May Movie Roundup: The High Note, How To Build a Girl, and The Lovebirds

Once the Oscars are done, the movie theaters are flooded with “summer movies” that are a bit of a crapshoot in terms of quality. But thanks to the pandemic, we can’t go to the theaters and instead are watching all new releases on our couches. Having watched three new movies this month, I can say couch-viewing is definitely the way to go. So plop down on your cushions with some popcorn and settle in for some light entertainment. These movies are fun and forgettable and given how the real world feels like it’s on fire right now (both literally and figuratively) these movies might be just what you need to distract yourself from the gaping maw of existential dread. Onwards!

The High Note: Dakota Johnson stars as Maggie, the personal assistant to famous pop star, Grace Davis (the fab Tracee Ellis Ross, daughter of actual famous pop star, Diana Ross, so that’s a fun bit of casting). Maggie harbors a desire to be a music producer but can never get Grace or her manager, Jack (played by Ice Cube) to take her seriously as she music-splains and showcases her exhaustive range of soul music trivia. She then meets a cute singer, David (the charming Kelvin Harrison Jr.), and talks him into letting her produce his demo. All told, it’s a light and frothy tale with music, romance, sunny shots of California, and reminders of what it was like when we were allowed to congregate in packed concerts and bars. I stumbled across quite a few headlines that mentioned a major twist in the third act of this movie, so I amused myself by trying to guess what it would be when I finally watched it - I got it exactly right and challenge all of you to try to do the same as that was a fun game to play when the film started to drag a bit. It’s no masterpiece, but it features fun performances and is a perfectly pleasant way to spend an evening. Which is all that most of us are seeking these days.

How To Build a Girl: I loved Caitlin Moran’s Moranifesto when I read it in 2016, and then I never read anything else she had written. Well, I corrected this a few weeks ago, when I devoured her two novels, How To Build a Girl and How To Be Famous. You need to read these books; they are brilliant and I seriously cannot remember reading something so insanely funny whilst simultaneously being incredibly insightful and moving. Sadly, the movie adaptation, which was also written by Moran, didn’t satisfy me quite as much. It does star the wonderful Beanie Feldstein as Johanna Morrigan, a sixteen-year-old growing up on a council estate in Wolverhampton with a chaotic family. Tired of being poor and dependent on welfare, she decides to seek her fortune, and through a stroke of luck, lands a job as a music critic for a rock magazine. While the book is hilarious, filthy, and evocative, the movie has to whittle down all of Johanna’s thoughts and adventures into a breezy two hours, and the result is a hodgepodge that cannot do the book and the main character enough justice. It isn’t a terrible movie by any means, so I do encourage you to watch it for a light distraction or some insights into what horny and dramatic teenage girls are like, but I definitely recommend you read the book afterwards to truly understand the genius of Moran’s work. I wish this book had been adapted as a TV show rather than a movie, because then, we wouldn’t have to resort to so many shortcuts and weird storytelling changes. But then again, it is quite a joy to watch Beanie Feldstein prancing around London in a top hat and fishnet stockings.

The Lovebirds: I saw so many trailers for this movie in theaters earlier in the year, so was delighted to see Netflix had picked it up for a pandemic streaming release instead. My sole reason for wanting to watch it was because it stars Kumail Nanjiani and Issa Rae, which is a romcom pairing made in heaven. They are charismatic and funny, so I had pretty high expectations going in. Unfortunately, this is a fairly average movie, and falls into the trap where the trailer spoiled most of the plot. Even towards the end, there were still scenes that had featured in the trailer and I felt like nothing was happening on screen that I hadn’t already seen before. The few twists that took place were things I had already predicted (although I watched this movie with my mother who gasped at some twists, so this is clearly only a problem if you have watched a ton of romcom action movies and know the familiar beats). But despite a fairly lackluster screwball comedy plot (couple on the run from the police because they are falsely implicated in a murder and have decided they must figure out what’s going on themselves), the reason to watch this movie is the central duo. Rae and Nanjiani are unsurprisingly great and play off each other in fun ways. Their relationship probably takes more twists and turns than the actual plot of this film, and it just had me jonesing for a conventional drama starring these two, without any added hijinks. So watch this movie for the performances, forgive its basic plot contrivances, and thank Netflix for letting us enjoy this diversion at home.

