From debut directors Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman and produced by and starring Ben Platt, the movie is a mockumentary-style record of a summer at a slightly slipshod theater camp in upstate New York called AdirondACTS. After the beloved director falls into a coma, her son—a comically straight financial vlogger—steps in to find the camp close to foreclosure and tries to set it right before he fully understands why it’s worth preserving.It’s through his confused eyes that the audience sees how wonderfully strange—and more importantly, safe—the camp is for the children who attend.

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Half-campy comedy, half-earnest paean to difference, the film hits a few false notes, especially when the threat of a neighboring corporate camp looms cartoonishly villainous compared to the unacknowledged legislative threats of the real world and the precarity of trying to nurture kids and teens who have chosen to measure their lives in the adult world of the theater. Still, it’s hard to fault this film about safe spaces for being something of an Eden. Platt always wanted to go to theater camp himself, and it’s a treat to be in the audience for this fantasy.

The film hits theaters today!

To celebrate the release of the new live-action Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie, we’re serving up big Barbiecore energy. The film follows Robbie (Barbie) after she gets banished from Barbieland for not being the perfect doll, so she packs all of her stylish outfits and heads off to the human world in search of happiness. Channel your own inner Barbie and play dress-up with these fun-in-the-sun picks.

POLAROID 600 MALIBU BARBIE INSTANT FILM CAMERA, $169, retrospekt.com.

DREAM HOUSE DRESS, $158, michelinepitt.com.

’80S LEOTARD, $50, etsy.com/shop/OneofakindcreatFinds.

MINI LOLLY SHOES IN PINK AND YELLOW, $399, fluevog.com.

SELF LOVE HEART HOOPS, $27, lechicmiami.store.

MALIBU BARBIE MOXI ROLLER SKATES IN TRUE BLUE, $349, moxiskates.com.

Top photo by Warner Bros. Pictures

John Waters is one of the most iconic film makers and mustache wearers of all time. The man that brought us Divine eating dog shit in Pink Flamingos and gave us Ricki Lake doing The Roach in HairsprayI. He often cast the same actors, known as the Dreamlanders and has famously filmed all of his movies in his beloved Baltimore. He has been called “The Prince of Puke”, “The Sultan of Sleaze”, “The Baron of Bad Taste”, and “The Pope of Trash,” and he is a filthy lil punk lover at heart. He has been hosting the Mosswood Meltdown festival for 7 years and is at it again this year. We chatted with him to discuss punk shows, banning drag and reading buttholes.

Callie Watts: How are you doing!

John Waters: I’m alright! I’m alright, here in Provincetown.

CW: Oh! Is it smoggy there?

JW: You know, I haven’t even looked outside; I’ve been working so hard. I never notice the weather unless it stops me. Gore Vidal once said ‘No one ever asks me about the weather, I’m too smart.’ which really made me laugh, it was such a snobby thing to say. I always feel sorry for doormen in buildings because everytime every person they know that lives in that building walks out they say ‘nice day!’ or ‘it’s raining!’ or something about the weather. It must be torture to talk about the weather if you’re a doorman, but you have to act nice about it.

CW: But this is a weird weather though, it’s like, yellow out. [this was during the Canadian wildfires]

JW: Oh I saw! I’m in Provincetown, I’m not in New York, so it’s weird because I’m way further north than you are, it’s foggy out but there’s no— I saw what New York looks like; you know, the end of the world, the Red Death or something. I get why you asked now, it looks like a horror movie.

CW: It’s not surprising to me that you’re involved with the music festival, given your spectacular albums and taste in music.

JW: Punk rock! They’re my people. this is the seventh year I’ve done it. It’s a group of people that I really like because they hate everybody in the world except themselves, and I find that kind of endearing. People say ‘oh, what’s that like? Is it crazy?’ I say, ‘no it’s almost more of a loving festival than Woodstock but everyone just pretends they’re angry and crazy.’ But they get along. It’s from ages 12 to 90. I mean, I’ve seen 80-year old drag queens gogo dancing. It’s pretty good. Really ample people stage diving, but they got a little heavier as they got older, and people drop ‘em.”

Punk rock! It’s a group of people that I really like because they hate everybody in the world except themselves, and I find that kind of endearing.

CW: Oh, I’ve definitely been dropped and I’m not even heavy.

JW: I’ve always said, ‘one year, I’m gonna stage dive.” But I have to have it so planned; it would really be shocking if I just ran off and jumped in while I was introducing one of the groups so maybe one year I’ll do it. Maybe I’ll do it when I’m 80.

CW: I saw Grace Jones do that two years ago, and… shirt off. She hit her face with the microphone…

JW: I know right, she’s great. She’d definitely do that.

CW: Her mouth was bleeding and I was like ‘there she goes… Tits akimbo, floating past us, in the sea covered in blood.’ It was epic.

JW: Grace has always been punk in a way, even though she was crazy disco, she was everything, but she was always a punk at heart. She still does shows that are great, she didn’t even have to reinvent herself. A lot of the punk people who are headliners, they never have to reinvent themselves. But they’re not ‘oldies but goodies.’ It never seemed sad to me when I see the punk rock people that [Mosswood] gets, and some of them haven’t performed in 10, 15 years…

CW: Bratmobile!

CW: Is there anyone that you’re particularly excited about for this festival?

JW: I like that it’s all women, almost completely this year. I love angry women, you know. And angry women, nobody hits on them, but they’ll hit you! So I think it’s gonna be a good year. And I just watch the crowd the whole time I’m there, that’s what’s really interesting to me. But I’ve seen some great shows there, so I’m definitely looking forward to it.

CW: So are we ever gonna get another album? Because we would listen in the BUST office, every year on repeat on the holidays, A Date With John Waters and A John Waters Christmas.

JW: Not that kind of album, but I had two grammy nominations! Make Trouble, which was my commencement speech. And then I did one last year called Prayer to Pasolini where I recorded at the murder site where Pasolini was murdered, and I pray and speak in tongues. That’s out and this year I had a record too, it was called It’s In The Book. I covered a novelty song that’s on Sub Pop records, it sold out right away and they just finally got it back in print. So I have records! 45s! I have a brown 45. And a gold one.

CW: How did I miss these? I love this.

JW: Yeah, so I have records out still! Now, the other ones I did were either soundtrack albums or they were, you know, my picks where I curated music.

CW: How did you develop your taste for music? Who were yoru influences?

JW: Well I grew up in Baltimore, which was the South. So it was country music, and rockabilly. It was mostly black music; rhythm and blues. I saw James Brown at the Royal when I was in high school, and I met him 40 years later in Bloomingdales of all places. And I said ‘I got beat up when I went to see you the first time, but it was worth it!’

CW: We like to ask people what kind of pop culture they’re into, what they’re watching.

JW: Well, I guess the way that this generation is rebelling more than anything than even my generation has a handle on is the trans/non-binary thing. It seems like every person’s child that I know is trapped in the wrong body, which I find delightful. It’s weird because now all the liberals are saying ‘just be gay,’ which is the opposite of when I was growing up. So I think now, that’s probably the new rebellion that is the most different for this generation. That is definitely the signature rebellion.

CW: I wanted to ask you about how you felt about all these drag bans.

JW: Well that’s the thing, just people being against drag, like that helps. Remember Anita Bryant? She made the whole gay movement start! So whenever somebody tries to ban something that’s already been accepted, like gay marriage or drag queens (made totally acceptable to Middle America by RuPaul, which, great work he did for that.) You can’t go backwards. It just strengthens them because people can make fun of you, you look like an idiot. To me, if you ban my book I’d be happy. Because then it’s in the front of the bookstore in a special ‘banned books’ section.

CW: And that’s how you’ve always felt about your movies too.

JW: Yeah it helps! It helps. If you hate something, shut up about it because then nobody will notice it.

CW: I was trying to show someone Pink Flamingos, they had never seen it, which I was appalled by. You can’t find that streaming online anywhere.

JW: Pink Flamingos got picked this year by the National Film Registry as a great American film by the Library of Congress. Even I think that’s crazy. And Pink Flamingos is worse if you watch it today than it was when it came out because of political correctness. But you know what? It’s joyous. I make fun of things I love, not of what I hate. And I’m not mean spirited. Unless it’s about Trump. You can find them all on the Criterion channel. They have Pink Flamingos, they have Polyester; I think you can find them pretty easy through Criterion. They have beautiful versions of Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos, Polyester, and Female Trouble. They did beautifully restored versions of them. Serial Mom came out with another company, a beautiful 4K version of it. Cry Baby’s coming out again soon in another beautiful version. So they keep coming out in different prints and making them look better and better.

CW: Speaking of television and drag, have you watched Dragula?

JW: No, I haven’t seen that. I think the drag queens today, they’re all cool, they’re all hip. And I think that is Divine’s influence. When we were young, drag queens were so square. But today, they all have an attitude. I still think my favorite drag name is Urethra Franklin. It’s really a good one. I’m more obsessed with drag kings, and lots of drag kings ask me to sign their mastectomy scars. I have not signed bottom surgery yet, and I’m hoping that happens this year at Mosswood Meltdown.

CW: I started doing ball readings, where I read peoples balls like palm readings.

JW: Oh god, That’s different than, like, the cock book that Brigid Berlin did in the 60s. Or the Plaster Caster where they made casts of everyone’s penis, but that’s like teabagging leaves!

CW: I have a little box, and I make them sit it in the box.

JW: Well that’s good! How did you learn how to read balls?

CW: Well I knew how to read palms, and I figured ‘if i can read the palms, i can read those too.’

JW: Well it is a little more intimate; maybe you’ll find a little more secrets down there.

JW: How do you do it for women?

CW: I read their areolas. Otherwise, I’d have to get way up in there.

JW: Oh, okay. Well you can read everybody’s asshole.

CW: What I’d need for that is like a jewelers eye.

JW: Yeah, like a proctology kit.

CW: Well I will see you at Mosswood and maybe I will be reading balls.

JW: Alright. I’ll say hi, I’ll see ya. I’m walking around there.

We absolutely can not wait to hit Mosswood Meltdown this weekend. Head on over to their site to check out the whole line up!

Photo Credit For Both Images: Greg Gorman

Check out our previous interview with John Waters from 2016 here and 2000 here.

An incredible actor, dancer, and singer, Irene Cara—who died on November 25 at age 63—was the voice behind two of the most indelible movie theme songs of the 1980s. Think you know why her legacy is “gonna live forever”? Then take the quiz!

Irene Cara Escalera was born on March 18, 1959, in _______.

a. New York, NY

b. San Juan, Puerto Rico

c. Havana, Cuba

d. Topeka, Kansas

A performer since age 5, Irene finally hit it big in the 1980 film Fame, for which she both sang the hugely popular title song and played the starring role of _____.

a. Chi Chi Valenti

b. Boom Boom Mancini

c. Meow Meow Madden

d. Coco Hernandez

Irene won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for this film, becoming the first Black-Hispanic woman to win an Oscar in a non-acting category.

a. Fame

b. Flashdance

c. Sparkle

d. Killing ‘em Softly

In 1999, Irene formed an all-female band called _______.

a. Hot Chocolate

b. Hot Tamales

c. Hot Caramel

d. Hot 4 Teacher

Complete the following Irene quote: “I’m a woman with a mission. I’ve learned to believe in myself, my vision, and to do things the way I want them done. I don’t mean to sound immodest, but I never had any doubt that I’d be __________.

a. a feminist

b. successful

c. famous

d. happy

Give Irene Cara Her Flowers!

Answer Key:1.a, 2.d, 3.b, 4.c, 5.b

PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS; PUBLIC DOMAIN

Though Montañez’s claims have since been contested, the controversy does not diminish the joy of Longoria’s film. It’s a story of an immigrant’s triumph in a society where the odds are always systemically stacked against him. Thanks to his grit and ingenuity, Richard (Jesse Garcia) finds a way to make some banging snack dust, with loving scrutiny and support from his rock of a wife, Judy (the excellent Annie Gonzalez).

Flamin’ Hot is a feel-good, rags-to-riches film that takes leaps of logic and glosses over nuances—the usual stuff of films where things work out for white American entrepreneurs—but this time, it’s an erstwhile drug dealer from a community stereotyped for its laziness who’s setting the record straight. The American snack industry would probably be much less profitable without the likes of Richard. Like Longoria’s documentary La Guerra Civil, Flamin’ Hot is a celebration of American barrios, Mexican immigrants, and the ways they make the country more and more delicious every day.

Top photo by Flamin’ Hot Searchlight Pictures

But as heartwarming as that sounds, the movie is more in the vein of The Sweetest Thing and Bridesmaids than The Joy Luck Club, the 1993 film based on Amy Tan’s bestseller about four Chinese-American women and their mothers. Lim, 47, says that when she was writing Joy Ride with her co-writers, Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, the working title was “Joy Fuck Club.” It was a saucy wink towards the first major studio film with an all Asian-American, mostly female cast.

But there are no tiger moms in Joy Ride. The movie is rife with raunch; the members of Lim’s character’s squad find themselves in one outrageous scenario after another, including a chaotic threesome, drug smuggling, and one shocking K-pop rendition of Cardi B’s “WAP.” These types of shenanigans are something never seen before in a film with four Asian women/non-binary leads. “Each one of these characters is inspired by ourselves and our friends,” says Lim. “But we also have a couple of friends who have stories that are actually nastier than what we could put into the movie.”Growing up in Malaysia, the idea of working in Hollywood was something Lim never considered. “You might as well have said you wanted to be an astronaut,” she says. “It just wasn’t in our vernacular.”

Lim’s parents, who had worked in advertising, thought she could be a copywriter. It wasn’t until she attended Emerson College in Boston that she realized working in show business was an option. “That was the first time I thought, ‘I’m in a country where young people feel like this is something that’s a possibility,’” she recalls. “‘And if it’s a possibility for them, why not me?’”

After graduating, Lim moved to L.A., where she still lives, eventually writing and producing shows like One Tree Hill, Life Unexpected, and Private Practice. Since then, Lim’s played a pivotal role in bringing Asian-centered stories to the big screen. She co-wrote 2018’s blockbuster hit, Crazy Rich Asians, famously turning down the sequel due to a massive pay disparity between herself and the film’s white male screenwriter. In 2021, she penned Raya and the Last Dragon, which featured the first Southeast Asian Disney princess. But Lim hopes Joy Ride ends up being “one brick in the road” on the journey towards normalizing Asian stories that resonate with everybody.“Our mothers and grandmothers went through so much so we could be here, living our best, ridiculous, messy, thirsty lives,” Lim says. “It’s not about proving ourselves to anyone other than ourselves. And it’s not about struggling to survive. We’re finding joy and reveling in our own messiness, just like in any other white guy’s R-rated comedy.”

Hair & Makeup: Tiffany Lee, Photographed by Kelsey Wagner

Erykah Badu—the queen of neo-soul and arguably one of the coolest women on the planet—is hitting the road this summer on a 25-city tour starting June 11. Can’t wait to see her go on and on (and on and on)? Go to unfollowmetour.com to find out if she’s hitting a town near you.

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2. The Blackening

Photo Credit: Glen Wilson

Co-written by Tracy Oliver (who previously brought us Girls Trip), this horror/ comedy flick follows seven Black friends who go away for a weekend in the woods where there’s a killer on the loose. They can’t all die first, so they rank their Blackness and use their knowledge of horror movie tropes to survive. Piss your pants laughing when it comes to theaters June 16.

3. TLC Forever on Lifetime

Photo Credit: Dennis Leupold

Which one are you? Crazy, Sexy, or Cool? Follow the drama and tragedy that came with fame for TLC’s Left Eye, Chili, and T-Boz as they become one of the most iconic girl groups of the ’90s in this Lifetime documentary airing June 3.

4. Survival of the Thickest on Netflix

Photo Credit: Winnie Au

Michelle Buteau stars in this Netflix series based on her autobiography. Written and produced by Buteau, the show, which hits the small screen July 13, follows her as she goes through a breakup, gets her styling career off the ground, and plunges back into the dating pool with help from her two besties.

5. Ahsoka on Disney+

Photo Credit: LUCASFILMS

Star Wars fans first met Rosario Dawson’s character, Ahsoka, in the second season of The Mandalorian, and now she’s back in her own series premiering in August on Disney+. The story follows the former Jedi knight as she tries to save the galaxy. Fingers crossed we get another Lizzo and Baby Yoda moment!

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6. I Inside the Old Year Dying by PJ Harvey

Photo Credit: Steve Gullick

Indie-rock goddess PJ Harvey is bringing her spooky vibes, unique voice, and harrowing lyrics back to the mic with her 10th studio album, I Inside the Old Year Dying. Bask in her melancholy magic when it drops July 7 on Partisan Records.

