December Movie Roundup Part 3: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The Midnight Sky

Well, movie theaters might still be closed in NYC but Netflix is assuring I have no dearth of movies to watch. Two further entries into the potential Oscar race arrived this month, and while they feature wildly different stories, both are worth your consideration.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom: Based on August Wilson's play, the movie largely takes place in a recording studio in Chicago in 1927 on a sweltering summer day, where legendary blues singer Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) is set to record an album with her band. There are tensions among the band members, with the trumpeter Levee (Chadwick Boseman in his final film performance) wanting to play some of his own arrangements and getting into fights with the older members who know that Ma is set in her ways and won't allow for any changes. There are tensions between Ma and her white manager and the white studio owner, who are desperate for her to start on time and record this album. As the film progresses, those tensions keep rising, everyone gets sweatier, there are more arguments, there are bitter recriminations, and everything crescendos and spirals out of control.

The central performances from Davis and Boseman are the main reason to watch this movie, along with the searing August Wilson dialogue. These two characters represent such pivotal aspects of the Black experience in America, and despite being set in 1927, these characters might as well exist in 2020. Ma Rainey is a Black woman who has "made it" and she wants to ensure she is given the respect she is due. This is a woman who emphatically knows her worth and will not let others push her around - she tells her bandleader that she knows her white manager can't risk offending her until he has her voice recorded, so until then, he had better meet all her demands. Meanwhile, Levee is a Black man with a traumatic past who is trying to get the fame and fortune that Ma has already earned. Unfortunately, he acts like she does without having earned it yet, and he constantly feels beaten down by the world. When his bandmates accuse him of being over-friendly to the white studio owner who has promised to look at Levee's arrangements, we learn more about this man's history and ambitions, and it's a dark and twisted, and sadly all too common tale of the things people endure to escape their past.

Directed by George C. Wolfe and adapted by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, this movie is well-executed and sublimely acted, and will likely get some acting nominations for Boseman and Davis. Neither of them are playing "likable" characters but they are playing brilliantly flawed and talented human beings who end up taking very different paths in life. While the action all takes place in one afternoon, that's all it takes to understand these characters' life stories and where they're headed. It's a relevant movie for our time, made all the more bittersweet by its being our final chance to see Boseman play such a complex character on screen.

The Midnight Sky: Directed by George Clooney, with a screenplay by Mark L. Smith based on the novel Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton, this is the movie you're seeking if you need to acknowledge the sense of the impending apocalypse with some beautiful science fiction wonderment. Is this movie bleak and an attempt to figure out what the point of humanity is? Yes. Can you ignore all that and just be captivated by some incredible scenes set in space? Also yes.

The story takes place on Earth and in space. On Earth, we've got the grizzled Augustine Lofthouse (Clooney), a scientist who has stayed on an Arctic base after some sort of cataclysmic event has rendered the surface of the planet mostly uninhabitable. While the surviving members of the human race have all gone underground, he remains on the surface, wanting to contact the astronauts on any returning space missions to tell them not to land on the planet. The only people he can contact are the crew of the Aether, who are returning from a successful mission from K-23, one of Jupiter's moons that was discovered to be habitable. 

There is a lot of drama aboard the Aether mission and you will follow the crew (consisting of a stalwart cast of Felicity Jones, David Oyelewo, Demian Bichir, Kyle Chandler, and Tiffany Boone) as they try to make contact with Earth, then deal with various setbacks, and wrestle with what to do once they know Earth is no longer habitable. It's an emotional and moving film and and there's as much drama amongst the Aether crew in space as there is on Earth where we get flashbacks of Augustine's life and watch him struggle to figure out if his life's work ultimately meant anything at all. Ethan Peck plays the younger Clooney in flashbacks, and let me say, that man should play young Clooney in everything because he's got that impression down. 

The movie's final idea of what makes life worth living feels very pertinent to Clooney's current stage of life. Younger Clooney who was gadding about was less likely to make this film, but it is pretty clear to me that this story now has a deeply personal resonance for him. It's a good movie that could certainly be accused of being gimmicky in places, but at the end of the day, it has a heartfelt tale to tell and does it well. It would have been even more beautiful to watch on the big screen, but for now, I'm content to watch spacewalks from my living room and contemplate my existence. Happy 2020 to us all.