The Last Dance: Get Ready to Become a Basketball Fanatic

Over the past five weeks, I've been recommending The Last Dance to a lot of people. And they look at me oddly, because what business do I have recommending a basketball documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' amazing championship-winning run in the 90s? Prior to watching this documentary, I knew who Michael Jordan was, I knew he played for the Chicago Bulls, and that was about it. I knew nothing about the team's legacy. I had no clue Scottie Pippen (a name I had heard of, but only vaguely) and Dennis Rodman (another name I had heard of, but mostly as a weirdo basketball player who people love in North Korea), were Jordan's teammates during that championship run. I had never heard of head coach Phil Jackson, or general manager Jerry Krause. But oh man. I know it all now. And it is AMAZING.

First off, this ten-part series has been touted as a "Michael Jordan documentary." And yes, he is the main focus, which is off-putting to a lot of people who think he is a jerk. I, for one, had absolutely no idea that he had this reputation, but boy, after watching this series, I sure did get that impression. Which is impressive as he had final say over everything in the series, so he must be even more of a raging asshole in the unedited version of all the interviews and clips. But putting him aside, the true joy of this series is in its unwavering devotion to the sport of basketball and teamwork. The episodes where you get more information about Scottie Pippen, Steve Kerr, and Dennis Rodman serve as an excellent reminder that Jordan wasn't a one-man show - he may have been the Most Valuable Player, but he would not have won a single trophy without those men on his team providing impeccable defense and assists.

The series follows a tantalizing structure - it is ostensibly about the Bulls' 1997-8 season that Phil Jackson dubbed "The Last Dance" as Jerry Krause has announced he would be rebuilding the team the next year without Phil. As you can imagine, that caused quite a stir. But as we follow that season and all the rancor between the players and the head office and their pursuit of a sixth championship, we also flashback one-by-one to the previous seasons where they won five championships over seven years. The series is building to this crescendo of whether or not the Bulls will win their sixth title in 1998 and get their second three-peat: many of you reading this may be fully aware about whether they managed to do this or not, but as a complete basketball novice, I had no idea, and I purposefully avoided Googling this information or reading any reviews of this show until I watched Episode 10. In this day and age, it is still amazing that I could be spoiled about a famous event that took place two decades ago, but let me tell you, it was a nail-biting thrill from start to finish.

The Last Dance is an example of documentary filmmaking done right. You don't have to know anything about the subject matter and it still manages to pull you in and give you a compelling narrative that gets you invested for the long haul. It is a celebration of athleticism and offers up such a pulse-pounding recap of all these games that honestly, I think I might start watching the NBA whenever they are allowed to play again. The music choices are also A+ and perfectly capture the spirit of the time. When Fatboy Slim's Right Here Right Now started playing in Episode 10 as a particularly stellar match took place, I was reminded of why I loved this show so much. Every Sunday, when that theme music started playing, I knew I was settling in for a wild ride about a team at the height of its powers, a player who is the pettiest man alive off the court, but an absolute magician on the court, and a series of heartstopping games that showcase the power, artistry, and sheer joy of live sports. There are interviews with sports commentators, Hall of Fame players, and even "Former Chicago Resident" Barack Obama and "Former Governor of Arkansas" Bill Clinton, and all of these people are lit up with passion and profound happiness as they recount what it was like to watch these players and these games in the 90s. All told, it is a masterful feat of storytelling and well worth your time. 

Becoming: Remember When Good People Were in Charge?

If you're a fan of the Obamas (aka you have a soul), last week was great. We got this delightful video of Barack and Michelle reading The Word Collector by Peter H. Reynolds. Over the weekend we got his commencement speeches for the HBCU and high school classes of 2020, where much shade was thrown on the people in charge who don't know what they're doing. However, if short snippets of their calm, articulate, and wonderful presences aren't enough for you, you should fire up Netflix and settle down with Michelle Obama's excellent Becoming documentary. It's the balm your weary soul has been seeking during quarantine.