7. The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel

For as long as humans have been making art, there have been women artists. Yet, until recently, they were glaringly excluded from history. This bothered Katy Hessel, so in 2015, she launched the IG account @thegreatwomenartists and then a podcast of the same name. Now, her new book from W.W. Norton & Company is continuing this important work by digging up all the forgotten women who mastered their crafts and finally giving them their due.

A teaser of the book debuts on her podcast: Listen now

8. Mosswood Meltdown featuring Bratmobile and John Waters

Wow, wow, wow! The legendary riot grrrl band Bratmobile is reuniting after 20 years at the Mosswood Meltdown festival in Oakland hosted by John Waters. The lineup also includes BUST faves Le Tigre, the Rondelles, and Gravy Train!!!!, so grab tickets for the July 1 and 2 dates asap at mosswoodmeltdown.com.

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9. Pageboy: A Memoir by Elliot Page

The Umbrella Academy star is speaking his truth. This memoir, out June 6 from Flatiron Books, takes readers from Elliot Page’s breakout role in Juno to being forced into the Hollywood starlet mold to his transition—allowing him to finally navigate Tinseltown on his own terms.

10. “It’s Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby”

Photo Credit: Ben King

Hannah Gadsby shot to fame with her groundbreaking one-woman show, Nanette, and now she’s sticking it to the man. Well, one man in particular—Pablo Picasso. Opening at the Brooklyn Museum on June 2, this exhibit, co-curated by Gadsby, will feature works by Picasso alongside those by feminist artists, including the Guerrilla Girls and Cindy Sherman, and plenty of pointed commentary.

Check out Hannah Gadsby introducing “It’s Pablo-matic” on SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/brooklynmuseum/hannah-gadsby-picasso-introduction?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Top Image: Photo Credit: Fred Yonet

BUST has been a home for many incredible stories over the years, and has held a special place in the hearts of many over the decades. (If you’re feeling sentimental, check out this retrospective we did for our 25th anniversary, where readers share their favorite moments about the magazine.) As time passes and the social landscape changes, BUST has continued to publish fresh and innovative features on the coolest feminists of today.

BUST, like boygenius, was formed independently by a trio of badass women. BUST started out as a homemade zine in 1993. The first few issues were photocopied, stapled together, and distributed by its three founders, Laurie Henzel, Debbie Stoller, and Marcela Karp.

In those 30 years, we’ve created a bi-annual craft fair, published several books, and have had over 10,000 subscribers as of 2018. For our 30th anniversary issue, we decided to celebrate with boygenuis, the indie-rock supergroup that’s taking the world by storm.

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boygenius is composed of indie-rock singer Julien Baker, viral folk sensation Phoebe Bridgers, and singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus. In our summer issue, released on June 1st, the trio discussed their rise to being one of the most influential feminist supergroups of the modern age. The members of the band talk with BUST about their blooming friendship, their (sometimes rabid) fanbase, and Kristen Stewart, who directed the band’s short film. They also discuss their debut studio album, The Record, which was released earlier this year on March 31st.

Dacus and Baker had previously been acquainted since they both performed together in Washington DC back in 2016, but after performing on the same bill in 2018, all three women got together to record a promotional single for the tour. They decided that they were having too much fun to stop, and later that year, they released their first official EP as boygenius. How did they land on their unique and discordant name? How did the COVID-19 epidemic affect their success? How do they feel about their adoring fans? And who the hell is Maxine? You’ll just have to pick up our newest issue to find out!

But boygenius isn’t the only thing we’re highlighting this summer. Here are some other cool things to look out for in the 2023 Summer issue.

Check out our feature on Malaysian film producer and screenwriter, Adele Lim. Lim talks with us about her new R-rated comedy, Joy Ride, which came out June 7th. Joy Ride is the first major studio film with an all Asian-American (and predominantly female) cast. The film is raunchy, delightful, and diverse. Lim was open with BUST about the real-life inspiration behind Joy Ride, Asian-American representation in media, and her lengthy list of credits (including Disney’s Raja and The Last Dragon, and Crazy Rich Asians). “We’re finding joy and reveling in our own messiness, just like any other white guy’s R-rated comedy.” Succinct, substantial, and chock-full of intersectional feminism, Adele Lim’s feature is a must-read.

But that’s not all the intersectionality we have to offer; check out the other pieces on writer and activist Rachel Cargle, and our feature on comedian and “cat daddy” Marc Maron.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Caren

This issue is also full of fun treats for those long hot summer days, like our recipe for grilled peaches, and DIY Balboa Bars. The only thing better than enjoying a cool homemade treat on a hot summer day is looking cool while you do it. Take a look through our ‘Looksee’ feature, where we list all the things we’re into this season, like this cutely packaged sunscreen, these size inclusive swimsuits, and unique sunnies to shield your eyes from the sun’s rays. There’s more cool attire featured throughout; our Get The Look section highlights several Malibu Barbie-themed accessories, like these Moxi roller skates, and this vintage polaroid film camera. But we’re just as comprehensive about our fashion coverage as we are with our anthropology.

This summer’s issue is also full of cool cultural pieces and historical topics, like the extensive feature on the lives of women in the rural mountains of Tibet. The story, written by Eleanor Moseman, details Moseman’s time spent with Tibetan villager Jamyang Tsomo and her family. It covers Tsomos daily chores, which include tending to yaks, harvesting barley, and looking after her family. Jamyang Tsomo’s story is a phenomenal glance into the lesser covered fierce women of the modern world. And she’s not the only cool cultural feature we have. This Summer’s issue also has an inside scoop on “one of the Middle Ages most fascinating figures,” visionary St. Hildegard of Bingen, written by noted historian Dr. Eleanor Janega.

So if you haven’t subscribed already, you’re definitely missing out. There’s something so special about receiving a physical print publication in the mail. It’s nostalgic, and reminiscent of the simpler bittersweet days of adolescence. Relieve the days of reading horoscopes aloud to your bestie and skimming the pages of a magazine for cute summer accessories. Alternatively, indulge your curiosity for knowledge by checking out our features on the historic town of Dublin, or the origins of Midsummer (the Scandinavian Pagan tradition, not the Ari Aster film!) And of course, as always, there’s way more!

We here at BUST are proud to provide a platform for everything; and our digital articles are no different. From updates on the new Barbie Movie, to abortion rights, and from Taylor Swift & Ice Spice collaborations, to coverage on an all girls robotics team in Afghanistan, there’s always an exciting online feature for you. Sounds enticing? Keep an eye out for us on your news feed, as well as on your local newsstands. Here’s to another 30 years. And 30 more after that!

Subscribe now to get your hands on this 30th Anniversary issue!

Top Image: Photo Credit: Ramona Rosales

1.) Join a Queer Book Club (Or start your own!)

Literature has been a powerful part of queer history since its inception. Sapphic authors, like Eva Kotchever and Radclyffe Hall, were both persecuted for their literary works, which contained overt lesbian themes. For a wonderfully chill and bookish Pride celebration, host a book club to honor one of these infamous queer writers. We suggest Hall’s most controversial novel, The Well of Loneliness, which was the subject of obscenity trials in both the US and UK. You can also join a queer book club, like Sapphic Lit, which is a literary pop-up held in over 55 countries. Sapphic Lit is hosting events all over the globe for Pride month this year, including pop-up bookstores and book swaps. Check out their full list of events here.

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2.) Have A Queer Movie Night

Whether you’re looking for a quiet night in with your favorite queer rom-com, or a fun interactive night out with your peers, LGBTQIA+ cinema is a unique way to celebrate Pride this year. Organizations like The Bush Cinema Club, New York City’s Dyke Cinema Club, and Toronto’s Queer Cinema Club host monthly intimate screenings of queer films. The screenings are small, seating only around 50-100 people. They’re sometimes even held in private West Village lofts, or barely known dive bars. The events are usually accompanied by themed refreshments, and the occasional aphrodisiac popcorn. Annual film festivals like the Queer Vision Festival in the UK are also holding screenings of independent queer films all throughout Pride month. Can’t make it to Toronto, New York, or Great Britain? Audience participation isn’t the only way to get involved: you can also donate your time to any local queer-owned cinema organization. You can even hold your own private cinema screenings with your friends, and include some fun treats of your own. Check out volunteer opportunities for The Bush Films here, and check out our list of sapphic movies written by women here!

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3.) Go To A Silent Disco

When you’re queer, dancing is a revolutionary act of defiance. Throwing on some Jessie Ware tunes and letting loose is a great way to get down this Pride season. It’s no secret that Disco served as a safe haven for queer individuals, both out and closeted. Disco also provided a platform for queer people of color, something that remains few and far between to this day. But long gone are the days of sweat-stained velour and Studio 54. And because roughly 60% of all LGBTQIA+ individuals experience anxiety, a packed room full of blaring music might be the last place you want to be this Pride. Luckily, there’s a loophole. Silent discos have been cropping up, and they’re a great way to experience a fun night out ​​— without all the overwhelm. For a small fee, attendees rent a pair of headphones with several “music channels” that can be switched over the duration of the party. Most silent disco events are operated by Silent Events. The rental company crafted the multisensory experience as an alternative to the loud, anxiety-inducing environment that clubs and concerts foster. It’s a low pressure way to enjoy cool, queer tunes with friends. You can check out their nation-wide list of upcoming events here.

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4.) Start a Riot

Pride wouldn’t exist without riots. The first Pride parade was a riot. If it weren’t for Marsha P. Johnson throwing the first brick at the Stonewall Inn (and the infamous riots that ensued afterwards,) it’s hard to believe that we’d have the agency that we do today. Maybe don’t put yourself in danger of being arrested, but see what local protests or grassroots movements are going on in your area. New York City’s Queer Liberation March would be a great start, as they initially organized to reclaim Pride from corporations by honoring the initial intent of the Stonewall Riots. And if you can’t make it out to the East Coast, QLM offers livestreams of all their events. Additionally, the website pridefinder.com is a marvelous multipurpose resource for finding a myriad of queer events, parties and protests alike. It’s global, and even includes a list of welcoming queer cities across the world. Check out their list of upcoming event pride events for 2023 here.

5.) Support Your Local LGBTQIA+ Historical Site

Museums with queer exhibits, going on LGBTQIA+ historical walks, and speaking with elder queers in your community are all great ways to immerse yourself in the more historical aspects of Pride this summer. There are plenty of amazing museums across the world that are full of rich archival history, like the Leslie-Lohman Museum, nestled in the streets of NYC’s SoHo. The museum houses a small gift shop, a private event space, and a collection that spans over 300 years. But you don’t have to be in the city of the Stonewall Riots to explore the historical significance of the event; There’s a whole museum dedicated to the Stonewall Riots in Fort Lauderdale, of all places. The Stonewall National Museum & Archive was initially a small queer library that has since grown into a museum that hosts movie nights, tours, and fundraisers for the local LGBTQIA+ community. They even have a digital collection if you can’t make it in person. There’s also the ONE Archives in Los Angeles, California, which is known to be “the oldest active LGBTQ organization in the United States,” and hosts the Circa Queer History Festival every pride month. To find a comprehensive list of LGBTQIA+ historical museums across the world, check out this travel list.

Whether it’s supporting queer-owned artists, flipping through a book, or watching a campy queer flick with your friends, we hope you find some informative, eccentric, and innovative ways to honor your LGBTQIA+ community this summer. Don’t be afraid to break tradition!

Top Photo Credit: Norbu Gyachung via Unsplash

“Maintaining the ‘kid-ness’ was paramount,” Gerwig told Architectural Digest. “I wanted the pinks to be very bright, and everything to be almost too much.”

Rosco was founded in 1910 and has collaborated with Hollywood producers for over a century. They provide sciencic paints, fog machines, color filters, lighting systems and other products that help to build the environment of a film. They have won four Academy Awards and one Emmy Award for their innovative products and techniques. But Roscoe leaders share that the Barbie production wasn’t the only reason they ran out of the hue.

The production designers were challenged to bring the Barbie Dreamworld to life on a set. According to AD, Gerwig used the phrase “authentic artificiality” to serve as a goal post when designing the world, which was built on set in England.

“There are no walls and no doors,” Gerwig told AD. “Dreamhouses assume that you never have anything you wish was private—there is no place to hide.” And the team created this illusion largely by hand, hand-painting the backdrop rather than CGI to capture the sky and the San Jacinto Mountains.

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Lauren Proud, Vice President of Global Marketing at Rosco, told the Los Angeles Times that there were multiple circumstances that led to the Barbie production using up the entire reserve of the specific shade of pink, including supply chain challenges that arose during the pandemic and the Texas deep freeze of early 2021 that damaged a lot of materials that were used to create the paint, meaning the company was already short in supply.

“There was this shortage,” Proud told The Los Angeles Times. “And then we gave them everything we could– I don’t know if they can claim credit.” In another statement, she said, “they used as much paint as we had.”

Well we’re just tickled pink by this news! See all the beautiful sets in action for the release of the Barbie movie on July 21!

Top photo: screenshot of the Barbie Main Trailer from Warner Bros. Pictures Youtube

DEFINING WHAT “HOME” means for herself, and finding homes for underrepresented creative work, are both recurring themes in Tessa Thompson’s life. The 39-year-old actor is literally building a home (her first) in Los Angeles (her hometown). She’s also continuing to establish herself as a producer through her company, Viva Maude Productions, where she’s developing projects by folks who audiences don’t usually see—and stories that affirm through real representation rather than by adhering to the politics of respectability. And now, with her latest big-screen blockbuster, Creed III (out March 3), Thompson is returning to the eight-year-old Rocky-spinoff franchise that helped make her a household name. “It feels like coming home,” she tells me.

When I catch up with Thompson on Zoom, she’s not quite settled into the new digs she shares with her dog, Coltrane. The Internet is a little wonky and there are various people coming in and out—making deliveries and placing things. “It’s still kind of a work in progress,” she says of the home she purchased in the early days of the pandemic but was only recently able to begin fully renovating due to work and waiting for permits. But Thompson—fresh-faced and glowing with her waist-length braids half up in a top knot—doesn’t seem at all stressed about the process. Her vibe is extremely chill. “This home has been such a pleasure to build,” she says. And it’s been more than that. “It’s basically a gut renovation, so every inch of the house is an extension of things that were once ideas in conversations and then suddenly on paper, and then blueprints. I think the past couple of years have been, for me, about creating the architecture, not just for this place that I’m currently in, but of this company that I’m building. It’s been nice to have this outward reminder of what’s possible—that we can have ideas and make things. I’ve always kind of known that, but it’s been crystallized in a way with this process of having this home.”

Building the home of her dreams in Los Angeles is particularly significant to Thompson. Born and raised in the city, she grew up in apartments with her mother and sister and spent her school vacations in New York with her dad and his kids from his second marriage, a sister and brother. (“We’re a deeply blended family, I suppose. For me, it feels quite normal,” she says.) Since taking off in the mid-aughts with the beloved TV shows Veronica Mars (in 2005 and 2006) and Grey’s Anatomy (in 2006), and then with such notable movies as Mississippi Damned (2009), For Colored Girls (2010), and Dear White People (2014), Thompson’s career has sent her all over the world. “Because of my line of work, I’ve been so nomadic,” she explains. “I’m based where the work is, and that changes. It has sometimes served me well to not have a concrete home to miss when I’m away. I’m totally a millennial—this idea of renting someplace and having something that’s yours but also not yours didn’t really bother me.” Over the last couple of years, though, Thompson has spent more time in her hometown than anywhere else, and much of her scattered family is now finding its way to the West Coast as well. “Almost all of my family is in L.A. now,” she says. “It’s the first time in my life where that’s been the case. It’s been really incredible to put down roots in a city that I already feel rooted to and also to get to really build something.”

Thompson, whose father is a musician, grew up destined to be an artist. “Everyone in my family makes something,” she says. As evidence, she holds up a ceramic bowl made by her mother, who also draws and hand-makes jewelry. “When I first started thinking around being a creative person in pursuit of a career—watching my parents, and really everyone in my family—I always thought of it as something you just sort of do. My family feels intensely creative. I was raised with the idea that there’s no one way to do that ‘right’ or ‘successfully.’”

Rodarte Dress and Sweater; Lillian Shalom Ring; Necklaces: Thompson’s Own.