Bridgerton: Rapturous Regency Romance

Last year, Shonda Rhimes announced that her first big Netflix show was going to be an adaptation of Julia Quinn's series of romance novels about the Bridgerton family. I have been desperately waiting for this show ever since that announcement, and at long last, 2020 finally delivered the Christmas present we were all waiting for (ok, apart from the vaccines). Having now binged all eight episodes, I am here to demand why you are reading this instead of immediately bingeing Bridgerton yourself. Come on!

There are eight novels for each of the Bridgerton siblings (four boys, four girls, very neat) and this series is focused on the first novel, The Duke & I, which tells the story of Daphne Bridgerton (Phoebe Dynevor) and Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings (Rege-Jean Page). However, there is a LOT of material being pulled in from the other novels, and you will get plenty of background to set up the future romances of Anthony, Benedict, Colin, and Eloise (the children were all named alphabetically if you have failed to note that already). The central romance is quite faithful to the novel, but there are definitely elements of the story that are a drastic departure from the original source material, which means there are still plenty of surprises in store for even the most devoted readers.

I'm not going to go into much detail about the plot. It's a romance, there are a ton of misunderstandings, it's all very delightful. You should settle in for the ride and many heightened emotions. What I do want to get into though, is why this series is so utterly magnificent and a treat for your eyes and ears. Created by Chris Van Dusen, who was a former writer on Shondaland's Grey's Anatomy and Scandal, this show is a soapy, sexy, stunning successor to everything Shondaland gave us on network television and can now amp up in the TV-MA world of Netflix. Let's be very clear. This is not some tame adaptation with some heaving but fully clothed bosoms. You're gonna get nudity, of the male and female variety, at the outset (there's a sex scene about two minutes into the very first episode if you weren't sufficiently warned) and hoo boy, the sexy times just keep a-coming. The folks at Shondaland understand exactly why readers love Regency romances, and they deliver in spades.

The cast of this show is absolutely impeccable and up to the task of giving us something that is both titillating and emotionally affecting. I thought it was purely color-blind casting but in Episode 4, there is an explicit acknowledgement of why there are so many Black Dukes and Lords running around London high society. Romance novels are already a bit of a fantasy genre, so why restrict yourself by suddenly claiming a need for "historical accuracy"? It makes for a richer and more diverse and diverting (see what I did there) show, and allows for some absolutely sublime performances. My very favorite might be Adjoa Andoh who plays Lady Danbury, a fierce, elderly dowager who loves to gossip about the ton and is very free with her opinions. If race had been an issue during casting, we would never have gotten to see this magnificent performance from this superlative Black actress, but now? I will never be able to picture Lady Danbury as anyone else. 

Next, there are the costumes by Ellen Mirojnick. What a work of art. And just, what a lot of work, period. The costume department ended up creating around 7,500 distinct costumes for this series and their efforts have not gone in vain. Even if you haven't read the books, it is immediately apparent that the Bridgertons have both taste and elegance, while you will chuckle over the unfortunately garish costumes the Featherington girls are forced to don, and it is all incredibly bewitching and remarkable. And of course, to go along with the costumes, we have the stunning production design from Will Hughes-Jones who brings us Regency London in all its pomp and glory. When I read these books, I have always had to pictures these worlds in my head, but now, I have so many settings and dresses and ballrooms to choose from. Every scene of this show is a delight and I could stare at it for hours, losing myself in the colors and textures and sumptuousness of it all.

And where would I be if I didn't mention the music? The original score is wonderful and the work of composer Kris Bowers. But I need to sing the special praises of music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas. When I was in college, I mostly discovered new music on TV shows and the soundtracks that often caught my ear were Gossip Girl and Grey's Anatomy. Patsavas was responsible for the music on those shows, so once I started noticing pop music Easter Eggs in Bridgerton, I knew my lady was behind the scenes and ensuring this show would not just be a visual feast but an audiovisual one. Pay attention in the ballroom scenes: what sounds like Regency orchestral music is sometimes a cover of a modern pop song, including a rip-roaring version of Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy" in Episode 3. But the music moment that made me cry was in the finale. There's a particularly beautiful waltz that is set to Max Richter's "Spring 1," a piece of music that is my definition of what joy sounds like, where every pluck of the violin strings seems to pluck at my heartstrings. It was such an apt selection for this moment where our couple was going to get their happily ever after (this is not a spoiler alert, you just don't understand how romance novels work), and I was overcome with a sense of how this show had managed to meet my expectations and then wildly surpass them.

