Brigsby Bear

First Hit:  A very creative interesting film about a young man coming to terms with his past.

The first thing about this film when watching the initial scenes are that James (Kyle Mooney), and his so called mom and dad, Ted and April Mitchum (Mark Hamill and Jane Adams respectively) are odd people. They live as a family in an underground bunker in the middle of nowhere (looks like a high-desert area in the southwest part of the United States).

James is obsessed with the "Brigsby Bear" videos he watches on an old VCR player. Afterwards, he writes up a synopsis of the video and posts the synopsis on a blog site using a very old, out of date, portable computer. He’s all alone except for his parents and never seems to go outside. Stealing away one night, with a gas mask on, he ventures outside. While watching the sky on top of the bunker’s concrete entrance, he sees the flashing lights of police cars in the distance. Panicking he goes back into the bunker to wake up his parents.

However, he's too late and the police are inside the bunker. He’s taken to a police station where Detective Vogel (Greg Kinnear) tells him he was abducted as a baby and that Ted and April aren't his real parents. He’s introduced to his real parents Greg and Louise Pope (Matt Walsh and Michaela Watkins respectively). He also has a sister Aubrey (Ryan Simpkins) who is very standoffish to James because she suddenly has an older brother who is weird and not cool. As a teenage girl, it is horrible to have a geeky strange older brother who's name is plastered all over the news.

Greg and Louise take James to see and work with a psychologist named Emily (Claire Danes) who insists that James must begin the process of forgetting about Brigsby Bear. Although he asks everyone else about Brigsby, he discovers that no one else has ever seen Brigsby Bear. Then he learns that his former Dad created all the Brigsby videos to teach him life lessons in addition to reading, math, and the importance of right and wrong.

James has grown up with Brigsby as his only touchstone to life outside of Ted and April, so he decides to do a film to help him understand it all. The film he hopes to make will complete the Brigsby Bear story. When he shares this idea with Aubrey’s friends they offer to help him make this film.

The rest of the film is about creating new friendships by creating this film together. Even Detective Vogel gets into the act. The way this unfolds is interesting and only until we get close to the end of the film do we really see how this is James’ way of saying "goodbye" to the life he once had and saying "hi" to the life he is entering.

The film’s creative naivete, as witnessed by the way both sets of parents are characterized, shows how James is a mirror of his parents and a reflection of the film he creates. This makes this movie captivatingly perfect.

Mooney was excellent as the partially blank tablet young man trying to find his way into a world he knows little about. Hamill was strong as the surrogate dad and the evil sun. Walsh was puzzlingly good. I was puzzled because he reflected a certain level of spacy-ness himself. There were times I thought he as putting on an act and other times I felt true and solid engagement to the role. Watkins was clearly less puzzling and good in this role. Simpkins was excellent. I thought she did an excellent job of being put off by James presence as well as embracing him as she learns more about him. Danes was solid as a therapist who lacked clear empathy towards James and his path to grow. Kinnear was excellent as the detective who began to see James and support his efforts to move his life forward his way. Jorge Lendeborg Jr. was fantastic as Aubrey’s friend who is the first to be open to James and his story. Their interactions while building the film and at the party were priceless. Alexa Demie as another one of Aubrey’s friends who takes James under her wings and was excellent. Kevin Costello and Kyle Mooney wrote this interesting script and Dave McCary’s direction gave it all life.

Overall:  I thought this was a very creative and bold film.

Girls Trip

First Hit:  Some very funny scenes, a few overly gross scenes, all in a satisfying but too long film.

I don’t mind grossness in a film. However, when more than one person pisses on a crowd from a zip line and the amount of piss and the way it sprays around is totally un-real, it is a turnoff, adds no value and is not funny. This and other stupid scenes when juxtaposed against some very fine and really, out-loud, funny scenes, could keep this film from being a classic hit, years from now.

Strong friendships between four black women is the basis for this strong film as they reconnect and re-find their deep love and respect for each other. Many of us have friendships that have lasted through the years. I’ve got two friends, whom I’ve known for over 50 years. Although we may not speak with each other very often, but when we do we find the place where trust and having each other’s backs rises to the top.

This film explores all this and more because, Ryan (Regina Hall) is in a farce of a marriage, promotes her life as having it all, and subjugates herself for money, her husband’s infidelity and fame. Then there is Sasha (Queen Latifah), who is financially struggling because, her once strong communication skills are being wasted on her TMZ type website that has no viewers. She found herself in this position because Ryan quit their business partnership. Lisa (Jada Pinkett Smith) has become a protective stay at home divorced mom. The fun, strong, smart girl has been both emotionally and sexually suppressed. Dina (Tiffany Haddish) is the wild girl, the fun girl and the bold girl. She’s the one in the group that pushes the edge of experience for all of them through her boldness.

