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THE HIGH NOTE (2020) movie review by Gwen Hughes
Category: Comedy
NEVER HAVE I EVER (2020) Netflix original series
From “Office” writer Mindy Kaling comes the only level of drama most of us can handle right about now. It’s high school’s hilarious punch up starring a swash of underdogs who finally take the leads.
One part Tina Fey’s Mean Girls pop plot meets two parts Freaks and Geeks nostalgia. Add the zest of some Bring It On-style iconic vocab and the full-speed-ahead dialogue almost Gilmore-pace (almost). Sprinkle a bit of High School Musical-esque cheese with the added touch of plenty of PG-13 dialogue (aka swearing and overt discussions about sex). Toss in heavy doses gorgeous cultural heritage. And you have the newest Netflix binge-worthy series. I laughed hard through it all, mostly because of the narration by John McEnroe and for a moment Andy Samburg.
The lead, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is excellent. Kaling proves that she can offer true heart through believable, triumphant, flawed characters in a well-paced story that feels kind of just right for right now.
THE DEATH OF STALIN (2017) movie review by Gwen Hughes
I didn’t expect to laugh out loud at the story of a communist dictator. But here we are.
The Russian cousin of Jo Jo Rabbit, The Death of Stalin tells the story of Josef Stalin’s demise and the subsequent chaos of planning a funeral and finding his successor. Seasoned satirist and director Armando Iannucci (Veep, In the Loop) brings together a cast of A-list actors who make the antics of Stalin’s right-hand men utterly hilarious.
Like audiences, Stalin (the brilliant Adrian McLoughlin) laughs himself to death. The General Committee of goons, Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), and Laventri Beria (Simon Russell Beale) among others, unite to save their boss. Too bad they’ve sent all the doctors in Moscow to the Gulag. They were traitors, every last one of them.
Beria silently rejoices at the dictator’s death, hoping for a seat on the throne. Malenkov, the General Secretary and official successor, can’t make a decision to save his life, and they are all relieved they won’t have to sit through any more Westerns (Stalin’s actual favorite films!)
While the characters are sometimes hard to keep track of, you almost don’t care. A bunch of masterful comedic actors delivering the brilliant lines of Iannucci’s script and, no doubt, improvising some of the best. This is not Crime and Punishment, and there won’t be a test, though you will likely learn some Russian history along the way.
Don’t shy away from this film, thinking it’s a historical drama. Unlike Taika Waititi’s World War II satire, Iannucci doesn’t build up heartfelt relationships only to give you a punch in the gut in the end. This film is Steve Buscemi as a reluctant funeral director, Jeffrey Tambor in a girdle, and grown men cowering in the shadow of their 5’8” predecessor.
Not to mention it’s banned in Russia. Go nuts.
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Gwen Hughes is a seasoned writer and the Editor-in-Chief at Madison Park Living magazine. When she is not working, she enjoys reading short stories, quoting John Mulaney Netflix specials, and eating family-size boxes of Mott’s Fruit Snacks.
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT (2019) movie review by Gwen Hughes
From Bend It Like Beckham director, Gurinder Chadha, comes this coming-of-age story of a young British Pakistani teen and his love affair with the music of Bruce Springsteen.
Set in Luton, England in 1987, Javed Kahn is busy trying to complete high school, while helping his controlling father earn a living for their family. Poetry and journals are his only outlet.
But when Sikh student, Roops, joins Javed at lunch and introduces him to ‘The Boss,’ Javed discovers a new reason for living.
Viveik Kalra’s brilliant performance as Javed perfectly captures each one of us the moment we discover art that speaks to our heart: invigorated and forever changed. A montage of Javed singing in the street, with lyrics schmeared across the screen is admittedly, cheesy, but gets the point across.
Surrounded by blaring synth, gravity-defying hair, and oodles of neon, the two friends marvel at how an all-American artist from New Jersey can to speak to them through decade-old records in rural England.
Now all Javed needs is a cut-off-at-the-shoulders flannel shirt and a denim jacket to complete his transformation. With a newfound confidence, Javed spits on his bullies, gets the girl, and dances to the beat of his own drum.
Despite his new-found joie de vivre, his non-traditional dream coupled with hate crimes and financial hardships, raise doubts that Javed will ever achieve his ambition of making it out of his stultifying hometown.
The power struggle between rock-obsessed teen and tradition-focused father may seem cliché, but Javed’s story evokes all the emotions of Springsteen’s oeuvre in an hour-and-fifty-minute, heartwarming package.
For Springsteen fans this movie is a must-see. Many of his classics get their very own, extended montages and reverence for The Boss permeates this small-town story.
(Now streaming on Hulu)
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Gwen Hughes is a seasoned writer and the Editor-in-Chief at Madison Park Living magazine. When she is not working, she enjoys reading short stories, quoting John Mulaney Netflix specials, and eating family-size boxes of Mott’s Fruit Snacks.
TAG (2018) & GAME NIGHT (2018) movies reviewed
TAG (2018) and GAME NIGHT (2018) occupy the same shelf in my mind. Both are foul-mouthed comedic romps of mischief between grown ups acting like kids who take their kid games a little far. Ed Helms and Jason Bateman, the interchangeable well-meaning married men who hesitate then act with whimsy edging on insanity. 
Rachel McAdams & Isla Fisher play the competitive trophy wives with violent tendencies but good hearts. Increase the casts to ensembles including the likes of SNL’s favorite Mad Man John Hamm, New Girl‘s Nick Jake Johnson, Avenger’s Hawkeye Jeremy Renner and more. Roll those dice, and it’s game on.
Car chases, crazy fight sequences, violence, drug use and constant language, as well as some blatant discussions about sex make both of these pretty edgy almost raunchy comedies.
