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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 August 2018

It’s a fantasy that has been played out in numerous books and movies.  A person falls in love with someone who they think has a simple, ordinary background.  Lo and behold, they discover they are insanely rich or a part of a royal family.  In the case of Rachel Chu (Wu), her suspicions are aroused when her boyfriend, Nick (Golding), takes her on a trip from Singapore to meet his family and attend a friend’s wedding.

As they arrive at the airport, they are greeted by a personal concierge before being escorted into their first-class suite.  It comes as a surprise to Rachel who had brought Tupperware meals from home for the flight!  It’s at this point when Nick confesses to ruse and reveals that his family is “crazy rich”.  It’s something that he wanted to keep from Rachel during their romantic year together in New York City because he didn’t want it to affect their relationship.

The first half of Crazy Rich Asians is a celebration of decadence and extravagance.  They attend a lavish pre-wedding party where Rachel has the chance to meet corporate heavyweights, movie stars and fashion icons.  Rachel’s effervescent, not-so-wealthy friend (Awkwafina) scores a late invite and spends the whole night walking around with a stunned look on her face.  The bucks and bachelorette parties offer more of the same with no cost being spared.

The knives come out in the second half and tone takes a noticeable shift.  Nick’s influential mother, Eleanor (Yeoh), has been sizing Rachel up from the moment she first walked through the door.  It’s clear that she doesn’t think Rachel is a worthy enough match for her son and so she lays a few traps to help tear them apart.  She’s not the only one with that view.  Given Nick’s reputation as one of the world’s most appealing bachelors, there are other women who are keen to have a crack before he’s officially “off the market”.

Crazy Rich Asians could be described as a formulaic romantic comedy (which it kind of is) but that doesn’t tell the true story of its value in this cinematic landscape.  It’s the first big studio movie to come out of the United States in 25 years with a cast that predominantly Asian and Asian-American.  It’s a huge milestone given they’re a group that make up more than 5% of the American population.  Those behind the idea are now the ones who are “crazy rich”.  The film was shot on a budget of just $30 million and, having topped the box-office charts for two consecutive weeks, it’s on track to make more than $100 million in the United States alone.

It’s easy to see the appeal.  Director Jon M. Chu (Now You See Me 2) has pulled together a terrific cast who breathe much life into their strong characters.  Constance Wu has a fiery, take-no-nonsense charm as Rachel.  Henry Golding has a relaxed, suave disposition as Nick.  Michelle Yeoh brings nuance to the role of the mother and while some may see her as a simple, interfering villain, others will appreciate her complex mindset.

There aren’t too many surprises in terms of story but this is still fun, engaging and entertaining.  I’m thrilled to see it being soaked up by a wide audience.  More please.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 August 2018

There are two ends of the spectrum when it comes to shark movies.  On one side, you have Jaws – a tense, credible thriller that preys on people’s fears and leaves them on the edge of their seat.  On the other side, you have Sharknado – a farcical, over-the-top comedy that pokes fun at the genre and is not intended to be taken seriously.

So where does The Meg sit on that scale?  It’s definitely headed towards the Sharknado end.  Those behind the production felt we’ve had enough shark thrillers in recent years and so the time was right to take a chance and do something different.  It’s a big Hollywood blockbuster with a large $150 million USD budget but it comes with a goofy script filled with intentional clichés… well, I hope they were intentional based on the laughs at the preview screening I attended.

Perhaps an example is in order.  A group of scientists have taken a submersible to the very bottom of the Marianas trench, the deepest part of the ocean, and been attacked by a giant prehistoric shark, known as a megalodon, which was thought to have been long extinct.  The submersible is damaged, they are unable to return to the surface and they have about a day’s worth of oxygen left before they’ll suffocate.

Those on the surface are quick to note there’s only one man alive who could pull off such a dangerous rescue and so they jump in a helicopter and head to Thailand to meet with Jonas Taylor (played by Jason Statham).  Jonas was once a renowned, well-trained rescue diver but after a mission didn’t go as planned, retirement became his preferred line of work.  He now sits on a beach, drink beers and watches the world go by.

