Jeff "Jmunney" Malone's Self-Styled "Expert" Thoughts on Movies, TV, Music, and the Rest of Pop Culture
January 29, 2024
Cinema, Movie Reviews Adam Driver, Alan Tudyk, Alec Newman, All of Us Strangers, Amber Heard, Andrew Haigh, Andrew Scott, Angelique Cabral, Aquaman, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Ariana DeBose, ason Momoa, Bruce Herbelin-Earle, Calah Lane, Callum Turner, Charlotte Ritchie, Chris Buck, Chris Diamantopoulos, Chris Pine, Claire Foy, Courtney Henggeler, DCEU, Della Saba, Dolph Lundgren, Ellie White, Evan Peters, Fawn Veerasunthorn, Ferrari, Freya Parker, Gabriel Leone, George Clooney, Giuseppe Festinese, Hadley Robinson, Harris Dickinson, Harvey Guillén, Holt McCallany, Hugh Grant, Isy Suttie, Jack Mulhern, Jack O'Connell, James Wan, James Wolk, Jamie Bell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Jeremy Allen White, Jim Carter, Joel Edgerton, Jon Rudnitsky, Keegan-Michael Key, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Lily James, Luke Slattery, Martin Short, Mathew Baynton, Matt Lucas, Maura Tierney, Michael Mann, Murray McArthur, Natasha Rothwell, Nicole Kidman, Niko Vargas, Olivia Colman, Paterson Joseph, Patrick Dempsey, Patrick Wilson, Paul King, Paul Mescal, Penélope Cruz, Peter Guinness, Phil Wang, Rakhee Thakrar, Ramy Youssef, Randall Park, Rich Fulcher, Rowan Atkinson, Sally Hawins, Sam Strike, Sarah Gadon, Sean Durkin, Shailene Woodley, Simon Farnaby, Sophie Winkleman, Stanley Simons, Temuera Morrison, The Boys in the Boat, The Iron Claw, Thomas Elms, Tim FitzHigham, Timothée Chalamet, Tom Davis, Tom Varey, Tracy Ifeachor, Victor Garber, Will Coban, Wish, Wonka, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Zac Efron 1 Comment
CREDIT: NEON
Heading into the Christmas break, it seemed like I had a lot more new movies to catch up on than usual. Or maybe it was actually a normal amount, and I was just cataloging my filmgoing plans a little more closely than I typically do. Either way, it took me about a month, but I’ve finally checked off everything that was on my to-watch list. So let’s run down some quick thoughts on all of them!
January 23, 2024
Cinema, Movie Reviews Adam Weppler, Amy Hargreaves, Andrew Stewart Jones, Arun Storrs, Callie Beaulieu, Catherine Curtin, Devin Druid, Dylan Slade, Emilia McCarthy, Erik Bloomquist, Founders Day, Jayce Bartok, Kate Edmonds, Naomi Grace, Olivia Nikkanen, Patrick Zeller, Shravan Amin, Tyler James White, William Russ Leave a comment
Founders, Keepers (CREDIT: Mainframe Pictures/Screenshot)
Starring: Naomi Grace, Devin Druid, William Russ, Amy Hargreaves, Catherine Curtin, Emilia McCarthy, Olivia Nikkanen, Jayce Bartok, Andrew Stewart Jones, Tyler James White, Erik Bloomquist, Adam Weppler, Kate Edmonds, Dylan Slade, Arun Storrs, Patrick Zeller, Shravan Amin, Callie Beaulieu
Director: Erik Bloomquist
Running Time: 106 Minutes
Rating: R
Release Date: January 19, 2024 (Theaters)
Founders Day is an indie slasher about a series of masked murderer killings in a small town centered around a particular occasion (specifically, a mayoral election). To paraphrase 90s David Spade, I liked it better the first time I saw it… when it was called Thanksgiving.
But hey, it’s nice to see William “Alan Matthews” Russ getting some work and showing the kids how it’s done. As for the matter of whether or not I would like my hometown or my current city to celebrate their own versions of Founders Day: alas, I can’t say I’m convinced.
