Somebody I Used To Know isn’t the worst rom-com I’ve sat through this year, but it is hard to recommend. The movie is a modern version of My Best Friend’s Wedding but with less charm. I recommend you watch that movie instead. The acting here is fine, but the story isn’t great. If you like the genre, you might have a deeper appreciation for it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it.
Allie was an ambitious documentarian who has settled on being a producer for a crappy reality tv show about baking on an island. As hard as she works to make her show successful and captivating, it gets canceled. Now without purpose, Allie flies back to her small hometown to figure out what to do with her life. Her plans are complicated when she meets an old boyfriend. Their spark seems to reignite between the two, making Allie believe that this is her second chance to rekindle a lost love. But there is a problem; he is getting married, and the girl he is getting married to reminds her of how she used to be. Will she find purpose in a wreckage of a relationship she helped create, or will she learn to let things go?
The story isn’t great. You sit through fake artsy talk as Alle struggles with selling out. It will try way too hard to be funny, and none of it is interesting. I like that Allie is put in a situation where she has to let things go to grow, but don’t like that she tried to break up a happy couple. I don’t like when these types of movies muddle ethics so that two people are together. I get that sometimes a couple is destined to be together, but destiny in these types of movies means flat characters exist to create easy conflict rather than a meaningful story. The goal here starts off as trying to get rid of a flat foil so Allie can get the life she thinks she wants.
I was surprised to see this movie attempt to divert from the usual formula, but this shift doesn’t do enough to make this movie better. Allie doesn’t find purpose in the guy she wanted, but she will find it in another man. Although Allie was able to move on and follow her dreams, I find her sudden success as a documentarian hard to believe. I didn’t like Allie as the main character and didn’t care about her growth. Don’t get me wrong, Allison Brie gives a great performance, but the movie isn’t good.
The chemistry between the characters is easily the best part of the film. Unfortunately, some characters are terribly wasted in this film and others are just flat and forgettable. I’ve seen worse romcoms so I was able to power through this film without much issue, but it is hard to recommend because this plot has been done a lot better elsewhere. If you are thinking about watching this movie, watch My Best Friend’s Wedding instead.
You can watch it on Amazon if you have a prime subscription, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it.
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Movie Review: At Midnight (2023)
At Midnight is the cheesiest movie the cheesiest romcom that I have seen this year. The writing is bad, and the story is predictable, but it isn’t the worst movie I’ve seen all year. If you enjoy cheesy bad movies, this one is fun.
The movie is about a generic couple that can’t be together because of their social status. Sophie is a famous movie star stuck in a role she doesn’t want. Her life changes when she finds her boyfriend cheating on her, but because of her fame, Sophie must stay in this relationship. Alejandro is a hotel assistant manager who until he meets Sophie, doesn’t believe in love. A secret fling in paradise quickly turns into something more. It soon becomes impossible to keep their love a secret. But can their love survive the pressures that come with fame and status? Of course, it can! This is a cheesy rom-com.
At Midnight takes every chance it gets to namedrop the title, and it isn’t subtle. This obsession leads to my absolute favorite line of dialogue in this whole movie, and it goes like this:
After a few secret dates, the relationship between Sophie and Alejandro becomes more serious. They sneak away at midnight every chance they get just to share a few moments together. As they sit for a romantic movie date, the Paramount Pictures logo shines brightly against the camera so that the couple appears as simple silhouettes. Sophie turns to Alejandro, the logo still visible, and says “Midnight with you is my favorite hour.” Alejandro looks down at her and responds “Midnight isn’t a time. It is a place we can be together.” This is the best example of what kind of movie it is. It’s not a good one, but it is fun if you like to make fun of bad cheesy movies.
The acting is the best part of this movie. Don’t get me wrong, no one is getting an award here, but I appreciate the energy put into the performances. The leads had decent chemistry, and it certainly has its moments. It doesn’t do enough to earn a recommendation, but I had enough fun with this movie that I didn’t mind watching it.