If we’re talking straight filmmaking, the major flaws lie in negligent storytelling, not poorly made movies. In fact, some decent editing and stunt work exist in both films. 
Game Night is a quick giveaway in which the characters know too much too soon and are able to escape and outwit the bad guys every time.
Tag entrusts some all-stars with too many boring scenarios hoping famous faces will mask the lack of plot. Otherwise, they could never get a gorgeous journalist to tag along for such a spiraling schlep.
I suppose some would say I’m being too harsh to mindless dirty comedies. Perhaps some would prefer the bliss of ignorance. I suppose in this time-is-money world, I would just prefer to protect viewers from wasting both.
ANT-MAN and The WASP (2018) movie review
Expect Marvel – that primary color palate and pert pacing. Expect Rudd’s quick wit of puns and one liners. Expect hard kicking Ghost girl to startle, but never during warm family moments.
Expect to see Evangeline Lily showing the many seasons of emotion as seen in Kate from Lost all rolled into this one film.
More size-shifting spectacles make this yet another fun classic Marvel hero flick. See it and you’ll get exactly what you expect: an Ant Man & aWasp.
THE DISASTER ARTIST (2017) movie review
James Franco is Tommy Wiseau . The Franco brothers tackle the ultimate duo feature. It’s Lennie and George all over again.
This making-of-the-movie film delves into the origin story of what has won the title for worst movie ever made. The Room has a wide cult following, filling late night movie houses with curious film fans and the friends they dragged there to cringe and laugh and throw popcorn with. Supposedly, every line is an accidental joke and every scene an even worse moment in acting history.
Yet many wonder if the madman masks a genius.
Wiseau paid exorbitant fees for equipment, cast, crew, and miscellaneous expenses over 20 years ago only to make this historical monstrosity. The Disaster Artist somehow deconstructs The Room and unveils the relationship behind the duo’s untoward success as it allows audiences an empathetic glance into an inverse Lala Land experience: seeking serious dreams and becoming the butt of the joke.
Speaking of butts. You see all of James Franco. ALL. All but the privacy pouch, so the R rating is not just for intense language.
I’m sure The Room IS as bad as we’ve heard, but somehow The Disaster Artist makes bad art human again. It’s the ultimate essence of modern art allowing the artists to remain more interesting and important than his creation.
James Franco won the Golden Globe for his impressive performance. Dave Franco expertly played the straight man opposite his brother.
I have respected the co-writers of this film, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, since their brave breakout film 500 Days of Summer, and here they prove again that they can “take a sad song and make it better” by allowing all audiences to relate to the quirkiest of characters until we root for them to succeed, laughing them all the way into daily conversations and filmmaking history.
LADY BIRD (2017) movie review
Senior year at her Catholic school, a girl with abnormal charisma and confidence changes her name and takes on her toughest critic: her mother.
Everyone wants to be loved. This film speaks to the soul of the everyday, normal, individual you that doesn’t feel approved of, noticed, or truly seen. Her issues resonate because in some ways they are universal.
This film is a conversation being picked up, spun round, remembered and circled back to. Scenes and dialogue cut and jog but somehow maintain fluidity, grace, and humor.
The early 2000’s, Dave Matthews’ “Crash,” neutral and dark oversized shirts, Kool-aid dyed hair, thrift shopping for prom gowns, and high school musicals make every moment hilarious and true. It’s almost a little too close to home.
From the opening scene listening to books on tape in the car with her mother to sneaking communion wafers with her best friend, this is all real. It’s about hope and finding satisfaction in yourself and in the family you were born into, and learning to love and pay attention to both for the broken wonderful things that they are. Because after all, in the end maybe loving and paying attention are the same thing.
LOGAN LUCKY (2017) movie review
Logan Lucky flew the checkered flag before the film could turn a jumble of post-punch anticipated laugh lines into workable plot points.
Soderbergh directed Oceans 11 in 2001, offering the world the perfect ensemble cast in a lively, paced, heist film with memorable hooks and twists. Another great cast joined him for his newest edition, which hoped to be another Oceans-esque playful, comedic, strategic romp, this time claiming the take from a day at the races instead of taking the house at a Casino.
Channing Tatum plays good dad straight man with a plan, but he’s no Danny Ocean. Stakes were too low to pull buy in. 
Sadly, sunshine on the speedway, Seth MacFarlane’s fake accent, and a cutesy singing pageant girl could not fix the thing that was off as I watched and waited for the pace to pick up, the jokes to land, and for anything other than the surprise of Daniel Craig’s physical comedy to work.
Admittedly, Driver’s prosthetic arm stole scenes, but the punchy potential one-liners waited for forced laughter, as most cast members delivered quirk without character development.
THE BIG SICK (2017) movie review
It’s not the classic boy meets girl. It’s not your everyday romcom. 
It’s a complex, unique story about two people trying to fit together then trying to fit into each other’s family dynamics. It’s messy and wonderful, just like real life.
Moments made me supremely sad, but I also fell in love with every character individually. Each one in his or her own flawed and quirky ways became oddly likable. Ray Romano and Holly Hunter’s performances were raw and flawless. I’ve never loved them more. They play the parents of Zoe Kazan, the heroine of this little film that has won big audiences.
We follow Kumail Nanjiani’s true life story as he navigates Pakistani-American life, dreams of performing stand-up, and falls for the “wrong” girl. 
When she ends up in the hospital, he is left alone to make life-saving decisions and make good with her southern family, all while appeasing his own family bent on arranging his marriage.
It’s a bit of a Big Fat Greek Wedding as cultural differences increase the tensions but add such humor and beauty.
Take the R rating seriously. The language is rough. The concept is tragic at times. The relationship, carnal. But get beyond that, and this film is honest, human, clumsy, comedic, and absolutely lovely.
Splatter: on FILM 