May Movies Part 2: Girls State, I Saw the TV Glow, Furiosa, Babes

I spent a lot of time catching up on returning TV shows in May (yes, I am all caught up on Bridgerton, thank you very much), so my movie watching was very erratic. So settle in, I've got a real hodgepodge of reviews for you today!

Girls State: Dust off your Apple TV+ subscription because this documentary is absolutely worth it. I watched its predecessor, Boys State, in 2020, and re-reading my review of it, I'm struck by how one of my criticisms involved the boys talking about abortion rights in purely political terms. Well now, we have this movie, where the Girls get a chance to take part in this week-long immersive program to learn how the different branches of government operate. And given that the program kicks off in 2022 right when the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v Wade was leaked, it is thrilling to see how these young women react and discuss this seismic policy shift that will have very real implications for their bodily autonomy.

This movie follows the 2022 Girls State program in Missouri, and interestingly, the decision was made to run the Boys and Girls program during the same week, which has never happened before. The two are still separated, but a big part of the narrative of this movie involves the girls seeing how differently the boys program is run, with the boys spending a lot more time on policy-making, while the girls seem to be saddled with cupcake parties and more frivolous discussions, while also being tyrannically forced to abide by dress codes and curfews. We follow a diverse (both ethnically and politically) group of young women who are passionate about their interests, but also navigating the awkwardness of teenage social etiquette, and over the course of the week, it is so heartening to watch them gain more confidence, speak up for their beliefs, and make deep connections with other young girls. And more importantly, point out the inequities in Boys State vs Girls State. 

This is a moving, thrilling, fundamentally wonderful documentary that should remind us all that the kids are all right. Yes, they all have varying beliefs and some of their political ideology can be ridiculous, but the respect and kindness they show one another is something we can only hope continues into adulthood. It should serve as a template for us all on how to behave in our current fractured political climate.

I Saw the TV Glow: OK, I did not really get this movie. My fiance assures me that it is wonderful, and deep, and very meaningful, so if you are super into vibes and the narrative of "escaping your smalltown America existence" this movie might be the best thing you watch all year. But if you're like me and prefer movies that have more straightforward plot and dialogue, you might leave the theater more perplexed than when you walked in. 

Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, this is a movie about young Owen (played by Ian Foreman as a seventh grader, but then Justice Smith from high school into adulthood), a loner kid who runs into Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine), a slightly older ninth grader, who is a lesbian and is very into a TV show called The Pink Opaque. Owen is not allowed to stay up that late in his own home to watch this show (his father also derides it as being a "show for girls"), but he manages to visit Maddy to watch an episode. This TV show forms the basis of their connection for the next few years of school. Then, the two of them have to deal with their individual realities, and their paths diverge.

The production design and aesthetic of this movie are truly excellent - the episodes of The Pink Opaque that we get to see are so ridiculous and perfectly capture the terrible special effects, silly dialogue, and earnestness of teenage fantasy dramas of the 90s. This is a film that manages to capture what nostalgia feels like and the intenseness of loving something passionately when you're a teenager because it feels like the only exciting thing you have going on in your life. But subsequently, the movie takes a turn, and the second half felt a bit more jumbled up and incoherent to me. If you're queer, this film might resonate a lot more with you, as the vibes are probably dialed in perfectly to your frequency. It's a trippy, weird, movie, and while it wasn't for me, it certainly is an ambitious film that could be perfect for a lot of other viewers. 

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: I can't believe I reviewed Mad Max: Fury Road back in 2015 - oh how time flies. At the time, I waxed lyrical about how this movie was truly all about Charlize Theron's character, Imperator Furiosa. Well now, writer-director George Miller (with co-writer Nico Lathouris) is back and giving the people what they want - a prequel that gives us Furiosa's origin story. 

Anya Taylor-Joy plays the older Furiosa, but the first half of the movie mostly stars Alyla Browne as her younger self. She has grown up in the Green Place, one of the few areas that still has water and agriculture after the rest of the world has turned into a radioactive wasteland following global catastrophe. However, she is abducted by raiders, and becomes the prisoner of a warlord named Dementus (played with evil glee by Chris Hemsworth, who presumably was very excited that he could use his Australian accent on film again). What follows is two and a half hours of action, car chases, and mayhem. 

As with Fury Road, the production design is simply epic, and watching this movie on a big screen is a real treat. We get more lore of this world, where the tyrannical Immortan Joe controls food and water supplies, but also trades with other "fortresses" like Gastown and the Bullet Farm (because fuel and ammunition are the only other major necessities in an apocalyptic wasteland). The actors are great, but the focus is not on dialogue - we're here to watch things blow up and people get killed in increasingly unhinged ways. I would say I was captivated by this film for most of its runtime but it started wearing on me towards the end. It could stand to be an hour shorter, but I would then probably miss out some wildly inventive stunts and action sequences, so it's hard to know what to edit out. This is a movie that delivers exactly what you expect, so why not head back to this apocalyptic hellscape? You'll never be more grateful for the air conditioning in the theatre than when you're watching all these people trying to survive in the brutal heat and dust of the wasteland. 

Babes: After I watched this movie, I texted my best friend Laura and said, "apart from the baby part, this movie totally reminded me of us." To which she replied, "isn't this movie just all about the baby part?" And yes, that is true, but to me, a fervently child-free woman, I still thought this was a brilliantly funny and incisive movie about female friendship in New York City. That is also concerned with pregnancy and babies, but in a way that is very real and accurate, as opposed to portraying motherhood as some sort of idyllic dream. 

Directed by Pamela Adlon and written by Josh Rabinowitz and Ilana Glazer, the movie follows Eden (Glazer) and Dawn (Michelle Buteau), childhood best friends who are still integral parts of each other's lives even as Dawn has gotten married and is now pregnant with her second child. The movie opens with Dawn giving birth to Baby #2, and the movie perfectly captures the disgusting nature of labor - there are many fluids, and sometimes solids, involved as you are pushing that baby out of your uterus. Subsequently, Eden becomes pregnant after a one-night stand and decides that she wants to keep this baby and embrace single motherhood. What follows is a story of her pregnancy, her reliance on Dawn as the most stable person in her life, and Dawn's struggle with being a wife and mother to two children while also trying to be a supportive best friend. 

This movie is a hilarious, touching, and very R-rated portrayal of what it can be like when two best friends are in very different stages of their lives but desperately trying to make time for each other. It also captures the bodily hell that is pregnancy and labor - there are many times when Eden exclaims "this is not what it's like in the movies!" and girl, preach. As someone who had to deal with loads of pregnant and laboring women during an OB-Gyn rotation in medical school, I have never found that whole phase of a woman's life to be anything but horrifying. It isn't some magical and wonderful time when you are brimming with the miracle of creating another human - it is gross and your body is breaking down at every turn, with fluids constantly leaking out of you. Obviously, this movie is still pro-having children, but it at least offers a realistic depiction of the toll that having a child takes on a person. This is an activity that you cannot do alone - you need people and resources, and it will suck up your life. And remember boys and girls, you can still get pregnant if you have sex on your period!