They get together in New Orleans because Ryan gets an all-expenses paid trip to promote herself and husband Stewart (Mike Colter) to a possible television production company while at a conference. Although the unraveling of their back stories’ is predictable, the humor used is, at times, sparkling and strong. One example was the demonstration of using a grapefruit in sex, very funny. All of these women were perfect and well chosen for the character they represented and it showed that they became friends during the filming.

Hall was perfectly reserved, suppressed, and wanting to live her truth of having it all. She showed the rediscovery of her true self well. Latifah was wonderful and didn’t dominate the film as she has in other films. She fit effortlessly and was perfect as the woman who had Ryan’s back no matter what. Smith’s character evolved the most during the film. The opening scenes where she acts repressed were on the edge of being pressed, but her clothing made it all work. Then as she evolves you can see how she fit into the group years ago. Haddish was like having a wild animal loose in a positive way. She brought spark, edginess and bold fun to this role. She was the spark plug. Colter was strong as Ryan’s philandering husband. His voice is so soft and smooth which he uses as an asset for convincing Ryan to buy into the hype. Erica Rivinoja and Kenya Barris wrote a wonderful story that embodied some real insights to friendship. Malcolm D. Lee did a good job of directing this film. My criticisms are that he needed to remove 30 minutes of film, it was way too long, and that the overdoing of some scenes took it from being a strong film and moved it toward being silly.

Overall:  It needed some tightening up, but otherwise it was a very funny and strong film.

The Big Sick

First Hit: I really liked the story but the acting by the main character didn't stand up when compared with the rest of the cast.

This is a wonderful, real relationship, story between Kumail Nanjiani (played himself) and Emily Gordon (played in the film by Zoe Kazan). The unfortunate part is that Kumail wasn’t very engaging to watch. There were times it felt like he was a deer in headlights. Granted this may be the way he is but it doesn’t work for film. It was like he was amature playing with pros.

Kazan (as Emily) was amazing. Her quirkiness and direct dialogue was a perfect foil for Kumail’s poorly timed lightweight jokes and kidding way. Emily meets Kumail after she watches one of his comedy shows. As a struggling comedian in Chicago he gets small five minute segments at a comedy club along with his roommate and comedian friends. He and Emily seem to hit it off during the conversation and next thing you know they are staying the night at his house.

As a Pakistani, Kumail’s family wants him to marry a Pakistani Muslim so his mother, Sharmeen (Zenobia Shroff) continues to bring by women for him to court and marry. He doesn’t like them. Although the reasons why were obvious on the screen, there was one woman that was presented to him at dinner that made me wonder if it was because his mother introduced him that turned him off because she appeared interesting and someone he could get to know.

Both Emily and Kumail tell each other they are not looking for a permanent relationship and don’t want to see each other more than two nights in a row. However, their relationship grows quickly.

Kumail doesn’t tell his family about Emily and this backfires on him because Emily believes that Kumail has been honest with her. Because of this riff they have a horrible breakup and shortly thereafter she gets very sick. She's rushed to the hospital and one of her friends calls Kumail and asks him to go to the hospital to support Emily. Because she’s extremely sick with an unidentified infection and could die, he signs a form allowing the hospital to put Emily in an induced coma.

Afterwards, he calls her parents Beth and Terry (Holly Hunter and Ray Romano respectively) who make the trip from North Carolina to stay with their daughter in the hospital. The dialogue and scenes between the three of them while they hold vigil over Emily are funny and pointed. Like when Terry asks Kumail about how he felt about 9/11. Or, at the comedy club as Kumail is doing standup, when Beth sticks up for Kumail as a heckler attacks him. The scenes between the three of them are great mostly because of Hunter and Romano.

Emily eventually recovers and indignantly asks Kumail why he’s at the hospital after he hurt her so badly. In two of these scenes, I found Kumail's character (himself) to be rather benign and lacked real passion. This may be his real self, but for a film character, it had me question his love towards Emily.

All’s well that ends well and because Kumail and Emily co-wrote this film we know they get together in the end.

Nanjiani didn’t come across as strong. At times, I didn’t believe that he actually went through this experience although it's own story. He may do stand-up comedy and write for comedians but it doesn’t mean he can be a big screen actor. Kazan was wonderful. She is so expressive and fills the screen when she’s in the scene. Hunter was fantastic as Emily’s mother. Her movement from disliking Kumail to supporting and defending him was wonderful. Romano was a revelation. I loved his character. When he said “… I was hoping that if I talked something smart would come out…”, I busted a gut. It was a great line. Shroff was excellent as Kumail’s mother. Emily Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani wrote an excellent script. Michael Showalter did an excellent job directing this story.

Overall: I really liked this film and felt the only downside was the lead actor.

Beatriz at Dinner

First Hit: At times funny, but more of a sad and depressing drama to me and I’m not sure why the producers only tagged this as a comedy.

This film started interestingly for me for a couple of reasons. One, the locations where this is filmed are very familiar. Santa Monica and Newport Beach, where most the film takes place, are places where I grew up. And two, I also think that there is truth to the energy healing that Beatriz (Salma Hayek) performs as her vocation.  At the cancer center in Santa Monica where she works, the patients believe she is critical to their healing.