Bridgerton is a feast for the senses and a television masterpiece. And apart from all the aesthetics I've described, I cannot emphasize enough how well-written and well-paced it is. Every episode contains exactly the right mix of scandal, drama, and comic relief, and even though there is such an absurdly sprawling cast of characters, I was never lost for a single minute, eagerly following the myriad storylines and curious to see how much more I was going to get from any particular supporting character before we circled back to Daphne and Simon's central romance. It is a screenwriting tour-de-force and if the writers don't win any Emmys, it will be purely because of the foolish disrespect people have for the romance genre and not because of any lack of skill. This show is a perfect distillation of why we love and admire this genre so much - yes, the scenarios can be silly and contrived, but the emotions and characters are fully developed and engaging and unforgettable. Watch this show and then start reading Julia Quinn's novels. You're in for such a treat.

The Flight Attendant & I Hate Suzie: Women on the Verge

I recently watched two amazing TV shows that feature exceedingly complicated women. Much has been made of the antihero protagonists in the golden age of television, like Breaking Bad's Walter White or Mad Men's Don Draper. Well, in 2020, women have increasingly stepped up to the plate to play nuanced, complex, not entirely likable characters saddled with plenty of baggage. Over the holidays, if you're looking for the chance to dig into some meaty performances, dark comedy, and emotional thrills, these two shows have got you covered.

The Flight Attendant: Based on the novel by Chris Bohjalian, this is a zippy murder mystery with an extremely unreliable alcoholic guiding us through the action. Kaley Cuoco stars as Cassie, the eponymous flight attendant, who wakes up after a drunken night in Bangkok with a rich man she met on one of her flights, only to discover he is lying dead next to her. His throat has been slit, and she has absolutely no idea what happened. What follows is a tense but also weirdly comic eight episodes of international intrigue and mayhem as Cassie tries to cover her tracks while simultaneously investigating what happened. 

I fell in love with this show in the first eight minutes because the soundtrack had already featured songs from Sofi Tukker and ABBA. The production values are impeccable, and you will never get bored looking at your screen because it is shot in such an engaging way, constantly jumping through split screens and other fun narrative devices to keep you interested. And once you're hooked visually, you'll also get hooked intellectually, because this is a bonkers story with a cliffhanger after every episode. HBO Max released this show in weekly installments, but with multiple episodes at a time. So the first week you got three episodes to feel like you had a solid binge but were still left wanting more. Then you got two more, another two after that, and then the finale on the fourth week. It was a clever bit of programming that tried to find a compromise between bingeing and stoking your weekly excitement, and it certainly worked for me.

Of course, now you can just binge the whole thing in one glorious gulp. I was initially none too thrilled at the idea of yet another mystery featuring an alcoholic woman who is unreliable and difficult to deal with, but Cuoco is such a compelling actress and Cassie's background is parceled out in such careful morsels that you are desperate to piece together all this information to find out what makes this woman tick. The supporting cast is also marvelous, including a turn from Rosie Perez as Cassie's co-worker who is up to all manner of shenanigans herself, as well as one of my favorite Scottish actresses, Michelle Gomez, who you won't be able to trust for all eight episodes, and a great performance from Zosia Mamet, as Cassie's best friend, who has secrets of her own and is really struggling to deal with her friend's drama. So tune in for a slick and smart thriller, starring some insanely wonderful women, that will keep you on your toes and leave you feeling satisfied.

I Hate Suzie: Written by Lucy Prebble, this series is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. But if you're interested in watching a show about a British actress who completely unravels and has multiple nervous breakdowns, look no further. It is frenetic, dramatic, funny, and wrenching. And it perfectly captures a sense of dread and anxiety that all of us are sadly too familiar with in this day and age.