Grade: 10 Elections out of 23 ½ Subterfuges
January 19, 2024
Cinema, Movie Reviews Alfre Woodard, Anna Diop, Babs Olusanmokun, Benedict Cumberbatch, Brian Bovell, Caleb McLaughlin, Chase Dillon, Chidi Ajufo, David Oyelowo, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, james mcavoy, Jeymes Samuel, Lakeith Stanfield, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michael Ward, Nicholas Pinnock, Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, Teyana Taylor, The Book of Clarence, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor Leave a comment
Book ’em, Clarence (CREDIT: Moris Puccio/Legendary Entertainment/TriStar Pictures)
Starring: LaKeith Stanfield, Omar Sy, Anna Diop, RJ Cyler, David Oyelowo, Michael Ward, Alfre Woodard, Brian Bovell, Teyana Taylor, Caleb McLaughlin, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Nicholas Pinnock, James McAvoy, Chase Dillon, Babs Olusanmokun, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chidi Ajufo, Tom Glynn-Carney, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor
Director: Jeymes Samuel
Running Time: 129 Minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: January 12, 2024 (Theaters)
Should The Book of Clarence become a new Easter viewing tradition? In the name of the Father, it might deserve it. So why did it come out in January? I suppose it has something to do with the fact that it’s a weird cinematic beast that TriStar didn’t really know how to promote. To be fair, though, I’m not sure any other studio would’ve known what to do with it. A funkified, unapologetically Black biblical fan fiction doesn’t exactly have a built-in audience. But I’m certainly glad it made its way to the big screen. It’s a vision, it took me on a journey, and it both challenged and restored my faith.
Grade: 3 Resurrections out of 4 Crucifixions
January 18, 2024
Cinema, Movie Reviews Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, Costa Ronin, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, I.S.S., John Gallagher Jr., Maria Mashkova, Pilou Asbæk 1 Comment
You down with I.S.S.? (CREDIT: Bleecker Street/Screenshot)
Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, Pilou Asbæk, John Gallagher Jr., Costa Ronin, Maria Mashkova
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Running Time: 95 Minutes
Rating: R for Shockingly Blunt Violence
Release Date: January 19, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: The International Space Station orbits around the Earth as a triumph of international cooperation. The residents on board in the thriller I.S.S. certainly seem to be living by that ethos, as American astronaut Gordon (Chris Messina) has quite the rapport with his Russian cosmonaut colleagues Alexey (Pilou Asbæk), Nicolai (Costa Ronin), and Weronika (Maria Mashkova). New residents Kira (Ariana DeBose) and Christian (John Gallagher Jr.) also feel the intergalactic love right as soon as they arrive. But on one fateful day, they all look below, and they don’t like what they see, as Earth appears to be in the throes of nuclear war. The Americans then receive a transmission commanding them to take control of the station, and it sure seems like the Russians have received the very same message.
What Made an Impression?: Renewed Tensions: For the entirety of the Cold War, Russians or other Soviets were the go-to villain in pretty much any American action film. That impulse still lingered somewhat even after the fall of the Soviet Union, though the threat didn’t feel especially urgent during the 90s and early 2000s. But ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nuclear annihilation has once again felt like a very immediate possibility, and I.S.S. knows that it doesn’t have to directly invoke current events for its audience to understand the threat. The astronauts and cosmonauts make it a point to never talk about politics, but in a crisis like this one, survival instincts kick in. Ignoring their orders and working together seems like a legitimate possibility, but so does paranoia taking over and killing everyone.
Claustrophobia Overload: Here’s my other big takeaway from I.S.S.: I don’t ever want to go to space! Not that I had any desire beforehand anyway. While experiencing zero gravity might be fun for a few minutes, it can’t make up for the vast, cold, tight, disconnected status quo. And as this movie makes clear, sleeping while floating is at best deeply surreal and at worst existentially terrifying. With communication to the planet spotty on even the best day, it’s a wonder that these people can think straight even without the threat of war lurking below. Thankfully, I.S.S. lasts for a mercifully effective hour and a half; if it had been any longer, I’d still be detoxing to re-adjust to my earthbound existence.
