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| Plaza and Caine in Best Sellers |
Despite a scenario that is resolutely predictable, Director Lina Roessler is able inject some charm into her feature debut. Best Sellers' primary assets are Michael Caine as a drunken writer combatting greenhorn publisher Aubrey Plaza. This shopworn two hander is slight, but graceful.
RIP: Curley Culp
Good on Paper is a vehicle for comedian Iliza Shlesinger whose stand-up routines have become a mainstay on Netflix. The behemoth has dominated streaming comedy with stars like Shlesinger, Bo Burnham, Dave Chapelle and many others and it makes sense that a film has been built around Shlesinger's obvious talents. However, Good on Paper is a witless debacle and, since Shlesinger concocted the script, she must take the brunt of the blame. The direction is on the level of a kindergarten traffic cop. A talented cast is left stranded.
Rene Clair's La Beaute du diable, from 1950, is a situation comedy version of the Faust legend. Gerard Philipe and Michel Simon are entertaining and well cast, but the humor is feeble. The production is luxe and impressive, but some things are missing. Soul, a hint of darkness, things necessary to a retelling of Faust. There is very little to unpackage in this film because it is congealed in the "tradition of quality" that Truffaut critiqued in 1954. Moderately entertaining nonetheless.
I love Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman, but The Father is a Masterpiece Theater Afternoon Special. I found it agonizingly boring.
Emma Seligman's Shiva Baby is a promising debut. Rachel Sennott stars as young woman enduring a nightmarish ceremony. Seligman hits the right comic and claustrophobic notes and is helped by an able supporting cast. Masochistic Jewish humor done right.
Robert Machoian's The Killing of Two Lovers is a pretty good exploration of the tumult resulting from a marital separation in rural Utah. Like Mike Newell's The Good Father, the film takes the perspective of the spurned husband. Instead of Anthony Hopkins racing to and fro on his cycle in an attempt to purge his rage, this film has Clayne Crawford doing a slow burn in his pickup as he contemplates violent acts. Machoian's dialogue is often clunky and obvious, but his choice to shoot his players at a remove results in a film that upends expectations and maintains an ominous power throughout.
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