Billie Piper (who co-created the show with Prebble) stars as Suzie Pickles, a moderately famous actress whose life is turned upside down when her nude photos are released on the Internet. Leila Farzad stars as her agent, Naomi, and together, the two women navigate the maelstrom that is unleashed. Each episode is titled after a stage of grief to capture Suzie's journey from Shock and Denial to Anger and Acceptance. There is so much to love and relate to in every single episode, but there are also moments when you simply have to shake your head and go "oh Suzie, what were you thinking?" Piper has the most expressive face on the planet, and as you watch Suzie go through all manner of hell in the course of eight episodes, you will not be able to resist empathizing with her even as you are silently judging her.

The show's strident feminism is refreshing and Fleabag-esque, in that it is a story about women and the things they go through, but doesn't try to pretend women have it all figured out. It merely reveals the kind of shit they oftentimes put up with until they can no longer take it and make spectacularly poor life decisions. Suzie's husband, Cob (played by Daniel Ings), is such a pompous twat but there's a sweet flashback to the early days of their courtship where you can understand how this relationship began. They have a deaf son, Frank (Matthew Jordan-Caws), which means there is a great scene where Suzie and Cob are fighting but hiding their mouths so Frank can't lipread their argument. But it also means Suzie struggles with balancing her son's needs with her career and personal obligations, and will forever face society's censure for being a bad mother. 

I Hate Suzie is a tour de force, and while it doesn't tie everything up with a neat bow, the eighth episode does offer Acceptance and a way forward for our heroine. I was astonished at how much had happened in such a concentrated period of time but getting through this series offers up as much catharsis for the viewer as it does for Suzie herself. It is a wild ride, and you will need to fasten your seatbelts, but you won't be disappointed in the journey. 

December Movie Roundup Part 2: The Prom & Let Them All Talk

Today's post is for anyone who needs more Meryl Streep in their lives, i.e. everyone. So settle in for two very different but equally compelling movies that should brighten up your weekend.

The Prom: Directed by Ryan Murphy and based on the Broadway play by Chad Beguelin, Bob Martin, and Matthew Sklar, this movie tells the story of Emma, a teenage girl in Indiana who wants to take her girlfriend to her high school prom, but is banned from doing so. When a group of washed-up Broadway stars hear about this, they decide to swoop in and save the day, hoping for some good PR that will boost their own careers. What follows is a sweet and heartwarming story that reaffirms the importance of love and inclusivity and tolerance. With some extremely catchy songs accompanied by wonderful choreography and costumes.

The washed-up Broadway stars are played by Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, James Corden, and Andrew Rannells. Yeah, the casting director for this movie was NOT messing around. If that weren't enough, you also have Kerry Washington as the intolerant head of the high school PTA, and Keegan-Michael Key as the admirable high school principal who wants to fight for Emma and ensure she can have her prom. Jo Ellen Pellman, who plays Emma, is an instant star, while Ariana DeBose, who plays her still-closeted girlfriend, Alyssa, will break your heart as she sings about why she can't come out and all her fears about what her mother will say. 

This is a compelling and beautiful story that takes a really ugly scenario and turns it into something life-affirming. And while it was a particularly emotional watch for my queer friends, for me, it served as an emotional reminder of how much I miss Broadway. The songs are quintessential Broadway magic, incredibly funny and sassy, and managing to capture a world of emotion in a few pithy sentences. I burst out laughing when Andrew Rannells delivered a song picking apart the Bible and all its inconsistencies, and when Keegan-Michael Key sang about how Broadway is not a distraction but an escape, I wanted to cheer. Also, I loved the romance that Meryl Streep's character embarks upon in this film, proving that May-December romances work just as well (if not better) when you've got an older lady and a younger man. This is a glorious musical that will keep you entertained from start to finish. And while we can't all go to Broadway right now, at least we can experience a little bit of it in our homes. 

