A Cluster: "Raunchy," Raunchy, Ponderous
Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke
I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) if they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative. However, due to COVID concerns I’m mostly addressing streaming options with limited visits to theaters, where I don’t think I’ve missed much anyway, though better options may be on the horizon. (Note: Anything in bold blue [some may look near purple] is a link to something more in the review.)
I wore myself out conceptually and physically last week attempting to do justice to 2 of the absolute best releases of 2023, Barbie (Greta Gerwig) and Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)—they’re making piles of cash too, with Warner Bros. noting Barbie’s their most successful domestic (U.S.-Canada) offering ever—so this week I’m giving myself a break by focusing briefly (for me, not anyone else who really knows what the word means) on 3 movies that have had theatrical runs but now are on streaming giving me a chance to easily follow up on possible interests in them (if not fully in some of their results) without having to sit in a theater for 5 hours with a COVID-protecting (I hope) mask. Maybe next week I’ll be back to a more standard review format now that I’m kind of caught up on my “to watch” list (though I know many of you would prefer I regularly keep it short, but as Brian Wilson wrote/sang on the Pet Sounds album [1966], "That's Not Me"). I'd also like to direct you to some marvelous comments on Oppenheimer by long-time Two Guys contributor RJ Parker, attached to one of my Facebook postings (reprinted below as I received it without trying to cram it into my usual, rigid Justify-layouts) so you don’t have to be able to get into my FB account in order to read it.
RJ Parker
Two good movies, clearly a welcome shift from the repetitive superhero sequels. Barbie is an entertaining film but was like pink cotton candy compared to Oppenheimer. The following is my much shorter take on Oppenheimer I used on a car forum when someone asked if it was worth seeing. The three hour runtime was a key concern as well.
Yes, I caught it earlier this week at a small all recliner theater without a child or teenager in attendance.
It is a quite impressive film with superb directing, screenplay and cinematography. The lead is a relatively unknown Irish actor who pulls it off nicely supported by dozens of familiar actors such as Matt Damon as the commanding general at Los Alamos and Emily Blunt as his wife with issues.
A couple of sex scenes between Oppenheimer and his mistress brings the R rating and is somewhat unexpected. Definitely not a kids show on any level.
It is first and foremost a biography of Oppenheimer with the Manhattan Project as background during the second hour. The film highlights Oppy as a charismatic prodigy who was acknowledged the leading American Physicist while still in his twenties. So impressive they eventually put him in charge of the project with no previous management experience of any kind.
Apparently Germany had a two year head start and everyone knew their Jewish scientists were just as good as America's. Einstein was around but was aging and did not participate. The leading German scientist/rival was Heisenberg. Unfortunately not played by the Breaking Bad guy.
The film has very little serious technical content but holds your interest well for the first two hours through the successful atomic test. This was quickly followed by Truman ordering their use in Japan. Only the first test is depicted in detail.
This is a good time for a break if three hours at a sitting does not work for you.
In the third hour it drags a bit as we go through a protracted McCarthy era attack on Oppenheimer's integrity. He survives a Senate inquiry with last minute support from the junior senator from Massachusetts.
Overall a worthwhile adult diversion which is sure to win awards.
KB: I agree with these comments as it's always a pleasure to hear from fellow-Texan-Parker. OK, Film Reviews from Two Guys in the Dark global readers, now we return to our regular programming.
SHORT TAKES
If you can abide plot spoilers read on, but this blog’s intended for those who’ve seen the film or want to save some $ (as well as recognizing those readers like me who just aren’t that tech-savvy). To help any of you who want to learn more details yet avoid these all-important plot-reveals I’ll identify any give-away sentences/sentence-clusters with colors plus arrows:
⇒The first and last words will be noted with arrows and red.⇐ OK, now continue on if you prefer.
Here’s the trailer:
(Use the full screen button in the image’s lower right to enlarge its size;
activate the same button or use “esc” keyboard key to return to normal.)
However, you’ll note there’s a good bit of foul language in this trailer (I couldn’t find one that didn’t have a big dose of it, a situation usually only found in Red Band trailers for R-rated movies), yet here’s an actual Red Band for No Hard Feelings that's no more “adult content” than the ordinary one.