I.S.S. is Recommended If You Like: Gravity, The Thing, Life
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Transmissions
January 16, 2024
Cinema, Movie Reviews Audra McDonald, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Ava DuVernay, Blair Underwood, Connie Nielsen, Donna Mills, Emily Yancy, Finn Wittrock, Gaurav J. Pathania, Isabel Wilkerson, Isha Blaaker, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Jon Bernthal, Leonardo Nam, Mieke Schymura, Myles Frost, Nick Offerman, Niecy Nash-Betts, Origin, Suraj Yengde, Vera Farmiga, Victoria Pedretti 1 Comment
CREDIT: NEON/Screenshot
Starring: Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Jon Bernthal, Niecy Nash-Betts, Emily Yancy, Vera Farmiga, Audra McDonald, Blair Underwood, Donna Mills, Leonardo Nam, Connie Nielsen, Finn Wittrock, Victoria Pedretti, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Mieke Schymura, Isha Blaaker, Myles Frost, Gaurav J. Pathania, Suraj Yengde, Nick Offerman
Director: Ava DuVernay
Running Time: 135 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Historical Discrimination
Release Date: December 8, 2023 (Awards-Qualifying Run)/January 19, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Perhaps you read the 2020 nonfiction book Caste: The Origin of Our Discontents and found yourself wondering how the author, Isabel Wilkerson, went about crafting such a book. Well, it’s your lucky day, because in the grand tradition of Adaptation, Ava DuVernay has written and directed Origin, a big-screen version that reveals the story behind the story. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor plays Isabel, whom we’re introduced to in the buildup to Caste‘s publication. We also get to know her ailing mother Ruby (Emily Yancy), her protective husband Brett (Jon Bernthal), and her cousin Marion (Niecy Nash-Betts). Interspersed within are some stories that demonstrate Isabel’s theory about how American racism is a classic example of social stratification seen throughout human history.
What Made an Impression?: Hung Up in Jargon: Since it is the story of a writer’s life, I was a little worried that Origin would be a little too talky for its own good. And for the first third or so, my fears were well-founded. As Isabel has polite debates with her editor and fellow cocktail party attendees, I realized why these conversations are not usually considered especially cinematic. These moments might be interesting to literature grad students, but for the rest of the population, they could come off a little dull and impenetrable.
Compelling Turning Point: Fortunately the rest of the movie does not maintain that overly literary veneer. And there’s one crucial scene that spells out a change in priorities. Isabel and Marion are hanging out together at a family cookout while Isabel explains the premise of her new book. Marion is initially bewildered by her rather abstract explanation, but then Isabel gets down to brass tacks with a more concrete example of what she’s getting at. Marion then assures her that this sort of storytelling ability is exactly how she should write her book, and the movie wisely follows that cue as well.
The Points Become Salient: Isabel’s journey of writing Caste takes her to the American Deep South, Nazi Germany, and India, with historical re-enactments illustrating how each of these societies have been shaped by strikingly similar caste systems. These segments are fairly straightforward, but what pushes them over the edge are Isabel’s reactions of inspiration. Ellis-Taylor is a subtle master at quiet euphoria. (That quality also serves as a counterpoint to the deep wells of sadness she must convey.) By the end of the movie, you’ll hopefully be able to feel as hopeful as Isabel appears to be. Not because these intractable problems will be solved anytime soon, but at the very least because someone is able to identify and explain them.