Let Them All Talk: Directed by Steven Soderbergh, and starring Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, and Dianne Wiest, this movie is a bit like watching a fictionalized American version of Tea With the Dames. Streep play Alice, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who is now struggling to write her next masterpiece. When her agent (played by the lovely Gemma Chan) persuades her to go to the UK for a prize ceremony, Alice agrees with a few conditions: she won't fly, but will make the journey aboard the Queen Mary 2 instead. And she wants to be accompanied by her nephew (the equally lovely Lucas Hodges) and old college friends Roberta (Bergen) and Susan (Wiest). She has lost touch with these friends over the years, but for some reason now wants to bring them all together. 

What follows is a wildly fun mystery as you try to piece together what Alice's motives are, what happened to drive these friends apart, and enjoy the intergenerational conflict amongst all the characters and their bizarre lives. These days, it is hard to watch any movie that was filmed pre-pandemic where people are hugging and standing too close together, but it's especially unnerving to see strangers crammed together on a ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean. But putting all that aside, this is a freewheeling, deligthful, incredibly naturalistic movie about some very sassy women and all their personal drama. Deborah Eisenberg wrote the story outline, but the cast mostly improvised their dialogue, and it's apparent when you watch this movie that these ladies were having a ton of fun. Reportedly Streep was only paid 25 cents for the film, and frankly, I'd probably be OK with that too for a job where I got to spend a few weeks on a ship with these talented actors. 

Much is bemoaned about the lack of meaty roles for women over a certain age in Hollywood, but Let Them All Talk offers a delicious insight into what we could get if we gathered those actors up and let them loose. It is such a gratifying and fun experience, and a very cozy weekend watch for the holidays.

December Movie Roundup Part 1: Mank & Wild Mountain Thyme

Despite the pandemic, Hollywood is still busy pumping out movies in time for Oscar season, so I'm curled up on my couch and trying to catch up on everything. Today's recommendations include some guaranteed Oscar bait, as well as a movie that had me giggling for an age because it is so epically weird. So no matter what mood you're in, you've covered.

Mank: Directed by David Fincher, written by his father Jack (who died in 2003), starring Gary Oldman, and telling the story of screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, as he is in the throes of writing the screenplay for Citizen Kane, a movie that is consistently ranked as one the greatest movies of all time. If you haven't guessed already, Oscar voters are gonna eat this movie up with a spoon. 

I adored Erik Messerschmidt's cinematography (my mind was blown to discover this is the first movie he has ever shot) - despite being shot on digital, it fully captured the look and feel of a classic Hollywood movie, even periodically incorporating the cue marks on the right upper corner of the screen so you felt like a projectionist was changing reels in the booth instead of Netflix just streaming the movie to you in HD. Donald Graham Burt's production design was also impeccable, having to recreate all manner of lavish and extraordinary sets like MGM Studios and Hearst Castle. From a technical and visual standpoint, this movie is an absolute triumph.

However, this film still left me cold. I love black-and-white movies, but Citizen Kane is not of particular interest to me; my tastes lie more towards the screwball comedies and musicals of the 1930s and 40s. I could appreciate that Jack Fincher's screenplay is a wondrous, self-referential, intricate Mobius strip that manages to follow the narrative structure of Citizen Kane itself while telling the story of how Citizen Kane was written. It also has some surprisingly modern parallels about fake news and Republican smear campaigns. I wouldn't be surprised if this screenplay won Fincher a posthumous Oscar, because it is quite a feat. But that's the trouble with this movie. All of it feels like a technical achievement, but not an emotional one. At no point was I compelled by these characters or rooting for them. I was just waiting for this movie to end. Director David Fincher usually has such a weird and compelling original style, but he is so busy trying to make this movie replicate Citizen Kane, that there's nothing that makes it feel particularly Fincheresque. So watch Mank if you want to be informed for your Oscar pool, but if you are looking for something more emotionally resonant, you might need to look elsewhere.

Wild Mountain Thyme: This is a romance set on two Irish farms, starring Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan. That was all I needed to know to immediately watch this movie - how could you not?! However, I had also heard that the movie had a bonkers twist. I was looking forward to it, and as the movie progressed, I found myself increasingly on the edge of my seat, because there was just something a little bit manic about it throughout. I loved it so much, and then the twist happened. And I can tell you that watching this movie is the closest you will ever come to replicating the sensation of being high. I don't know what John Patrick Shanley was smoking when he wrote and directed this movie but oh man. It must have been some powerful stuff.