Maddie Baker (Jennifer Lawrence) is 32 in Montauk, Long Island, NY, works as a bartender/Uber driver to pay property taxes on her inherited-home, but is frantic as her car’s repossessed so she answers an ad from the wealthy Beckers (Laura Benanti, Matthew Broderick), looking for someone to “date” their reclusive 19-year-old son, Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman), better preparing him for Princeton college life at in the fall, a Buick Regal as her pay for success. She comes on to him aggressively, he’s scared of her then indulges in various adventures: skinny dipping, hanging naked on the hood of her borrowed car as she races a train to a crossing, slips off to a party without her (for awhile), then inadvertently learns of her true mission, confronts his parents, damages the Buick (not totally), pushes Maddie away, but she gets the car. ⇒Maddie Ubers on, pays off debts, sells the house, reconciles with Percy, moves to CA, drops him off at Princeton, promises to stay in touch.⇐
No Hard Feelings has been out since June 23, 2023, pulled in 50.5 million in domestic dollars ($86.4 million worldwide), can still be found in some theaters but is more easily located via streaming where you can buy (!) it for $19.99 on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, etc., but to borrow a line from Daryl Hall & John Oates’ "Maneater" (on their 1982 H20 album“) “I wouldn’t if I were you” (a song sung by Percy to Maddie during a restaurant dinner date, stunning her in the process; I almost used it as my Musical Metaphor here but had other thoughts). The CCAL’s supportive enough with Rotten Tomatoes positive reviews at 71%, Metacritic's average score is 59%, references in various places as to what a raunchy comedy it is; for me, though, except for constant uses of “fuck” (I try to be more sanitized in word choice; however, when I can’t even find a trailer that avoids this word there’s little point in my toned-down-verbiage) in the dialogue along with Maddie’s attempts to fulfill her hiring-requirements with Percy, I don’t think this is nearly as raunchy as Joy Ride (except for one premature ejaculation on Maddie’s thigh, I don’t recall any actual sex in … Feelings, which may explain the No Hard aspects of the title [just trying to get into the mood of the movie]). Lawrence is pleasant enough to watch, there are a few decent comic scenes, but overall I think you could pass on this one. As for that Musical Metaphor, “Maneater” summarizes what Percy was feeling about Maddie’s constant come-ons at that point in the story (not knowing she’d been hired by his parents) but what expresses his later feelings for her is better stated in The Beatles’ “What You’re Doing” (1964 UK Beatles for Sale, 1965 US Beatles VI albums) at https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=7Sba2LbhkVY as he comes to the point of “I’ve been waiting here for you / Wondering what you’re gonna do / And should you need a love that’s true / It’s me.” Watch this if you like, but I think you’d be better off just listening to a cluster of Hall & Oates and/or Beatles songs.
Joy Ride (Adele Lim) rated R 95 min.
Here’s the trailer:
Along with a more traditional Red Band version that includes the R-rated language if you prefer.
The real raunchy movie within this cluster is Joy Ride, where a little Chinese girl’s (Lennon Yee) adopted by a Seattle White couple, grows up as Audrey Sullivan (Ashley Park) with close Chinese friend Lolo Chen (child, Belle Zhang; adult, Sherry Cola) who moved to the U.S. with her parents. As an aspiring lawyer-partner, Audrey’s sent to China to close a big deal with Chao (Ronny Chieng); she takes Lolo along (who adds goofy cousin “Deadeye” [Sabrina Wu], countered by Audrey reconnecting with old college roommate Kat Huang [Stephanie Hsu], now a notable actor on a Chinese TV soap opera, engaged to co-star/celibate Christian Clarence [Desmond Chiam], whom she’s convinced she’s a virgin, though Lolo reminds her she used to be the campus fellatio queen). Chao won’t close the deal until Audrey reconnects with her birth mother so our quartet finds some adventures: meet drug smuggler Jess (Meredith Hagner) on a train ride; ingest/anal-stuff bags of cocaine; sex orgy with a basketball team leaving the men genitally-injured; and—when Audrey finds Mom was Korean—posing as a K-Pop group to get to Seoul, with Kat revealing a vulva devil tattoo; the video of it goes viral, dire consequences for her and Audrey. ⇒They all get to Seoul anyway but spilt up in anger/frustration; Audrey finds her mother’s dead but meets the widower (not her father) for some closure. A year later they’ve reconciled, have functional careers, & vacationing in Paris.⇐
Kudos for such a large Asian/Asian-American presence in this movie, going from West to East in contradiction (tone, content) to sentimental-fare like The Joy Luck Club (Wayne Wang, 1993)—wonderful as it is—yet, just using different ethnicities, it treads similar profane ground to Bridesmaids (Paul Feig, 2011) and Girls Trip (Malcolm D. Lee, 2017), more continuity than breakthrough. Joy Ride opened domestically July 7, 2023, grossed $12.9 million (worldwide $15.2 million), still at a few theaters but much more available on streaming where it’ll also cost $19.95 on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, etc., but as a rental so the choice is still yours. The CCAL’s enthusiastic to do so with RT positive reviews at 91%, MC average score a supportive 74%. It’s quite funny in many scenes, certainly worth widening cultural-inclusion-awareness (or supporting what you’d might want to see if you’re of East Asian heritage), but overall just sets us up for one outrageous scene after another: entertaining yet (for me) not much of a breakthrough. My Musical Metaphor swings East (in movie content) to West (for a song not likely connected to this story) with Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” (1980 Honeysuckle Rose soundtrack album [film directed by Jerry Schatzberg]) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYUMZ-r5GN0 where he’s joined by 3 of his buddies: Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson. As with the women in this movie, “Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway / We’re the best of friends / Insisting that the world keep turning our way” with even their K-Pop escapade referenced in “The life I love is making music with my friends.” These gals do share some memorable moments that possibly you’d like to enjoy with them as well.
