April Binges Part 2: Company Retreat, Twenty Twenty Six, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins

I have been watching a lot of comedies this month and binged my way through two, while reaching the very satisfying finale of another one I had been watching week-to-week. Now they are all available to give you a giggle and some respite from reality. Dive in!

Company Retreat: This is from the creators of Jury Duty, but obviously you cannot just keep faking jury duty all the time, so this time, creators Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg decided to hire an unsuspecting man named Anthony as a temp for a fake company called Rockin' Grandma's Hot Sauce. Anthony joins the company and gets to know the wacky staff, and a week later, he is whisked away on their annual company retreat. He thinks the camera crew are just there to film a documentary about small businesses, but little does he know there's a whole operation behind-the-scenes that are filming him at every turn and trying to see what he will do in increasingly chaotic situations.

Much like Ronald in Jury Duty, I don't know how the show's producers managed to find such a gem of a man, but it's wonderful to watch Anthony just roll with the punches and make some deep and meaningful connections with these strangers. Things fall apart real fast, but Anthony, the good-natured temp, is always ready with a smile and some calming words to help defuse the situation and get his zany colleagues back on track. They even capture a moment when he says that everything is so nuts that you couldn't write a script to match it, which the show's writers obviously got a real kick out of.

The penultimate episode is where Anthony really gets to shine as the hero, making a grand gesture to help save this company and the people he has come to love over the course of such a short time. And then in the final eighth episode, we get the grand reveal where the show's producers walk him through just what has been going on for the past two weeks and we get some insights into the production design and rehearsal process that took place months before filming. It's such a massively creative endeavor, and it's insane to think that it requires everything running on rails - sometimes they don't, and we get treated to some moments when the actors had to quickly cover up a mistake, or the moments when they simply couldn't stop laughing. It's a very funny show, but mostly it's an extraordinarily heartfelt show that reminds us that there are still some very good humans out there in the world.

Twenty Twenty Six: I had no idea that creator John Morton was doing this show until I randomly saw a YouTube ad for it and discovered all six episodes were now available to binge. Which I proceeded to do in a heartbeat. Hugh Bonneville is back as Ian Fletcher, the man that we got to meet in Twenty Twelve, when he was helping to plan the 2012 London Summer Olympics, and W1A when he was trying to help re-brand the BBC. This time, he's in Miami, trying to help organize the 2026 FIFA World Cup (the show has to bleep "FIFA" anytime a character says it, which makes for an amusing running gag).

Much like those other shows, Ian finds himself amidst a group of weirdos, all of whom are trying to promote their agendas, and simply cannot answer a single question with a straight answer. There's the Zurich liaison, Eric (Alexis Michalik), who is absolutely no help in a crisis; the Sustainability champion (and potential love interest), Sarah (Chelsea Crisp), who is passionately pushing initiatives to make the games more environmentally-friendly but fighting a losing battle; Gabriela (Jimena Larraguivel), a Mexican woman who is heading up Optics and Narrative and wants every match to be held in her home country; Nick (Paulo Costanzo), the extremely volatile Business and Legal head, who is as New York as they come; Owen (Stephen Kunken) the head of Logistics, who doesn't seem to realize that's his job; and then Phil (Nick Blood) a Mancunian who loves David Beckham but otherwise doesn't know what's going on. And of course, they all have to deal with the social media team, who know nothing about football, but are going to try to market the hell out of it anyway.

The only other character who is back from the other shows is Will (Hugh Skinner), as Ian's bumbling assistant. Here, he continues to be thoroughly lost but still failing upwards, and it's fun to see how his every mistake turns into a potential win for this hapless team. Every episode features yet another bizarre crisis that requires quick decision-making and strategic problem-solving, which are of course, anathema to this group. And yet, they always manage to pull something out of the hat at the eleventh hour and save the day in some extremely improbable fashion. Each episode is only a half hour long, but I could watch these people talk in their strange double-speak for hours, saying absolutely nothing but talking a mile a minute anyway. It's truly the best of British humor, and while I don't care about the World Cup at all, I'm so grateful for it just because it allowed me to get another season of this absolute chaos.

The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins: Created by Robert Carlock and Sam Means, this is exactly the show you want if you've been missing the zany stylings of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt or 30 Rock. Also, like Kimmy Schmidt, you may find yourself singing the theme song (composed by Jack Grabow) every single time you turn it on. 