No further spoilers here. All I can say is that I found this movie utterly bewitching and charming and I will emphatically be in the minority in terms of recommending it. Most people will find it entirely too absurd and also be incapable of looking past whatever Christopher Walken is doing that passes for an Irish accent. But I love Jamie Dornan and Emily Blunt and those two are running with this screenplay and delivering excellence. At the very end of this film, there is an extended scene where the two of them are just talking to each other and trying to figure each other out. And I could watch that conversation on a loop. It's like watching a play (which makes sense, as it is actually adapted from Shanley's play, Outside Mullingar), with the most crackling and inane dialogue that captures the Irish spirit like no other. The Irish love their existential melodrama and this movie is absolutely brimming with comic characters who make Sartre look like Pollyanna. 

Wild Mountain Thyme is a beautiful Irish romcom until it turns into a wacky bit of weirdness, and I was 100% on board throughout. This movie will not be winning any Oscars, but guess what. As far as I'm concerned, any movie that makes me giggle like a loon in 2020 deserves to win Best Picture. 

Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions: A Revelation

I already surprised myself in August with a long post about how much I loved Taylor Swift's latest album, Folklore. But apparently I'm about to surprise myself again by waxing poetic about the "concert" movie she released over Thanksgiving, where she and the album's producers, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, sat in a studio and performed a stripped down and soothing version of the entire album.

Why did I love this movie so much? Well context is everything. This isn't just an hour of music; instead, Swift has a little chat with her collaborators before each performance where they briefly discuss the song in question and what inspired her to write it. And those discussions kinda floored me. My post about her album was very focused on the lyrical magic, and in this movie, I got so much more insight into how she came up with those lyrics and how she wove different but complimentary themes together. These chats probably did not offer any major insights for the Swift fans who have been poring over these lyrics since this album was released and have steeped themselves in Swiftian lore, but for a novice fan like me, it was a revelation.

The other benefit of this movie is the extremely low-key production. Every song is just Swift singing to a piano or guitar accompaniment, perhaps with some light percussion, but otherwise there aren't any sweeping pyrotechnics in the background. This enhances the lyrics themselves and puts them in the foreground. And this is how I discovered my new favorite song on the album, This Is Me Trying. Swift's description of what inspired this song (which is longer than the song itself) gave me all the feels, and when I heard her perform it, I teared up and was like Yes, this is the greatest, why didn't I love this song the first time I heard it?! And then I listened to the album version and realized that because of all the instrumentation in the background, I could never quite pay attention to the lyrics like I did for the other songs I loved during my first listen. I felt similarly about Seven and Mirrorball, songs that I didn't think much of before, but am definitely hearing in a new light now. Swift is not the world's greatest singer and sometimes there is too much emphasis placed on using music production to enhance her vocal quality, but screw that. Going forward, I demand solely acoustic versions of all her songs so that I can fall in love with all her lyrics. But also, can we please air these movies on some other platform than Disney+? Because it is truly ironic that in a song like Mad Woman, when Swift is singing about a woman expressing her rage, Disney insists on censoring the word "Fuck." Yeesh.

Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions is one of the best treats I've gotten this holiday season and serves as yet another reminder that all is not lost in 2020. In a shitty year, we still have been granted some moments of joy, and this movie was sublime. Much like I found myself listening to the album on repeat, I will likely end up watching this movie on repeat for a while. You should join me. 

Holiday Movie Roundup: Happiest Season, Jingle Jangle, Holidate

December is upon us, which means it's time to dig in to the holiday movies. My friend Peggy and I are spending our weekly Zoom movie nights watching the classics, but if you're in the mood for some brand new holiday cheer, there's plenty out there. Below are three selections that run the gamut from family-friendly to festive and filthy, so no matter what you're in the mood for, there should be something to make you merry.

Happiest Season: I watched this movie on Thanksgiving morning and subsequently told every friend I knew to watch it. This is the movie that comes closest to being a new traditional holiday romcom classic, even though the romance it depicts might not be considered "traditional" if your family is still stuck in the 19th century. 

