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| Hannah Gross and Michael Cera |
I found Dustin Guy Defa's The Adults to be the most overlooked American film of 2023. Michael Cera, Hannah Gross, and Sophia Lillis play siblings temporarily reunited in the Hudson Valley town they grew up in. Still reeling from their mother's death some years before, the trio bond and bicker, shifting from intimacy to distance and back again. The film is, for the most part, a chamber drama with a dark sense of the ridiculous, but one outdoors tracking shot stands out by arcing the relationship between Cera and Gross with an arresting sense of forward movement. Each of the menage has an unhealthy cloud hovering around them and Cera is too lightweight in appearance to resemble an embittered gambler, but he is able to project his character's insularity and mastery of silly accents. Ms. Lillis is ridiculously accomplished for her age and nails her character's flighty anxiousness. Ms. Gross' performance is my favorite of the past year by an American actor.
If you enjoyed Julie Taymor's work in theater or films (Titus. Frida), track down the DVD of her Metropolitan Opera production of The Magic Flute from 2006. The cast is above average, but the real reason to see this video are the production values and costumes. As with her theatrical productions of The Lion King and A Midsummer's Night Dream, phantasmagoric effects create an ongoing sense of wonder. Ms. Taymor seems more hip to the Masonic underpinnings of the opera than most.
Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman's Theater Camp is a witty mockumentary in the tradition of Christopher Guest. The production values equals that of a summer camp production, but the performers, even the juveniles, offer fun caricatures with verve and humor. I especially enjoyed Ms. Gordon, Ben Platt, Alexander Bello, and the forgotten co-star of Saturday Night Fever, Karen Lynn Gorney. A must for theater nerds.
Emma Seligman's Bottoms is a slightly above average comedy from the director of the superior Shiva Baby which also starred the talented Rachel Sennott. An attempt to broaden her range and appeal, the flick is a lesbian variation of the high school losing your virginity farce. Bottoms shows that Ms. Seligman still has yet to master the framing and timing of her physical physical schtick, yet there are any number of actorly bits that keep one engaged. Despite the number of long in the tooth thesps who have already nabbed a fine arts degree playing high schoolers, the troupe is enthusiastic and sharp. I especially enjoyed Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, and Nicholas Galitzine's miming to "Total Eclipse of the Heart".
Ben Wheatley's Meg 2: The Trench is utter tosh with bad CGI, sops to the Chinese audience, and endless exposition and rehashes of the first film. There are redeeming element. Jason Statham is always an asset in action films and Mr. Wheatley's technical mastery is as much on display here as in his art films. I especially enjoyed the opening sequence and the finale, both of which almost redeemed the rest. Almost.
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