Anonlychild Jacket, Skirt, Leggings, and Top; Giambattista Valli Shoes; Socks: Stylist’s Own

Freedom to create isn’t the only privilege Thompson was afforded by way of her bohemian upbringing. She’s also felt free to be herself in other ways. In 2018, the typically private star shared with multiple media outlets that she is attracted to both men and women. “I hadn’t thought about it as ‘coming out,’” explains Thompson, who’s been romantically linked to Janelle Monáe and left curious tongues wagging when photographed getting close to Taika Waititi and Rita Ora. “It wasn’t a deliberate effort, but there’s something powerful about seeing some part of yourself reflected in the media. In that way, I think the more that we tell our stories, and the less afraid we are to be honest about who we are and who we love, the more we help other people do the same thing. I’m really lucky in the sense that I grew up inside of a community and inside of a family where it’s not been hard for me to do that. But I acknowledge that for so many people, it is really hard, and that’s not to be taken lightly. If being able to talk authentically about who I am helps other people do the same, then I’m grateful for it.”

Although Thompson performed in several school plays, pursuing a career in acting wasn’t a given. “Growing up in Los Angeles, something about proximity to [the industry] made me sort of take the idea for granted and not consider it seriously,” she says of making it in Hollywood. “It makes total sense to me that people come to L.A. from different parts of the world with this dream—and maybe I would have been one of those people had I not grown up in L.A.”

Now Thompson—who, before embarking on her Hollywood career at 22, studied cultural anthropology at Santa Monica College and wondered if there was “more important work” that she might enjoy—seems to have not just found, but also created, the perfect career for herself. Not a stereotypical scene-stealer, Thompson has become known for performances that are often understated—neither boisterous nor loud, but imbued with an ineffable allure that makes it impossible not to focus on her extremely expressive face when she’s on screen. Her diverse résumé includes standout roles as a civil rights hero (Selma, 2014) and a villainous robot (Westworld, 2016 to 2022). And she’s as acclaimed for her work in blockbusters like Marvel’s Thor films (2017 to 2022) as she is for indies like Sorry to Bother You (2018) and Little Woods (2018).

“I want to do things that excite me and scare me and also things that are fun,” says Thompson when asked how she chooses her projects. “I like to take risks, and I feel really varied in terms of my interests. I have seen so many folks in the course of their careers be able to traverse really varied spaces, but I just don’t know if that opportunity has been afforded to talent of color in the same way.”

In Creed III, she returns as Bianca, one of her most beloved characters, the girlfriend-now-wife of the franchise’s titular Adonis Creed, played by her close friend Michael B. Jordan, who makes his directorial debut with this third installment.

“I just love making these movies,” says Thompson. “It always feels like a homecoming. Over the eight years that we’ve been working on this series of films, there’s a familiarity that has been established, particularly between me and Mike. We have such a shorthand. We both have grown so much since the first time around. With Mike at the helm, it was so exciting to see someone I love so much actualize something that’s been a dream—and then see him do it so well.”

Adding to the familial vibe on set is the fact that much of the crew has worked on all three films. “You get to see everyone’s growth,” says Thompson. “Over the years, many of them have had families and there’s something that feels really special and rarefied about that. You typically have that in television, but not so much in the movie-making process.” The third installment also adds Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors, who Thompson calls “a chameleon and fantastic actor,” to the mix as Adonis’ childhood friend-turned-rival. “These movies are, of course, very masculine in that they are about dudes fighting,” says Thompson, “but there’s so much at the heart of the film that is actually unpacking the toxicity of masculinity.”

Along those same lines, as a producer, Thompson says multidimensional characters who defy stereotypes always dominate the stories she wants to tell. “With a project like Passing, for instance, there was this fundamental idea at the core of that film that none of us fit squarely into the boxes that we sometimes try to stuff ourselves inside,” says Thompson of the 2021 film, adapted from the 1929 novel by Nella Larsen, which she both starred in and produced. A story about two Black women friends who lose touch and then reconnect in New York where one of them is pretending to be white, Passing earned Thompson a BAFTA nomination for her performance and a reputation as a producer who is unafraid to tackle challenging material. “It really strikes to the heart of something that I think is doubly true for some of us, depending on our particulars,” she says of that film. “In Hollywood, there are these very small boxes that we have been given to exist inside.”

Since creating her own production company in 2021, Thompson has announced planned adaptations of three more books—Nnedi Okorafor’s Afrofuturist novel Who Fears Death; short story collection and National Book Award finalist The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, by Deesha Philyaw; and Luster, a sexy, yearning novel about a young woman who becomes entangled in an older couple’s marriage. “You know when you read something, or you see something, and it feels like it’s yours? It feels like it’s speaking right to you, personally?” Thompson asks. “But then you have conversations with other people and you realize you’re in this community of people who are thinking and feeling the same way?” Thompson says this is true of Luster, a book notable for its main character, who is both imperfect, and at times, unlikable, a freedom rarely afforded to Black women protagonists. “Luster felt like an important story that should be told, but not in a medicinal way,” explains Thompson. “It’s not political, it’s just delicious.”

If not political, deliciousness on its own can certainly feel liberating. “I want us to be seen, not as a monolith, but for all the things that we can be,” says Thompson about Black representation on screen. “That’s been an aim of mine personally. The altruistic reason is that I want to be able to advocate for my community. And my less altruistic reason is it’s just more interesting and more fun that way. Both reasons—the altruistic one and the less altruistic one—keep me inspired to chart that course. I ask myself a lot, ‘Where have we not been before?’ And that’s not just about Black women, necessarily; it’s thinking around all the pockets of folks who maybe haven’t gotten the opportunity to be seen in really varied ways in media and in popular storytelling, and just thinking, ‘How do we get us there?’”

It seems inevitable that as a natural-born artist, Thompson will expand even further beyond acting and producing as her passions continue to develop. “I’ve been working on an adaptation of my own,” she reveals. “I have thought about writing and directing for a while and I’ve even written stuff that I just never showed anybody because it was more an exercise for myself. I’ve been really waiting for something to strike me—something that I could adapt that felt like I had skin in the game, where there’s something fundamental about myself that I also get to explore in the piece. I’m really excited that I feel like I have found that thing. It’s really been a gift.”

Though she’s mum on specifics, we can expect the work to be consistent with her overarching philosophy: “The thing that has become a real aim in the work that I do,” says Thompson, “in whatever my small contribution is to Hollywood or film iconography—I want to expand the way that a woman like me is perceived.”

Simone Rocha Dress; Paris Georgia Jacket; Balmain Shoes; Lillian Shalom Ring; Necklaces: Thompson’s Own.

Top Image: COLLINA STRADA DRESS; NECKLACES: THOMPSON’S OWN

BY SABRINA FORD

PHOTOGRAPHED BY Phylicia J. L. Munn

Styling by Wayman + Micah // Makeup by Nina Park

Hair by Lacy Redway // Nails by Zola Ganzorigt

Alongside the most beautiful rendition of Part of Your World, the Grammy-nominated R&B singer managed to perfectly juggle regality as one of the princesses of the sea, as well as being a young girl just trying to find her place in the world.

One of the distinctions that made Bailey’s version of Ariel so unique is her hairーand the importance of keeping her identity through it.

Camille Friend, the head hairstylist of the movie who worked her magic behind the scenes, revealed that around six figures were spent on Bailey’s hair transformation.

“I’m not guesstimating, but we probably spent at least $150,000 because we had to redo it and take it out,” Friend told Variety last week. The hair guru also explained that for Bailey, keeping her natural hair was very important to her. Friend, who has been Oscar-nominated for her excellent styling choices in movies such as Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, explained that after meeting Bailey’s family, she saw her vision for Ariel.

“I went to meet with Halle’s family. Her mother is spiritual, and they’re a kind family. I started to understand who she was and why the natural hair element was important to keep.”

According to Friend, Ariel’s signature “candy apple red” color was never in the question since Bailey is not a cartoon. The stylist wanted to use a shade of red that complimented the young actress’ skin tone and eyes. Four different shades were wrapped around this princess’ natural locsーand it looked amazing.

When it came down to Ariel’s iconic hair flip, the budding actress admitted that it took an entire day to perfect it. In a promotional trailer released about two months ago, she revealed the act almost “broke her neck.”

“That scene was so fun to do. It was definitely hard, though, because my hair was really, really heavy. I have my locs, which are my favorite thing. I’ve had my locs since I was 5. It feels like wool when it’s wet. So it gets heavier. It kind of almost doubles the weight when they’re heavy,” she explained in an interview.

And after watching the magical moment reveal itself on the big screen, it’s safe to say her hard work paid off.

As the first Black princess in a Disney live-action, Bailey also talked about how this has been a life-changing role for her.

“It just makes me cry,” she shared with E! News. “The fact that all these little Black and Brown babies are going to be able to feel like they’re being represented is really special to me. I know that if I had that when I was younger, it would have changed a whole lot for me and my perspective on who I am as an individual.”

Friend’s vision of trading in a wig for Bailey’s long locs marked a significant moment for the representation of Black heritage and solidified the importance of the younger generation being able to see themselves and their own features on-screen early on. The film not only lets children but also adults who were robbed of that experience witness the most beloved mermaid fairytale in a fresh, innovative way.

Top photo by The Little Mermaid on Youtube

Posted on TikTok by Movie Maniacs, the video clip, which was originally taken in 2015, captured Rodriguez giving her opinion on minorities playing superheroes roles. “Because of this whole, like, ‘minorities in Hollywood’ thing… stop stealing all the white people superheroes,” she said in the paparazzi-captured video. “Make up your own, you know what I’m saying, like what’s up with that.”

Since the circulation of this clip, many people are having mixed feelings about Rodriguez’s opinion. Considering that there are 12 movies total in the Fast & Furious franchise, some are finding a large sense of irony in her words. Those agreeing with her, however, say that her words are being taken out of context, and that Rodriguez is advocating for not only more originality in the superhero world, but also better representation of minorities.

When the video was originally released, Rodriguez set the record straight as to what her words truly meant in a Facebook video post, “I stuck my foot in my mouth once again. I said people should stop trying to steal white people superheroes. And I guess it got taken out of context, because a lot of people got offended,” she began, apologizing for her habit of “speaking without a filter”.

She went on to state that instead of forming new ideas, Hollywood enforces having minorities fit into already existing stories rather than creating new roles and franchises that can better represent their culture. “I’m just saying that the different cultures from around the world that aren’t Hollywood – Latin, black, asian, and so on and so forth, are considered ‘minorities’ because there aren’t a lot of writers representing them,” Rodriguez said, stating that this should become a priority.

The three-minute video response cleared up a lot of questions as to what Rodriguez truly meant, and she ended her statement by stating: “It’s time to stop. Stop trying to take what’s already there and fit a culture into it. I think it’s time for us to write our own mythology and our own story – every culture. So that’s what I meant. And I’m sorry if it came off rude or stupid, that’s not what I meant. Cheers.”

Having the full picture of Rodriguez’s words, and also taking into consideration that her opinion was provided to us in 2015 – her words are ahead of her time. It wasn’t until three years later that one of Marvel Studios gems, Black Panther, was released representing the black community and African culture. More recently, Marvel represented the Asian community in 2021 with the release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings; moreover, Rodriguez had a point.

The Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves actress has been a large advocate for more representation of minorities and women in the movie world. In a 2016 interview with CBS News, she discussed how Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign would be opening a door for the feminist movement to enter Hollywood. “The symbolism behind a woman leading the country is so powerful,” said Rodriguez, “I promise you if Hillary Clinton becomes president, Hollywood is going to be all over the feminist movement,” and she proceeded to explain how despite how sad it is that women have to wait for an opportunity like this, it is still an opportunity at the end of the day.

While this video circulates around once again, it’s not only important to remember the importance of ensuring that celebrities’ words aren’t being taken out of context, but also that Michelle Rodriguez is a supporter of minorities in Hollywood. Her words have truth behind them, and hopefully it can be another wake-up call for Hollywood to bring more originality that better represents minority cultures.

Top image: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

First, it’s been revealed who will be featured on the films’ soundtrack. And the star-studded list of contributing musicians has made us even more certain that Barbie will deliver. Some of the artists listed include Charli XCX, Haim, Lizzo, PinkPantheress, and Tame Impala. You can pre-order the album (along with 8 options of colored vinyl!) here.

Dua Lipa also dropped the first single from the Barbie soundtrack on Thursday, which coincided with the film’s first full length trailer. The tune, “Dance the Night” is sparkly and upbeat, which perfectly matches the aesthetic of the trailer. The song also came with an accompanying music video, which features Dua Lipa and her dancers dressed as disco balls. There was even an appearance by the film’s director, Greta Gerwig.

Rappers Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice are set to join forces with 90s hyperpop group Aqua to put their own spin on the iconic (and aptly named) song “Barbie Girl.” Given how legendary the duo’s last collab was on “Princess Diana (Remix),” we’re sure their take on “Barbie Girl” will quickly become the song of the summer. Not to mention, Mattel originally sued Aqua (and lost) for “Barbie Girl” when it originally came out in 1997. so the fact that Aqua is now returning on the official Barbie soundtrack is pretty iconic in it’s own right

The new trailer proves that we’re in for a fun, fabulous, and potentially existential ride with Barbie. The film is inspired by the journey girls go through once they hit adolescence; Margot Robbie, who plays the titular doll, stated, “They’re funny and brash and confident, and then they just—stop. All of a sudden, she thinks, ‘Oh, I’m not good enough’.”

Barbie has been the center of myriad feminist debates since her debut in 1959. While some see Barbie as a feminist icon given her design as a woman who can do any profession she imagines (from astronaut to President), others see her as a contribution to a harmful beauty standard. It appears that Barbie is ready to address both sides of this debate, all while providing us with plenty of outrageous and heartfelt moments (and Ryan Gosling as Ken) along the way.

The powerful film, directed by David Greenwald, focuses on the story of five incredibly talented high school girls from Herat, Afghanistan who prove that working hard is sometimes not enough for women in a country where men dictate the rules. Courage, ambition, and optimism for the future of Afghanistan helped to encourage Fatemah Qaderyan, Lida Azizi, Somaya Faruqi, Kawsar Roshan, and Saghar Salehi into becoming the most famous all-girls robotics team.

The story of The Dreamers began five years ago at Mehri Herawi High School in Herat. The girls realized their passion for science and technology, and after becoming finalists in a province-wide exam, the Afghan Girls Robotics Team was born.

After getting their Visas denied twice with Donald Trump spewing his executive action on new measures to “keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the United States”, the team’s persistence gained the attention of the entire world.

“We’re not terrorists who Americans should be afraid of,” Fatemah said. “We just want to show our abilities.”

Eventually, they boarded a plane heading to the States to participate in their first overseas competition. The doors to opportunity were held wide open for them after that. They had become the faces of resilience after their Visa battle and proved to the world how talented they are by winning silver at their first international robotics competition. Over 500 girls in Afghanistan signed up to join the robotics team after their return.

Their new fame gained the team invitations to compete in many other countries including Mexico and Dubai. During competitions, they created prototypes of robots that could pick up plastic colored balls to represent cleaning debris from the ocean and met tons of influential icons, including Anousheh Ansar, the first Muslim woman to visit outer space. However, the girls and their families worried more about their safety back home.

“It’s important to remember that when these girls were born, women were not allowed to get an education in Afghanistan,” said former California Representative Susan Davis.

The majority of Afghanistan citizens still hold onto preconceived notions about women and their role in society which offered some cruel and upsetting feedback that these teenage girls had to endure. With fear, doubt, and grief surrounding their everyday lives, The Dreamers continued to pursue their goal of creating a better future for their country through the power of technology.

However, Taliban supporters were definitely not rooting for these women in S.T.E.M. no matter how gifted or hardworking they proved to be. After they reclaimed Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban ended up banning girls over the age of 12 from going to school, erasing almost 20 years of progress toward women’s rights in an instant.

The film provides a visceral feeling of watching a hopeful generation starting to grow in a developing nation before chaos completely shatters their dreams.

The Islamic fundamentalist group seized control over the Afghan military and deemed The Dreamers as infidels. They decided the girls should be killed and have been searching for each of them. As a result, the girls were forced to escape their homes and live abroad with their locations undisclosed to protect their safety.

“We know things are difficult. Don’t lose hope. We’ll raise our voices on your behalf, and fight for your freedom” is the last message The Dreamers sent out for all of the girls and women that are currently living under Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Even though the documentary does not offer a traditional happy ending, the journey of The Afghan Girls Robotics Team should be shared everywhere in order to emphasize courage among all women and shine a hopeful light on the next generation in Afghanistan.