I read Becoming last year and loved it (natch) and the documentary is like a distillation of everything that is so wonderful about that memoir. It follows Michelle during the country-wide tour she embarked upon to promote the book and offers up both her life story in her own words, and also a glimpse at the work she's still doing to empower women and girls today. We get to hear a lot of great anecdotes about her childhood, being one of the few black students at Princeton, how she met Barack (if you read the book, those sections genuinely read like a romance novel), and then eventually what it was like to be a politician's wife. She is candid about her struggles, and how she went to couples therapy only to realize that rather than resent Barack for going to the gym, she needed to work on just claiming time for herself. She talks about how disheartening it was to be labelled un-American if she was critical of how her country treats its most disenfranchised members, and how she had to become so careful about her words and her image as her husband's career progressed. And of course, there are plenty of juicy tales about their time in the White House, and what it was like on the last day (there were tears, but only after she had had to deal with the admin of kicking out her daughters' friends who had insisted on a final sleepover).

Michelle Obama knows what she wants to say and she's going to say it, and now that her husband isn't the President anymore, she is allowed to express a full range of emotions with her characteristic wit and empathy. It's wonderful to see how she treats the people around her, like her longtime Chief of Staff or the head of her security detail who has become like a brother to her. There are also some excellent parenting tips and it is clear she is so grateful to how she was raised and she wants to pass that down to her daughters, as well as the young girls she meets across the country. Her message is to believe in yourself, stand up for what you believe in, and never  think of yourself as less than. Which are of course lessons that young girls (and let's be real, older women) struggle with the most. She also got decidedly angry when talking about the people who didn't vote during midterm elections when Barack was President, thereby impeding his ability to pass significant legislation. It's not Republicans that bother her - it's all the Democrats who just stay at home. Which seems like an ominous warning for November 2020.

Becoming is a classy and uplifting documentary, like the lady herself. It's warm, kind, and honest about what it's like to be one of the most admired women in the world - turns out life is still hard. Michelle Obama is a reminder of what you can achieve if you have a good team of people behind you, the courage of your convictions, and a desire to make positive and meaningful change and leave the world a better place. If you love the documentary, I highly recommend you also seek out the book and revel in her brilliance for some more time. It is such a pity she and her husband aren't still in the White House, but as this week has shown, they're still out there in the world, trying to help us out. 

Normal People: A Romance for the Ages

Normal People is a sweeping epic. Which seems hyperbolic considering it's the story about a boy and girl who meet in high school and their subsequent on-off relationship through college. But believe me when I say that this is a romantic saga that puts all of humanity into perspective. It might be hyper-specific to these two Irish lovers, but that specificity is brimming with universal truths that unfold over the course of twelve short episodes that simply take your breath away.

Daisy Edgar-Jones and Paul Mescal star as Marianne and Connell. Remember those names because you will be hearing them constantly during awards season. I know it's still early in the year, but this is the best show of 2020 and these two actors will be sweeping up a host of awards. The characters they play are incredibly complicated and nuanced: a boy and a girl, and then a man and woman, who have a deep and profound connection and yet simply cannot articulate it properly and keep getting in the way of their own happiness. Their relationship begins as a sexual lark, two high schoolers who like each other and want to have some fun, but then it all gets very messy. Connell is quiet and well-liked, while Marianne is the belligerent loner. They would never be friends in school, but because Connell's mother is a cleaner who works for Marianne's family, they are thrown together and embark upon this epic, occasionally doomed romance that ebbs and flows as they enter Trinity College and shakily take their first steps into adulthood. They both have deep psychological problems they need to work through: Marianne's are more apparent and Episode 9 is where things come to a head for her, while Episode 10 is Connell's moment to unveil his struggles. Those two episodes are a master class in portraying the turbulence of mental illness and how much work is needed to slowly come back to yourself. Indeed, the whole point of this show is to unveil how all of the "normal people" we see around us are a mirage, a collection of human complexity that you can never fully comprehend. All we can do is support each other in our journeys to find ourselves and understand what "normal" means for us.

