“Can’t Help the Way I Feel” (CREDIT: Lily & Madeleine/YouTube Screenshot)
I heard this on the Promising Young Woman soundtrack. It reminds me of Diana Ross and those dang Supremes.
Watch And/Or Listen to This: Lily & Madeleine’s “Can’t Help The Way I Feel”
December 10, 2020
Music, Music Videos, Watch And/Or Listen to This Can't Help the Way I Feel, Lily & Madeleine Leave a comment
John Patrick Shanley Turns Back on the Classic Romantic Charm in ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’
December 9, 2020
Cinema, Movie Reviews Christopher Walken, Danielle Ryan, Dearbhla Molloy, Emily Blunt, Ireland, Jamie Dornan, John Patrick Shanley, Jon Hamm, Wild Mountain Thyme 1 Comment
Wild Mountain Thyme (Credit: Kerry Brown/Bleecker Street)
Starring: Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Jon Hamm, Christopher Walken, Dearbhla Molloy, Danielle Ryan
Director: John Patrick Shanley
Running Time: 102 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Mild Adult-ness
Release Date: December 11, 2020 (Theaters and On Demand)
Do you despair at the lack of nakedly emotional romantic movies nowadays? Have you spent the past 33 years wondering when the next Moonstruck is going to finally come along? Do you believe it’s time to send Jon Hamm to Ireland? Well has John Patrick Shanley got just what you asked for! The screenwriter behind “Snap out of it!” and “Why do men chase women?” has taken his talents to the Emerald Isle for Wild Mountain Thyme, a windswept tale about two people who sure appear to be very much in love, though it takes them quite a while to fully consummate their passion. As with Moonstruck, the fun is less about wondering whether or not they end up together and more about how emotionally discombobulated they become by resisting where their passions obviously lie.
As the film begins, Christopher Walken intones, “Welcome to Ireland,” and I’m thinking, “I’m pretty sure Mr. More Cowbell is definitely not Irish, but I nevertheless feel as welcome as possible.” Walken plays Tony Reilly, father of Jamie Dornan’s Anthony (the “h” is silent and everyone hits that “t” as hard as they possibly can). The elder Tony is in a financial bind, so he’s set to sell the family farm to his American nephew Adam (Jon Hamm). That puts a damper on Anthony’s seemingly inevitable marriage to Rosemary Muldoon (Emily Blunt), who had envisioned the two of them enjoying wedded bliss in the countryside. Anthony and Rosemary have basically been in love ever since they were kids, and everyone knows this. But for some reason Anthony cannot bring himself to pop the question, and honestly I’m not sure what his problem is. But I suspect that’s kind of the point. The best explanation the movie offers us is that he’s suffering from the vaguely defined familial strain of “Kelly madness” (Kelly being the surname of his grandfather).
Anthony’s dithering is so extreme that anyone watching is liable to wonder why Rosemary doesn’t just move on. And she’s not lacking for options, as there’s a scene that begins with her announcing “Today’s the day,” which leads to her making an impromptu trip to New York City (to the tune of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake score, no less) where she meets up with Adam and develops a quick natural repartee with her beloved’s cousin. And when she returns to Ireland, Anthony even attempts to push her in that direction. But somehow I am ultimately convinced by Shanley’s machinations and Blunt’s sheer force of will that Anthony and Rosemary really are going to make it work somehow. The way he digs in his heels should be disqualifying, but the situation only gets sillier and sillier, and thus more and more charming. Maybe we could all use a little bit of Kelly Madness in our lives.
Wild Mountain Thyme is Recommended If You Like: Moonstruck, Taking a while to snap out of it, Ireland, Jon Hamm-centric subplots
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Farms
Jeff’s Wacky SNL Review: Jason Bateman/Morgan Wallen
December 6, 2020
Saturday Night Live, SNL Weekly Recaps, Television Jason Bateman, Morgan Wallen, Saturday Night Live, Saturday Night Live Season 46, SNL, SNL Season 46 1 Comment
SNL: Morgan Wallen, Jason Bateman, Heidi Gardner (CREDIT: Saturday Night Live/YouTube Screenshot)
Hello December, Saturday Night Live would like to return to airing new episodes. I imagine that is similar to the conversation that Morgan Wallen had with NBC executives after his initial booking for this season’s second episode was cancelled due to maskless partying. Something along the lines of, “Hello Lorne, I would like to be booked again.” And maybe Jason Bateman also had a conversation like that about hosting. “Hello 2006, I would like to host SNL a second time.” “Hello 2007, I would like to host SNL a second time.” Et cetera. It took a while, but 2020 finally said yes. As for me, I said, “Hello morning of December 6, 2020, it’s time for me to review an episode of SNL once more.” So I sliced up some banana onto my cereal and got to work!