Directed by Clea DuVall and written by her and Mary Holland, the movie tells the story of Harper (Mackenzie Davis) and Abby (Kristen Stewart) who have been dating for nearly a year. Harper loves Christmas and asks Abby to come home with her for the holiday, only to drop a bomb on the drive over there - she hasn't come out to her parents and they think Abby is just her orphaned roommate that she's bringing home for Christmas. Yes, this is terribly problematic, and for a lot of people, the rest of the movie fails because Harper seems like an AWFUL person. But there are still reasons to love this film.

First off, it features an epic cast of incredible actors, including Dan Levy as Abby's best friend, John. The speech he has to deliver towards the end of this film about every gay person's coming out process is epic and a reminder of the similar warmth and understanding he delivered on a weekly basis on Schitt's Creek. And second, this script is so incredibly zany and fun. While the central premise has its problems, all the side plots and dialogue are spot on. I mean, the moment when someone yelled "Stay out of this, Sappho!" is all I needed to give this movie an A+. So dive right in and enjoy a new holiday romcom for the 21st century. It'll keep you warm and fuzzy till December 25th. 

Jingle Jangle: I didn't know that what was missing in my holiday catalog was a steampunk Christmas, but now that I have watched Jingle Jangle, I'm all in for this to be a new tradition. Steampunk is defined as "a style of design and fashion that combines historical elements with anachronistic technological features inspired by science fiction." That is a mouthful that probably still left you none the wiser, so just watch this movie and within the first five minutes you will know exactly what I'm talking about.

This is a kid's movie about an inventor, Jeronicus Jangle, who was famed for making the most wondrous toys at his store, Jangles and Things. However, when his apprentice, Gustafson, steals his secrets and starts his own toy factory, Jeronicus loses all hope. The story picks up 30 years later when Jangles and Things is now a pawnbroker shop, and Jeronicus (Forrest Whitaker) is a broken old man who no longer has the will to come up with new creative ideas. However, this all changes when his estranged young granddaughter, Journey (Madalen Mills), arrives at the shop to spend some time with him till Christmas. Jeronicus is initially disinterested, but Journey has his genius for inventions, and as you can imagine, she turns his life around. 

I didn't mention this movie is also a musical. So you will get beautiful choreographed numbers, incredible set and production design, and the most eye-catching costumes that celebrate everything that the steampunk aesthetic has to offer. Honestly, I didn't even care what the story was because I was just riveted by all the novelty bursting forth on my screen. And of course, there's the additional novelty of a Christmas movie with a mostly all-Black cast (and Ricky Martin voicing a matador doll!). Written and directed by David E. Talbert, this is a wildly inventive and creative take on Christmas, and is well worth a watch no matter what age you are.

Holidate: From PG to a strict R-rating, let's veer into the wild world of Holidate. The story is simple: Sloane (Emma Roberts) is a single woman who is sick of the judgement she gets from her family when she shows up without a date to various holiday gatherings. On the other hand, there's Jackson (Luke Bracey), an Australian golfer who had a disastrous Christmas going home with a woman he has just had a few dates with and meeting her very intense family who think they are about to get married right away. When the two meet up, they are both trying to find a safe way to spend the holidays without raising anyone's expectations, and they decide to embrace the idea of a "holidate," i.e. someone who you only date on holidays. 

Is it splendidly tropey and dumb? Yes. Does it constantly reference how splendidly tropey and dumb it is, thereby making it a super fun watch? You bet. This also has the added joy of being a holiday romcom that is not worried about its rating and so there is plenty of filthy language and inane sexy shenanigans. The juxtaposition of feeling like you're in a Hallmark movie and then suddenly have someone vividly describe a sex act makes everything worthwhile.

I was hard pressed to remember a single detail about this movie after I watched it, but I do remember being perfectly entertained while I watched it. It's dumb but low stakes and because it's on Netflix, it has great production values, even though you wonder what on earth Kristin Chenoweth is doing in this movie as the sassy aunt who never sings a song. Go forth and have a filthy Christmas!