The show is based on Sally Rooney's 2019 novel. I devoured this book in one sitting two weeks ago, and then embarked upon the show. Which is the best possible way to watch it. Reading the book was a moving and engrossing experience, and there were passages that spoke to the depths of my soul. I identified with these characters and felt their heartbreak and their joy. Their misunderstandings were so painful to behold, mostly because of how realistic they were. These weren't some contrived arguments to drive the plot forward - these felt like the stupid things that people say to each other (or more often don't say) that then drive them apart. I was all shook up after reading the book, and then I watched the show. And it was like I got to relive every moment of reading the book except now Marianne and Connell were alive in front of me, saying all the words I had read and engaging in those painful silences where I wanted to scream, "No, you don't understand, Connell doesn't want to see other people, he's just not very good at communication!" The show was adapted by Rooney and Alice Birch and I have never been more grateful for an author being able to adapt her own work. She manages to pour the essence of the novel into every scene and create a swoony and miraculous ode to modern romance.

The first half of the show was directed by Lenny Abrahamson, and the last six episodes were directed by Hettie Macdonald. I am so grateful to these two directors for the reverence with which they have treated the subject matter. This is a slow-building story that needs to be given enough room to breathe and blossom on its own. There are many sex scenes and I don't think I've ever seen a TV show that treats sex in quite such a realistic but still romantic fashion before - there's plenty of full frontal nudity, but in the hand of these directors, it is never gratuitous and serves such a concrete prurpose of driving the narrative forward. Indeed, it is the central point of this story that these two characters connect physically, and get each other intellectually, but their inability to discuss how they feel and what they want from their relationship is what proves to be the greatest obstacle in their path. There's a moment late in the series when Connell says, "I think it's pretty obvious I don't want you to leave." And Marianne replies, "I don't find it obvious what you want." And to me, that exchange summarizes the human condition in a nutshell. We're all walking around thinking that we are being perfectly obvious in our dealings with other humans, but it's only when we say what we want out loud, that we realize that there's nothing obvious at all about our needs. Ultimately, a good relationship is one where you finally find a person you can talk to, who listens to you, and doesn't just make assumptions when you say nothing at all.

The writing and acting are the main reason Normal People captivated my soul. But I would be very remiss if I didn't also mention the aesthetics of this show. The soundtrack is heavenly, both in terms of the original score by Stephen Rennicks and the songs that punctuate each episode and give it just the right tone. The costume design by Lorna Marie Mugan is so smart; for a show where the main characters often don't have a lot of dialogue, you rely a great deal on what they're wearing to understand how they have changed as they make their way through the world. Marianne's outfits as she transitions from high school to college instantly impress upon you what kind of a woman she is becoming, and it's remarkable to behold. While Connell's appearance never changes that much, which will ultimately be his undoing. And the cinematography by Suzie Lavelle and Kate McCullough lends such beauty to the proceedings. Every frame is soft yet precise, the lighting telling you what to focus on and somehow telling you exactly how to feel. Again, for a show that is so quiet, it is of the utmost importance that you have plenty of visual cues to convey the emotion of every moment, and thankfully, everyone working on this show is a true artist.

Normal People is a sublime TV experience. It is such a faithful adaptation of the novel, and watching it made me want to read the book again, and then come back and watch the show again. I'm caught in this endless loop of love for the story because it is so revelatory about how being alive can be incredibly painful and joyful at the same time. It is very difficult to explain why you should love a show like this, because all I can tell you is that it stirred up my heart. So give it a try and perhaps you will understand what I mean. 

Dead To Me: A Deadly Duo

When I first watched Dead To Me last year, I enjoyed it. But it wasn't a highlight amidst everything else I was bingewatching and I never got around to reviewing it on this blog. Well now, Season 2 dropped on Netflix and I hungrily gobbled up that sucker over the weekend. What a difference a pandemic makes.