One of her patients, Suzana (Natalia Abelleyra), gained strength and healing through the work Beatriz did. Suzana’s mother Cathy (Connie Britton) has invited Beatriz to Newport so that Beatriz can give her a massage prior to a business dinner she and her husband Grant (David Warshofsky) are giving for Doug Strutt (John Lithgow) his third wife Jeana (Amy Landecker) and Alex and Shannon (Jay Duplass and Chole Sevigny respectively).

They are at dinner to discuss a big land deal that will allow them make a lot of money although it appears that they already have enough money based on the home they are in and cars they drive.

After Beatriz gives Cathy a massage, she’s asked to stay for dinner, as a friend, because her car doesn’t start and she is stuck there for a while.

The comedy and drama really start when Beatriz starts to speak to this obviously conservative, money focused, and egocentric people. She tells them about when she was a little girl and when her father caught a white octopus and asked her to kill it by kicking it. When she reached down and touched it she felt the pain of the octopus and from then on she became aware that all humans and animals are connected.

Doug shares about his killing a rhino in Africa and passes around a phone picture that so upset Beatriz that she throws the phone across the room at Doug. The hosts, Cathy and Grant ask Beatriz to leave the room and home.

Before she does there is a sequence where she gives thought to murdering Doug, then the film goes even darker and more depressing.

Hayek was good and she was believable but the script and story was a letdown. I’m not sure the flashbacks of her on a river looking for her white goat or the other dream sequences served the film or story. Lithgow was excellent as an arrogant, self-absorbed, conservative, and egocentric guest. I bought his character fully. The rest of the cast was good and nothing stood out. Mike White wrote this screenplay and it seemed to be a bit too esoteric. As I said I don’t think the dream sequences worked and the ending was not called for. Miguel Arteta did well in directing the cast, but think he could have effectively cut some of the dream sequences and maybe asked to create additional effective scenes. It is almost like this film could have been a good 1 hour movie special.

Overall:  I was hopeful for this film, but it failed for many reasons.

The Hero

First Hit: A sweet thoughtful film about a man caught in the past and trying to rectify the future.

Who doesn’t love Sam Elliot’s voice? Here Elliot plays Lee Hayden a part time actor and voice over master who had one film part that made him famous. The part was in a western in the 1960's called ‘The Hero’.

The film begins with him doing a voice over with his deep rich velvety voice. The director/producer asks him to continue repeating the saying (about some sauce) as if he’ll do the same words in such a way that it is different. Watching Lee closely you see his distaste for producers and directors not knowing what they want.

He spends time with his neighbor Jeremy Frost (Nick Offerman) who is a former actor who did a short-lived television series with Lee, and is also Lee’s marijuana dealer/provider. They smoke pot, take a few other drugs, drink, get high, watch old films and lament why their careers didn’t do more.

There’s a sadness about Lee, which gets pointed out by Charlotte Dylan (Laura Prepon) one of Jeremy’s other drug customers, when he asks what she sees in him while staring, she says “sadness”. There is a mutual spark of interest and he invites her on a date to an awards banquet where he’s to receive a “lifetime…” award.

The awards banquet is a hoot because Charlotte gave him a ‘molly’ in his champagne and they have a blast together.

The other story is Lee’s attempt at a reconciliation with his daughter Lucy (Krysten Ritter) whom he had with wife Valarie (Katherine Ross). Carrying around this news about his cancer is weighing Lee down and his inability to share this with Valarie, Lucy and his neighbor Jeremy is creating internal dialogue and dreams that have him reliving his famous role, 'The Hero'.

The challenges Lee has are: Being with a woman who’s about 30+ years his junior. His former wife’s success as an artist and gallery owner. His cancer and having an estranged daughter are slowing sinking him. He must find a way to begin resolving these challenges.

Scenes that I thought were powerful included; Charlotte’s comedy routine, Charlotte reading a poem, he and his daughter standing on a beachside cliff, his audition for a new film, and his sharing with Valarie about his cancer.

Elliot’s voice is amazing. I love listening to him speak. It is a voice I’m envious of. He’s perfect for this part because, although known, he’s not an actor you see in a lot of films. It was very nice to see Ross again in a film role. Although it was a small part, she’s great. Prepon is fantastic as the young woman who is interested in spending time with Lee. She’s a perfect amount of sassiness and thoughtfulness. Ritter is strong as the forgotten daughter. I loved her lines on the beach cliff about comparing their hands. It was truly touching. Offerman was funny as Lee’s neighbor, friend and drug supplier. When Lee is reviewing lines for a new part, Offerman’s antsy behavior is priceless. Brett Haley and Marc Basch wrote a very strong script. It was filled with perfect sections of silence as well as witty dialogue. Haley did a great job of filming this and when you see through the eyes of Lee high on mushrooms, you sensed the perceived clarity of life.

Overall:  This was a fine film that will probably be enjoyed by a small audience.