The movie is bilingual, and I have to say I preferred the Spanish bits. It felt like the cheesy telenovelas I used to watch with my grandma, but this movie required a lot less commitment. They aren’t a great example of Mexican cinema, but I found the plot threads a bit more interesting than the English bits. All the English plot lines involved the life of a fake actress and her struggle with identity, but none of that struggle was interesting. At least in Spanish, I got to hear people argue.
This movie is lazy. The plot is very predictable as it follows the same generic plot common in the genre. They even dare to rip off the speech from Say Anything because they probably ran out of ideas. This is a movie riddled with holes and terrible lines, and it will try to distract you with shameless fan service. As much fun as I had with this film, it isn’t good.
I have a soft spot for cheesy movies like this, so I enjoyed it more than I should have. You aren’t watching this movie unless you love this genre or love making fun of the bad ones. It is a lazy generic romcom with a pretty terrific cast. I didn’t mind that I watched it, but can’t recommend it. If you don’t believe me, check it out on Paramount+.
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Movie Review: You People (2023)
I wasn’t a fan of You People because it is a lazy movie at its core. It has good actors who give fantastic performances, but this is a movie that sacrifices narrative in order to make its pretentious points about racism. If you are interested in watching this movie, you won’t hate it, but keep in mind that it isn’t the quirky rom-com that you think it is.
The story is about an interatrial couple and the struggles they face as their cultures clash. There is also a subplot about a podcast, but there really isn’t much more to this movie.
The acting is fine, but the leads share no chemistry. It feels as if the only reason the two are together is to create the uncomfortable situations the movie is brimming with. The white family will constantly make tone-deaf statements as they desperately attempt to not appear racist. The African-American family seems to be equally one note as they become the foils to the Jewish family. This back-and-forth gets old almost instantly, but I can’t deny that the performances were excellent.
This movie seems to be shamelessly made to make white people uncomfortable. While I appreciate some of the commentary it makes, the tone is directed toward a particular audience. I find it problematic to exclude a group of people from a conversation about racism. This movie also boils down such a complex issue into something too simple for cheap laughs. I felt like this movie doesn’t do anything other than try to make its audience uncomfortable.
These uncomfortable moments and discussions are tied together by its poorly and barely existent plot. This relationship exists outside of various clashes and unintended racism which would be fine if this wasn’t a rom-com. If you take away these moments, you get a couple of montages and a crappy podcast. I was not a fan of the fact that I had to sit through a fake podcast full of bad takes because there wasn’t enough plot for a movie. I am very upset that this movie forgot it was a rom-com, but remembered the main character’s rise to a successful podcaster.
I can’t recommend this movie because there really isn’t much to it. While there are some great performances and some valid humor, it doesn’t do enough to earn a recommendation. There are older rom-coms that deal with the same subject but do it better, I recommend you watch those instead. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this movie, nor do intend on rewatching it, but you can stream it on Netflix if you have nothing better to do.
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Movie Review: Shotgun Wedding (2022)
If I had to only use one word to describe the comedic cinematic genius that is Shotgun Wedding, it would be cheap. This film is a collection of cheap action sequences, cheap CGI, and cheap jokes bundled in a cheap script to fill up a digital catalog. This movie required more suspense of disbelief and patience than I am capable of. With how hard Amazon is advertising this movie, I expected something that didn’t feel like a bargain bin direct-to-vhs action movie. If you are desperate to watch a JLO comedy, The Wedding Planner is a better movie.
A generic couple plans a destination wedding in the Philippines. Conflict between the couple has slowly been boiling over until they get into a huge fight on the day of the wedding. Luckily for them, pirates have crashed their wedding and taken their guests as hostages. JLO and her husband are now forced to work through their relationship while they attempt to save the day. Can they do so before the pirates start killing hostages? Yes because this is a poorly written movie.