If you were on Twitter a few days ago, you may have noticed that “Cecily Strong” was trending, as voter fraud testimony witness Melissa Carone sounded exactly like the Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation With at a Party. The joke was already there, so did SNL actually need to make it? For an answer, I would note that not every SNL viewer watches the news 24/7 (good for them), so Ms. Carone was new to them when Cecily actually did play her. Thus, the Michigan State Senate Hearing cold open (Grade: 5 “After Davids”) was kind of like the Sarah Palin sketches way back when in which Tina Fey just repeated some of the things that the actual Palin said, and it was pretty much gold. There were other conspiracy purveyors on hand to say some kooky things, but this was the “Witness You Wish You Hadn’t Started Testimony at a Hearing” Show.
That’s Auntertainment! Episode 23: Never Have I Ever & Female Sitcom Teenagers
December 6, 2020
Podcasts, That's Auntertainment Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Mindy Kaling, Never Have I Ever, Podcasts, That's Auntertainment Leave a comment
Never Have I Ever (CREDIT: Lara Solanki/Netflix)
Never have Aunt Beth and Jeff ever recorded an episode about the Netflix sitcom Never Have I Ever.
Never have they ever recorded an episode focused on teenage female sitcom characters.
Never have they ever welcomed Marissa Sblendorio (@marissasblen) on as a guest.
That all changes with this episode!
Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 12/4/20
December 4, 2020
Cinema, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television Arctic Monkeys, Big Mouth, Candice Bergen, David Fincher, Dianne Wiest, Godmothered, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Let Them All Talk, Mank, Meryl Streep, MTV Movie & TV Awards, Mulan, Steven Soderbergh Leave a comment
MANK (CREDIT: Netflix)
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
Movies
–Godmothered (December 4 on Disney+)
–Mank (December 4 on Netflix) – Fincher on Mankiewicz.
–Mulan (December 4 on Disney+, without the premium fee)
–Let Them All Talk (December 10 on HBO Max) – Soderbergh directs Streep-Bergen-Wiest on a cruise.
TV
–Big Mouth Season 4 (December 4 on Netflix)
–MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time Special (December 6 on MTV)
Music
-Arctic Monkeys, Live at the Royal Albert Hall
For All of My Life, I See a Lot of Movies. ‘All My Life’ is One of Them.
December 3, 2020
Cinema, Movie Reviews All My Life, Chrissie Fit, Ever Carradine, Harry Shum Jr., Jay Pharoah, Jessica Rothe, Jon Rudnitsky, Josh Brener, Keala Settle, Kyle Allen, Marc Meyers, Marielle Scott, Mario Cantone Leave a comment
All My Life (CREDIT: Patti Perret/Universal Pictures)
Starring: Jessica Rothe, Harry Shum Jr., Kyle Allen, Chrissie Fit, Jay Pharoah, Marielle Scott, Keala Settle, Ever Carradine, Mario Cantone, Jon Rudnitsky, Josh Brener
Director: Marc Meyers
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Rating: PG-13 for Typical Brief Language-Related Reasons
Release Date: December 4, 2020
My biggest emotional connection with All My Life came at the very end when we saw footage of the real Jennifer Carter and Solomon Chau, the couple whose story inspired the film, as it made me go, “Oh yeah, it said, ‘Inspired by true events’ at the beginning.” In between, I had pretty much forgotten the real life aspect, as nothing particularly stranger-than-fiction appeared to be happening. Perhaps the real Jenn and Sol’s romance was just as pedestrian as what ended up on screen, although I’m sure it didn’t feel unremarkable to them. Seeing as their story caught the attention of big-time Hollywood executives, it surely must have been passionate somewhere along the way. So I kind of wish I could have watched their entire wedding video instead, because what I actually watched felt like it was written by an Algorithm instructed to create “Generic Heterosexual American Rom-Com 2020.”
