September Movies Part 2: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life, The Long Walk, Spinal Tap II

Looking for a delightful foreign romcom, a dystopian horror, or a mockumentary sequel? Well, you're in the right place! Read on for some eclectic movie reviews!

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life: Written and directed by Laura Piani, this is a terribly charming French film about a woman named Agathe Robinson (Camille Rutherford) who works at famed Parisian bookstore, Shakespeare & Company. A Jane Austen fan, she is always making recommendations to buyers about which Austen novel they would like. On the side, she is an aspiring writer, but has been struggling with crippling writer's block. She suddenly gets an idea and writes a few chapters, and unbeknownst to her, her best friend and colleague Felix (Pablo Pauly) submits her work to a writer's retreat in England that is run by some of Austen's distant descendants. Agathe is reluctantly persuaded to make the journey, has a very Pride & Prejudice-esque meet-cute with Oliver (Charlie Anson), and her love life is off to the races.

This is a cute film that does pack some emotional heft as Agathe has a lot of baggage she is carrying around. There are misunderstandings and multiple suitors and Agathe will have to decide who is the person who is destined to truly make her happy. Whilst also finding her own voice as a writer of romantic fiction. The world is currently celebrating the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen's birth, so what better time to watch this movie and chuckle over the influence this woman has had on readers through the years and throughout the world.

The Long Walk: Speaking of influential writers, this film is an adaptation of Stephen King's 1979 novel. Written by JT Mollner and directed by Francis Lawrence, this is a tale of a dystopian United States after some long war that has left most of the country in dire poverty. In order to boost morale and generate TV ratings, the Major (Mark Hamill, in a most un-Skywalker role) has instituted a scheme where every able-bodied young man enters a lottery to participate in the Long Walk, and one is selected from each state. The fifty men arrive at the starting line and just have to keep walking at a steady pace no slower than 3 miles/hour all day and night long without any rest, though they do get rations for food and water. There is no finish line. Instead, you get three warnings if your pace slows down, and after the third warning, you are shot dead. Until there's only one "winner" left.

That is basically the extent of the plot. So, spoiler alert, you're going to spend 100 minutes watching a bunch of men get shot, and the camera doesn't pan away, so be wary if you're squeamish. This film is extraordinarily well-made and the cast of young actors is compelling and eminently watchable, particularly the camaraderie between Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Tut Nyuot, and Ben Wang. You watch these men all bond with each other and try to boost morale and help each other before the inevitable happens. I will confess, it did make me roll my eyes a little and think, "is this what it takes to get men to forge deep friendships?" Judy Greer also has a very minor supporting role as the distraught mother of one of the participants, in a classic weepy Judy Greer role (can we please get this excellent woman a leading role in something charming and fun?), but other than that, there are no women in this movie, which also makes it a hard sell to half the moviegoing audience. There were moments of true friendship and allegiance between the men that did make me feel teary, but once I left the theater, I already found this film leaving my brain. It's a powerful film while you're watching it, but once you're done, it fails to leave much of an impression. It's also hard to watch this movie in our current political climate when gun violence and assassinations seem to feature particularly prominently, so while timely, it's also not something I would recommend if you're trying to stick your head in the sand and escape our current news cycle.

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues: Speaking of movies that don't leave much of an impression, Rob Reiner is back directing the sequel to 1984's This is Spinal Tap, with a script written by him and the three lead actors, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean. Still told in the same mockumentary fashion, with Reiner playing documentary filmmaker Marty DiBergi, we are following the band forty years after the release of the first film. They have not worked together for 15 years but now have the opportunity to have one final reunion concert in New Orleans. So, it's time to get the gang back together, watch them practice, hire a new drummer, and heal some rifts. Oh, and Paul McCartney and Elton John may be jamming with them for a bit. Maybe.

I did watch This is Spinal Tap years ago, but I have no memory of it, which I think is a detriment going into this film. This is clearly a movie meant for fans of the original and is steeped in nostalgia and callbacks that all whooshed right over my head. So, the only thing I can recommend is that you absolutely must watch the first film if you want to have a good experience with this sequel. I suppose it is perfectly serviceable as a standalone film, but I simply couldn't get into it with no prior memory of the characters and what had happened in the original. However, if you're a massive fan of Spinal Tap, this movie will likely scratch every itch you had, so go forth and enjoy!