The acting in this movie is lazy, and most actors seem to be there for the paycheck. To be fair to the actors, there is only so much that can be done with this script. The plot is dumb, and there clearly wasn’t enough of an idea for a movie. If you cut out all the filler and the ending karaoke scene no one asked for, there are 30 minutes of “plot” left for your enjoyment. Less than half of that is enjoyable. I would be lying if I said this movie didn’t make me laugh. This movie had its moments, but most of them are in the trailer, so there really isn’t a need to watch it for an additional joke or two.
I am tired of the JLO character at this point. She plays the same character in all her movies, whether she plays a stripper or is playing herself. I understand that a lot of this has to do with the fact that she doesn’t have the range to play any other character. Here it’s problematic when the lead needs to be more charismatic than JLO is capable of being. She didn’t has no chemistry with the husband, her comedic timing is inconsistent, and she was too goofy for the action bits. Maybe one day they will find a role where this character works, but not today.
I can’t recommend this movie because I don’t really count it as a movie. It doesn’t take advantage of its cast, there is no plot, and it’s barely funny. It may not be the worst comedy I have seen, but your time is better spent elsewhere. For those curious, you can check it out on Amazon.
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Series Review: That 90s Show
I was a huge fan of That 70’s Show when it was out, and I’ve rewatched it a few times already. I was excited when That 90’s Show was announced because I thought we were getting a proper reboot. I spent a lot of effort avoiding all the news and rewatching the original series because I didn’t want this review to be affected by nostalgia. Unfortunately, this series makes it impossible to separate nostalgia from my critique because it is a carbon copy of the original. I don’t know who this series was made for, but it wasn’t for me.
The series is about Eric and Dona’s daughter, Leia, and her summer in Point Place, Wisconsin. Leia is an awkward nerd who on her latest visit to Wisconsin, has made her first group of friends. The series focuses on the adventures she has that summer.
The adventures Leia has are pretty much the same ones they had in the original, only slightly modernized to fit the 90’s aesthetic. You get the same story beats, jokes, and even characters but with a lot less of the charm. This series might have been better if I hadn’t watched the original.
I foolishly expected this to be a continuation of the narrative we got in That 70’s Show. I was expecting an adult gang that has grown from their experiences and has to deal with a more modern canvas of issues. The original cast does appear, but only for short cameos where they exist as jokes for a quick laugh. They have learned nothing and added nothing to the story.
The cast is great, and they give a fantastic performance, but the writing holds them back. You get the same group of characters, story beats, and even jokes that have only been slightly adapted to fight the 90s aesthetic. I would have preferred this to be its own show that didn’t have to constantly rely on the nostalgia of the original for it to be entertaining.
My biggest issue with this series is how overbearing the live audience tracks are. The constant laughter and reactions get old and distracting instantly. There are scenes where the audience laughs after every single line of dialogue. I get that it was a callback to the original series, but it just highlights how painfully unfunny this series can be.
That said, this series isn’t terrible. When it tried to do its own thing, it earned its laughs. There are even some nice character moments. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of these moments to save this series for me. More often than not, I found myself bored by the characters, story lines, and jokes.
If you are a fan of the original series, I don’t think it’s worth it. It is okay, but it is trapped repeating the same thing in a lesser package. If you haven’t seen the original series, there are funnier sitcoms worth more of your time. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it, but it is on Netflix if you need it.
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Mythic Quest Season 3 Review
With the third season of Mythic Quest now fully released, I feel disappointed with how it all unfolded. I am a fan of this series, but I found it nearly impossible to finish this season. Don’t get me wrong, I still recommend this series if you haven’t seen it, but this season has left a lot to be desired.
Mythic Quest is a comedy series that satirizes the gaming industry as it follows the work life at the world’s most popular MMORPG of the same name. The series focuses on a collection of wacky characters and their budding personalities as they try to make Mythic Quest a game worth playing. The series criticizes the gaming industry through its use of humor and its well-written narrative.
