Capitalizing on the same success as 2014’s incredibly meticulous Gone Girl and 2016’s cluttered and underwhelming Girl on a Train comes Paul Feig’s (Bridesmaids, The Heat) adaptation of A Simple Favor, an adaptation of a 2017 novel by the same name. Unfortunately, this movie feels like a lousy knockoff with two Hollywood A-listers made hastily with a less-than-believable story by a director who was clearly over his head with this genre. This movie was preposterous in its concept and was only topped in absurdity by its cursory character development and inability to define a genre clearly. It leaves us asking as many questions about the movie’s style as it does its other elements.
Category Archives: Comedy
Blindspotting (2018)
Blindspotting, one of the mid-summer hidden gems of a promising 2018, is a highly ambitious movie from two unknown actors who will likely be household names. It’s undoubtedly a breakout for the film’s stars, Daveed Diggs (who won a Tony for his role in Hamilton) and newcomer Rafael Casal, who also wrote the film. Adding to the virginity of this experience was first-time director Carlos Lopez Estrada. This movie has been a hit with critics and audiences alike (93% and 86% on Rotten Tomatoes). It is a good movie that teeters on the verge of being great. However, it feels like a few different films weaved into one. Worse, it goes back and forth between these different styles and intents and ultimately leaves us needing clarification as its two lead characters, but in entirely different ways. I could empathize with their situation and their confusion. What was hard to comprehend was the character’s rapidly changing thoughts, feelings, and actions. People can act differently in particular situations, but these two characters went through the complete gamut in four days. Ultimately, it left me with many questions to ponder. I also felt like I was watching a series of one-act plays rather than one cohesive movie.
Tully (2018)
Tully. Wow. Way to toy with me, Jason Reitman (Up In the Air, Juno). I will have a spoilers section for this movie, but I will let you know when it happens. This hit me with an emotional punch. And I say that tongue-in-cheek because I did not find this movie all that emotional. Reitman has a way of writing and directing his stories so that you are wholly invested and don’t need to keep your tissues nearby. Instead, he tells his stories in a way that gets you interested from the get-go, creating characters who you wrote for and then hitting you with a gut punch when you least expect it. Ultimately, this results in his movies staying with you long after most movies you’ve seen have been forgotten. In Tully, he reunites with Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road, A Little Trip to Heaven) when the two team up for the fantastic Young Adult. I wouldn’t say that the Academy has shut out Theron (certainly not in the way that Jake Gyllenhaal has), but to have just two Academy Award nominations (Monster, North Country) is, if nothing else, a little surprising. I wonder if her performance in this film will be enough to land the coveted acting prize, especially with an April release. But she carried this movie in a couple of directions, held together by her evenness and Reitman’s adherence to the story when it felt like things were untangling.
The Disaster Artist (2017)
Each year, there is at least one movie that I think I will hate and that I end up loving. Some years, it is much easier to pinpoint that movie than in other years. Not in 2017. Based on the trailers and the movie’s premise, I thought I would hate James Franco’s (Child of God, As I Lay Dying) The Disaster Artist. I will say that I knew nothing about Tommy Wiseau or the cult status of his movie The Room. However, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by this movie’s effectiveness. This movie had quite a bit of Oscar buzz heading into awards season. It netted Franco a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. Unfortunately (for him), he was hit up with some sexual misconduct claims right around this time, and it very well could have cost him a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. This was the sixth-best performance of the year. As mentioned in previous posts, I would have gone with four nominated, minus Denzel Washington (Roman J. Israel Esq.), and replaced him with Jake Gyllenhaal (Stronger). After seeing this movie, I would have knocked Washington’s performance down to seventh and inserted Franco’s performance as the best not to be recognized with a nomination. His performance was very good. The movie would still have been good had he directed it and cast someone else as the lead, but casting himself was the right call.
Battle of the Sexes (2017)
2017 will go down as a year of very underwhelming movies. The nine films nominated for Best Picture were, by far, the poorest collection since 2009, when a decision was made that up to 10 movies could be nominated for Best Picture if they got enough votes. My Top 10 list has three of the nine movies for Best Picture (#5 The Shape of Water, #6 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, #10 Get Out). It’s hard for me to make a case for my Top 3 (Wind River, Hostiles, Life) receiving a Best Picture Nomination. While great, these movies differ from what the Academy is looking for. But Battle of the Sexes (co-directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris) has everything the Academy looks for in a Best Picture nominee. It’s a period piece that looks very much like a period piece. It’s based on a true story and follows that story exceptionally closely. It has a definite protagonist and a definite antagonist. It has fantastic acting by its leads. It has a strong ensemble cast. It has a little bit of comedy, quite a bit of drama, and quite a bit of unexpected suspense. And its true story changed the course of history. It’s easily the most deserving movie that was not picked by The Academy (most say I, Tonya was the biggest snub), and it’s better and more deserving, in my opinion, than all of the selections.