of the little guy and “the forgotten man” in order to seem to be on the side of an audience that had lost faith in the wisdom of Wall Street. Created in the 1960s, “Gilligan’s Island” may have appeared during relatively flush times, but it was also a time when tax rates on the very wealthy could reach as high as 90%. In “Mad Men,” Don Draper may have lived like a Roman emperor in his office, but he returned home to a rather dark and cramped house because he paid so much in income taxes.
Reductions in tax cuts that arrived later in the 1960s and then in the 1980s under Reagan made it “pay” to be rich. And the introduction of popular IRAs and other accounts turned mere viewers into members of the “investment class.” No wonder people began to like “Dallas” and “Dynasty.” The only way a street kid could become sympathetic was to become “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Over the decades, poor characters and even mere middle-class strivers seemed to vanish. Arriving at the end of the Reagan era, “Roseanne” and “The Simpsons” were notable exceptions. Suddenly, the only blue-collar characters wore blue police uniforms. And sometimes their job was to put those once loveable street urchins behind bars.
So that’s what makes “Lolo & the Kid,” a relatively obscure import from the Philippines, so exceptional.
— Other streaming debuts put the accent on distraction, including “Love Is Blind: U.K.” (Netflix) and “Dance Moms: A New Era” (Hulu).
TONIGHT’S OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
— “Primetime in Paris: The Olympics” (8 p.m., NBC) presents coverage of track and field, diving and beach volleyball.
— A doctor-turned-broker makes his last deal on “The Real CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS, TV-14).
— “See No Evil” (9 p.m., ID, TV-14) enters its 13th season with a tale of a missing cosmetologist.
— Residents face the prospect of climate change on the last of the three-part series “Sea Change: The Gulf of Maine” (10 p.m., PBS, TV-G, check local listings).
CULT CHOICE
TCM dedicates a whole day to the films of Peter Ustinov, the British actor known more for being an international cultural ambassador than a mere Hollywood star. His films include the 1951 biblical blockbuster “Quo Vadis” (5 p.m., TV-PG), director Stanley Kubrick’s 1960 Roman slave rebellion epic “Spartacus” (8 p.m., TV-PG) and the 1964 heist thriller “Topkapi” (11:30 p.m., TV-PG), directed by Jules Dassin. “Topkapi” inspired the TV show “Mission: Impossible” and features a descent into a locked room via a slender wire that was borrowed for the 1996 movie adaptation starring Tom Cruise.
SERIES NOTES
“Big Brother” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-PG) … “MasterChef” (8 p.m., Fox, r, TV-14) … “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” (8 p.m., CBS, TV-14) … “Beat Shazam” (9 p.m., Fox, r, TV-PG) … “Claim to Fame” (9 p.m., ABC, TV-PG) … A missing teen’s time is fast running out on “Tracker” (10 p.m., CBS, r, TV-14) … A burger vending machine runs with a robot’s assistance on “Shark Tank” (10 p.m., ABC, r, TV-PG).
LATE NIGHT
Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Tommy Vietor and Lake Street Dive appear on “Late Night With Stephen Colbert” (11:35 p.m., CBS, r) … “The Tonight Show” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” are preempted for Olympic coverage … … Taylor Tomlinson hosts Brian Simpson, Kelsey Cook and Blair Socci on “After Midnight” (12:35 a.m., CBS, r).