Origin is Recommended If You Like: Anti-racism, Listening to people who have liberal arts degrees
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Castes
January 11, 2024
Cinema, Movie Reviews Angourie Rice, Arturo Perez Jr., Auli'i Cravalho, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Busy Phillips, Christopher Briney, Jaquel Spivey, Jenna Fischer, Mean Girls, Mean Girls 2024, Reneé Rapp, Samantha Jayne, Tim Meadows, Tina Fey 2 Comments
Was this photo taken on a Wednesday? (CREDIT: Jojo Whilden/Paramount © 2023 Paramount Pictures)
Starring: Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, Christopher Briney, Jaquel Spivey, Bebe Wood, Avantika, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Jenna Fischer, Busy Phillips
Directors: Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Zingers That Go for the Jugular
Release Date: January 12, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: If you’ve been plugged into American pop culture at all in the past 20 years, then surely you know Mean Girls‘ whole deal. This new cinematic edition keeps the same basic narrative structure, so if you already wear pink on Wednesdays, you know what’s coming. In case you need to be initiated, though, here are the essential details: Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) has spent most of her childhood in Kenya, but now that she’s a teenager, her mom (Jenna Fischer) thinks it’s time to move back to America so that Cady can actually have a typical in-person high school experience. She soon attracts the attention of the notorious clique the Plastics: queen bee Regina (Reneé Rapp), desperate-to-please Gretchen (Bebe Wood), and airheaded Karen (Avantika). Cady also develops a more ostensibly genuine friendship with resident outcasts Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), who concoct a revenge scheme to kick Regina off her perch at the top of the social hierarchy. And this time around, there’s singing! That’s right, this Mean Girls is based on the Broadway musical that was based on the original 2004 movie (which was in turn inspired by the parental advice book Queen Bees and Wannabes).
What Made an Impression?: High School is Still a Jungle: A few times while watching nu-Mean Girls, I was plagued by the thought of whether or not we still need a story like this in 2024. After all, aren’t we as a society much more open-minded when it comes to gender and sexual orientation and most other forms of identity? While that may be generally true, it depends on your particular community. Even if you’re lucky enough to grow up in a fully enlightened area, that doesn’t make you emotionally bulletproof. What hasn’t changed in the past couple of decades is our fundamental desire to be accepted by the people who are important to us. So while calling someone gay, for example, might not carry the same sting that it used to (rightly so), we still all have our vulnerabilities, and the folks behind Mean Girls totally understand that the fight against ostracism is a never-ending struggle.
New & Updated (Loopy Edition): I’ve seen the original Mean Girls in its entirety probably only twice or thrice, but I’ve encountered its enduring memes and quotes thousands of times. Which is to say, when this new version diverges onto its own path, it feels like it’s making a point. And that point usually is: don’t you wish we could have phrased that a little bit differently? Tina Fey is the credited screenwriter for both films (as well as the scribe of the book for the stage musical), and that continuity works in the alterations’ favor. And thankfully, while these changes are driven by a moral backbone, they’re not moralizing. The characters are allowed to be messy in a way that teenagers typically are. During moments when it seems like someone is about to declare, “Here are simple instructions for how to be a good person,” they instead say something along the lines of, “I’m on a whole bunch of painkillers right now, so I don’t even know what the heck’s coming out of my mouth.”
Was It a Good Decision to Sing?: If all you know about this version of Mean Girls is what the commercials have shown you, you might not have any idea that this is actually a musical. Regardless of whether or not you’re surprised by this factoid, I’m sure you’d like to know if the songs deliver the goods or not. That of course depends a great deal on your own particular subjective aural tastes. But what’s more objective is how clearly each number and arrangement fits the character of the people performing them. For my money, technical proficiency is less important than personality in musicals, although Mean Girls has plenty of both. Everyone involved knows what they want to say, and they sing their heart’s messages out with abandon.
