Welp, my Golden Globes picks were pretty awful this year. After going 11-4 last year, I went 6-9 this time. 4 of those incorrect guesses can be attributed to the voters not liking Anora as much as I thought they would. That film ended up with no wins. There were a couple surprises at least for me with Flow beating Wild Robot and Torres winning Best Actress in a Drama over Kidman. The big winners were The Brutalist and Emilia Perez. While I can’t understand why people love Emilia Perez so much, The Brutalist is starting to seem like a real contender against Anora or Conclave. Those three are the top 3 in the odds on Gold Derby, but nobody really knows who will take the big prize right now, and that is kind of fun. On to the reviews!
A couple weeks ago, I reviewed A Complete Unknown, and I commented that musicals fall on a spectrum. Better Man is on that spectrum somewhere just behind Rocketman. This film is telling the story of Robbie Williams, a pop singer who is primarily popular in the UK, with a very obvious quirk; Williams is voicing his character as a CGI monkey. While this seems like it could be pretty silly and distracting, but after watching the film, it didn’t really bother me. The songs are what you are here for, and they are all good, and they are worked into the plot in appropriate ways. The one sequence that I think stands out was the Rock DJ sequence, and was the one big number that was the closest to what we saw in The Greatest Showman, which was also directed by Michael Gracey. The part of this that holds me back from loving it is we are not reinventing the wheel with this one. This is another bio-pic of an artist that gains the popularity they always wanted, gets carried away with it, pushes everyone away, hits rock bottom, then makes their comeback. Basically, we are watching Rocketman again. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn’t make things stand out in a growingly crowded field in the genre.
What you do need is gimmick that works, and William’s decision to portray himself as the “dancing monkey for your amusement” that he views himself at times. This isn’t a family movie like Showman was. Lots of swearing, some unnecessary nudity, more adult situations, and not a lot of happy, fun sequences should keep some people away. I get it, but sometimes we need swings like this. If Williams played this character straight, it would have been a borderline forgettable affair. I might be for some anyway, but this way an enjoyable time for me. I am also happy this is out in theater finally, as I am growing tired of the trailer being played everytime. Now I just wait for Companion and Flight Risk to come out. Those trailers are getting old too.
We have films that are called “slice of life” films once in awhile. This certainly qualifies as one. This is simply the story of a showgirl whose show in Las Vegas is coming to an end, and the reality of such an event hitting all that are involved. We see this through younger showgirls played by Brenda Song and Kiernan Shipka, but the film is really focused on Shelly, a seasoned showgirl in the troop played by Pamela Anderson. Anderson is fantastic in this as she plays her character so heartbreakingly. For a person at her age, she see the end of a 30 year show, as possibly the end of her career, and that is a scary thing. The younger dancers will have other opportunities, and we see them audition for them, but for Shelly, those avenues are not open to her. We see this in her audition that bookends the film, and she learns the awful truth that I think she knew all along: Vegas entertainment only cares about the young and sexy. Also part of this story are Dave Bautista and Jamie Lee Curtis, both turning in pretty good performances. Bautista played Eddie, the producer of Shelly’s show, and someone with a history with Shelly. Curtis plays Annette, Shelly’s best friend, a former showgirl, and vision of a possible future that Shelly doesn’t seem to want.
Rounding out our rather small cast is Billie Lourd playing Shelly’s daughter, Hannah. Shelly and Hannah’s relationship is the backbone of this film, as it highlights so many parts of Shelly’s life. She spent 3 decades being part of something she thought was special, and didn’t spend time on things that were really important. Now that her show is ending, and life is about to dramatically change for her, Shelly has to grapple with the repercussions of her focus on her career. As I said before, this is a slice of life film, so the film ends on the final show of Le Razzle Dazzle. Nothing is resolved in the story, and we are just to imagine what happens with the characters. We all know how tough life can be for some, so we can make educated guesses. I liked a lot of this film, but I just wasn’t sure why it focused as much on Curtis’s character as it did. I see why some are calling for Anderson to get a Best Actress nom, and while I don’t quite see that happening, it is great that she is getting the recognition that she has deserved for a long time.
I have my first dud of the year! This film was an absolute chore to sit through. In this newest film by Paul Schrader, we see filmmaker named Leonard Fife (played by Richard Gere) in his last days battling cancer sitting down with a documentary crew to will bare his secrets. Those secrets are basically he is a draft dodger who escaped to Canada, abandoned his family, and pretty much sleep with every woman with a speaking role we see in the film (I count only 2 he doesn’t have some sort of intimate interaction with). What is baffling is his purpose of all this is to show his wife (played by Uma Thurman) his “true” story. We are left to think based on those around Leonard that we are dealing with an unreliable narrator.
The flashbacks themselves are kind of a mess. They are all jumbled around so there is no narrative strung through them worth caring about. I also found it strange that Jacob Elordi was the one to be cast as young Leonard in the flashbacks. In no world would one think Elordi would age up to look like Gere. What also is strange is during the flashbacks, Gere and Elordi would change back and forth as Leonard. This was just an exercise in someone seemingly looking for forgiveness on his deathbed. Instead it played like the rambling of a dying man wanting his wife to know all awful things he did. What a fun night at the movies…
This next week, we have what might be the biggest release of the month with Wolf Man. Early word on it seems good, so will that translate in big money? Something that can’t be ignored, however, is with what is happening in Los Angeles, a major market that should be out of the running this weekend. There are so many things more important than going to see a movie. It is true they can serve as distractions, but they should be the lowest of priorities. My prayers continue to go out to all of you in LA.
- Wolf Man
- Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
- Mufasa: The Lion King
- Nosferatu
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3
With Oh, Canada being a late addition to the schedule, that pushed Den of Thieves 2 to this next week. Then, I see if Wolf Man is another win for Whannell on Tuesday.
From a programming standpoint, I have my Oscar nomination prediction post on Wednesday, so that should be fun to see where I’m wrong. Then, the Best Picture Tournament kicks off on Friday.
Mitten Film Nerd 
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