The prestigious Cannes Film Festival started this past Wednesday, and a jury media conference with Brie Larson has been sparking up conversations. The Oscar-winning actress was involved in a tense exchange with a journalist after being asked if she would be seeing the premiere of Johnny Depp’s new film, Jeanne Du Barry.

The journalist asked Larson, who is an outspoken advocate for Time’s Up and the #MeToo movements, for her opinion on Depp’s film opening the Cannes festival, and if she was planning to watch it. Larson seemed taken aback, responding with “You’re asking me that? I’m sorry, I don’t understand the correlation or why me specifically.”

Brie Larson was surprised to be asked about Johnny Depp’s opening film: “You’re asking me that? I’m sorry, I don’t understand the correlation or why me specifically.” https://t.co/5Ec2S23051 #Cannes pic.twitter.com/QPfO1Yb4qS

— Variety (@Variety) May 16, 2023

The journalist tried to explain his question by referring to the infamous John C. Depp, II vs. Amber Laura Heard case that were held from April 11 to June 1 in Fairfax County, VA. The case ruled against Heard, and in favor of Depp’s defamation allegations against her.

After describing the case as “very well-played out in American and national media,” the journalist refers to the controversy of Depp’s film being chosen to open the film festival, and that he was merely curious about the Marvel actress’ opinions on the film. 

“Well, you’ll see, I guess, if I’ll see it, and I don’t know how I’ll feel about it if I do,” responded Larson, trying to avoid going into detail about Depp’s 2022 case. Depp’s film, while opening the festival, is not playing in competition. So, as a Cannes juror, Larson is not required to view it. 

The twitter video, released on Variety’s account, has reached almost 15 million views in one day, and the comments highly supported the actress’ evasive answers. Captain Marvel News responded to the video, “Absolutely correct! Perfect answer to an unnecessary question.” 

Absolutely correct! Perfect answer to an unnecessary question.

— Captain Marvel News (@CaptMarvelNews) May 16, 2023

Other commenters were infuriated by the journalist’s question, feeling that it was an attempt to catch her off guard and paint her in a bad light. One user, @Particles343, tweeted “Lets drag this innocent woman Brie Larson into an argument that has nothing to do with her to sell article clicks. That’s all the reporter did. I love Captain Marvel don’t f that up for me.” 

Another user, @queenfeyree, commented “she was like that has nothing to do with me and i can respect that, such a good answer. like talk about something else maybe like films she’s doing atm.” Let’s talk about her upcoming The Marvels movie coming up in November.  

Lets drag this innocent woman Brie Larson into an argument that has nothing to do with her to sell article clicks. That’s all that reporter did.

I love Captain Marvel don’t f that up for me.

— Particles ? (@Particles343) May 17, 2023

she was like that has nothing to do with me and i can respect that, such a good answer. like talk about something else maybe like the films she’s doing atm

— feyre’s gf ? (@queenfeyree) May 16, 2023

Cannes is one of the most highly-anticipated festivals in the movie world, and Larson’s position as a juror is thrilling for her career. We hope to see her answer more relevant questions throughout the week, or continue to gracefully pivot away from unnecessary ones.

Top image: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Spooky season is going to come a little bit early this year with the release of Emma Stone’s (La La Land, Superbad, Cruella) upcoming film, Poor Things, on September 8. The trailer, which was released last night from Searchlight Pictures, features a recently deceased Bella Baxter, played by Stone, who was brought back to life by an eccentric and god-playing doctor, Archibald McCandless, played by Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse, Boondock Saints, The Northman). In a gnarly change from Frankenstein, this monster wasn’t just resurrected– her brain was replaced with that of her unborn child.

The trailer shows a pale, dark-haired Stone in an aesthetically surreal Victorian-era environment, seemingly enjoying life as it was her first time through. “I am finding being alive fascinating,” she says in the trailer, right before a shot of her spitting out her food and slapping her love interest, Duncan Wedderburn, (played by Mark Ruffalo) across the face. 

The film is based off of a 1992 book of the same name written by Scottish author Alasdair James Gray. It’s apt that Gray is a Scottish writer, because the plot is heavily influenced by Mary Shelley, the English author of Frankenstein, which is said to be the first-ever science-fiction novel. 

Screengrab from the Official Teaser of “Poor Things,” from the Searchlight Pictures Youtube.

The film isn’t just filled with visual intrigue– it also has a feminist edge. The book, and likely the film, gives narrative control back to the woman, letting her tell her own story. For example, after hearing Dr. McCandless’ side of things. Baxter, in spite of being literally created for companionship, breaks out of expectations and forges her own life, even if it is a strange one.

An overtly feminist spin on the Frankenstein tale is apt, as Mary Shelly was the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft. Wollstonecraft, who was also a writer, died giving birth to Shelley. She was deeply feminist, and even wrote a book that later became the foundation of the Women’s Rights movement called A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. The themes of birth, death, motherhood and the patriarchy were alive in Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Wollstonecraft’s messages seem to be honored in this Frankenstein spinoff.

Screengrab from the Official Teaser of “Poor Things,” from the Searchlight Pictures Youtube.

The adaptation was written by Tony McNamara, and helmed by beloved Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, Dog Tooth, The Killing of a Sacred Deer). This will be the second time Stone and Lanthimos team up– they worked together on the 2018 film, The Favorite, another Victorian-era dark comedy. 

Other knockout actors involved in the film include Jerrod Carmichael as Harry Astley, Ramy Youssef as Max McCandless, Christopher Abbott as Sir Aubrey de la Pole Blessington, Margaret Qualley and Kathryn Hunter. 

We are marking our calendars for this one! Poor Things will be in theaters on September 8. 

Top photo: Screengrab from the Official Teaser of “Poor Things,” from the Searchlight Pictures Youtube.

Calling all 90s and 2000s babies! The sequel for Freaky Friday is officially in the works. Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are ready to swap bodies again 20 years after the iconic remake hit theaters. 

Both Lohan and Curtis reunited this week for an interview with The New York Times, where they discussed their fortune cookie-cursed roles for Disney’s remake of the original 1976 comedy, based off of the 1972 Mary Rodgers novel of the same name. The two actresses have been hinting about their interest in reprising their iconic roles, and Disney has now confirmed that a sequel is in the early works, with Elyse Hollander writing the screenplay.

The 2003 hit followed Anna (Lohan), an Avril Lavigne-inspired, punk-esque teenager, and her mother Tess (Curtis) as they entered the tumbling phase of teenagehood. The film became one of the most iconic teen films of the early 2000s, and some of the most memorable scenes continue to replay in our heads. Remember when Jamie Lee was rocking out on the guitar? That lives in our heads rent free. 

While promoting her 2022 horror film Halloween Ends, Curtis told the New York Times she’s received endless questions about a potential Freaky Friday sequel, “Something really touched a chord. When I came back, I called my friends at Disney and said, ‘It feels like there’s a movie to be made.’”

“Jamie and I are both open to that, so we’re leaving it in the hands that be,” added Lohan during the interview. “We would only make something that people would absolutely adore.” We would adore seeing anything that involves our icons.

Fans of the movie and the actresses are buzzing with excitement. One fan by the username @xcinemilfs tweeted, “FREAKY FRIDAY SEQUEL WITH JAMIE LEE CURTIS AND LINDSAY LOHAN COMING BACK WAS JUST CONFIRMED LETS GOOOOOO.” The attached dancing video is exactly how we looked when the news came out. 

FREAKY FRIDAY SEQUEL WITH JAMIE LEE CURTIS AND LINDSAY LOHAN COMING BACK WAS JUST CONFIRMED LETS GOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/IxIE3JeEHW

— storm (@xcinemilfs) May 11, 2023

https://twitter.com/xcinemilfs/status/1656501969446645766

Another user by the name @tinisavage posted a video of Lohan’s character rocking out with her band to the song, “Take me Away,” which made the film even more notorious, captioning “lindsay lohan you will always be famous.” Don’t mind us while we jam out to this banger. 

lindsay lohan you will always be famous pic.twitter.com/r7PXeh5L3Z

— ??‍ (@tinisavage) May 11, 2023

Lindsay and Jamie have kept in touch over the years, and that thrills us to know that we get to see them reprise their roles. And hopefully we get to see them jam out in front of an audience one more time.

Top image: Screen grab from “Freaky Friday – Take me Away (Official Music Video) ft. Lindsay Lohan” on Youtube

Good news for fans of everything spooky: Beetlejuice 2 is finally happening, The news rolling in about the film is getting us so excited, we want to say “Beetlejuice” three times just to make the sequel arrive sooner. Not only is Michael Keaton returning to his famous title role, but it’s been confirmed that Tim Burton is returning to direct as well.

Of course, one of the best parts of the original Beetlejuice was all of the iconic women who were in it. Catherine O’Hara, Geena Davis, AND Winona Ryder? Truly a win for goth girls everywhere.

Although there hasn’t been any word on O’hara or Davis returning (we haven’t given up hope yet!) Ryder is set to return as the famous Lydia Deetz, and *drumroll please* everyone’s new favorite Scream Queen and Wednesday Addams herself, Jenna Ortega, is slated to play Lydia Deetz’s daughter. We couldn’t think of a more perfect casting. No plot details have been shared about the film, other than that it takes place years after the original. 

Fans are justifiably very excited about the new casting announcement, with one fan tweeting, “You couldn’t have built a better actor in a lab to be Lydia Deetz’s daughter in a “Beetlejuice” sequel than Jenna Ortega” True. 

EMBED TWEET1

Another fan tweeted, #Beetlejuice2 is coming out September 6, 2024 with Keaton, Ryder, & Burton returning! Jenna Ortega will play Lydia Deetz’s daughter. Perfect casting! This is how you do a legacy sequel / requel!” Couldn’t have said it better ourselves. 

EMBED TWEET2

The film is set to be released on September 6th, 2024, just in time for spooky season!

Top photo: Screen grab from “Jenna Ortega Is Reportedly Joining Beetlejuice 2! | E! News” from @enews on YouTube

Iconic actress Carrie Fisher was finally honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, six years after her death in 2016. Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, alongside Fisher’s Star Wars co-star Mark Hamill, Billie’s father Bryan Lourd, and J.J. Abrams were in attendance, alongside hundreds of Star Wars fans, all there to honor the late actress. 

The ceremony took place on Thursday, May 4, the un-official Star Wars holiday due to some fun word play– “May the Fourth be With You” is a variation on “May the Force be With You,” Obi-Wan Kenobi’s seminal phrase. 

The actress was best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series, including all three of the original films, a reprise in The Force Awakens (2015) and The Last Jedi (2017). The Rise of Skywalker (2019) was filmed posthumously, and utilized previously unreleased footage to include Princess Leia’s character. 

“No one will ever be as hot or as cool as Princess Leia,” said Lourd in her speech. “Leia is more than just a character. She’s a feeling. She is strength. She is grace. She is wit. She is femininity at its finest. She knows what she wants and gets it. She doesn’t need anyone to rescue her because she rescues herself and even rescues the rescuers. And no one could have played her like my mother.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the ceremony took place near the El Capitan Theatre. The star was the 2,754th addition to The Walk Of Fame, and was placed just a few feet away from Mark Hamill’s, across the street from Fisher’s starlet mother, Debbie Reynolds. Lourd was wearing a dress with her mother’s image on the skirt, and even donned a Star Wars-themed manicure. 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Billie Lourd (@praisethelourd)

During the ceremony, Lourd explained how she developed interest in the Star Wars series a little late in life, considering her mother played a lead role. It wasn’t until adolescence that she watched the film after realizing that her classmates and peers loved her mom’s character. Now six years after Fischer’s death, she is carrying the torch for her mother by continuing to share the joy of the Star Wars films with the world.  “I feel so lucky that even though they won’t get to meet my mom, they will get to know a piece of her through Leia,” said Lourd. 

Over the past several years Lourd has taken up the family business. She played the role of Lieutenant Connix in The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. She’s also become known for her roles in Scream Queens, as well as American Horror Story. 

“My mom used to say you weren’t actually famous until you became a Pez dispenser,” said Lourde in her acceptance speech. “Well, people eat candy out of her neck every day. I say you aren’t actually famous until you get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. My mom is a double-whammy — a Pez dispenser and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame now. Mama, you’ve made it.”

Top photos: From Billie Lourd’s Instagram 

The trailer for Director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two was just released and the world of Arrakis is expanding with some familiar faces: actors Florence Pugh (Midsommer, Little Women, Don’t Worry Darling), Austin Butler (Elvis, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Dead Don’t Die), and Léa Seydoux (No Time To Die, The French Dispatch, Blue is the Warmest Color) have all joined the cast, filling out the world of Dune and adding intrigue to an already complex plotline.

Dune is an epic sci-fi fantasy with an ecological message written in the 1960s by novelist Frank Herbert. It takes place on a desert planet called Arrakis that is ravished by famine, systemic inequalities and a failing government (sound familiar?) and is colonized by the Atreides family and crew. Factions clash as the Freman (people native to the planet Arrakis), fight for their freedom and autonomy. Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), despite being a member of the colonizing family, switches sides to fight alongside the Freman as he falls in love with native Chani (played by Zendaya). 

Dune: Part One starred Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Issac, Stellen Skarsgård, and Jason Momoa and was released in September of 2021. The film took on the first half of Herbert’s novel, and surpassed opening weekend profits, bringing in $41 million on opening weekend through just over 4,000 theaters. Reception was overall quite high, despite it’s nearly three hour run time, especially for fans of the novel who were eager to see a successful rendition after David Lynch’s panned Dune adaptation, and the failed adaptation attempt from Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky in the 1970s.

Now, two years after the release of Dune: Part One, Warner Bros. Pictures shared the trailer of Dune: Part Two, which is set to be released on November 3. Florence Pugh is introduced in the trailer, portraying Princess Irulan, a dominant character in the Dune series. The Princess plays an integral role in Paul Atreides’ hero’s journey. We see Irulan investigating the “fall” of the Atreides family, wondering if her family was involved in a plot against them. 

“In the shadows of Arrakis lies many secrets, but the darkest of them all may remain, the end of house Atreides,” Pugh voices in the trailer.

In addition to Pugh’s new major character, the trailer shows a growing connection between Paul (Chalamet) and Chani (Zendaya), a classic Montague and Capulet story, with Chani being a native member of the Fremen, and Paul being the son of a colonist who was sent to occupy Arrakis. The duo have a great and natural connection, developing an environment of love and hope in the otherwise bleak background of the sandy and arid Arrakis.

While Pugh is the most prominent of the new characters, we also get to see glimpses of Seydoux and Butler in the trailer. Seydoux plays Margot Fenring who is part of a secretive matriarchal order called Bene Gesserit, aka The Sisterhood, who have developed some pretty wild abilities including sexual imprinting, sexual seduction, control of her body chemistry and more.

We also see a disturbing glimpse of a bald Austin Butler, playing Feyd-Rautha, a power-hungry villain who is posed to be the antithesis of Paul Atreides. 

In a world full of questionable remakes and less-than-stellar adaptations, sci-fi fans are pretty excited about what director Denis Villeneuve is doing with Frank Herbert’s epic story. 

While we don’t know where the future lies for our friends on Arrakis, we’re excited to see this saga expand with some of our favorite actors. Dune: Part Two will be released in theaters on November 3. 

All photos from the official Dune: Part Two Trailer from the Warner Bros. Pictures Youtube Channel

As Lesbian Visibility Week comes to a close, we’re reminded that sapphic representation needs to be way more prevalent in our society. More often than not, our identities are fully mishandled. Relationships between queer women are often depicted as overly sexualized. Other times, queer women are written in service to a heterosexual man’s fantasy, like in the infamous Blue Is The Warmest Color or in David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Luckily the landscape is changing, and it has been for some time. So crack open a “Tall Girl” from this lesbian-owned brewery: here are several movies that feature accurate portrayals of sapphic relationships. And as a bonus? They’re all written, created, and/or directed by lesbian, transgender, and non-binary people. As always, make sure to check the website Doesthedogdie.com if you’d like to be mindful of triggers.

