SXSW 2021: Short Films Recap

A number of short films are screening during the 2021 SXSW Film Festival and they deserve as much attention as the feature films. The Other Morgan This film quickly rose up to the top of my list of SXSW short films after viewing. It’s a hysterically absurd comedy. A young exterminator (Alison Rich) learns that there’s another version of her (Mary Holland) out in the world. As you can imagine, she begins to question all…

"SXSW 2021: Short Films Recap"

Sundance 2021: How It Ends

How It Ends is the existential comedy-drama (mostly comedy) filmed during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic that I didn’t know I needed. Liza (Zoe Lister-Jones) is on a mission to get to a party before the end of the world.  Joining her for the day is her younger self (Cailee Spaeny).  Because it is the last day on the planet, people can see her younger self.  This film takes place in some sort of metaphysical reality…

"Sundance 2021: How It Ends"

Spontaneous: An Explosive Coming-Of-Age Comedy

Spontaneous is an explosive coming-of-age comedy where no day is even guaranteed for anyone attending Covington High School. Aaron Starmer’s novel gets the small screen treatment in Brian Duffield’s adaptation.  While the novel was first published four years ago, the story being told is very much on brand for 2020.  Imagine going to high school and witnessing your friends exploding to death with blood landing everywhere.  The amount of clothing that needs to be washed…

"Spontaneous: An Explosive Coming-Of-Age Comedy"

The Descendants: George Clooney’s Career-Best

George Clooney manages to turn in a career-best performance as a father of two daughters in the Hawaiian-set The Descendants. Alexander Payne adapts Kaui Hart Hemmings’ novel for the screen in true cinematic fashion.  Because of the whole cheating aspect, this probably isn’t a film that could have been released during the Production Code era.  Regardless, it’s one of my favorite films from 2011.  In a perfect world, George Clooney would have won an Oscar…

"The Descendants: George Clooney’s Career-Best"

International Falls: Stand-Up Meets Small-Town

Two lives that are going in completely different directions intersect when one comedian checks into a hotel in International Falls. Dee (Rachael Harris) works as the front desk clerk at a hotel.  She’d rather be anywhere else but International Falls, Minn.  To be more specific, she’d rather be performing stand-up comedy.  It’s no surprise that Dee likes to talk to all the touring comedians that make their way through the hotel.  In this particular instance,…

"International Falls: Stand-Up Meets Small-Town"

Izzy Gets the F Across Town is messy

Izzy Gets the F Across Town may mean well but the small indie comedy tends to be a bit of a mess. Mackenzie Davis does her best to carry the film in the titular role of Izzy but it’s not enough to keep the film going.  Given where she is at the start of the film, it’s as if the film is the indie version of the classic comedy, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.  We go from…

"Izzy Gets the F Across Town is messy"

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"

Fun Mom Dinner: A Fun Adventure

Fun Mom Dinner seems like it might be another version of Bad Moms but it is nowhere near as raunchy. Directed by Alethea Jones from a screenplay by Julie Rudd, Fun Mom Dinner stars Katie Aselton, Toni Collette, Bridget Everett, Molly Shannon, Adam Scott, Rob Huebel, Adam Levine, and Paul Rust, with a cameo appearance by Paul Rudd. Given the screenplay was written by Paul Rudd’s wife, Julie, a cameo appearance seemed to be a…

"Fun Mom Dinner: A Fun Adventure"