Anytime I take a vacation, I watch a bunch of movies on the plane. Sometimes they are not very good, but this time I got very lucky, with three rather surprisingly fun films that were filed under the category of "Movies Under Two Hours." I mean, what more could you want?
Scrapper: Written and directed by Charlotte Regan, this is a movie starring Lola Campbell as Georgie, a twelve-year-old girl who is living all by herself after her mother's death. Georgie has been lying to social services, claiming that she's living with her uncle, and no adults are aware of her current circumstances. Her best friend Ali (Alin Uzin) is well aware, but of course, hasn't told a soul, so the two of them have a grand time hanging out at her house and planning out their schemes to get rich by stealing bicycles and selling them for parts. Georgie is an extremely responsible child who is diligently paying the rent and cleaning the house, so there's no reason for anyone to suspect that anything's amiss, until her estranged father, Jason, comes home and discovers the current state of affairs.
Jason is played by the ubiquitous Harris Dickinson, who showed up in a bunch of films last year and is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. Here he does a wonderful job as a bit of a wastrel who didn't stick around to take care of his partner or their daughter but must now find a way to reconcile with this young girl who is a stranger to him. The two of them have an uneasy truce, mostly because Georgie can't afford to have him rat her out to social services, but as the movie progresses, a fragile bond gradually develops between these two lonely people. It's a funny, sweet, and moving film, simply told, with heartfelt performances from its two lead actors. Lola Campbell is definitely a revelation and I look forward to seeing what she does next. Till then, just marvel at her work in this film.
Honor Society: Angourie Rice stars as Honor, a young woman who desperately wants to get out of her small town and decided early on that she could only achieve this goal by getting admitted to Harvard University. As such, her entire high school career has consisted of a series of careful calculations of academic excellence and extracurricular achievement. Now, in her senior year, she needs to get a coveted recommendation from her guidance counselor, who has a connection at Harvard. However, when she finds out that she is in competition with three other students to get this recommendation, she must come up with a plan to take down her competitors.
I know it all sounds a bit cutthroat, but trust me, this movie has a lot of heart. Honor's schemes initially exploit perceived weaknesses in her foes, but this woman isn't just some ruthless Tracy Flick, and there are some excellent twists and turns as her plans start to go awry. I saw some twists coming, but others were completely out of left field; this is a genuinely surprising and fun movie that I'm shocked I hadn't heard about until I got on a plane. Written by David A. Goodman and directed by Oran Zegman, this is a delightful high school comedy that is sure to brighten up your day.
Mafia Mamma: Written by Debbie Jhoon and Michael J. Feldman and directed by Catherine Hardwicke, this film kind of came and went at the theaters. But as I was watching it on the plane, my friend Laura kept leaning over and looking at my screen, finally going, "what are you watching, this movie looks really funny!" And yes, it is. Toni Colette stars as Kristin, a woman living in New Jersey who has just sent her only son off to college, discovered that her husband has been cheating on her, and is on thin ice with her bosses at her terrible job. Her life is a shambles, so when she gets a call from Italy informing her that her grandfather, who she never met, has died and appointed her executor of his will, she decides to fly off to Italy and have a grand vacation.
Unfortunately, her vacation plans don't quite come to fruition as she quickly discovers her grandfather was a mafia boss and she is now expected to take over the family business. What follows is a ridiculous comedy of a straight-laced American woman having to suddenly turn into an Italian mafia mamma. She is guided by her grandfather's consigliere, Bianca, played by the great and good Monica Bellucci, and is assisted by some henchmen, and each scene just keeps getting wilder, bloodier, and cruder as the movie progresses. This is a very R-rated comedy, and is well worth a viewing for its over-the-top histrionics. Is it the greatest movie ever made? Of course not. But is it shockingly entertaining? You bet.
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