If ‘Blackbird’ was done well, it would have been a movie right up my alley. It’s one of those family dramas, and of course this one is a dysfunctional family who gets together for one last weekend with their matriarch, played by Susan Sarandon. She has some kind of degenerative disease, and has decided to ‘take care of things.’ See: euthanasia. It’s a polarizing topic but here the decision is treated like deciding which schmear to put on your bagel.
That’s only the beginning of the film’s problems – each of the children have ‘quirks,’ all cookie-cutter traits we have all seen before in better films, though the cast tries best in making the characters feel real. But the likes of Kate Winslet and Mia Wasikowksi are not miracle workers, and there’s only so much they can wring out of a flat screenplay. And I am sorry, the whole time I am watching this I cannot help but think that Sarandon is a big Trump supporter so I cannot just fully get on with things.
In my never-ending search for rom-coms, I stumble upon really bad ones. ‘Off The Menu,’ directed by Jay Silverman, is really bad. I was drawn to it because it stars Santino Fontana, who is a sometime Broadway actor, and sometime Disney Prince, and he is fine here, but he also seems miserable being in it. The screenplay is by-the-books in the worst possible way, and not even the presence of Maria Conchita Alonso as a spicy hot mama can save it.
Susan Sarandon wants to save her kidnapped son in Syria in ‘The Viper Club,’ and she displays subdued scting here that is very effective. The rest of the movie, directed by Maryam Keshavarz, is ho-hum at best, with its plodding pacing. Matt Bomer is wasted as his son’e best friend. if you have to, see this for Sarandon’s performance, but I just can’t shake that she is a Trump supporter in real life, so I cannot fully empathize with the character. I know that is on me, but this is where I am in the world right now.
There are very few films about the trans experience and Gaby Dellal’s film ‘About Ray’ tried to bridge that gap. It tells the story of Ramona/Ray, a New York City teen who wants to transition from female to male. the issue is handled sensitively, and his mother, Maggie, played by Naomi Watts, is for the most part supportive, although naturally she has reservations about the whole transition process. The topic is commendable, as it sheds light on what trans peopel have to go through. but, this film tries to be much more than that, as if that wasn’t enough. It also deals with how maggie has to deal with that, in addition to an unnecessary soapy sub plot regarding Ray’s real father. Add to the mix Ray’s grandmother (Susan Sarandon) who is very much against the transition (‘Why can’t she be just a regular lesbian?”) As a result, Ray’s character suffers from the result, as it feels underdeveloped. His whining about the transition sometimes feel like a petulant kid not being able to get a new iPhone. Elle Fanning, as Ray, tries hard to bring sensitivity to her portrayal, and she mostly succeeds despite the thin characterization. I liked Watts’ performance here. I always think she is one of those actresses who always disappear in her characters. Sarandon plays her character her not unlike every other character she has played in the past – her cutesy meddling mother routine is frankly getting old. Still, I think this film is worth watching. Although everything at the end is tied up with an unrealistic pretty bow, i was touched by the film in general, and in today’s Trump America, the unenlightened can use a glimpse of this light.
I am now home after seeing ‘The Meddler’ and I am torn. I was ready to give this a pan, but as I thought about it more, I go back a lot to what is good about it (and those goods are great) Perhaps it’s my mood: I was a bit anxious while I was watching it, and that may have coloured my opinion somewhat negatively.
Luha Thoughts 