The show stars Christina Applegate as Jen, a woman who was recently widowed after her husband was killed in a hit-and-run accident, and is very angry about it. She is raising two young sons, is angry that the police cannot figure out who killed her husband, and spends a lot of her time drinking and listening to heavy metal to deal with her grief. When she goes to a therapy group, she meets Judy (Linda Cardellini), who is grieving the loss of her fiance. However, Judy is a very different person than Jen - she is a bit of a hippie, and believes in energy and crystals, and is trying to cope with her grief in more positive ways. But hoo boy. Things take a turn. Also, let me be clear, this show is a comedy. I know it doesn't sound like it, but these women are turning in some incredible comic performances as they delve into a plot that gets more twisty and convoluted with every episode.

It's really hard to write about this show because every single episode contains some dark twist and major reveal that will compel you to hit "Play Next Episode" as fast as you can. In fact, that was what put me off a bit when I first watched it - the twists were great and juicy, but the show almost became too predictable in its unpredictability. There are very clear story beats that take place and it can be enormously frustrating at times to see things play out the same way over and over again. But that being said, this show is deliciously frothy and fun, and in the second season it really leans into its dark comedy, Desperate Housewives-esque vibe. I won't spoil too much, but let's just say there's a certain soap opera trope that makes its way in and is delightfully kitschy to behold.

The key thing this show has going for it, of course, is its two leading actresses. These women are incredible and play off each other in fantastic ways to demonstrate the passion and problems inherent in a female friendship. Their relationship is such a rollercoaster ride, particularly as the secrets they're harboring keep bursting out, and while they have great comic timing, there are also intense dramatic and psychological moments as these women reckon with who they are and how they are going to move on after the terrible things they've done.

The second season of Dead To Me is a great example of a comedy that builds on its characters, amps up the stakes, and gets even wackier. It's hilarious, intense, and like Season 1, ends on a humdinger of a cliffhanger that will make you really mad that you now have to wait a whole year for another season. Such is the Netflix life. But right now, if you're bored, there are two glorious seasons that await you, and that should tide you over nicely for at least a portion of this quarantine. Enjoy!

Bad Education: A Startling School Scandal

Looking for something that’s both quick and meaty to watch this weekend? I offer up Bad Education, featuring the inimitable Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney, and a rollicking script from Mike Makowsky that details the biggest public school embezzlement scandal in American history. It’s a fun ride.

Jackman plays Frank Tassone, a school superintendent on Long Island, New York who is credited with elevating the Roslyn High School to the #4 school in the country. Everyone loves Frank: a former English teacher, he cares about his students, wants everyone to succeed, and under his stewardship, everything’s coming up roses. Also, thanks to capitalism, a good public school means great property prices, so the members of the school board are thrilled that their real estate prices keep skyrocketing. What could go wrong?

Well, things start unraveling when they discover Pam Gluckin (Allison Janney), the Assistant Superintendent and Frank’s right-hand woman, has been misusing school funds to pay for her home renovations and other expensive habits. The accountant and school board are shocked - Pam is such an upstanding member of the community! - but on Frank’s advice, they agree to hush it up. Pam is fired, but the cause is not publicized, and everyone seems content to treat her as the only rotten apple. Unfortunately, the beloved Frank Tassone was fully involved in this embezzlement scheme, and as the movie progresses, more details come to light about his bizarre personal life and various indulgences, leading to the eventual theft of millions of dollars from the public school system.

Bad Education is a fun ride with great actors who all come together to tell one of those “so crazy it has be to true” stories. This scandal certainly is an example of the things human beings get up to when everyone is content with the status quo and not keen to ask too many questions. Some bits are fictionalized to streamline the plot (for example, Geraldine Viswanathan plays an intrepid student reporter, who is a composite character of all the actual students who broke this story in the high school paper well before it got picked up by national news media), but the real-life story was so over-the-top that you don’t need to do much more to juice up the story. There’s a scene towards the end where you are just staring at Frank’s face for a good long while, and you remember what a phenomenal actor Hugh Jackman is. So give this movie a shot - it’s not like you’re doing anything else this weekend anyway.

