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mtthespam
Reviews
Shrill (2019)
Ryan ruins it
There's a lot to like about this show. It's very relatable, especially the complicated mother/daughter relationship. I also love the relationship between Annie and her bestie. Unfortunately that's where it ends. I wanted to like this show because I love Aidy Bryant but the boyfriend character (Ryan) gives me the ick. Watching Annie subjugate her wants and needs to this controlling, abusive, unambitious loser of a manchild just kills the whole show for me. For a show that tries so hard to send a positive message about body image, female friendships, and career development, it seems like it would have occurred to someone somewhere that Annie tolerating Ryan's nonsense was just gross.
A Man in Full (2024)
"...but Jeff Daniels is in it..."
Yes, that's what I said upon seeing the mediocre reviews. Unfortunately even the brilliant Jeff Daniels, along with a talented supporting cast, cannot overcome terrible writing. This was a slog to get through from the beginning of the 6 hours of my life I'm never getting back.
As much as I've enjoyed Daniels' projects over his career, this is a tragic miss. His accent is so over the top that he sounds like Foghorn Leghorn in a mansuit. None of the other characters have this cartoonish drawl, even though most are likely native Georgians.
The series was disjointed, with several story lines that never really connected. The primary antagonists, Raymond Peepgrass (yes, you read that correctly) and Harry Zale (played by the talented Tom Pelphrey and Bill Camp) have an intense hatred of Charlie Crocker (Jeff Daniels) that goes well beyond what one might expect for a professional rivalry, yet no reason is given for this.
The Peepgrass character is bizarre all the way around. He wears a ridiculous wig that looks like it's straight out of the clearance bin the day after Halloween. He seemingly has an upper management role at a bank, yet he's broke and living in a dumpy apartment with loud neighbors. He's caught up in a lawsuit with a Finnish woman that is extremely contentious in one episode yet they're friends chatting on the phone a few episodes later.
Diane Lane is stuck in a trite, been there done that plotline of the exwife who's been discarded for the younger model and struggles with what to do with her idle time and aging body.
The secondary plot dealing with racial injustice by the police and judicial system is much more interesting but gets much less screentime so it's completely underdeveloped and resolved in a hurry.
The ending is a complete slap in the face for the people who have given 6 hours of their lives to this drivel. It's so predictable and hastily thrown together that it feels like the folks in charge realized they were at 5.5 hours and needed to hit the wrapup button. All it was missing was Porky Pig stammering out a "That's All, Folks" in front of the Looney Tunes logo.
Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed (2023)
Excellent content; Terrible production values
The documentary is excellent and my heart truly goes out to the boys whose childhoods were stolen by these monsters. Unfortunately, (as of the 1st and 2nd episodes anyway) almost all of it is captioned due to the primary narrator speaking Spanish or by telephone. That is problematic enough but someone made the poor decision to utilize a white font against a lot of light colored backgrounds. The resultant eyestrain is terrible and some important content is completely lost due to being unreadable against a white background. I can't believe this made it out of post-production like this. Very disappointing.
Let Them All Talk (2020)
Egregious waste of talent
What an egregious waste of talent! I watched and waited for some character development, some explanation of how these very different characters were ever friends or why the audience should care. It never happened. Instead, we were made to suffer through one awkward conversation after another with little or no connection between the one before or after it.
Assuming he was meant to be a cringeworthy insufferable millennial, Lucas Hedges was the best aspect of the film because he certainly owned that description even though it was truly painful to watch.
Meryl Streep was essentially her Miranda Priestly role which she played with genius in The Devil Wears Prada. But unlike TDWP, there were no contrasting characters about whom to care so it falls flat and cold.
Diane Wiest was her same airy dithery soft spoken jumper-wearing old lady character from every role she's played in the last decade.
Perhaps most offensively, the one and only Candice Bergin was turned into a sniveling, bitter, husband-chasing lump without a shred of dignity or independence. I should have switched it off after her first appearance on the screen but I just couldn't believe there wouldn't be a redeeming turnaround. I'm going to have to rewatch a season of Murphy Brown to cleanse my palate.
I've read comments that said the film was unscripted; I've read comments that said the film was heavily scripted. Regardless of which is true, it was in dire need of a script or a better script or an editor or an intervention from a film school professor. Those who've read complex motivations and murderous underlying twists into this waste of two hours were just desperate to justify their time IMHO. This is a miss all the way around.