Based on the 2008 confessional memoir of the same name written by the film’s subject Lee Israel, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a deeply fascinating real life story about a desperate writer who resorts to criminal literary forgery and is a well-crafted movie remarkable for its incredible acting, especially from the comedian Melissa McCarthy who puts on an Oscar-worthy performance that reveals her to be an extremely talented dramatic actress. We first meet the previously best-selling biography author Lee Israel, played by the popular Oscar-nominated comedic actress Melissa McCarthy, in the 1990s at a low point in her career when not even her agent is interested in her new work and is willing to do practically anything for cash to support her lonely existence with her aging cat. With her sarcastic wit and overall unpleasantness, Lee devises a plan to embellish and later outright forge letters from famous writers and sell them to local New York City book sellers interested in literary artifacts. Her criminal enterprise grows rapidly after she realizes that she can make hundreds of dollars from just one letter supposedly written by the likes of deceased literary giants as Dorothy Parker and Noël Coward. The movie becomes somewhat of a dark comedy after the sardonic Lee begrudgingly befriends a fellow witty loner and drunkard named Jack Hock, played by the fabulous critically acclaimed British actor Richard E. Grant. They both engage in drunken escapades through the seedy streets and dive bars of Manhattan, and eventually Lee tells Jack about her forgeries and decides to enlist Jack to help her as her accomplice. As Lee gets deeper and deeper into her criminal activities and becomes increasingly careless, both Lee and Jack engage in witty and often ribald banter and are unafraid to talk about their homosexuality. The film simply works as a result of the magnetic chemistry between the two talented actors who bring a certain level of realism and brutal sarcasm that is irresistible to watch. Despite the fact that Lee is quite the curmudgeon and appears unapologetic about her miscreant behavior, the audience is somehow drawn to the character and comes to empathize with her desperation which led to her being investigated by the FBI. Towards the end of the movie, she does face serious consequences for her forgeries after being tipped off by sellers to the FBI and is even betrayed in a much more personal way that ultimately leads to her conviction. Overall, I found it to be a truly captivating movie that leaves the audience wanting more from the compelling dynamic characters that help fashion an extraordinary tragic comedy, and one of its greatest achievements is showing the versatile and skillful work from Melissa McCarthy who proves to be a force to be reckoned with in serious dramatic roles.
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee best known for the Tiffany Haddish breakout film Girls Trip released in 2017, Night School is a silly comedy that has a few laughs but ultimately fails to live up to the comedic potential of casting the often very funny Tiffany Haddish and Kevin Hart. The film follows high school dropout Teddy Walker, played by comedian Kevin Hart, who is living a happy life with his professionally successful girlfriend Lisa and has a stable job working as a barbecue grill salesman in Atlanta. However, before that, he was seen as a failure by his very strict father Gerald, played by Emmy Award winner Keith David, and has ever since tried to live up to his father by pretending to be more successful than he really is in life. Everything seems to fall apart after he loses his job and has to come to the realization that he has been living his supposedly financially successful paycheck to paycheck. In order to get a good job working in the financial sector for his friend Marvin, Teddy is told that he has to get his GED and enroll in night school. Teddy believes this will be relatively easy by simply asking the new principal of his former high school for a GED, but he quickly realizes that he will actually have to study and join night school after encountering the principal who turns out to be a former classmate of his that he bullied in high school named Stewart, played by Saturday Night Live alumnus Taran Killam. The night school teacher is the fairly untraditional yet passionate Carrie, played by the breakthrough comedian Tiffany Haddish, who pushes hard for her adult students to pay attention and pass the GED exam. Her class is comprised of adults who had to drop out of high school for various reasons and are now looking for a new lease on life and include such comedians as Rob Riggle, Al Madrigal, and Mary Lynn Rajskub. Much of the film shows the antics of the class led by the de facto leader and class clown Teddy, including a haphazard and ridiculous plot to steal the answers to one of the tests from the principal’s office. Eventually, the movie touches on several more serious issues regarding education: Teddy discovers that he has had trouble in school because of several learning disabilities, and all the students are shown as truly wanting to change their lives and persevere to get their GEDs. Towards the end, Teddy also tries to make amends with his now fiancé Lisa who is upset with him after learning that he was not straightforward with the fact that he was a high school dropout and that he has been taking night school without telling her. Overall, I found it to be a somewhat entertaining film that was suitable for passing the time but, unfortunately, failed to adequately use the comedic skills of the usually hilarious talented comedians.