Mean Girls is Recommended If You Like: TikTok, Memes, Quips, Math, Self-Awareness
Grade: 4 out of 5 Kalteen Bars
January 10, 2024
Cinema, Movie Reviews Bobby Naderi, David Ayer, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Jason Statham, Jeremy Irons, Josh Hutcherson, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad, The Beekeeper Leave a comment
Honey, Honey (CREDIT: Daniel Smith/© 2024 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All Rights Reserved)
Starring: Jason Statham, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Josh Hutcherson, Bobby Naderi, Jeremy Irons, Minnie Driver, Phylicia Rashad
Director: David Ayer
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Rating: R for Excessively Excessive Violence
Release Date: January 12, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: After his neighbor Eloise Parker (Phylicia Rashad) is scammed out of millions of dollars in a phishing scheme, a mysterious man known as Adam Clay (Jason Statham) takes it upon himself to wipe out the entire organization preying upon these vulnerable seniors. Meanwhile, Eloise’s FBI agent daughter Verona (Emmy Raver-Lampman) starts investigating both Clay and the people who swindled her mother. It soon becomes clear that everyone is in for a lot more than they bargained for. The scamming operation is run by a tech bro master of the universe jerkoff (Josh Hutcherson) who is connected to some very powerful people, while Mr. Clay is the product of an organization known as “Beekeepers,” who were engineered to root out problems just like this one. But he’s gone rogue, and that does not bode well for anyone standing in his way.
What Made an Impression?: Hooking Our Sympathies: Who among us in 21st Century Planet Earth hasn’t been victimized by intrusive pop-up viruses or pushy call centers? Even if you’ve managed to escape without losing any cash or computer data, you know how much of a nuisance they are. So it’s not hard to understand Clay’s instinct to incinerate where it’s all happening. That has to be one of the most popular revenge fantasies nowadays. So it’s a bit of a shock that that destruction is merely the first blow in the War of Clay vs. The Scammers, instead of the final battle. Where does The Beekeeper go from there to keep the melee coming?
A Study in Extremes: As it turns out, the answer to that question is: turn Jason Statham into a one-man wrecking crew. That’s not exactly a new innovation, but director David Ayer takes the concept to grotesque extremes that I don’t think we’ve ever quite seen before. Where one punch to the head is enough to dispatch a foe, at least three more punches are added. And where the amputation of fingers is presumably enough to teach someone a lesson, he’s instead tied to a car and dragged into the bottom of a river. I suppose the idea being explored here is the consequence of creating super-soldiers, but the mysterious nature of the Beekeepers precludes the script from fully exploring that possibility. Either way, it’s not particularly pleasant to watch Mr. Clay execute his mayhem.
Ironing Out the Details: While I’m often put off by the sour worldview in David Ayer’s films, at least he’s able to attract top-notch talent in front of the camera. Statham can play this type of character in his sleep, and he’s not really being asked to elevate it higher than its B-movie trappings. But in the supporting roles, there is often room to deliver some gravitas, and who better to deliver than Jeremy Irons? With his pristinely pressed suits, he serves as a corporate executive tasked with making sure the operation runs smoothly. That description could also accurately describe the entirety of Irons’ acting career. If we must descend into a grotesque bloodbath, at least let the professionals chaperone us.
The Beekeeper is Recommended If You Like: January pulp, Classically trained actors in lowbrow flicks, Slamming appliances out of frustration
Grade: 2 out of 5 Hives
January 4, 2024
Cinema, Movie Reviews Amélie Hoeferle, Bryce McGuire, Eddie Martinez, Elijah J. Roberts, Gavin Warren, Jodi Long, Kerry Condon, Nancy Lenehan, Night Swim, Rahnuma Panthaky, Wyatt Russell 1 Comment
Take a dip? (CREDIT: Universal Pictures)
Starring: Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle, Gavin Warren, Nancy Lenehan, Jodi Long, Rahnuma Panthaky, Eddie Martinez, Elijah J. Roberts
Director: Bryce McGuire
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Creepy Black Goo and A Few Near-Drownings
Release Date: January 5, 2024 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: Professional baseball player Ray Waller (Wyatt Russell) and his wife Eve (Kerry Condon) are shopping for a new home that will hopefully afford him some space to adjust after a recent multiple sclerosis diagnosis forced him to take time away from the game. They settle on a cozy suburban spot with a backyard swimming pool that has a very unusual feature: it’s connected to the groundwater! Also, it’s haunted. However, when Ray takes a dip, it’s more like a fountain of youth, as his symptoms begin to miraculously fade away. Unfortunately the pool has a bit of a tit-for-tat arrangement with all of its owners: for every person it cures, it must consume someone else. That certainly doesn’t bode well for Ray and Eve’s kids Izzy (Amélie Hoeferle) and Elliot (Gavin Warren).