The Aggressives (2005)

Lesbian Visibility Week is an important step forward, but conversations about intersectionality within the queer community need to be more prevalent. The 2005 documentary The Aggressives serves to explore the unspoken struggles of queerness and gender identity within the Black community. The title of the film comes from the popular African-American Vernacular term: “AG”, which is used to describe a masculine or “butch” lesbian or non-binary person. The film follows several masculine presenting queer women, non-binary people, trans-men, and their partners over the course of 5 years. The film documents the often untold narratives of queer women of color, and how the added marginalization of those identities has an effect on the LGBTQ community as a whole. The Aggressives gives us a much needed look into the world of the Queer Black/Latinx ball scene, as well as detailing the level of community in popular cruising spots like the Christoper Street Piers. It’s sharp, raw, and just as provocative as it is informative. And it’s got a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

All Over Me (1997)

All Over Me is an internationally award-winning indie film written and directed by sisters Alex and Sylvia Sichel. The film takes place during New York City’s riot grrrl scene, and follows the journey of a teenage musician grappling with her sexual identity. The film is a brutally accurate representation of raw sapphic heartbreak, queer culture in 90s New York, and the complexity of teenage love. All Over Me stars two familiar faces: Leisha Hailey from Showtime’s The L Word, and Alison Folland from the 1999 Brandon Teena biopic Boys Don’t Cry. The gritty shots of Tompkins Square Park pair perfectly with the soundtrack, which is laden with well-known riot grrrl musicians. With songs from Ani DiFranco, Sleater-Kinney, and Babes In Toyland, it’s clear that this film was made for us, by us. That’s not all: the film won the Teddy Award for Best Feature Film in 1997, as well as winning the Grand Jury Prize at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, and the award for Outstanding Film at the GLAAD Media Award in 1998. If you watch any film this week, let it be this one. The film is as hopeful as it is gut-wrenching, so just make sure you have a box of tissues handy. 

Jennifer’s Body (2009)

Jennifer’s Body is a 2009 comedy-horror created by Karyn Katsuma and Juno director (and former Bust cover star!) Diablo Cody. Starring Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, the film follows the deteriorating friendship between two best friends after a traumatic incident changes them both. Despite (and perhaps because of) its realistic depiction of female adolescence, Jennifer’s Body was eviscerated by audiences upon its initial release. It has since become a bonafide cult classic, with many people (me included) defining the film as their queer awakening. It even had a limited 35mm re-release in 2022 as a part of Roxy Cinema’s “Woman As Witch” series. Jennifer’s Body is a subversive and unexpected sleeper hit with themes of female revenge and a perfectly crafted 00s “emo” soundtrack. It’s spooky, nostalgic, canonically queer-coded, and it’s the perfect film to watch after a long night at your favorite lesbian bar. *see below.*

The Lesbian Bar Project (2022)

How many lesbian bars do you think are left in the United States, 100? 50? Try less than 20. The Lesbian Bar Project is both a documentary and a campaign created by Erica Rose and Elina Street. The Lesbian Bar Project seeks to rectify the lack of sapphic spaces by supporting and unifying those that are left, and features lesbian safe havens like Wildrose in Seattle, Gossip Grill in California, and all three of NYC’s lesbian bars: Cubbyhole, Gingers, and Henrietta Hudsons. One bar, named Herz, was predominantly featured in the documentary and has already since closed down. The film is impactful, and the organization is making a valiant effort to save our spaces; The Lesbian Bar Project has raised over 100,000$ to date, donating all the proceeds to the lesbian bars that are left.

But I’m A Cheerleader! (1999)

You can’t have a lesbian movie list without this 1999 arthouse classic. But, I’m A Cheerleader! is the textbook definition of camp, slow burns, and happy endings. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan, an average teenage girl who is accused by her friends and family of “being a homosexual,” in what may be the most hilarious intervention scene of film history. (Her mother calls Megan’s posters of Melissa Etheridge “gay iconography.”)  Megan has her world turned upside down when she’s then sent to a gender conversion therapy camp run by RuPaul. Seriously. Things seem to be getting worse (or better?) when she meets the brash and elusive Graham, played by gay icon Clea Duvall. The film even received a standing ovation when it premiered at the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 1999. With monochromatic pastel houses, tongue-in-cheek punchlines, and poignant social commentary, But, I’m A Cheerleader! is quintessential queer girl cinema.

Bound (1996)

Bound is the directorial debut by LGBTQ+ icons The Wachowskis. The film also stars Jennifer Tilly (who you may know better as Chucky’s Tiffany Valentine), and Showgirls’ Gina Gershon. Bound is a high-intensity crime drama that grossed over 7 million dollars at the box office. The movie follows a passionate Bonnie-and-Bonnie love affair in the midst of a high-intensity mob robbery, and every scene will have your heart racing for one reason or another. Bound has been hailed as one of the first films to center a lesbian relationship, without homosexuality being central to the progression of the plot. A lot of care went into making this film the lesbian cinematic masterpiece it is today; the Wachowskis recruited sex-positive feminist, author, and intimacy coordinator, Susie Bright. And her work paid off. Bound has been hailed as one of the most refreshingly accurate film portrayals of lesbian intimacy. But do our lovebirds make it out alive? You’ll just have to watch and find out!

Top Photo Credit: Screenshot from But I’m A Cheerleader! Directors Cut Trailer, Lionsgate FIlms

The trailer opens with a shot of the Capitol, but not as we’ve seen it before. Songbirds is set years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered in place of her sister for the 74th Hunger Games. To be exact, the book and film follow the events leading up to the 10th annual Hunger Games. The trailer does a good job of letting audiences know that this is a Capitol we don’t know yet, as the city’s aesthetic and its technology seems to be inspired by the 1950s. 

The film follows a young Coriolanus Snow (played by Tom Blythe) as he is assigned to train a new tribute from District 12 for the annual fight to the death. That tribute is Lucy Gray Baird, played by West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler. Zegler makes her entrance in the trailer by bowing to the audience, imitating a pose Jennifer Lawrence did in the first Hunger Games movie. (Though of course, technically Zegler’s character would have done it first.)

We also get our first glimpse of queen Viola Davis as Dr. Valumnia Gaul, the original head gamemaker, the person who designs all of the deadly and malicious tricks and weapons used in the arena. Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer also stars as Tigris, President Snow’s cousin, and a fan favorite character from the books that didn’t get much screen time in the original Hunger Games franchise.

The trailer ends with a voiceover of Donald Sutherland’s original President Snow, speaking the iconic line, “It’s the things we love most that destroy us” followed by the famous Hunger Games whistle.

The fact that we get Viola Davis, Rachel Zegler, and Hunter Schafer in the same movie is enough to make us bolt the theaters on November 17, the fact that the movie in question is Hunger Games film is just an added bonus.

Top photo: Screen grab from “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (2023) Official Trailer” from @LionsgateMovies on YouTube

A coming-of-age story centering on the titular Margaret’s struggles to adapt both to sixth grade in a new school and to life inside her rapidly changing body, the film relies on wonderful little moments—first kisses, first bras, first periods—rather than on a traditional dramatic arc to deliver its slice of pubescent life.

By retaining the novel’s original time and place—New Jersey circa 1970—Craig’s script deftly highlights the ways in which so many quintessential girlhood rites of passage have been altered or possibly even erased by the advent of the Internet, social media, and cell phones.

A formidable supporting cast anchors this blast from the past, with Rachel McAdams delivering a warm, Gilmore Girls-style performance as Margaret’s artsy mom, and Kathy Bates channeling her inner yenta as the hilariously outspoken Jewish grandma.

But of course, the film would be nothing without a riveting Margaret, and Abby Ryder Fortson—who was only 13 when filming began and was previously best known for playing Paul Rudd’s daughter in Ant-Man—knocks this iconic role out of the park.

Her big, expressive eyes and pensive body language poignantly telegraph so much of Margaret’s inner world to the audience that it’s impossible not to root for her as she tiptoes her way, awkwardly yet beautifully, toward adulthood.

Top photo: Rachel McAdams and Abby Ryder Fortson. Photo by: Dana Hawley 

Last month, the trailer for Gene Stupnitsky and John Phillips’ latest film No Hard Feelings hit the interwebs to extreme and incredibly mixed feedback.

The story is about a 32 year-old Maddie (played by Jennifer Lawrence) who is broke, car-less and looking for a quick fix after a messy breakup and auto-repo. She sees an ad on craigslist from a set of parents trying to set up their 19-year-old high school senior, Percy, with an older woman who can “get him out of his shell,” and essentially coerce him into losing his virginity, an act that his parents hope will usher him into “manhood.” 

It’s not hard to see why this movie has a horrible message. Almost clip-for-clip, the trailer shares some pretty horrific concepts. Here’s a basic list of scenes that make us want to call the police:

• 19-year-old Percy’s parents are paying someone to “date” him, without his knowledge or consent
• Percy rejects Maddie’s attempts at seduction several times over (even macing her at one point)
• Maddie attempts to get him drunk as an underager Maddie’s friends encourage her to “loosen him up” in order for him to sleep with her
• She pressures him to go skinny dipping despite on-going rejection
• She goes on to earn his friendship and trust, making him easier to manipulate

Grooming, which is the deceptive process used by sexual predators to facilitate trust and sexual conduct, is no less disgusting when done to boys than when it is done to girls – even if he’s one year older than the legal age of 18.  This played-out male “fantasy” only makes it harder for young men to identify sexual harassment, and certainly harder for them to come forward with it. 

It shouldn’t need to be said, but take a moment to think about if this film would be made if the genders were reversed. Can you imagine pitching a film where a 32-year old man was paid to groom and coerce a 19-year-old woman into having sex that she doesn’t want to have? No one would make that movie. But it’s presented as funny and quirky when a grown woman does the manipulating. 

According to Psychology Today, female-perputatred sexual abuse is just about 2% of all sexual abuse reports. However, about 40% of male victims of sexual abuse report their were abused by a woman. These rates are incredibly low, and for several reasons. It is estimated that only a third of individuals who were abused actually report the perpetrator. Men coming forward about being sexually abused by a woman can face a myriad of negative responses including not being believed, blaming it on the man, and the general trivialization of his experiences. 

The article goes on to explain the Sexual Grooming Model (SGM) that has five stages. 

1. Selecting a Victim
2. Gaining Access and Isolating the Minor
3. Developing Trust with the Victim and Adults in the Minor’s Life
4. Desensitizing the Victim to Sexual and Physical Contact
5. Maintenance Behaviors Following the Commission of the Abuse 

In less than three minutes, the trailer goes through every step of the sexual grooming model! 

Despite all the horrible messaging, the film seems to have plenty of support. The YouTube comments of the trailer video (a usually vitriolic place to be) are flooded with messages of support, commenting about how funny the trailer is and how they can’t wait for “real comedy” to come back to the big screen. 

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There’s no doubt that Lawrence’s comedic chops are strong, she has some great one-liners (Oh, Princeton, I’ve heard of it) and some solid physical comedy gags (reacting to getting maced and getting punched in the throat) we only wish that she would take her skills to a plot that’s actually funny, and not predatorial. 

Top photo: screengrab from the “No Hard Feelings” trailer

When the photos of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling in coordinating neon spandex hit the internet for the first time last summer, the world was abuzz about the Barbie movie. Margot Robbie plays the titular role, and Ryan Gosling plays her Ken. And while it’s clear to see why Robbie was chosen to play Barbie, some internet trolls think Gosling isn’t a good fit for Ken. 

A lot of the criticism is because of Gosling and Robbie’s age gap, Gosling is 42 and Robbie is 32, and some believe he is too old to play the iconic role. Looking at the original Ken dolls, his age is completely ambiguous– I guess that’s what happens when you’re made of plastic! 

With Gosling’s bleach blonde hair and summery wardrobe, we think he makes the quintessential Ken. Several others agree that Gosling is the perfect fit, including twitter user @MIAGAWTH who shared a childhood pre-Mouseketeer-era video of Gosling dancing on stage in a bright and glittery costume, looking like the perfect baby Ken. 

“ryan gosling isn’t fit to play ken” explain this then. pic.twitter.com/nUyn34DbyY

— xena (@MIAGAWTH) April 6, 2023

Gosling was the first ever Canadian Mouseketeer, after he won dance competitions and talent shows in his hometown of Ottawa. According to this news video, his clean cut looks and singing voice landed him an audition at Disney. Well those attributes have certainly followed him throughout his career, and really just confirms that he was always meant to play Ken. 

While the internet isn’t quite in agreement about the casting, writer and director Greta Gerwig sure is. Gerwig offered Gosling the role, and waited to see if Gosling would accept the offer. 

“I’m thrilled,” Gerwig told Variety last year about the public’s interest in Gosling as Ken. “That is how I felt and how Margot felt and I’m thrilled that everyone shares that feeling.”

Gosling shared his reasoning on why he decided to join the film on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. 

“I was surprised how, you know, some people were clutching their pearls at my Ken as though they ever thought about Ken for a second before this,” Gosling told Fallen. “They never played with Ken, nobody played with Ken, man. Did you play with Ken? He’s an accessory. And not even one of the cool ones.”

Gosling goes on to explain that when Gerwig sent him the script, he thought it was the best he’s ever read. But he was still hesitant to join the cast until an ominous sign pushed him in the right direction. 

“I walk out in the back yard and you know where I find Ken? Face down in the mud next to a squashed lemon,” he said in the interview. “I texted it to Greta and I said, ‘I shall be your Ken. For his story must be told.’”

Catch Ken and all his iconic looks during the nation-wide release of Barbie on July 21. 

Top photo: screengrab from Ryan Gosling dancing video

Poster is from the official Barbie movie Instagram

Ken and lemon photo is a screengrab from the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon

Actresses Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Emma Mackey, Dua Lipa and several others are playing the titular role, as variations of the same Barbie archetype. As we step into Barbie Land, we see the whole cast of Barbies and Kens, all hanging out on the pink-sand beach.

Issa Rae’s Barbie character is President, Hari Nef’s Barbie is a doctor, Emma Mackey’s Barbie is a Nobel Prize winning physicist and Kate McKinnon is that one hot mess of a Barbie that your little sister destroyed by cutting its hair and coloring all over its face. 

There’s plenty of Kens too– Ken, another Ken, other Ken– doesn’t matter. They’re all employed, titleless, pissed and fighting for the attention of the incredible cast of Barbies. 

As Margot Robbie’s Barbie escapes Barbie Land and makes her way to “The Real World” we see that Ryan Gosling’s Ken snuck out in the backseat of her car, joining her on her new adventure to the real world where they meet Will Ferrel, the insensitive CEO of Mattel, the company that first created Barbie. Brit icon Hellen Mirren is narrating the whole shebang.  

Just like in the first viral trailer, the set design and costuming in the latest teaser is outrageously on brand.

A lush baby-pink beach is speckled with pink umbrellas and lawn chairs. Dozens of Barbies and Kens line the beach, playing volleyball, surfing and tanning in pastel-clad swimsuits and beach outfits. We see Barbie Land’s “main street” lined with pastel buildings. The details are perfect, down to Barbie’s baby pink convertible she uses to drive to the real world.  

This trailer, like the earlier release, does not give away much information about the actual plot of the story. Because it’s written and directed by the incredible auteur Greta Gerwig, we can guess that it will be a campy, tongue-in-cheek semi-parody of the doll’s famous story, laced with some sort of poignant directive. At this point, it doesn’t even matter if we’ll get to learn more about the plot, the buzz around this film will likely ensure it will absolutely be a smash hit regardless. 

Save the date for Barbie’s nation-wide release on July 21. 

All photos are from the official Barbie move courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

RYE LANE

Directed by Raine Allen Miller – Out March 31 on Hulu

Not every love story starts with a meet-cute—sometimes sparks fly when two people are just trying to keep it together, reacclimating to single life while coping with barbed memories of recent breakups. This is the vibe when Dom (David Jonsson) and Yas (Vivian Oparah) cross paths in Rye Lane, each of them seeking solitude in the communal bathroom of a gallery and disrupting the other’s search for peace. Dom is sobbing in a stall, cyberstalking the ex who left him for his childhood friend, while Yas is verbally abusing her own reflection for reasons yet to be revealed.

So begins a meandering day for this duo, who casually share secrets and expose their scars during a jaunt through London interspersed with musical interludes and cheeky British charm. Yas quickly agrees to pose as Dom’s date to humble his ex, fabricating a tale of a love-at-first-sight karaoke duet to explain how they met; the scene is later echoed as they explore the beginnings of their real potential relationship. 

The pair spends a good part of their day rescuing each other from awkward encounters with their respective exes, at one point retrieving a record Yas left behind with her joyless boyfriend. The film is enhanced by a soundtrack that’s central to the story without feeling forced, much like the chemistry between Yas and Dom. Rye Lane is easy but not too obvious, the way many of us hope a spontaneous date will feel.

Top Photo: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures 

In the 1960s, the women of eastern Massachusetts were being hunted by a predator…or possibly many. From 1962 to 1964, thirteen women were murdered in their homes by a killer who left no sign of forced entry and little-to-no evidence. Most of the women were assaulted and strangled with their own clothing (often nylon stockings), which the killer would tie into a bow around their neck. 