Directed by critically acclaimed French filmmaker Jacques Audiard best known for 2010’s A Prophet and 2015’s Dheepan, The Sisters Brothers is a Western that is remarkable for its terrific acting performances and its unique and fascinating story that breaks the mold of a typical Western genre film. The plot revolves around two brothers Eli Sisters, played by Academy Award-nominated actor John C. Riley who is best known for his comedic roles alongside Will Ferrell, and Charlie Sisters, played by three-time Academy Award-nominated actor Joaquin Phoenix, who are both hired assassins who work for the powerful Commodore from Oregon City, Oregon. Set in the 1850s at the height of the Gold Rush in California and throughout the American Far West, the brothers are sent on a mission to track down a prospector named Hermann Kermit Warm, played by Emmy Award-winning actor Riz Ahmed who is best known for his role in the 2016’s HBO miniseries The Night Of, who has developed a scientific technique to discover gold. As the Sisters brothers embark on a perilous journey through the wild West of Oregon and California, another hired gunslinger named John Morris, played by Academy Award-nominated actor Jake Gyllenhaal, has tracked down and captured Warm after which they decide to become partners in gold prospecting. Eventually, Eli and Charlie catch up to both Warm and Morris, and all four men unexpectedly join forces but are hampered by rather unusual tragedies. Throughout the film, the protagonists meet a wide variety of true characters who either want to kill them or are killed by them, all set against dramatic Western landscapes and lawless frontier towns stereotypical of traditional Western cinema. However, the movie diverges from the genre by approaching the storyline as a slow burn drama that has moments of dark comedy and explores the complicated yet loving relationship between the two brothers. Yes, there are good old Western shootouts but a majority of the plot is a much more personal narrative than what most audience members will expect. Overall, I found it to be a well-polished film with elements of a Western that surprisingly evolves into something much more than just a violent picture set in the American West, primarily as a result of its truly excellent performances from the highly regarded lead actors and its unique vision from a well-respected foreign filmmaker.
Based on the novel of the same name written by acclaimed British author Nick Hornby best known for the novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, which were both made into feature films in 2000 and 2009, respectively, Juliet, Naked is a charming and fairly typical romantic comedy that is elevated by the acting performances that make for genuine chemistry between the protagonists. The plot follows a museum director in a small English seaside town named Annie, played by the talented British actress Rose Byrne known for her role in 2012’s Bridesmaids and 2015’s Neighbors, and her longtime boyfriend Duncan, played by the ever-charming British comedic actor Chris O’Dowd also known for his role in 2012’s Bridesmaids, who is a professor of television at a small college. Clearly unhappy by their unchanging romantic relationship, Annie tires of Duncan’s eccentric behaviors and especially his obsession over a little-known American alternative rock musician from the 90s who has disappeared from the public named Tucker Crowe, played by twice Academy Award-nominated actor Ethan Hawke. As their relationship quickly fades, Annie upsets Duncan by her writing a negative review on the Tucker Crowe fansite run by Duncan about a demo that Duncan receives of Tucker’s only popular album Juliet from 25 years ago. Through happenstance, Annie begins a correspondence with the actual Tucker who is living a rather unglamorous life in the United States and has several estranged children from several different mothers. Like a stereotypical romantic comedy, the two begin to develop much more affectionate feelings towards other, especially after he visits London with his youngest son for the birth of his grandchild and ends up staying with Annie in her quaint seaside town after suffering a setback. Duncan is flabbergasted and angry at Annie for not telling him about her acquaintance with his idol who ends up not being the man that Duncan has been expecting for so many years. Overall, I found it to be a wonderfully charming romantic comedy full of heartfelt and charismatic performances from the three extremely talented lead actors; therefore, I would recommend it to even those who are not particularly keen of romantic comedies but are simply looking for a heartwarming movie.
Directed by Marc Forster who is best known for 2001’s Monster’s Ball, 2004’s Finding Neverland, and 2006’s Stranger than Fiction, Christopher Robin is a sweet and heartwarming re-imagination of the classic Winnie the Pooh stories written by A. A. Milne and Disney animated films beginning in 1966 and is able to appeal to both children and adults. The plot follows Christopher Robin, played by Golden Globe-nominated actor Ewan McGregor, as an adult who left his furry friends from the Hundred Acre Wood many years ago and now has a stressful job that takes him away from his wife Evelyn, played by Golden Globe-nominated actress Hayley Atwell, and his young daughter Madeline. The film starts with a flashback to when Robin is given a farewell party as he is about to go off to boarding school by his magical friends Winnie the Pooh, voiced by Jim Cummings who has been the voice of Winnie the Pooh for over thirty years, Tigger, also voiced by Jim Cummings, Eeyore, voiced by Brad Garrett from Everybody Loves Raymond, Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, Roo, and Kanga. After a difficult day at work and having to skip a family vacation, Robin is astonished to find Winnie the Pooh in London who himself is looking for the other living stuffed animal characters. Robin decides he must take Winnie the Pooh back to the Hundred Acre Wood, a secret world only accessed through a tree’s door, located near the Robin family’s cottage in Sussex. Throughout the adventure to reunite Winnie the Pooh with Tigger and the others, Robin continues to reassert that he is no longer a child and that Winnie the Pooh must stop his silly childish behavior. He is also extremely frantic about a deadline at his workplace Winslow Luggages where he works as an efficiency expert, and things spiral out of control after some of his paperwork is misplaced right before a very important meeting in London. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore along with Madeline try to track down Robin after taking a train ride from Sussex to London, and several funny and cute moments occur during their dangerous expedition in the human world. Eventually, with the help of his friends, especially Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin realizes that family is much more important than work and that it is okay to play like a child as an adult in order to better appreciate life. Overall, I found it to be an enjoyable family-friendly movie that was terrific for nostalgic purposes but did not reach the level of the original Disney animated films or other similar movies released recently, including 2015’s Paddington and this year’s Paddington 2 that are also based on classic British stories revolving around a playful bear.
KEITH on Reels 