While I loved the first two seasons of Mythic Quest, this season falls flat. The narrative was drawn out, with each episode ending in disappointing. This season felt like a setup for something that hopefully won’t get canceled by Apple. It began a lot of story threads bringing forth minor characters featuring stories you probably won’t care for. The overall experience was fine, but waiting week to week made this series harder to follow. Nothing was hooking me to come back for the next episode or season while we are at it. It is a better experience to watch the episodes back to back, but it remains the show’s weakest season.
What keeps me from hating this season is that if you look at it as a whole and remove all the fluff, there is much-needed character growth that I was happy to see. There are important story beats that give the narrative its meaningful advancement, but you have to sit through some boring story-lines.
I will probably watch the fourth season because I need my closure, but I lack the excitement I once had. Do not be discouraged, Mythic Quest is still worth watching. It has a fantastic cast playing great characters, and the story is mostly good. If you have Apple TV, you should have already watched it. If you don’t, it is worth the free trial.
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Movie Review: 7 Women and a Murder (2022)
7 Women and a Murder is a quirky take on the murder mystery genre that I believe is worth your attention. The movie is originally in Italian, but dubbing in different languages is available. I always recommend watching it in the original language, but I get the need for accessibility. The English dubbing is fine, but I felt it lacked some of the intended charm.
Six women have gathered at a beautiful mansion for Christmas. Disaster strikes when the women find that the patriarch has been murdered. Alone and secluded in the mansion, the women must now survive the night until help can arrive. Will they find a killer amongst them, or will the killer claim more victims? Will the women make it to Christmas?
I liked this movie. I thought the story was fine, the acting was great, and the twist was interesting. It is a little slow, but it wasn’t so bad that I felt the need to turn it off. I loved how colorful this movie is. The costumes and mansion seem to have been carefully curated to create some very appealing shots. I particularly enjoyed how the mystery unravels. Each woman has a narrative or secret that they reveal, and the movie does a great job of bringing them together for the big reveal.
This movie deals with the idea of womanhood as it relates to a single man who is absent. I don’t want to ruin the mystery, but it makes valid criticism about the idealized archetypes of women by showing characters who are more complicated.
If you don’t mind reading subtitles and are in the mood for something quirky and different, watch 7 Women and Murder. You can stream it now on Netflix.
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Image by Davie Bicker from Pixabay
Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Myster (2022) – Review
I’d like to start off by giving a special shoutout to the user splithare for buying me coffee. It is the only way I can continue to function and keep posting these reviews. I hope you have yourself a Happy New Year! Thank you so much!
I have already talked about the Murderville series and touched on my disappointment with it. The series isn’t bad, but it does appeal to a very specific audience, and I am not it. If you like improv, you might have a better time with this series than I did. If you are interested in the series the Who Killed Santa? Christmas special is the best place to start. It is still a bit rough, but the best example of the format.
The premise of this series is to have guests go through a murder mystery experience without any prep. The mystery has already been scripted, but the guests go through it blind. The entertainment of this series relies heavily on the raw reactions of the guests and how well they play off of Will Arnet.
The guest stars for this special are Jason Bateman and Miya Rudolph. They are fantastic guests and do very well in this type of format. The chemistry they share with Arnet is infectious, and they do well in improv. What hurts this series is that some guests don’t have good chemistry with Will Arnet. As a result, you get a lot of awkward or unfunny moments that drag on for too long. Other guests aren’t good at improving, and their reactions are dull. For this series to be successful, they need to do a better job at getting guests who can be entertaining without any structure and can play off the energy Arnet brings to the experience.
Despite it being one of the better examples, Who Killed Santa? is still difficult to recommend. The mystery is dumb, but that is the general tone of this series. This series feels like a cheesy gameshow, but one that tries very hard to be funny. This special is funnier than the episodes in the main series, but the lack of structure means that you have to sit through some boring moments. Even if you like the actors and improv, the overall rawness of the performances makes it disappointing.