Ozark: Money Laundering, Murder, and Mayhem

When NYC went into lockdown, the first thing I said was, “Well, I guess this is when I finally start to binge watch Ozark!” Six weeks later, I have completed all three seasons (the third season dropped in the middle of the lockdown so that was one less cliffhanger for me to deal with!) and now I understand what all the buzz was about. It definitely isn’t a show you can binge watch, but it’s a perfect prestige drama to dole out to yourself throughout the week when you just want to experience some twisty dark mayhem.

First up, confession: I work for a bank and am certified as an anti-money laundering specialist, so that fueled a lot of my initial interest in this show. It is centered on Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), a financial advisor in Chicago, who has a real flair for moving money around. While that flair was initially used for good, it eventually became far more profitable to advise members of a Mexican drug cartel and start laundering their money. However, while the work is profitable, it certainly isn’t safe, and circumstances arise that lead to Marty moving his entire family to the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, where he must continue to launder money for the cartel. Unfortunately, the FBI is now onto him, which means he has to placate his druglord boss, whilst evading the Feds, all of which necessitates some pretty fancy laundering techniques. I definitely wished this show had been around when I was studying for my certification because it would have been far more interesting than my study guides about placement, layering, and integration.

While the focus of Season One is more on Marty’s schemes and gradually acquiring the businesses that he will be using as fronts, Season Two and beyond become much more of an ensemble effort, where the women take over. From the outset, the show’s standout character is Ruth Langmore (the incomparable Julia Garner), a bright young woman from the wrong side of the tracks, who becomes Marty’s mentee and right-hand woman. She comes from a family of screw-ups and has no qualms about engaging in illegal activity, but damnit, she’s going to do it well and with a great deal of loyalty. And then we have the glorious Laura Linney as Marty’s wife, Wendy. At first, Wendy seems like a bored housewife who has been swept up in her husband’s drama. But oh boy. This marriage is a partnership and Wendy quickly starts to take over the reigns of the entire operation.

Lest I forget, we also have the Byrdes’ children, Jonah and Charlotte (Skylar Gaertner and Sophia Hublitz), who start off as innocent kids with no idea what their parents are up to, and then quickly become resigned to being part of a vast criminal enterprise. As a friend joked to me when I started watching this show, at times Ozark feels like you’re watching Arrested Development, if Michael Bluth had become a money launderer. Bateman plays Marty as a calm and quiet man; he knows that he has gotten in too deep, but the only way he can protect his family is to keep digging deeper, and as his entire family is roped into his schemes, there’s just a look of comically weary resignation on his face. This show is so dramatic and dark (both figuratively and literally - you might have to turn up the contrast on your TV screens to enjoy every dimly lit scene) but it also features some wonderfully funny moments when everything is so chaotic and impossible that the characters just have to shrug and go along with the madness.

The writing on this show is truly excellent - there are season-long arcs, but each episode is also a self-contained thrill ride, and there is a LOT to keep track of. This can be daunting, but if you let yourself soak in this world, you’ll be able to keep up. I haven’t mentioned even half the cast of characters you will encounter, but suffice to say, every single person on this show is a vivid, complex bag of dueling motivations and you will never know what side they’re on until they’re either murdering someone, or getting killed themselves. Yeah, let me warn you, this isn’t just some academic treatise on financial crime. This show starts to rack up a fairly substantial body count as you go along. And in great televisual fashion, it usually saves up the chaos for the final few episodes of each season, which means you won’t be able to resist hitting Play to see what happens next.

Ozark is a classic example of the golden age of television: intricately plotted, filled with complicated characters, and always finding new ways to pull the rug out from under you and leave you wanting more. Season 3 ended with many cliffhangers and now I will be like everyone else who has had to wait for Netflix to dole out the next installment. It will be a long wait, but it will be so worth it.