He’s quick to assert is position that there’s no emotive hook or no amount of money that could convince him to come out of retirement and help.  Lo and behold, that all changes when he’s told… drumroll please… that it’s his ex-wife who’s stuck at the bottom of the ocean.  He’s jolted into action and after spending about 5 minutes learning how to use the highly technical rescue submarine, he sets off on his crazy mission.

I’m not giving away big spoilers as all of this is covered in the opening act.  I’ll admit to being entertained by the silly, trivial nature to the storyline and the way in which the writers have mocked the genre.  Jason Statham turns out to be a good fit for the lead role.  He plays the character with a serious, deadpan expression and that makes his character even funnier.  I don’t think the film would work as well if a straight-out comedic actor had been chosen.

It’s a worthy set up but the film does run out of gas.  A few characters end up as shark food (as expected), the jokes dry up, and it becomes a too serious.  If you’re still keen to see it, I’d suggest going along to a busy Friday or Saturday night session to enjoy the audience reactions.  When it comes to a movie like this, the bigger the crowd, the bigger the fun.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 23 August 2018

Director Brian Henson, the son of Muppets creator Jim Henson, has made some wholesome family movies across his lengthy career.  He made The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island in the 1990s and has been involved as an executive producer in numerous other films and television shows involving puppets and/or animation.

If you’ve seen the trailer, you’ll realise this is a very different puppet movie.  Seth Rogen created a raunchy, MA-rated animated feature in 2016 with Sausage Party and now Henson is pitching to the same audience with The Happytime Murders.  It’s hard to envisage a movie with cute, loveable puppets that, according to Australian Classification, contains “strong crude sexual humour and coarse language.”  Suffice to say it’s not for kids.

If we exclude the lawyer’s fees, the film received some free publicity back in May when it released its tagline of “No sesame. All street”.  Those with the rights to Sesame Street sued the film’s creators because they were worried about public perception and their valuable brand.  The district judge ruled against them saying they had not demonstrated that moviegoers were confused or people were complaining.  Hence, the appropriate tagline remains.

In terms of the narrative, the film is set in current day Los Angeles where puppets and humans live side by side.  Well, it’s not quite that simple.  Puppets are discriminated against on a daily basis in that they are harassed on the street and denied job opportunities.  There’s a blue muppet by the name of Phil Philips (Barretta) who became the first to serve in the police force but was discharged after a case went bad.  He now works as a private detective in a dingy office alongside his loyal secretary (Rudolph).

Phil now has a chance to redeem himself however.  A group of puppets are murdered in brutal fashion and there’s a clear connection given all of them starred in a successful TV show which is about to go into syndication.  Phil is brought back into the police force as a “consultant” to assist his former partner, Detective Connie Edwards (McCarthy), to work out who is behind this awful crime.

This is the kind of movie where the best material feels like it’s been used in the trailer.  There are laughs to be had if you like rude, crude, mindless comedy.  There’s a scene where two puppets have passionate sex and things get out of hand.  There’s another where Phil goes into an adult store and sees two other puppets making a creative porno.  It’s trying to push the envelope and it’s designed to shock.

It’s fun for a while but once the novelty wears off, you realise The Happytime Murders has a thin, limited storyline.  In creating a 90 minute feature film, we need more than to watch puppets smoke, swear and talk smuttily.  There should have been more to the mystery or perhaps a few more characters to be invested in.  That’s the difference between this and Sausage Party – a superior, more complex film because of its wit and religious undertones.

My hopes were high for The Happytime Murders but this may struggle to find an audience.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 August 2018

Enjoy a good true story?  If so, you’ll likely to be stunned by the latest from writer-director Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing) which is, according to the opening titles, based on some “fo’ real shit.”  The screenplay is drawn from the autobiography of retired police detective Ron Stallworth and chronicles one of his first assignments while working in Colorado in the late 1970s.

Stallworth had already made his mark by becoming the first African American police officer in the town of Colorado Springs.  That didn’t sit too well with some of his racist colleagues who were happy to see him posted in the dreadfully dull records department.  Determined to prove his value and break into the undercover detective ranks, Stallworth’s big break began with a phone call.  He saw a curious advertisement looking to recruit people for the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and he decided to give the phone number a call to learn more.