What Made an Impression?: A New Mythology?: For much of Night Swim, I couldn’t help but ask, “When are we going to discover that this pool was built on an ancient burial ground?” While the premise is certainly Poltergeist-y, the aesthetics are more beholden to turn-of-the-20th century J-horror, especially when the strands of dark black hair of previous victims peek through the pool’s filter. But writer-director Bryce McGuire has ultimately crafted his own unique dark parable. It’s an expansion of the short film he made in 2014 (along with Rod Blackhurst, who has a story credit on the feature), but it also feels like it could be drawing from the mythology of some nation or ethnic group that I’m not terribly familiar with. If that’s the case, I’d love to dig deeper into the real-life inspiration. Although as far as I can tell, this was mostly McGuire’s creation. It’s a creepy enough scenario, although I do wish I had been more viscerally freaked out instead of focusing on all this pondering.
Shifting Moods, Shifting Tones: Each member of the Waller clan besides Ray has their own ghostly experience that convinces them that the pool is not to be trusted. But young Elliot is the only one who responds to that realization with much urgency. His older sister and mom do have flashes of taking the threat seriously, but they’re distracted by more earthbound concerns. (Maybe there’s a point being made about losing touch with the supernatural as you get older?) When it eventually gets to a point that they can’t deny what’s right in front of their eyes, they often remain rather stone-faced. Perhaps this family just isn’t very expressive.
It all builds and falls to a rather matter-of-fact resolution despite a notably tragic climax. I don’t know if McGuire ever fully figured out what tone he was aiming for. Or if he did, I’m not sure he clearly conveyed that to his cast. Still, there’s enough creepy imagery and a solidly unnerving premise to make Night Swim worth a lukewarm recommendation despite all the awkwardness.
Night Swim is Recommended If You: Saw all the gunk trapped in a pool filter and then thought, “Hey, what if that’s haunted?”
Grade: 3 out of 5 Marco Polos
December 22, 2023
Cinema, Movie Reviews documentary, Melanie Hyams, Occupied City, Steve McQueen 1 Comment
Occupied City (CREDIT: A24)
Narrator: Melanie Hyams
Director: Steve McQueen
Running Time: 262 Minutes (Including a 15-Minute Intermission)
Rating: PG-13 for A Disturbing History Lesson
Release Date: December 25, 2023 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: In a year of high-profile lengthy theatrical releases, Occupied City is the longest endurance test yet. Clocking in at over four hours (with a break in between), this documentary from director Steve McQueen features footage of modern-day Amsterdam juxtaposed with voice-over narration describing events that happened during the Holocaust at various buildings in the Dutch capital. The visuals were shot during some of the most intense chapters of the COVID-19 pandemic, which invites you to draw historical parallels, if you please. But for the most part, it’s all presented profoundly matter-of-factly.
What Made an Impression?: Exhibiting the Evidence: I’ve never seen any movie quite like Occupied City, and I’m kind of surprised – almost stunned, even – that it’s getting any sort of commercial theatrical release at all. It might be worth seeing just on the basis of that uniqueness alone. But you might also come to the same conclusion that I did, which is to say: this feels more like a museum exhibit than a movie, wherein the narration would play on a loop in a room throughout the day while the images are projected on the wall.
Viewing Strategy: Extending that museum exhibit idea, that would likely be a preferable way to take in Occupied City, since it would allow you to get up and stretch and keep the blood flowing. As for the cinematic form that it actually exists in, it at least helps that there’s an intermission to prevent a total lack of mobility. But even if you do get up at some point during either of the two halves, don’t worry. McQueen himself has said that pee breaks are part of the experience. After all, four hours isn’t massive enough to fully capture this subject, so you’re going to be missing out on something anyway. You might as well embrace that fact and not lose touch with the outside world too much if you do decide to go see Occupied City.