It Ain't Over (Sean Mullin) rated PG 98 min.
Here’s the trailer (just the 1 this time; Yogi don't cuss [not on camera]):
A marvelous documentary about famous baseballer Yogi Berra (Lawrence Peter Berra; his well-known-nickname came from a habit of sitting with legs crossed, arms folded), who grew up in St. Louis, was with the U.S. Navy in the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, where he was wounded in battle but declined to fill out paperwork for the Purple Heart medal (my father got one after taking fire in the Philippines; fortunately, it ultimately was minor injuries that didn’t compromise his life too much). Yogi made his New York Yankees debut in 1946 during the era when they were the dominant team in Major League Baseball (Berra winning World Series rings in 1947, 1949-’53, 1956, 1958, 1961-’62 as a player, then more as a coach for the New York Mets in 1969, Yankees in 1977-’78); he also was an All-Star 18 times (1948-’62 [in those last 2 years there were 2 All-Star games]), and the American League Most Valuable Player 3 times (1951, 1954, 1955), despite being dismissed as a “fireplug” by his detractors as he was only 5’7” (my height), shorter than most other major-leaguers.
Yet, with all of these accolades—including being Yankees manager in 1964, 1984-’85, as well as New York Mets manager 1972-’75—he’s often overlooked as one of the greatest players of all-time despite having his number 8 retired by the Yankees (1972), MLB Hall of Fame (1972), named to the MLB All-Century Team (1999), but his omission at the July 14, 2015 All-Star game as being among the Greatest Living Players (Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, Sandy Koufax, Willie Mays—Berra died on September 22 that year) led his granddaughter, Natalie Metzger, to make this tribute as she felt, despite all the praise—including on-field-statistics making him equal, if not superior, to those 4 in 2015—Yogi just wasn’t being properly recognized as the amazing athlete he was, despite not having the physical presence of many of his peers. You’ll get laudatory-testimonials from players (Derek Jeter) aware of Berra’s successes and celebrities (Billy Crystal) who admired him, with lots of on-camera statements from Metzger as well. Yet, despite all the info packed into this concise-running-time there’s always a lot more that you can learn, so you might want to consult an extensive, documented resource such as this one. What extras you get from the movie, though, are visual triumphs such as catching (with all of the strategies that go into that position) Don Larsen’s only-one-so-far-perfect game in the 1956 World Series and rejections such as George Steinbrenner firing him as Yankees manager in 1985 after just 16 games. Metzger also wanted to elevate her grandfather from being known just for “Yogi-isms”—seemingly silly comments with hidden truths, such as “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” or “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Put this all together, it’s a touching-tribute to the man, well-respected by the CCAL: RT 98% positive, MC 79% average score. Released on May 12, 2023, took in only $705.3 thousand, now found on streaming with a $5.99 rental at Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, etc. So here’s the most obvious Musical Metaphor ever, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnHV5FaqvEs, led by famed Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray. “It’s déjà vu all over again,” Yogi would probably say.
Related Links Which You Might Find Interesting:
Some options: (1) Disney, Amazon, Netflix as "new gatekeepers" of the media business; (2) Poll shows 67% of Americans surveyed in support of WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes; (3) WGA and studio heads meet, no progress. These strikes drag on, no easy end in sight.
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