Despite this specific modus operandi and detailed coverage of the first few murders by the media, the crimes weren’t being attributed to a lone perpetrator by police or newspapers. Following the discovery of a fourth victim, it was the tenacity and skilled investigative reporting of Loretta McLaughlin and Jean Cole of the Boston Record American that finally exposed the likely theory of a serial killer being active in the area. 

Their first major story about the crimes together was published in 1963 and titled “Two Girl Reporters Analyze Strangler,” as if “girls” reporting on murder was as much the news as the string of horrific murders themselves (to be fair, serial murder does kind of seem to be a guy-thing). 

The story of these determined women is the subject of the aptly titled 20th Century Studios film, Boston Strangler, starring Keira Knightley as Loretta McLaughlin and Carrie Coon as Jean Cole (who later married and changed her last name to Harris), and premiered on Hulu on March 17th. 

The film follows the reporters as they attempt to prove the murders could be the work of a lone perpetrator and expose police mishandling of the case during what was a deeply terrifying time for women in the Boston area. Viewers see McLaughlin struggle to be taken seriously as a reporter, being instead relegated to work on the “feminine” subjects of beauty, home, and lifestyle reporting. But, when a fourth local woman is murdered under suspiciously familiar circumstances, McLaughlin is the first person to theorize the possibility of an active serial killer. 

She persuades the Boston Record American editor, played by Chris Cooper, to let her investigate the story by offering to do it on her own time, demonstrating one of the many sexist hoops she is forced to jump through while covering the case. The film does a great job of highlighting the misogyny of the time with a light hand—the sexism itself is not the story, but merely a piece of the much more significant story of McLaughlin and Cole. 

Knightley points out in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar that, “Women in public spaces—it’s a constant problem. From the everyday office situation, where your voice isn’t being heard, to the most extreme aspect, femicide. This film tells an interesting story that covers the whole spectrum.”  

The movie’s gloomy color palette and tactful use of cinematography creates some moments of chilling, palpable fear. The real-life Boston Strangler murders were twisted and disturbing, and the movie conveys this without making the viewers watch a woman being murdered, which is appreciated. This helps keep the movie’s narrative focused on the women doing the investigative work on this case rather than sensationalizing the murders in the name of filmmaking. 

 

 

 

 

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Another thing the film does well is highlight the way law enforcement botched this entire investigation. Authorities at the time were upset at McLaughlin and Cole’s reporting due to it being highly-detailed and unsparing, and we see this play out in the movie, as well. According to Smithsonian Magazine, the dynamic duo even accused the Boston Police Department of sharing false information with the press, failing to share key information about their investigation with surrounding law enforcement agencies, and many more examples of incompetence and/or negligence.

The film’s strongest point overall, though, is the way it captures the untidy, ambiguity of the entire case.   

In 1965, a man named Albert DeSalvo confessed to carrying out the thirteen horrific slayings attributed to the previously unidentified Boston Strangler. He was never tried for the killings, and to this day, there is much debate over whether or not DeSalvo is the true perpetrator. 

 

 

 

 

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As played out in real life and in the movie, many believe it isn’t possible for him to have committed all thirteen assaults and murders, and that other killers in the area were using heavily-detailed public media reports to make their own crimes seem connected. In 2013, DNA evidence linked DeSalvo to the murder of the assumed final victim of the Boston Strangler, Mary Sullivan. 

While this confirms he was responsible for Sullivan’s murder, it does not necessarily prove he was responsible for the other twelve murders. In Boston Strangler, viewers see Knightley’s McLaughlin and Coon’s Cole deal with the realization that DeSalvo’s confession may have been made under false pretenses, and potentially even in cahoots with another famous murderer, George Nassar. 

No matter the identity—or identities—of the Boston Strangler, the thirteen victims deserve to be remembered for the full and important lives they lived, rather than just how they died. Their names are: Anna Slesers, Mary Mullen, Nina Nichols, Helen Blake, Ida Irga, Jane Sullivan, Sophie Clark, Patricia Bissette, Mary Brown, Beverly Samans, Evelyn Corbin, Joann Graff, and Mary Sullivan. 

The glass-ceiling-shattering work of reporters Loretta McLaughlin, who passed away in 2018, and Jean Cole, who passed away in 2015, will certainly be remembered. Boston Strangler tells their story in a gripping way, leaving viewers perhaps uncertain of who the murderer is, but absolute in their respect for the remarkable McLaughlin and Cole.

Top photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. (c) 2020. 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Twee-virtuoso Wes Anderson is back with a trailer for his latest film, Asteroid City. This new project is a departure from his usual relationship-centric postmodern stories seen in The French Dispatch, The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Grand Budapest Hotel. Asteroid City is just as hyper-stylized as ever, but this time he’s stepping out from his contained plots and looking toward the stars. The trailer shows that Anderson can put his pastel-clad touch on just about anything, including the science-fiction theme of his latest film.

The plot follows a widowed father (played by Rushmore’s Jason Schwartzman) and his children in the mid 1950s. Their car breaks down in a peculiar, fictionalized American desert town. While he waits for father-in-law (Tom Hanks) to arrive and help, they check out the local Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet Convention, where they meet a whole cast of space-curious children celebrating “Asteroid Day,” the anniversary of when a small asteroid hit the fictional town in 3007 B.C.  

The Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet Convention is interrupted by the presence of a huge explosion and mushroom cloud, the ominous beginning to an extra-terrestrial visit. Once the president is alerted of the alien invasion, he requires all residents and visitors in Asteroid City to stay within the town boundaries indefinitely. 

As the trailer continues, we see the alien presence is making a big impact on the folks of Asteroid City. Some characters take solace in the knowledge that there’s life beyond our big blue planet, “Sometimes I think I’d feel a little more at home outside the earth’s atmosphere,” says Grace Edward’s character. For other characters, the alien visit opened the opportunity to contemplate life, humanity, and their relationships under the threat of demise. 

“[The alien] looked at us like we’re doomed,” Jason Schwartzman’s unnamed character says to Scarlett Johansson’s Midge Campbell. “Maybe we are.”

Though the subject matter may be new, fans of Anderson’s works should still expect the deadpan delivery, stunning cinematics, and pastiche nostalgia he is known for. In line with his signature look, the art design is streamlined but schmaltzy, simple but strategic. The trailer of Asteroid City shows that Anderson is ready to take on new topic material while staying true to the traits that made him famous. 

Asteroid City stars a lot of Anderson’s favorite faces including Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Willem Dafoe, Edward Norton and many others. The film also stars a soon-to-be regular Wes Anderson addition, Timothée Chalamet and newcomer Maya Hawke, daughter of actors Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke. 

Asteroid City will be premiering at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May. There will be a limited theatrical release on June 16, before the global release of the film on June 23. 

Top photo: Scarlett Johansson in director Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City. Photo courtesy of Focus Features. Asteroid City movie poster courtesy of Focus Features.

Based on a true story,The Lost King , directed by Stephen Frears, introduces audiences to Philippa Langley, a British woman with no formal academic training who, in 2012, helped find the lost grave of King Richard III underneath a parking lot. When the film opens, Langley is an almost-divorced office worker struggling with a misunderstood chronic illness.

A performance of Shakespeare’s play about the infamous Middle Ages monarch reinvigorates her; she becomes convinced that Richard III was unjustly maligned and she subsequently joins a club of “Ricardians” devoted to restoring his reputation. As she begins her quest to excavate the now-famous parking lot, Langley faces skeptical historians, archaeologists, politicians, family, and friends.

Lead actor Sally Hawkins does a masterful job of bringing the principled-yet-sensitive Langley to life. But The Lost King makes a puzzling choice that diverges from the already fascinating true events: Langley repeatedly sees the ghost of Richard III (Harry Lloyd) in the film, and he helps her on her quest to find his body. The conversations between Langley and Richard are comedic, but they ultimately serve to minimize the hard work and research the real Langley did to locate the king’s grave.

By the end of the film, it also remains unclear why Langley and her fellow Ricardians are so devoted to the reputation of a king who died over five centuries ago. This is a diverting movie, but the true story is still stranger than fiction.

The Lost King will be in theaters on March 24, 2023.

Top photo courtesy of IFC Films

Didn’t watch the Oscars? Don’t worry, here are some feminist moments that made us say “Thank you to the Academy!” As well as some moments that made us remember why we don’t really like the Academy.

BEST

Michelle Yeoh Making History as The First Asian Women to Win Best Actress in a Leading Role

I think everyone in the whole world was rooting for Michelle Yeoh to bring home the win for Best Actress at this year’s event, and luckily for us she did! Yeoh was nominated for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once, and her acceptance speech was incredibly moving.  

Yeoh acknowledged what her win meant for expanding opportunities for the representation of people of color, specifically Asian people, in cinema, stating, “For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities.” It was no coincidence that Halle Berry gave her the award, as Halle was the first woman of color to win Best Actress in 2002.

Older Women Get Their Moment: Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress Both Over 60!

Yeoh also spoke to the agism within Hollywood, as she just won her first Oscar at 60 years old, telling all the women in the audience that they shouldn’t let anyone tell them they are ever past their prime. This was a big year for older women nominees, as Jamie Lee Curtis (64) won the award for Best Supporting Actress, a category that Angela Bassett (64) was also nominated in. 

This is an important moment of representation, as according to the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, “Just 1 in 4 characters who are 50+ are women, a serious inequality in the representation of older adults in film and television. Moreover, 50+ women who are on-screen are commonly cast in supporting and minor roles and are less likely to be developed as characters in interesting ways.”

Sarah Polley Winning Best Adapted Screenplay for Women Talking

Polley delivered an iconic opening line in her acceptance speech for Best Adapted Screenplay for her film Women Talking, “First of all, I just want to thank the Academy for not being mortally offended by the words ‘women’ and ‘talking’ put so close together like that. Cheers!” 

Polley was the only woman nominated in her category, proving that both women are incredible creatives, and also that the Academy still has a problem acknowledging women in the performing arts. 

Sarah Polley Opts for a Tux Over a Gown

Polley also attended the ceremony looking very dapper. After years of people always commenting on women’s gowns, Polley flipped the script by wearing a Tux. We don’t think anyone asked who she was wearing—finally!

The First Ever Oscars Stage Designed by Women

Something about Michelle Yeoh accepting her Academy Award on the first ever Oscars stage designed by women just sits right with us. Production designers Alana Billingsley and Misty Buckley thought long and hard about how they envisioned the 95th Academy Awards would look. The end result? A beautiful stage inspired by classic movies. The two have previously worked together on creating a set for a TV special starring country singer (and feminist icon) Kacey Musgraves. We can’t wait to see what this dynamic duo will design next!

Malala’s Quick and Witty Response To Kimmel

Women’s rights activist Malala Yousafzai attended this year’s academy awards ceremony. She was nominated for her work as a producer on the documentary short film Stranger at the Gate. Jimmy Kimmel, this years’ host, went out into the audience to ask the stars questions. Kimmel approached Malala with a fan question, being, “Your work on human rights and education for women and children is an inspiration. As the youngest Nobel Prize winner in history, I was wondering, do you think Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine?” Malala’s response was absolutely perfect, stating, “I only talk about peace.”

Ruth E. Carter’s Win for Best Costume Design, Making her the First Black Woman to Win 2 Oscars

Ruth E. Carter took home her second Oscar for Best Costume Design for her work on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. (Carter also won the same award for Black Panther in 2019!) With this second win, Carter also became the first Black woman to win two Oscars. While we’re horrified that it has taken this long for a Black woman to win two Oscars (The lack of Black women who have won Oscars is indicative of an institutional problem within the Academy) we’re also so excited about Carter’s historic (and very much well-deserved) win!

Ruth E. Carter makes history once again! With her second win for Best Costume Design tonight, she is now the first Black woman to win multiple Oscars in any category. @theblackpanther #Oscars #Oscars95 pic.twitter.com/AmcrQKJNyZ

— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 13, 2023

Two Women Win for Best Documentary Short, The Elephant Whisperers

Directors Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga took home the prize for Best Documentary Short Film for their film The Elephant Whisperers. The film follows a South Indian couple, Bomman and Bellie, who devote their lives to caring for an orphaned baby elephant named Raghu. On the historic win, Guneet Monga Tweeted, “We just won the first ever Oscar for an Indian Production! Two women did this! I am still shivering.”

We just win the first ever Oscar for an Indian Production!

Two women did this! I am still shivering ??

— Guneet Monga (@guneetm) March 13, 2023

WORST

So. Many. Snubs—Especially of Movies By and For Black People

Many viewers (including ourselves) were disappointed to not see the Black-women led films The Woman King and Till up for any nominations at this years’ ceremony. While we wish we could have seen the two earn nominations for best picture or best lead actress for Viola Davis (The Woman King) and Danielle Deadwyler (Till), we’re glad that host Jimmy Kimmel at least shed some light on the film’s egregious (and telling) absence. Specifically stating, “There are a number of excellent films and performances that were not nominated tonight including Till and The Woman King.” Kimmel goes onto say that both of these films are “very worthy of your time” and we couldn’t agree more! 

Many people have expressed some valid concern and critique that Angela Bassett didn’t win the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Jamie Lee Curtis did). She did get a knowing shout out from actors Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors after her loss though, as they stated to Bassett, “Hey Auntie, we love you.”

SHE WILL ALWAYS BE AN ACADEMY-AWARD WINNING IN MY EYES IDC! LEGENDARY ANGELA BASSETT, THEY PLAYING IN MY AUNTIE’S FACE TOO MUCH! pic.twitter.com/SNehSQdM8v

— khalia. | classic hollywood princess? (@VERONASFILMS) March 13, 2023

#OscarsSoMale: All Director and Original Screenplay Category Nominees Were Men 

Not only did The Woman King and Till get snubbed for Best Picture and in the acting categories, but additionally, no female directors were nominated at this year’s ceremony. Sarah Polley (Women Talking), Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King), Charlotte Wells (Aftersun) and Maria Schrader (She Said) all could have been potential nominees. Additionally, no female writers were nominated for Best Original Screenplay.

A Fatsuit Wins for Best Makeup and Hairstyling

A24’s The Whale has been receiving some well-earned criticism for its portrayal of fatness. Unfortunately, that criticism didn’t seem to strike a chord with the Academy, as the film won for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. The Whale’s portrayal of fatness is one that is very much rooted in fatphobia, so for the film to win this award for their use of a fat suit really feels like a validation of that fatphobia. 

Writer, executive producer, and overall icon Lindy West said it best “The Whale is not a real fat person telling their own raw story with all the complexities and contradictions of lived experience. Charlie is a fictional character created by a thin person, a fantasy of fat squalor, a confirmation that we ‘do this’” to ourselves: that we gorge buckets of chicken like mindless beasts, that we never see the world, never let the sun warm our bodies, never step into the sea, never make art, never feel human touch, never truly live.” 

Overall, the Academy delivered another semi-entertaining ceremony that gave us moments that made us stand up and cheer, and moments that made us roll our eyes. Regardless, we think from here on out March 12th should be designated National Michelle Yeoh Day.

Top Photo: Screengrab from “Michelle Yeoh Accepts the Oscar for Lead Actress” from ABC on YouTube

Many of the horror franchises that thrived during the days of VHS tapes and long lines at the box office have found it hard to keep up in the age of one million streaming channels. Scream, however, is the one franchise with enough self-awareness to do it right.

The newest installment, Scream 6 (often stylized as Scream VI), hits US theaters on March 10th. This new chapter follows the characters we were introduced to last year (including Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega, Yellowjacket’s Jasmin Savoy Brown, and up-and-coming Mexican-American actress Melissa Barrera), as they explore college life in a new city. But they quickly realize that no matter how far they run, they can’t outrun their homicidal tormentor, Ghostface. Scream 6 is already on its way to breaking records. In just one day of its release, it already has a higher audience rated score than its 2022 predecessor, Scream 5 (which was released simply under the title Scream). 