Occupied City is Recommended If You Like: Thoroughness, University lectures, An even-keeled speaking voice
Grade: 3 out of 5 Amsterdams
December 21, 2023
Cinema, Movie Reviews Alexandra Shipp, Anyone But You, Bryan Brown, Charlee Fraser, Darren Barnet, Dermot Mulroney, GaTa, Glen Powell, Hadley Robinson, Joe Davidson, Michelle Hurd, Rachel Griffiths, Sydney Sweeney, Will Gluck 2 Comments
Sydney (and Glen) in Sydney (CREDIT: Brook Rushton/Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Dermot Mulroney, Rachel Griffiths, Michelle Hurd, Darren Barnet, Bryan Brown, Charlee Fraser, Joe Davidson
Director: Will Gluck
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Rating: R for Naughty Bits and Cheeky Language
Release Date: December 22, 2023 (Theaters)
What’s It About?: After an improbably passionate meet-cute that ends as terribly as possible, Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) find themselves inexplicably thrust back into each other’s lives several months later when her sister Halle (Hadley Robinson) and his good friend Claudia (Alexandra Shipp) are getting married at a destination wedding in Sydney, Australia. Their petty sniping threatens to ruin the nuptials, so the brides and a few other guests concoct a scheme to get them to reignite the spark. Bea and Ben quickly catch on to the ruse, but instead of getting upset, they decide that the best way to get everyone off their backs is to just play along. Plus, their respective exes (Darren Barnet, Charlee Fraser) are also both in attendance, so this charade could siphon away some of the awkwardness from those encounters, or maybe even spark some jealousy. Of course, this being a romantic comedy and all, Bea and Ben are probably on a path to discovering that the fake relationship should maybe become the real deal.
What Made an Impression?: Only in Rom-Coms: The typical rom-com formula requires plenty of suspension of disbelief, what with all the unlikely encounters and easily resolvable misunderstandings. Anyone But You kind of pushes the limits of cliché, perhaps even to the point of parody. Bea and Ben’s meet-cute is especially absurd, as she runs into a coffee shop just to find a place to pee, and he buys her a drink so that she can become a paying customer. And this proves to be chivalrous enough for them to spend the night together! Then their big initial misunderstanding is based on the thinnest of circumstances, as she leaves his apartment the morning after before he wakes up, only to turn around just in time to hear him masking his insecurity by lying to a friend that he meant nothing to her. They eventually have ample opportunity to clear the confusion up, but both of them are too petty to do so. But the ridiculousness is kind of the point. The setup had to be that infuriating to really establish Bea and Ben as the ultimate rom-com protagonists.
All the Romance is a Stage: While I was eager to be charmed by Anyone But You‘s friendly cast and sunny harborside exteriors, I found some of the dialogue to be stilted and unnatural. But then I eventually locked into the vibe that it was going for. The story is based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, so it’s all about trickery and subterfuge, and self-awareness about that trickery and subterfuge, and self-awareness about that self-awareness. It’s hard not to occasionally sound like a doofus while diving too deep into this silly game. Considering the source material, I wonder how Anyone But You would’ve worked as a stage production, especially if it had encouraged mass audience participation. As it stands now in its cinematic form, it wisely encourages silliness on the part of all of its cast members, and also smartly decides to have low stakes masquerade as high stakes.
Stripping Down: Romantic movies that feature a lot of skin tend to be of the “erotic” or “gross-out” variety, but Anyone But You bucks that trend by maintaining the sweetness while also dropping trou on more than a few occasions. Part of that is surely attributable to a more liberal attitude towards nudity among Australians compared to Americans. Whatever the full reasoning behind this cheekiness, it helps to bolster the theme of vulnerability being good for the heart. And here’s the thing: with a combination of goofball energy, sunny beaches, and horniness, certain parts are just going to pop out at some point. It’s enough to drive you wild, and help you come to an important epiphany.
Anyone But You is Recommended If You Like: Vicarious traveling, Dermot Mulroney’s Silver Fox Era, Awkward everyday acrobatics
Grade: 4 out of 5 Deceptions
Jmunney's Blog 