The Favourite ☆☆☆ (3/5) 2/10/19

An early-18th-century All About Eve. There’s no substitute for Bette Davis, but the three modern heavy hitters do slay.

Not as thematically ambitious or overall successful as Yorgos Lanthimos last picture, Killing of a Sacred Deer, a whole lot of The Favourite seems half baked.

It doesn’t really matter though, because The Favourite is actually just a vehicle for its stars. And they’re great across the board. Olivia Colman is the big winner, but Emma Stone is a whole lot of fun as – arguably – the actor playing most against type.

It is also worth noting that the women of The Favourite get to be ugly hearted and unsympathetic in ways that women are rarely allowed in Hollywood movies. Which is cool, kind of.

This movie, with its anachronistic (but not inaccurate) approach to a historical rivalry reminded me most of Amadeus. I’m glad to see such an odd film get some acclaim, but I wish it had been more focused.

Bohemian Rhapsody☆☆☆☆ (4/5) 2/07/19

Superficial but affecting.

Critically, I’m not sure where to start. I could bemoan the fact that the survivors of Queen have clearly had their hands in writing this version of history. I could point out the inherent dangers in crafting a biopic of someone who to modern eyes seems like – looks like – a queer icon, but who really wasn’t at the time. Who didn’t want to be, at the time. Who surely faced homophobia in both the industry and the rock audience that is completely ignored by the film. I especially could roll my eyes over this movie’s Sad Freddie, who never seems to actually enjoy the fame and the drugs and the fucking.

Those criticisms, and many others, are valid.

But here’s the thing. I liked Bohemian Rhapsody. Sort of a lot. I liked the whole cast. Rami Malek, certainly, but Ben Hardy (who I’ve liked since Eastenders) does an awful lot with what he’s given. I even, to a degree, enjoyed the superficiality, the gloss, which was certainly no worse than that of A Star is Born. I liked that it ended on a high note, even if it had to cut the story quite short to do so.

After so many years of awful queer films, I still haven’t gotten used to this recent explosion of queer films of quality. We’ll have to wait and see where Bohemian Rhapsody ends up on that list, but I have a feeling it will be higher than the skeptics today think.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? ☆☆☆ (3/5) 2/03/19

Strongly acted but lacking in wit.
Just watch Spy again – you don’t have to feel guilty about it.

Did you ever spend time drinking in dive-y gay bars with shady characters? I have, kind of a lot. It’s sort of fun. More fun than Can You Ever Forgive Me? would have you believe.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a good movie, but it plods through its paces with a monotony that keeps it from rising above a certain level. Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant are great. They’re pretty much always great. Well, at least he is. But they’re both bona fide scene stealing stars with proven track records. Maybe people are surprised that she can actually act, but they shouldn’t be.

There’s no shortage of empathy in Can You Ever Forgive Me? for the oddball losers they’re playing, which is nice, but I wonder whether the real people involved in the story would have appreciated the pity the film encourages. I don’t think they would. I think maybe they’d tell Academy Award nominated screenwriter Nicole Holofcener to go fuck herself, and gigglesnort until they fell off their bar stools.

Hearts Beat Loud ☆☆☆☆ (4/5) 12/28/18

A feel-good sleeper with a great cast

I’m just going to say this up front: Blythe Danner is a fucking beast. She kills it in this movie in a very remarkable way. Toni Collette is having a great year, too, and although this isn’t her best role of the year (that’s Hereditary, which is on a par with her career best), her particular, eager warmth is always welcome.

If Hearts Beat Loud has a flaw, and it probably does, it’s the amount of time it devotes to Nick Offerman’s schlubby, self-absorbed dad. It’s a terrific performance, but I wanted more Kiersey Clemons, more sweet lesbian romance, less middle-aged ennui. Your Offerman mileage will vary according to your affection for/identification with him.

It’s a relief to watch a movie that hits some familiar emotional beats while still feeling so casual and personal. The stakes aren’t terribly high, but they feel honest and so the modest catharsis feels earned.

I’m a little in love with this one.