I can’t recommend this special because of its inconsistency. But if you are interested in watching Murderville, this special is the best place to start. I recommend you throw it on in the background while you are doing anything else so that you can ignore the boring bits and be around for the funny ones. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this because it isn’t anything special, but you can stream it on Netflix if you are interested.
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Series Review: Murderville (2022)
Murderville aims to be this quirky improv crime drama, but one that ends up being mediocre. While the concept is interesting, it isn’t consistent enough to be worth the trouble. This series seems to have been made with a very specific audience in mind, but unfortunately, I am not in that group.
The premise of this series is to guide a famous person through this interactive crime drama experience. The experience is led by actors who mostly follow a script. The guests know nothing about what is going on. A lot of the humor relies heavily on how well the guest can adapt and react to certain situations. What this series ends up being is a collection of sometimes funny improv exercises. If you are considering watching this series, I recommend watching a highlight real on YouTube instead.
The problem with this series is how much the entertainment falls on the guest. Not every guest is going to be good, and there are already a couple of episodes to prove this. The main draw to this series is to have actors you know reacting to this silly mystery, but it isn’t going to be consistently good. Most of the guests didn’t have the improv skills to keep the flow going. This leads to a lot of awkward moments. It was fun to see the actors working hard to try to make it all work, but the series as a whole is mediocre.
If you like to improve the guests, you might have a better time, but it is still a hard sell. For this format to work, you need guests who can be as entertaining as the actors propelling the narrative. This isn’t a bad show, it has some funny moments to it, but your time is better spent watching them on YouTube. But if you like this format and are a fan of the guests, you can stream this series on Netflix.
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Movie Review: Emergency (2022)
Emergency is a fantastic movie that you need to watch. While this movie may be packaged as another Hangover clone, it proves to be much more meaningful. Emergency uses the tired old formula of the genre to make important criticism about racial inequality. This is a movie will make you laugh, but it will also make you think. It isn’t an uncomfortable movie, but its message is real and important.
Kunla, Sean, and Carlos just want one night of epic partying in their last year of college. They decide to go on the blackout tour, a night where they hit all the biggest parties on campus. Their plans get complicated when they come home to discover a passed-out white girl in their living room. The optics don’t look good because they are men of color, and the young white girl is drunk and possibly drugged. They decide that the best course of action is to take her to the hospital so that she can get the help she needs. Unfortunately, this act of kindness leads to the worst night of their lives.
I love this movie. The acting is fantastic, and the chemistry the leads share is infectious. The story is phenomenal. This is a well-made movie.
Emergency differentiates itself from the rest of the genre through its unique narrative. The shenanigans and challenges the leads face during the night aren’t caused by drinking and partying but rather by their race. The characters are limited in what they can do because of the color of their skin. The movie does a fantastic job of contrasting what they are allowed to do against what the white students can. They can’t call the police or do much because they could be arrested or have their reputations destroyed. It is a difficult situation that they continue to be in because they are constantly facing challenges due to their race. The movie does a fantastic job of balancing the humor and messaging to make an effective narrative without it being preachy or difficult to watch. The intention of this movie isn’t to shame or guilt, but rather to share an important point of view that often gets ignored.
This movie became very real for me because it is an issue that I am familiar with. I am constantly being made aware of my race and am limited on what I can do because I have to always worry about the optics. Am I looking menacing when I am walking in the park playing Pokemon GO? Do I look like I am about to steal when I am shopping for groceries? These are just a few thoughts that go through my head on a daily basis. I have to constantly be adjusting how I present myself so that I don’t get in trouble for existing. It is a trauma I have always carried with me, and one that I will continue to carry.
This movie does a fantastic job of showing this trauma through a familiar narrative. I don’t mean to scare you or make you uncomfortable with my analysis. Emergency is a fantastic comedy, but it gets serious when it needs to. It is charming, funny, and a very refreshing take on a tired old genre. Check it out on Amazon if you have a Prime membership.
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