First Time Female Director – Tribeca 2023

Chelsea Peretti hits it out of the park on the first try as the multi-hyphenate directs the superb First Time Female Director. The film was my most anticipated narrative going into Tribeca. When one comes from improv and sketch comedy, they gravitate towards the comedies in the festival program. A comedy having this sort of pedigree means it is arriving with high expectations. It lived up to them but I also expected it would. Make…

"First Time Female Director – Tribeca 2023"

They Came Together Sends Up the Rom-Com

David Wain’s 2014 film, They Came Together, is a brilliant satire of one of cinema’s most beloved film genres, the romantic comedy. Screenwriters Michael Showalter and David Wain turn to The Shop Around the Corner and You’ve Got Mail as the core basis of their romantic comedy satire. But aside from this, they really make the film their own while running a tight 83 minutes. Like any rom-com, New York is a character in and…

"They Came Together Sends Up the Rom-Com"

Lucy and Desi – Sundance 2022

Amy Poehler explores Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s legacy in the new documentary, Lucy and Desi, premiering at Sundance. Sundance audiences will get to watch the film before Amazon Studios releases on Prime Video in March. This film was one of my high priority films going into the festival simply because it’s about sitcom pioneers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Well, this and the fact that Amy Poehler directs it. I’ve seen her narrative features…

"Lucy and Desi – Sundance 2022"

Moxie: A Feminist Revolution

It’s very easy to look at Moxie and think it’s a Mean Girls copycat but when you step back, this is very much a #MeToo film. This is a film that deals with the arrival of a new student but not in the same way as the Tina Fey-directed film.  But at the same time, new student Lucy (Alycia Pascual-Peña) isn’t the main star of the film.  Vivian (Hadley Robinson) takes an ode to her…

"Moxie: A Feminist Revolution"

Wine Country: A Saturday Night Live Reunion

Wine Country reunites Amy Poehler with many of her Saturday Night Live colleagues as they travel to California for a birthday weekend. Rebecca (Rachel Dratch) Catherine (Ana Gasteyer), Abby (Amy Poehler), Naomi (Maya Rudolph), Val (Paula Pell), and Jenny (Emily Spivey) are all gathering for a special weekend.  The weekend just so happens to be Rebecca’s 50th birthday.  As such, the women are off to California’s Wine Country to celebrate the milestone birthday.  It’s here where they…

"Wine Country: A Saturday Night Live Reunion"

Mean Girls: Teen Comedy Classic Marks 15 Years

Mean Girls, the celebrated teen comedy written by Saturday Night Live‘s Tina Fey, celebrates 15 years following its release in theaters. When zoologists Betsy (Ana Gasteyer) and Chip Heron (Neil Flynn) relocate to Evanston after a dozen years in Africa, it means Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) would have to enroll in an actual high school.  No more home-schooling for their daughter.  Cady is certainly in for a rude awakening upon arriving at North Shore High…

"Mean Girls: Teen Comedy Classic Marks 15 Years"

Tribeca 2018: Love, Gilda celebrates Gilda Radner

Offering insight into the life of Gilda Radner, Love, Gilda is incredibly poignant and touching. When Gilda Radner joined the original Saturday Night Live cast in 1975, nobody expected that she be a household name through creating characters such as Rosanne Rosanadanna, Emily Litella and Baba Wawa.  In doing so, the comedian became an inspiration to so many young women. Director Lisa D’Apolito wisely grounds the narrative by letting Radner tell her own story by way of…

"Tribeca 2018: Love, Gilda celebrates Gilda Radner"

The House is Surprisingly Okay

While it’s no secret that 2017 was a down year for studio comedies, The House was a surprisingly okay film.  This isn’t to say that it’s the best comedy of the year because it’s not but it’s not one of the downright awful films that came in the form of studio comedies this year. The comedy comes from the screenwriting team that wrote both Neighbors, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, and Mike and Dave Need Wedding…

"The House is Surprisingly Okay"