Surely it didn’t have to be this way, as we have a couple of fine leads in the form of Jessica Rothe as Jenn and Glee alum Harry Shum Jr. as Sol. Rothe is of course preternaturally charming in the Happy Death Day movies, and while Shum hasn’t broken out on quite the same level as some of his New Directions colleagues, we know that he’s a bona fide song-and-dance man. Let these two kick loose, why don’t you, All My Life! What I haven’t mentioned up until this point, but what is pretty crucial to the premise, is that this story pivots on a malignant cancer diagnosis that interrupts wedding preparations. So tragedy is hanging over the whole affair, but clearly this movie nevertheless wants to be about living life – ALL OF YOUR LIFE! – while you still can.
We need to see these characters doing just that, and we also need to be able to enjoy it vicariously. Now I can’t speak for everyone, but I can tell you what I was feeling, and it wasn’t vicarious enjoyment. Rather, it was a mix of confusion, digestion (or indigestion) of banality, and just a profound sense that I’m not connecting to these people. Jenn eats Ding Dongs for dinner at one point, I guess because it’s supposed to be goofy and quirky? At another point, Jenn and Sol dance in a water fountain, I guess because Friends is part of our collective cultural memory? Eventually Sol loses his sense of taste as a side effect of his cancer treatment, and that’s a big deal because he’s a chef, and that’s one of the few moments that I genuinely understand. This movie seems to have selected its name from the “Department of Generic Titles,” but I think a better idea would have been to go with the moniker “Loss of Taste” and then set everything in motion from that starting point.
All My Life is Recommended If You Like: Generic covers of Oasis songs
Grade: 1.5 out of 5 Meet-Cutes
Movie Review: Rachel Brosnahan Assures Everyone, ‘I’m Your Woman’
December 2, 2020
Cinema, Movie Reviews Arinzé Kene, Bill Heck, Frankie Faison, I'm Your Woman, Julia Hart, Marceline Hugot, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Rachel Brosnahan Leave a comment
I’m Your Woman (CREDIT: Wilson Webb/Amazon Studios)
Starring: Rachel Brosnahan, Arinzé Kene, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Bill Heck, Frankie Faison, Marceline Hugot
Director: Julia Hart
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Rating: R for Deadly Gunshots and Tough Guy Language
Release Date: December 4, 2020 (Select Theaters)/December 11, 2020 (Amazon Prime Video)
Do you think you would be entertained if someone told Rachel Brosnahan that she needed to leave her house immediately and then gave her a gun just in case, even though she’s never handled one before? Surely, there are plenty of people who believe that “woman on the run + gun” is a foolproof formula for quality cinema. When that woman is the star of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, it turns out that she is more than up for the task. Did I mention that there’s also a baby in the mix? Because that’s pretty important. As very frustrated housewife (or house-less-wife) Jean, Brosnahan spends a significant portion of I’m Your Woman with a baby in one hand and a gun in the other. She’s not quite sure how she ended up in this mess, and neither are we, but goshdangit if she doesn’t convince us that we’re all going to make it through together unscathed.
It all kicks off as an unholy mix of The Godfather and Raising Arizona dressed up in the most 1970s of full-length trench coats. We meet Jean when she’s been struggling through miscarriage after miscarriage, but then one day her husband Eddie (Bill Heck) shows up at their front door with a random infant in tow. Soon after, he’s closing a door on her so that he can talk shop with some guys in private in much the same way that Michael Corleone kept Kay shut off from his business. While Jean never quite learns what Eddie is up to, she does know that it is very, very bad, as Eddie’s associate Cal (Arinzé Kene) soon shows up to whisk her and the baby off to a series of safe houses. Eventually Cal’s family joins in on the mission as well, and Jean basically becomes reborn as the ultimate survivor.
Structurally, I’m Your Woman works in fits and starts, kind of by design. There are significant stretches of Jean just sitting around watching TV and nodding off in the middle of the afternoon, occasionally waking up to look over her shoulder. These segments are rather numbing, but we’re meant to absorb her simmering anxiety. They’re surrounded by a series of high-tension car rides, nightclub shootouts, and good old-fashioned running towards some semblance of safety. Consistently carrying us through both all the numb and all the exciting is Brosnahan’s steely resolve. It’s a big ask to give any lead actor that much cinematic responsibility, but she’s ready to take care of us.