Over the coming weeks, Stallworth was able to put together a substantial file of information about the KKK and their secretive get-togethers in the area.  He’d call the chapter leader, Walter Breachway (Eggold) and was able to earn his trust by pretending to be an incredibly racist white guy.  When the time came to meet the KKK in person, Stallworth couldn’t go (for obvious reasons) and so he enlisted the services of the white Flip Zimmerman (Driver), his friend and fellow officer.  You’d think someone might catch on but those in this KKK chapter weren’t the brightest bunch.

Framing it both as a comedy and a drama, Spike Lee has created an uncomfortable ride.  The actors who play the KKK guys are scarily convincing and you won’t know how to react to their bigoted conversations.  Some will find humour in the absurdity of the situation as Zimmerman, skilfully played by Adam Driver, switches persona and takes racism to a scary level.  Others will be horrified by these people and their twisted view on the world.  As an example, Ashlie Atkinson will stun audiences with her portrayal as the wife of a KKK member.  There’s no adjective strong enough to describe her words and actions.

BlacKkKlansman also serves as a breakout movie for star John David Washington, a 34-year-old with an interesting background.  He grew up in Los Angeles, played both college and professional football, and is now transitioning into acting.  I guess it also helps to be the oldest son of two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington!  He brings both a coolness and likeability to the lead role.  I certainly didn’t want to see him get caught at the stakes are raised in the second and third acts.

A few of the subplots lack impact.  Stallworth has mixed luck winning the affections of a young black student rights advocate (Harrier).  Their romantic, getting-to-know-each-other scenes are more formulaic and less interesting than the main show.  The sequences with the KKK members also get a touch repetitive but the introduction of infamous leader David Duke (Grace) adds a necessary dose of humour and momentum.

Likely to spark debate about how much America has changed… and not changed over the past few decades, BlacKkKlansman is a winning black comedy.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 August 2018

The story may be cheesy and contrived but it’s still great to see four terrific actors working together and creating comedy gold.  Of course I speak of Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen.  They play a group of sixty-something-year-old women who started a book club several decades ago and have kept it going ever since.  They meet once a month and, in addition to critiquing their latest literary assignment, they gossip about the goings-on in each of their busy lives.

I’m not sure what’s brought it on but, as if borrowing from the pages of Sex and the City, all they seem to be taking about lately is finding love and making love.  Diane’s (Keaton) husband passed away recently and she’s not sure if she has the desire to find another man.  Sharon (Bergen) has been divorced for 18 years and in that time, she’s spent 100% of her energy on work and 0% on her love life.  Vivian (Fonda) has an endless line of men at her disposal but she’s never married due to a fear of commitment.  Carol (Steenburgen) is the only one currently married within the quartet but she’s worried about her relationship given her husband (Nelson) shows little desire in the bedroom.

Bill Holderman has dabbled as a screenwriter (A Walk in the Woods) and a producer (The Conspirator), but Book Club marks his debut as a director.  He also co-wrote the script alongside colleague Erin Simms.  The film is at its best when these four accomplished women get together for their alcohol-fuelled meetings and talk about books such as Fifty Shades of Grey.  The funny one-liners are shared around with and it’s hard to pick a favourite given they’re all so good.

The film isn’t as strong when it comes to the supporting characters and subplots.  Diane’s two daughters treat their mother as if she’s an invalid.  They’re always telling her to be careful about what she does and where she should live.  It’s clear that Diane is more than capable of living a fun, rich, independent life but she never speaks up and so the daughters continue with their veiled insults.  It’s a narrow, repetitive storyline that drags unnecessarily for no particular reason other than to create more sympathy for Diane’s character.

The two writers also struggle when it comes to the finale.  It’s clearly a feel good piece where they want you to leave the theatre with a beaming smile on your face but it’s trying a little too hard in places.  Vivian has spent her entire life being a blissfully happy single woman (there’s nothing wrong with that) and so it’s hard to buy into her instant and sudden transformation after meeting a man (Johnson) from her past.

Qualms aside, there’s still a lot of fun to be had here.  I’d happily pay money to see Keaton, Fonda, Bergen and Steenburgen sit on a couch for two hours and discuss their lives in the same vein as the great British actresses in the recent Tea with the Dames documentary.  This isn’t quite as insightful but it’s still entertaining.