Tracy Morgan stars as Reggie Dinkins, a famous football player who became infamous once he was caught gambling and was ignominiously kicked out of the NFL. Now, an Oscar-winning documentarian, Arthur (Daniel Radcliffe, in an incredibly delicious comic role), has arrived to film Reggie and his life, in the hopes of rehabilitating his image. Arthur himself has had a fall from grace after he was fired from directing a superhero blockbuster. He has a lot to prove, but a documentary about Reggie Dinkins may not be the best way to do that. Meanwhile, Reggie's support system consists of his ex-wife Monica (Erika Alexander), who is still his manager and is very close to him as they co-parent their teenage son Carmelo (Jalyn Hall); his best friend Rusty (Bobby Moynihan), who was his former teammate and is a very lovable doofus; and his fiancée Brina (Precious Way), a young entrepreneur who is always hustling to find a new side hustle, and fits right into the madness.

This is a show that is incredibly joke-dense. Forget the actual plot and storylines, half of the time you will find yourself dying of laughter at side gags involving fake TV shows like FDNY: Chicago, where New York firefighters go to Chicago to fight fires but keep forgetting the time difference or losing their hoses at O'Hare. If that sounds like the spectacularly dumb but hilarious comedy you're into, then buckle up, because this show has ten episodes of the stuff to deliver. All of the actors are having a great time, and who knew Tracy Morgan and Daniel Radcliffe were the comedy duo we had all been missing in our lives?! The show also has a tremendous amount of heart and is so good-natured. Everyone on this show loves and supports each other, even if they are the most ridiculous people on the planet, and every time you watch an episode, you are bound to laugh out loud at least once and then leave with a big smile on your face.

April Movies Part 1: The Drama and You, Me & Tuscany

Are you looking for a romantic comedy? Or a romantic dramedy? Dive right in to hear about one of each!

The Drama: Written and directed by Kristoffer Borgli, let me first say that I wouldn't be surprised if this movie got nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar next year. It features a bizarre and intriguing premise that just keeps ratcheting up the tension for the entire film until we get a glorious catharsis at the end, and boy did I enjoy it. But also, that makes this movie very difficult to write about, because I am loath to spoil a second of it for you.

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson star as Emma and Charlie, a gorgeous couple who met in a coffee shop and are now in the throes of wedding preparations, a week out from the big day. As the movie opens, Charlie is writing his wedding speech and seeking input from his best man, Mike (the wonderful Mamoudou Athie), and that whole sequence serves as a charming way to tell the whole love story of how these two people met and fell in love, and why they're so into each other.

But of course, this movie is titled The Drama, and the event that sets things spiraling is after the couple go out with Mike and his wife, Rachel (Alana Haim), get a little tipsy, and then share some...revelations, that lead us down a very twisty and ridiculous path. Again, I won't spoil anything, but let's just say that after leaving this movie, it made for a very robust discussion with my husband and other friends about how they and their significant others would have reacted if placed in a similar situation. 

The actors are magnificent, the script is off-kilter and unpredictable, and the movie's tone is just a wild rollercoaster of emotion that will leave you squirming in your seat, sometimes in delight and sometimes because you're so deathly uncomfortable with how everyone is behaving. It's probably not a movie you will want to rewatch but man, that first watch is a grand experience that you'll be talking about for days afterwards.

You, Me & Tuscany: Unlike The Drama, this is a movie where you will be able to see every story beat coming from a mile away. It's basically like watching a less sophisticated While You Were Sleeping, but it's charming AF, so you can't really complain. Written by Ryan Engle and directed by Kat Coiro, this is a story about what happens when a down-on-her-luck woman, Anna (Halle Bailey), decides to travel to Italy after a chance encounter with a handsome stranger, Matteo (Lorenzo de Moor), in a bar. He tells her all about the villa he bought in Tuscany that is now just sitting empty, so naturally, when she finds herself unable to find a hotel room, she decides to break into his house. And naturally, complications ensue when his family members discover her the next morning.