“The scariest Scream yet.” Get #ScreamVI tickets now and see why critics are dying over it! NOW PLAYING in theatres everywhere. https://t.co/8wq978XvMT pic.twitter.com/oUmx6rVJiX

— Scream (@ScreamMovies) March 10, 2023

The Scream franchise has been a mainstay in pop culture for decades now.  The first Scream movie was released in 1996, and became the highest-grossing slasher movie of all time until it was surpassed by 2018’s Halloween. The movies follow a group of friends who are terrorized by a deranged and elusive killer. Dressed in a black robe and ghoulish mask, the killer is known only as Ghostface. In each installment, Ghostface is often obsessed with horror movies, which only fuels the tongue-in-cheek meta-referential irony that films have become known for. Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Emma Roberts, and Lucy Hale are some of the more notable stars that have become Ghostface bait. The original Scream starred Courtney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell, all three of whom have returned for every installment but one: Scream 6 

In Scream 6’s opening scene—the scene which has become the hallmark of every Scream movie—is the most unexpected and subversive opening since the iconic double-fake out in Scream 4. The movie only gets better from there though; the emotional beats flow seamlessly into terror-filled chase scenes and gut-wrenching gore. Jenna Ortega’s performance as Tara Carpenter is effective and moving, and the sisterly relationship between her and Barrera’s character is powerfully relatable. 

A fresh opening is not the only way the franchise remains surprising—Scream 6 is feminist in more ways than one. The lead cast is almost entirely comprised of women, mostly women of color. It’s also proudly queer. Savoy’s character, Mindy Meeks-Martin has a sapphic love interest. (Last name sounds familiar? She’s fictional horror film nerd Randy Meeks’ niece, another homage to the original film). Her character is also wears several LGBTQIA+ activist shirts throughout the film, including one that says “Strong Femme Lead.” For a majority of the second act, she’s seen wearing a shirt that reads “Lavender Menace,” a subtle shoutout to the radical lesbian activist group of the 1970s. And despite all the conversations about trying to outsmart Ghostface, the film still passes the Bechel test. Scream 5 even made our list last year for the 9 Hot Pieces of Feminist Media.

Despite the new twists and new characters, there are plenty of reasons for hardcore Scream fans to rush to the box office. There are quite a few familiar faces returning, including household name, Courtney Cox, returning to reprise her role as the infamous Gale Weathers. Sadly, Neve Campell did not return to play the main role of Ghostface’s original target, Sydney Prescott, due to payment conflicts.  

Don’t be disappointed though; another legacy character returns, seemingly back from the dead, to take her place—and no, I’m not going to reveal who that is; you’ll have to watch. Luckily for us, these reintroductions aren’t forced, and the reappearance of some old “friends” (Like Skeet Ulrich’s Billy Loomis) feels a lot more natural than they have in previous installments. 

The long-awaited trailer revealed that the movie would be filled with memorabilia from the “original” Woodsborough murders (ie. the events that were depicted in the original Scream movie), and in the satirical in-universe fictional movie based on final girl Sydney Prescott’s experience, Stab. Wanting to identify all the easter eggs and nods to the previous movies is enough to have you running back to the ticket booth. 

Although each one is more shocking than the last, the Scream movies have always been admired not just for their horror, but also their self-referential approach. And now, 30 years since its start, the Scream franchise continues to be both modern and subversive, With nods to the original films, badass women, and well-executed tension builds, Scream 6 is ushering in a new legacy of Scream Queens. And this is one 2023 film that won’t be left on the chopping block.

Top Image: Screengrab from “Scream 6 Trailer,” Paramount Pictures

Iconic YA author and companion through adolescent anguish, Judy Blume’s life and cultural impact are the focus of a new documentary, Judy Blume Forever, set to release on April 21.

In the film, Blume discusses her 50+ year career, detailing anecdotes from childhood and adolescence, into her blossoming writing career and beyond. “I grew up as a good girl, with a bad girl lurking inside,” explains Blume in the trailer. “So by the time I started to write, I really had a lot to say.” 

The documentary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, shares insight from Blume’s family and the thousands of fans she’s captivated over the years. Several writers and actresses who have been inspired by Blume’s works discuss why the author was so vital to their understanding of young girlhood. 

“She allowed young women to be as complicated, messy and funny as we are,” Lena Dunham, writer of HBO’s Girls, says.

We also see testimonials from Anna Konkle (Pen15), Molly Ringwald (Sixteen Candles), and Samantha Bee (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee), along with others. 

“Everything I learned about sex or crushes, I learned from Judy,” says Molly Ringwald. 

 

 

 

 

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Blume’s frank approach to discussing sex, puberty, betrayal, lust, and other difficult-to-talk-about topics has won over the hearts of readers across generations. That same frankness has led to criticism and retaliation from libraries, school boards and parents in Arizona, Alabama, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 

Most recently, the Indian River County School District of Florida banned Blume’s book Forever… from school libraries and in April 2022, Florida’s Jackson County School District banned it from both school libraries and classrooms. 

Her seminal novel, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margret, has been challenged for “irreligiosity” (neglectful of religious doctrines) and for “introduction to pornography.” 

“Overnight, the censors came out of the woodwork,” Blume says in the documentary. “I think the kids have a right to read and get honest answers to their questions.”

Despite decades of push back, Blume’s novels continue to be read and adored by millions of young adults. In fact, the film adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret is set to release on April 28, only a week after the documentary premieres. 

 

 

 

 

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Judy Blume Forever will be available to stream on Prime Video April 21. 

Top image: Courtesy of Prime Video 

One of the most notable awards of the night is going to be the coveted Best Picture, of which the following films are nominated: All Quiet on the Western Front, Avatar: The Way of Water, The Banshees of Inisherin, Elvis, Everything Everywhere All at Once, The Fablemans, Tár, Top Gun: Maverick, Triangle of Sadness, and Women Talking.

 

 

 

 

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Special shoutout to the women-led films that made the cut this year! Everything Everywhere All At Once receiving some much-deserved recognition is great to see. And both Women Talking and Tár feature female protagonists, as well. Some names missing from the list: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Nope, and Babylon. All seem to have been skipped over for Best Picture noms this year despite box office success for both Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Nope, while Babylon was textbook Oscars-bait that ended up flopping with audiences. 

Next notable category is Best Actress in a Leading Role! You already know we have to talk about this one. Cate Blanchett (Tár) was nominated along with Ana de Armas (Blonde), Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie), Michelle Williams (The Fablemans), and Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once). It’s a bit disappointing to see Viola Davis missing from this list despite her spectacular performance in The Woman King. 

Some nominations that were a pleasant surprise were Tems’ nomination for Best Original Song (Lift Me Up from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Turning Red being nominated for Best Animated Feature Film, and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed‘s nomination for Best Documentary Feature Film.

The category for Best Actress in a Supporting Role is stacked this year–unsurprising given the plethora of amazing performances to choose from. The nominees are Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Hong Chau (The Whale), Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin), Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All at Once), and Stephanie Hsu (Everything Everywhere All at Once). Though, it’s still such a bummer to see Keke Palmer (Nope) missing from this category. 

 

 

 

 

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And the final notable category we need to talk about today is for Best Director, of which zero—you read that right–zero women were nominated. But, to be fair women have won in that category the past two years so maybe The Academy thought they had hit their woman-quota and were off the hook? Who knows. What we do know is, there were definitely some notable directorial performances by women this year, including, but not limited to, Sarah Polley (Women Talking), Chinonye Chukwu (Till), Maria Schrader (She Said), Marie Kreutzer (Corsage), Domee Shi (Turning Red), and Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King). 

While it is disappointing to see women directors snubbed in their category this year, we still get to celebrate some well-placed recognition for talented women in film. Tune into the Oscars Ceremony on Sunday, March 12th to see if your favorite films, directors, artists, and actors take home any wins! 

Cover Photo from Pexels by Engin Akyurt 

Three more excellent offerings from the Sundance Film Festival.

JUDY BLUME FOREVER

Judy Blume Forever is a touching and comprehensive look into the life of the beloved author known for her relatable and honest portrayal of teenage life. The film lays out Blume’s incredible journey from suburban housewife to world-famous author. At 83 years old, a spry and charming Blume revisits her history with a series of revealing interviews. In 1975, Blume published Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, a novel that deals with the struggles of growing up and the questions and confusion that come with puberty. This book was groundbreaking in its frank and honest depiction of the female experience. Blume continued with a string of hits including the Fudge series, the Blubber series, and the Deenie series, all which dealt with sensitive and controversial topics such as sex, menstruation, and masturbation, and have been banned and challenged in many schools and libraries by right-wing zealots. One of the most fascinating and emotionally moving aspects of the film was Judy reading from a few of the thousands of letters she had received from her fans. Using loads of archival interview footage, home movies, beautiful colorful collages, and supplemented with a series of interviews with industry professionals, family members, and celebritiy fans like Samantha Bee, Lena Dunham, and Molly Ringwald, directors Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok weave an emotionally moving picture of Judy’s inspirational life.

MY ANIMAL

My Animal is a moody and evocative queer werewolf love story wrapped in a family drama. Heather (played with grace by Bobbi Salvör Menuez) practices as a goalie at the ice rink every day with her twin brothers and the help of their un-healthy father with the hope of one day playing on the local hockey team. At home in the basement, Heather masturbates to female wrestling on the TV. Heather’s mother is a raging alcoholic with a dirty family secret. Burdened with the knowledge that her daughter is a werewolf, she has to make sure that Heather is chained to her bed every month in time for the full moon. When Heather falls for newcomer skating beauty Jonine, (Former Bust cover star Amandla Stenberg) staying locked up in her bedroom is the last thing on her mind. Heather and Jonine’s friendship becomes more and more intimate, and much more dangerous. And the egg yolk sex dream is otherworldly. Shot with a glowing red palette and luscious tones, director Jaqueline Castel skillfully weaves a reimagining of a classic myth that explores the complexities of family dynamics and queer romance. The film ultimately becomes a powerful exploration of the themes of trust and self-acceptance.

KOKOMO CITY

Kokomo City is a powerful and intimate exploration of the lives of four trans women sex workers, Daniella Carter, Dominque Silver, Liyah Mitchell, and Koko Da Dall. Through candid and frank interviews, the film delves into their personal lives through everyday activities such as getting dressed, shaving, and lounging in the living room, mixed with reenactments that illustrate some of their more colorful and emotional stories. Through their shared experiences and unique perspectives, the women reveal their deepest truths and offer an intimate and personal look into their lives. One of the most striking aspects of the film is the honest and insightful exploration of their sexuality and relationships within the Black community, particularly with Black cis women. The film also shines a light on the hard facts of trans sex work, the risks and dangers involved, and the lack of agency and resources that are often faced by those in the industry. The film is presented in stark black and white with dramatic contrast, and the filmmaker, D. Smith (a trans woman herself) succeeds in providing true insights into the lives of trans women and the struggles they face in living their truths. It is a powerful and moving film that raises important questions and encourages viewers to think more deeply about the complexities of the trans experience.

All photos courtesy of Sundance Film Festival

Jane is an enigma. She is a complex woman who wears many masks. Every day she chooses which face to put on, determined by the situation and her mood. Her seven faces represent different sides of her personality and how she chooses to present herself to the world. From her determined business face to her goofy, carefree face, she is always able to be exactly who she wants to be. Her seven faces have allowed Jane to explore different aspects of her personality and live life to the fullest. With her chameleon-like ability to change her persona, Jane is sure to have an exciting and fulfilling future.

Read the full review on our sister site, Village Voice, here.

Photo: Screenshot from The Seven Faces of Jane trailer on YouTube

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF SHERE HITE

This amazing documentary is an evocative portrait of the life and career of the flamboyant feminist icon Shere Hite. Using a wealth of exclusive archival interview footage, her personal journals (voiced by Dakota Johnson) and original survey responses, the film delves into Hite’s long and storied life: from struggling to make a living as a fashion model, to her experiences of gender and class prejudice at Columbia University and how she joined the women’s movement, to her meteoric rise to fame as a world famous best selling author, to her eventual disillusionment with the publishing industry and society in general. After struggling to get her ideas taken seriously, Hite created an anonymous sexuality questionnaire, and what she discovered shocked the world and propelled her to the forefront of the culture wars. The results of the survey, including the idea that masturbation was the main cause of orgasm for women, were published in her 1976 book “The Hite Report: A Nationwide Study of Female Sexuality,” and were groundbreaking in their frank discussion of female sexuality and had a significant impact on society. Hite’s work challenged traditional notions of female sexuality and highlighted the importance of female sexual pleasure and autonomy. Unfortunately, the patriarchy was not willing to accept her findings and the media set out to destroy her. Director Nicole Hewnham delivers an intimate, fascinating and complex examination of one of the most important feminists of the 20th century.

FAIR PLAY

Fair Play is a gripping, intense drama set in the fast-paced and ruthless world of a New York hedge-fund company. The film explores the destructive nature of power and ambition in a high-pressure work environment, where fear and manipulation are used to maintain control. The story centers on Emily (Phoebe Dynevor) and Luke (Alden Ehrenreich), a young couple who work as trading analysts at Crest Financial. Madly in love, they are forced to keep their engagement a secret due to company policy. However, when Emily receives a promotion instead of Luke, their relationship is put to the test as the shifting power dynamics between them lead to an explosive collision of ego and ambition.
Writer-director Chloe Domont delivers a brutal morality tale, depicting the harsh realities of gender dynamics and the corrupting influence of power. The men are particularly awful, ruthless and unscrupulous, highlighting the cutthroat nature of the hedge-fund industry. The film shows how one woman must navigate the gauntlet of the patriarchy and do whatever it takes to survive.

FREMONT

Donya, (played with austere composure by real-life Afghan refugee Anaita Wali Zada,) lives in Fremont, California in an apartment building with other Afghan refugees. She has been in the US for eight months, having fled Afghanistan after working as a translator for the US government and was forced to leave the country under the threat of death. She has trouble sleeping and with help from her neighbor, Salim, she begins therapy to work through her PTSD and feelings of guilt and shame. Donya works at a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco and when she gets promoted to writing fortunes, she begins to confront her feelings of isolation and loneliness with reserved bravery. Along with a charming cast of unusual characters, Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) makes a cameo as a lonely gas station attendant. Exquisitely photographed with muted B&W tones, the director Babak Jalali builds a quiet triumph of a film, exploring the emotionally challenging experience of being an Afghan refugee and building a new life in a foreign land.

Photos courtesy of Sundance

POLITE SOCIETY

Set in London, “Polite Society” is a campy and raoucous coming of age story following two British-Pakistani sisters, high schooler Ria, (a star turn for Priya Kansara) and college-age Lena (Ritu Arya) on a badass, girl-powered action-comedy that packs a ferocious punch against the patriarchy.

Ria is determined to become a professional stunt-woman and Lena, is a frustrated artist who has recently dropped out of art school. When Lena gets involved in an arranged marriage with a handsome wealthy doctor, Ria is outraged. The plot thickens when Ria suspects that Lena’s husband-to-be and his creepy step mother, Raheela (a delectably evil Nimra Bucha) have nefarious plans, so she enlists her two best mates and goes on a mission to stop the wedding at all costs. Unfortunately for Ria, the snooty Raheela is a formidable foe, at one point delivering Ria a waxing that she will never forget. Director Nida Manzoor fills the screen with action-packed female fight scenes, inventive camerawork, a fantastic soundtrack, and adrenaline-fueled storytelling that is both exciting and empowering. With nods to Quentin Tarentino, James Bond, and Asian Martial Arts movies like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Polite Society” is a turbo-charged blast of a film that is not to be missed.

FANCY DANCE

“Fancy Dance” is a powerful and moving film that delves into the harsh realities faced by Indigenous women on the Seneca-Cayuga Reservation in Oklahoma. The film follows Jax, a queer woman (Lily Gladstone), determined to find her missing sister Tawi while also caring for her 13-year-old niece Roki, (Isabel Deroy-Olson). Jax is a hustler who survives on what she can, and she teaches Roki the tricks of the trade along the way. Despite the seriousness of Tawi’s disappearance, Jax promises Roki that her mom will return in time for the upcoming annual Pow Wow in Tulsa. Jax is unable to get her sister declared a missing person and gets caught in a bureaucratic nightmare. The local police, including her half-brother JJ, must defer to the FBI, who have yet to form a task force or take Tawi’s disappearance seriously. The film highlights the systemic issues faced by Indigenous women and the lack of action taken by authorities to find them when missing. Director Erica Tremblay—who also directed “Reservation Dogs”—crafts an emotional film that sheds light on the struggles faced by Indigenous people and highlights the importance of community and tradition. The film shows an authentic portrayal of the Grand Nation Pow Wow and is a must-watch for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of Indigenous life.