I’m Your Woman is Recommended If You Like: Focusing on the characters who are usually given short shrift, Long Tan Trench Coats, Aretha Franklin covers
Grade: 3 out of 5 Secrets
That’s Auntertainment! Thanksgiving 2020 Zoom Call
November 29, 2020
Podcasts, That's Auntertainment family, Podcasts, Thanksgiving, That's Auntertainment Leave a comment
Aunt Beth and Jeff gathered their whole family together on Black Friday to discuss what they’ve been eating and what they’ve been watching. Concludes with a poem reading by Uncle Martin.
Entertainment To-Do List: Week of 11/27/20
November 27, 2020
Comedy, Entertainment To-Do List, Music, Television Cyr, Miley Cyrus, Minions, Natalie Palamides, Nate, Plastic Hearts, Smashing Pumpkins Leave a comment
Miley Cyrus Plastic Hearts
Credit: Mick Rock/RCA
Every week, I list all the upcoming (or recently released) movies, TV shows, albums, podcasts, etc. that I believe are worth checking out.
TV
-Minions Holiday Special (November 27 on NBC)
Music
-Miley Cyrus, Plastic Hearts
-Smashing Pumpkins, Cyr
Comedy
–Nate – A One Man Show (December 1 on Netflix): Some reportedly wild comedy from comedian Natalie Palamides
‘Zappa’ Provides the Story of the Man Behind the Mustache
November 24, 2020
Cinema, Movie Reviews Alex Winter, documentary, Frank Zappa, Zappa Leave a comment
Zappa (CREDIT: Roelof Kiers/Magnolia Pictures)
Starring: Frank Zappa and Friends
Director: Alex Winter
Running Time: 129 Minutes
Rating: Unrated (But I’d Go with a Light PG-13, for Semi-Indulgent Rock Star-ness)
Release Date: November 27, 2020 (Theaters)
Zappa is like a lot of rock docs, but different. Which makes sense, as its subject is Frank Zappa, who was in many ways very similar to other rock stars, but in other ways, very different. Directed by Bill & Ted star Alex Winter, Zappa follows the standard playbook by relying upon archival clips mixed with interviews with the people who knew the man, while establishing its unique appeal through unlimited access to the Zappa family trust. If you’re a fan of Behind the Music and its ilk, you will surely find something to enjoy here. If, however, you prefer that documentaries try to be at least a little formally inventive, you might be disappointed by the straightforward approach. But it’s impossible to be completely let down by the story of someone who absolutely refused to be pinned down by any categorization.
Zappa the Film keeps pounding away at the message that Zappa the Man was full of contradictions. Unlike so many other rock stars, he was totally straight-edged when it came to drugs, though he supported decriminalization. There was a thoroughly goofy streak to his artistry, but he was also constantly giving off a self-serious vibe. He mixed rock with jazz, or jazz with rock, and whatever else was bouncing around his head, but it would be too simplistic to consider his discography any clearly defined fusion of those genres. As one interviewee perfectly sums it up, “What the hell is it? It’s Zappa.” After watching this movie, you probably won’t be able to peg him any more easily than before, and that’s kind of the point.
Those contradictions extend right through to Zappa’s personal life. This film is no hagiography. Many times, it had me thinking, “Zappa was an interesting guy, but I wish he had been a better husband and father.” In one clip, he pretty much justifies his infidelities by saying that he is a human being who spends plenty of time on the road. We do see his love for his wife Gail and their four kids, but it seems like he tends to get bored of them after a while. It’s ironic then that perhaps the biggest hit of his career was the novelty track “Valley Girl,” a collaboration with his then 14-year-old daughter Moon that more or less defined a stereotype.
Frank Zappa gave the world plenty that we should be thankful for: weird and undefinable music, anti-censorship crusades, appreciation for his musical forebears. But as always, it’s important to be aware that the story behind all that is a lot messier than we might want it to be.
Zappa is Recommended If You Like: Contradictions
Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Mothers of Invention
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