One of those family members is Matteo's cousin brother, Michael (Regé-Jean Page), who is a very hunky winemaker. Sparks start to fly between him and Anna, but that is all very inconvenient because Anna has had to tell a little lie...that she is Matteo's fiancée. Oopsie. What follows is your standard romcom, full of misunderstandings and romantic entanglements and complications that could be sorted out if people would just be honest with each other, but where's the fun in that?! There are also zany supporting characters like the horny aunt, Francesca (Stella Pecollo), who is having an affair with a plumber named...Luigi, and Lorenzo (Marco Calvani), the taxi driver who helps Anna out when she's new in town and becomes her only confidante in this whole mess.

Listen, is this movie high art? Certainly not. The dialogue is clunky, with Italian characters deploying Americanisms (I drew the line when the elderly nonna literally said the phrase, "tap that ass"), and it's all very familiar and treading on well-worn ground. But you're in Italy! The sun is shining, the wine is flowing, and Anna is buying juicy tomatoes from a friendly farmer's market to whip up a delicious bruschetta for dinner later that night. How could you not bask in the glow of all of that charm for two hours? Just soak it in and let your brain relax; we all deserve a cinematic vacation once in a while.

April Binges Part 1: Bait & Taskaree

Haven't been watching enough TV about South Asians? Well, here I am with two VERY different miniseries. One is a British comedy-drama about the pressure of representing the South Asian community (and particularly Muslims) in the UK, while the other is a classic Bollywood action-drama about the customs officers at Mumbai's International Airport. Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

Bait: Created by and starring Riz Ahmed, this is the story of a struggling British actor named Shahjehan "Shah" Latif (Ahmed), who is auditioning to be the next James Bond. Obviously, this role comes with a lot of meaning - Bond is considered a quintessentially British role, that has hitherto only been played by white male actors. Naturally, it would be a coup for Shah, a British Pakistani Muslim, to get this role. But the significance of it leads him into a spiral of self-sabotage. We are also introduced to his family, consisting of a doting mother, Tahira (Sheeba Chaddha), jokey father, Parvez (Sajid Hasan), and two cousins who were raised with him, Zulfi (Guz Khan) and Q (Asiya Shah). 

This is a short and sharp show, only six episodes, under thirty minutes long, so I don't want to get into much detail. You have to let the wildness of the show unfold for yourself, but suffice to say, it does a brilliant job of capturing the South Asian immigrant experience, the particular nastiness of the racism faced by South Asians in Britain (be prepared for the P-word to be deployed a lot), and the difficulties of straddling both your brown community and the white one you're trying to integrate into. 

All of the scenes with Shah's family felt like something that could have been filmed during any of my family gatherings (well, with slightly less drama and destruction, of course), and at the center of it all, we have Riz Ahmed, with those big, expressive eyes, conveying a world of hurt, humiliation, and confusion as he tries to navigate this very weird situation he has been put into. The show was not as funny as I wanted it to be, but it was certainly a chaotically good time and a wonderful addition into the TV genre of layered South Asian representation. If you're looking for something fresh and new, this is exactly what you seek.

Taskaree: Are you looking for layers? Then move right along. With this show, created by Neeraj Pandey, you're going to get a rather typical Bollywood masala action romp, with a little dash of romance and plenty of police brutality. This show thoroughly lacks any nuance, but it's still a very fun ride with plenty of twists and turns, so you will have a good time, as long as you turn your brain off first. 

Emraan Hashmi plays Arjun Meena, a customs officer in Mumbai's International Airport who has a reputation for taking his job seriously and being incorruptible in a profession that is otherwise well known to be full of people who are willing to look the other way if offered a nice little bribe. When a new commissioner, Prakash Kumar (Anurag Sinha) is brought in to crack down on all the international smuggling that goes through the airport, Arjun and his most trusted colleagues are brought together on a task force to help bring down a criminal syndicate headed by Bada Choudhary (Sharad Kelkar). Bada has couriers operating out of Al Dera (for some reason, a fictional city that is just a stand-in for the UAE), Ethiopia, and Milan, so what follows is a very international escapade told with a great deal of Bollywood flair. 

The story is fast-paced, every episode ends with an amazing cliffhanger, and as long as you suspend your disbelief at points, you are promised a great time. It's only seven episodes long and makes for a quick and dirty binge, so settle down on your couch. Also, your Hindi vocabulary is really going to expand as you learn more about smuggling terminology and the layers of Indian intelligence bureaucracy than you could have ever expected. So, it's fun AND educational!