November Movies Part 5: A Real Pain, Fancy Dance, Will & Harper, Moana 2

Another theme this month has been watching movies about close relatives or friends take a trip together. If you're ready to watch some moving, funny, and/or serious movies that might make you tear up a little, settle in.

A Real Pain: Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, who also co-stars with Kieran Culkin, this is a story about two Jewish cousins from New York who head to Poland for a week-long Holocaust tour to honor their dead grandmother who survived the camps. Yes, nothing about that seems inherently funny, but David (Eisenberg) and Benji (Culkin) have a deeply complicated relationship, and as we see them interact with their guide, James (brilliantly played by Will Sharpe) and the bewildered members of their tour group, who all have their own fascinating reasons for why they are taking this tour, there is room for a lot of comedy and a lot of heart. 

It's difficult to describe this film without getting into a slew of spoilers. Everything is really about the acting and Culkin delivers an outrageously great performance that is sure to be Oscar-nominated next year. His portrayal of Benji is so hard to pin down until the very end when you finally understand the backstory for this trip and how David feels about him. The supporting cast are also incredible, alternately having to be annoyed by these weird cousins and their outbursts, and then demonstrating a kindness and compassion that is in keeping with the whole theme of their tour. 

The entire soundtrack is a beautiful series of Chopin pieces performed by pianist Tzvi Erez, and the cinematography by Michal Dymek (who is Polish) is wondrous, truly capturing the beauty of Poland as well as the more somber moments of the Holocaust tour. There isn't a moment of this film that isn't captivating and engrossing, and by the end of it, you'll wish this trip could go on for a few more days. 

Fancy Dance: Written and directed by Erica Tremblay, this is the story of Jax (Lily Gladstone), a Native American woman who is taking care of her niece, Roki (Isabel DeRoy-Olson) on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma after her sister has mysteriously disappeared. Jax isn't exactly a great role model, but she's a hustler and is trying to make ends meet in an effort to take care of this 13-year-old girl and pressure federal investigators to look into the disappearance of her sister. 

What follows is a sadly typical tale where Native American women get no respect and their disappearances fall into a black hole due to the complicated interplay between the tribal police and federal investigators. There is also a complicated dynamic with Jax's father (aka Roki's grandfather), who is white and now lives off the reservation with his white wife. They want to serve as Roki's guardians instead of Jax, but don't know much about the culture and are unwilling to let Roki attend the annual Oklahoma City powwow. No points for guessing whether Child Protective Services thinks that's an important consideration.

This is a sad but also beautiful movie, with a lot of dialogue in the Cayuga language, which is always a delight as Indigenous languages never get a lot of airtime in the media. The relationship between Jax and Roki is so tender and loving and the final scenes at the powwow are particularly uplifting and moving, even if everything else in this film has indicated that these two women are always going to be let down by the system. It's a powerful film about how Native American women often have to serve as their own champions, and the lengths they have to go to in order to preserve their culture and get some justice.

Will & Harper: Directed by Josh Greenbaum, this is a documentary about the actor Will Ferrell and his long-time best friend, Harper Steele. They met on the set of SNL in 1995 and were fast friends and comedic partners for 30 years, but in 2022, at the age of 61, Harper came out to her friends and undertook a gender transition. This film is about these two friends going on a long road trip across America, to red states and places that have a dangerous history of homophobia and denying trans rights, to see whether they can get past the media noise and just meet some real people, as well as explore their friendship. As you might expect, what they discover is rather heartwarming and affirming, but there's still plenty of bias and hate they have to combat along the way.

The film is quite bittersweet because while it showcases plenty of folk who accept Harper for who she is and don’t make a fuss, it also highlights the heinous transphobia in pockets of this country and also online on social media, where people feel free to spew hatred. Harper used to love long road trips and frequenting dive bars in the most isolated areas, but now, as a trans woman, she is deeply afraid of what she may encounter on such trips. While this road trip occasionally alleviates her fears, with some encounters even driving her to tears because of the love and acceptance she is given, it by no means clear that she can travel freely wherever she likes any longer. The fact that she is travelling with Ferrell provides enormous security along the way, and it is sad to see that this is a country where women, and particularly trans women, still cannot feel safe.

However, while it’s interesting to see who they meet along the way (including plenty of cameos from famous SNL folk), this is mainly a story about Will and Harper's friendship, and how these two people reconnect after one has gone through a pretty major life change. Ferrell voices his concerns about how he is expected to treat Harper now that she is a woman - can he still talk to his friend in the same way? Turns out the answer is yes. It’s a deeply sweet movie about the power of friendship and acceptance, and that while you might be ignorant and have to ask dumb questions, as long as you are thoughtful and care deeply about making sure the other person feels safe and comfortable, you can still maintain a loving and cherished friendship. The world is a big and scary place, but it's a lot less scary when you have a best friend by your side. 

Moana 2: If you're ready for some lighter entertainment, dive in for some Disney fun. Our hero Moana (who is emphatically NOT a princess) is off on another adventure, this time to discover the island of Motufetu that is under the curse of a vengeful god named Nalo who hates humans. Instead of going on a voyage accompanied solely by a pig and a chicken, this time she actually takes some of the villagers with her, including a canoe builder named Lato (voiced brilliantly by Rose Matafeo), an elderly farmer named Kele (David Fane) and a storyteller/historian named Moni (Hualalai Chung). 

Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller, off a script written by Jared Bush and Miller, this movie features stunning animation and a sea voyage that is almost reminiscent of The Odyssey given the many adventures this crew has along the way. Of course, they finally do run into the demigod Maui (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, who is having quite the holiday movie season), and they then team up to take on Nalo and re-connect with the people spread out on islands across the ocean.

If you love the English songs from the original Moana, unfortunately you're going to be disappointed with this sequel. Lyricists Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear don't quite nail any of the English songs, particularly when they are then juxtaposed with beautiful traditional Polynesian songs that are interspersed throughout the movie. Given how Moana is a celebration of indigenous culture, I would have been delighted if composers Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i gave us a soundtrack that was solely composed of Polynesian chants as that music has a way of really delving into your soul and stirring up emotion even if you can't understand the words. Nonetheless, there's a lot to enjoy about this film, and if you're looking for something bright and cheerful to head into the holidays, this movie is a solid choice at the theaters.