RUN RABBIT RUN

Set in Australia, Run Rabbit Run is a creepy psychological horror film that delves into the complexities of family relationships and repressed guilt. The story follows Sarah, (played by Sarah Snook, from HBO’s Succession) a divorced mother struggling to raise her 7-year-old daughter Mia. (Lily LaTorre) The film takes a dark and moody turn when the family takes in a white bunny, which attacks Sarah, biting her hand and causing a festering wound, hinting at some mysterious underlining repressed emotional trauma. Sarah’s father has just died and she is unable to find the strength to unpack the boxes from her move. We learn that the grandmother is in a home with dementia, but is still reeling from the loss of Alice, Sarah’s sister who went missing years ago and tore the family apart. As the mystery unfolds, Mia starts having panic attacks and thinks she is the long-lost sister, Alice. Sarah’s inability to control her daughter leads her into a disturbing descent into madness and forces her to face the secrets of her past. The Director Daina Reid delivers a chilling and well-executed horror with outstanding performances haunting cinematography. The visit to Sarah’s childhood home is particularly chilling and the film’s climax is satisfyingly eerie.

Photos all courtesy of Sundance

Birth/Rebirth

What would you be willing to do to keep your child alive? That is the devastating question you can ask yourself while you are experiencing the emotional trauma of the body horror thriller Birth/Rebirth.

With good science on her side, a creepy mortician named Rose (played with gothic precision by Marin Ireland) helps Celia, a grieving maternity nurse (Judy Reyes) to keep her daughter “alive.” With plenty of gory autopsies, gruesome experiments and disgusting medical procedures, this masterful modern feminist Frankenstein story will keep you on the edge of your seat one needle insertion at a time. Director Laura Moss delivers a perfectly executed and disturbingly realistic horror classic, questioning the consequences of playing God and manipulating nature. Placenta harvesting has never been so stressful.

Sometimes I think About Dying

Set in a sleepy northwest costal town, a quiet and melancholy woman named Fran, (played with deadpan perfection by Daisy Ridley, also a producer on the film), spends her days pushing spreadsheets and daydreaming of death. She lives alone and eats microwaved meat patties with cottage cheese. Her office mate Carol (Marcia DeBonis) retires and Fran contemplates her own anonymous future. Her mundane life is upended when Robert (a stellar Dave Merheje), the new employee, starts working at the office. As she flounders to connect with Robert, she is forced to confront her own loneliness and isolation. Through pensive moments filled with awkward silences and several very cringe-y dates, Fran and Robert’s relationship develops into uncharted emotional territory. The film explores Fran’s struggles with being socially awkward and emotionally challenged. Directed by Rachel Lambert, “Sometimes I think About Dying” is a quirky but assured slow burn, finding meaning in the subtle spaces in-between the human connection.

Little Richard: I am Everything

From the frenzied concert footage and over the top interviews with the King himself “Little Richard: I am Everything” walks on the hallowed ground of a musical legend. It’s a bit of a challenge to capture the whole essence of such a larger than life character in 120 minutes, but director Lisa Cortes delivers a compelling chronicle, taking us on wild ride through the life of one of the most influential musicians of the last century. His gritty gravelly howl on hits like “Tutti Frutti” or “The Girl Can’t Help It” or “Rip It Up” or “Lucille,” have been burned into the pysche of every rock and roll generation since the 50’s. With the invention of his own brand of chaotic freakabilly that was then sadly coopted by a new generation of younger white musicians, (he never got the royalties he was due), his bolsterous claims of being the architect or rock and roll are undeniable. With testimonials from Billy Porter, John Waters, Nile Rogers, and queer scholars Zandria Robinson and Jason King, an insightful image unfolds. Beginning with his difficult trial blazing path as a queer black artist in the 50’s, to his days of drug fueled orgies, his struggles with his demons, eventually joining the church and renouncing his homosexuality, and finally gaining recognition for his groundbreaking artistry is very sweet redemption indeed.

Photos all courtesy of Sundance 

We finally have a trailer for Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, and it’s giving us the nostalgic warm-and-fuzzies.

Hot off the release of the first looks at the film adaptation for the iconic coming-of-age novel, Lionsgate has put out an official trailer for the movie. It teases a truly delightful depiction of the different stages of womanhood through the stories of Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson), her mother, Barbara (Rachel McAdams), and her grandmother, Sylvia (Kathy Bates). We see Margaret trying to navigate puberty and the social rules of middle school, Barbara figuring out how to balance life being her own person and a mom, and Sylvia dealing with loneliness after her daughter and granddaughter move away. 

The trailer opens with flashes that set the scene of a happy, suburban, ‘70s life. Then, a green-like-Uranium-glass background with poofy retro font that nods to the iconic book cover is interspersed between shots of vintage New York City, Margaret waving goodbye to her grandmother through the back window of a packed car, penny loafer-clad feet walking up to a bustling school, and an auditorium of middle school girls. The camera then pans up over a nervous-looking Margaret as we hear actress Abby Ryder Fortson voice the titular question, “Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret,” and the rest of the trailer ensues. 

The movie, directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, is sure to be a sincere and hilarious ode to girlhood and everything it entails–periods, shaving nicks, training bras, hairspray fumes, crushes, first kisses, and best friends. But, the behind-the-scenes content has been just as hilarious: 

 

 

 

 

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We only hope we can adequately increase our busts in time for the movie’s release on April 28th, 2023. 

Top photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Women Talking is an thoughtfully crafted cinematic experience that tells the story of eight women’s courage and determination in the face of an unimaginable injustice. Set in rural Bolivia in the early 2000s, the film follows the story of a group of women who come together to take a stand against the sexual violence that they have endured in their community. The film is a powerful and moving exploration of the strength of female solidarity, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. With an all-female cast and crew, the film is both an important piece of social commentary and a riveting drama that stays with you long after the credits roll. Women Talking is a must-see film that will both move and empower viewers.

Read the full film review of Women Talking on our sister site, LA Weekly, here.

We are finally getting our first look at the film adaptation of the 1970 Judy Blume novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Anyone who has been a twelve-year-old girl at any point in their lives has been anticipating this film since it was announced almost two years ago. Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen), it is set to release on April 28th, 2023. 

The movie will bring the iconic coming-of-age novel to life with Abby Ryder Fortson as the titular Margaret, and Rachel McAdams in the role of her mom, Barbara. The film will follow Margaret as she, her mother, and her grandma–played by the ever-fabulous Kathy Bates–move from New York City to New Jersey. They all wrestle with adjusting to a new home and life, but Margaret carries the extra load of puberty and young girlhood (and let me tell you, that load ain’t light). Not to mention being the new kid in school–middle school no less. 

Photo from “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” courtesy of Lionsgate

We don’t know a ton about the movie or how, if at all, it will differ from the plot of the book. But, based on the promotional materials and social media rollout for the film, it looks like it will perfectly capture that youthful fearlessness of being a preteen in a nostalgic ’70s setting. 

The movie comes over 50 years after the book was originally published. The story has remained a classic in our hearts and a staple on our bookshelves ever since. We are so excited for a new generation to get to experience the comfort that is a Judy Blume world. 

Follow the movie on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with dates and more info.  

Top photo from “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret” courtesy of Lionsgate 

As any former goth could tell you, rebellion doesn’t necessarily lead to self-discovery, let alone happiness. Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage reveals another unpleasant truth of this eternal impulse: that the way one chooses to rebel often replicates the nastiest, most destructive aspects of what one is fighting against.

This beautiful, quietly furious film depicts the documented “eccentricities” of Empress Elisabeth of Austria (Vicky Krieps)—her endless traveling, her extreme diet and exercise regimens, her interest in mental asylums—which Kreutzer frames as arising not simply from Elisabeth’s hatred of Austrian court life but also from the alternately repellant and satisfying feeling of being desired.

In a series of vignettes connected only by her unease, the empress travels around Europe the year she turns 40, in 1877, seeking (private) and eschewing (public) attention. Inevitably, these doomed affairs leave her unfulfilled, but she’s unable to stop herself from her self-destructive rebelliousness. This tendency frustrates her, though not as much as it does those around her, effectively isolating her even more.

When Kreutzer inserts ahistorical details into an otherwise accurate portrait of the past—an acapella version of Marianne Faithfull’s “As Tears Go By,” for example—they, like Elisabeth herself, stand out but make perfect emotional sense. Elisabeth’s inability to rest or feel satisfied for much longer than it takes to eat a slice of cake transcends time.

Photos Courtesy of Felix Vratny 

We all remember where we were when the paparazzi photos of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling rollerblading in matching neon ‘80s workout gear made their rounds on the internet. It was our first “behind-the-scenes” peek at the highly anticipated Barbie movie. Ever since Warner Bros. Pictures announced they were working on the film, the public has had a burning question: what is this movie going to be about? Everything about this movie’s plot has been kept tightly under wraps…until now. The teaser trailer was finally released on December 17th and it’s safe to say people are excited. The 75-second teaser leaves a lot to the imagination–it shows us only a glimpse into the world of Barbie, with Margot Robbie as the titular character. She is joined by a truly impressive star-studded cast and, of course, director Greta Gerwig at the project’s helm.

The teaser opens with an almost shot-for-shot recreation of the opening scene in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. But, instead of apes, there are little girls playing with baby dolls, and instead of an alien monolith touching down on their land, it’s Barbie towering over them. Eagle-eyed viewers will notice that she is wearing the same black and white striped bathing suit as the very first Barbie doll released in 1959. The teaser then transitions into a burst of shots from the movie that give us just a taste of what the film will look like. There’s a wide shot of Barbieland, Gosling’s Ken in a fringed leather vest and ‘80s rocker hair, Issa Rae leading a cheer in what appears to be an all-pink courtroom, Simu Liu looking like he is in the middle of a Grease dance number, and finally, Robbie as Barbie in a sparkling jumpsuit and a groovy ‘70s ‘do. The trailer suggests, of course, that when Barbie arrived on the scene, the world changed forever. And perhaps it did.

We still know very little about the actual plot of the movie, but based on what we know about Greta Gerwig, it will be anything but a surface-level depiction of the Barbie we all grew up with. Gerwig is known for her feminist storytelling with films like Ladybird and Little Women launching her into the spotlight and garnering her a cult following. Fans of her work are eagerly awaiting her take on the iconic Barbie–a character who has been associated with controversy in the past. The toy, invented by Mattel, has faced criticism on and off over the years for inspiring unrealistic beauty standards and materialistic values in young girls, among other things. However, the company has made efforts to make Barbie a more inclusive toy in recent years. Based on the teaser, we can expect the same very pink, vibrant, and “girly” Barbie that most of us are familiar with, but with a meta, feminist twist. 

The film is set to release on July 21st, 2023.

Top photo: screenshot from “Barbie” movie teaser trailer on YouTube

The horror genre has, historically, not been very kind to women. Misogynistic tropes seem to thrive in the world of horror–from the hypersexualized teenage girl to the “morally superior” virgin to the good ol’ witch trope, women in horror movies traditionally haven’t had much room to exist as whole, multifaceted, people. In recent years, the genre has developed to be not only more inclusive, but a powerful medium for drawing attention to social injustices. Think the highly acclaimed Jordan Peele film Get Out, which premiered in 2017. Through this film, Peele masterfully used fictional horror to convey the real life horrors of being Black in America. Additionally, according to a 2017 study by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, horror is the only genre where women are seen and heard as much as or more than their male counterparts.

Horror is starting to become a genre where women don’t just play the victims, but are the heroes and villains of stories, too. In the past decade, especially, horror movies have been a space where women are consistently portrayed as multidimensional beings–not just sexual objects or stepping-stones for male character development. 

We were blessed with some truly stellar horror/thriller movies featuring strong female leads this past year. As 2022 comes to a close, take a look back at a few of the standouts. 

WARNING: SPOILERS ABOUND 

Prey

Indigenous cultures and people are sorely underrepresented in film and media. Prey, the fifth installment of the Predator franchise, brings a refreshing change of pace by not only featuring Indigenous and First Nations people on screen, but behind the scenes as well (producer Jhane Myers is Comanche and Blackfeet, and many crew members are also Indigneous peoples). Amber Midthunder is mesmerizing in her performance as Naru, a young Comanche woman who is eager to prove herself as a skilled hunter. Set in the Great Plains 300 years ago, the film follows Naru as she hunts the Predator during his first visit to Earth. Midthunder is herself Hunkpapa Lakota, Sahiya Nakoda, and Sisseton Dakota, and spoke with The New York Times about what it was like growing up watching mainstream media where her culture wasn’t represented. She expressed, “Oftentimes in period pieces we’re boiled down to a hyperspiritualized figure or this violent savage caricature…It affects you when you hardly ever see anybody who looks like you or represents you.” 

Prey’s protagonist, Naru, is a fierce hunter, fighter, and survivor–traits we don’t always get to see female characters in film and TV embody. Midthunder’s portrayal of the savvy and deadly Naru is truly a must-see. 

Fresh 

It’s the modern woman’s worst nightmare: the man you are dating is secretly a serial killer. Well, it’s a little more complicated than that, but that’s pretty much the dilemma that Noa, played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, faces in Fresh. Frustrated by dating apps, Noa finally meets a guy that seems worth her time. He’s charming, polite, and actually makes her laugh. But she soon comes to find that he is not who she thought he was when he drugs and kidnaps her to sell her flesh. Her new boyfriend is a meat-dealer who lures, abducts, kills, and dismembers women to then sell their flesh to wealthy men with a grotesque appetite. The film is a thinly-veiled metaphor for the way our culture consumes and commodifies womens’ bodies, and Edgar-Jones shines as the story’s final girl. Fresh is engaging from start to finish, with a deliciously cathartic ending that will make you want to stand up and cheer. 

X and Pearl

Mia Goth has solidified her place as horror royalty after her killer performance in both X and Pearl. Filmmaker Ti West has created an original horror cinematic universe with Goth at the helm. X is set in 1979 and follows a group of young people using an elderly couple’s rural farm to film a pornographic movie. Goth plays two characters in this slasher: she is Maxine, a young woman desperate for fame who thinks this adult film could be her way into Hollywood, and Pearl, the old lady who owns the farm with her husband. Pearl is revealed to be a murderous maniac jealous of the group’s youth and chance at stardom. As she terrorizes and eventually slaughters the entire group, Maxine is the only survivor. X was a smash hit, with Mia Goth’s performance as both the murderer and the final girl earning her high praise. 

Pearl, set in 1918, was released just six months after X and is a prequel to the events of that film. Goth reprises her role as Pearl, though much younger this time, and the audience learns her back story is actually quite similar to Maxine’s. Pearl is a young woman desperate for the spotlight, and she sees fame as her only escape from mundane life on the farm she lives with her parents. We come to learn that the slaughter she committed in X was not her first taste of murder. 

Fans of both movies are eagerly awaiting the third installment, MaXXXine, which will follow the titular character in the events following the 1979 farm massacre. 

Halloween Ends

You can’t have a conversation about women in horror without mentioning the legendary scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis. The Halloween franchise that began in 1978 finally came to a close this year with Halloween Ends. Curtis returned as her iconic character, Laurie Strode. The final installment to the franchise gets double points for representation as both Curtis and her character are over the age of 45, which, as we all know, is when women begin to wither away and prepare for death. Just kidding, though, traditional film and media would have you believing it. According to a study by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, out of the top grossing 100 films in 2021, only seven featured women actors over the age of 45 as leads. Curtis subverts this trend as the strong, determined, Laurie Strode–who is now a grandmother–and bids a final farewell to Michael Myers. 

Nope

Keke Palmer brings an infectious joy into everything she does, and Nope is no different. Palmer plays Emerald Haywood, and her performance in this film is nothing short of magnetic. Nope is a sci-fi/thriller/horror mashup about OJ and Emerald Haywood, siblings whose father was recently killed by shrapnel mysteriously falling from the sky. The siblings quickly discover that there is some kind of UFO prowling over their ranch, and set out to capture the beast on film. This creates a hunter vs. hunted dynamic between the monster and the siblings that’s unique for this genre. OJ and Emerald could hypothetically just leave their farm and be safe–a choice a lot of horror movie characters aren’t usually given. But they choose instead to defend their farm and their legacy, together. 

Palmer’s character has a charming confidence and salesmanship that is typically only reserved for mediocre white men. She is a profoundly layered character and Palmer brings a sincere depth to the role. Emerald feels like a real person you’d want to be friends with–much like the actress in real life. Palmer deserves all of the flowers for her performance, and even snagged herself the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (though, I think this “supporting” actress kind of stole the whole show). 

Wendell and Wild

Sharp social-commentary laces this beautifully animated coming-of-age story, Wendell and Wild. Lyric Ross is the voice of the film’s main character, Kat, who is sent to a Catholic boarding school for young girls after the tragic death of both her parents. As Kat is mourning the loss of her mom and dad, she realizes her own powers and that there may be a way to bring them back from the dead. Kat wrestles with demons–both literal and figurative–and a corrupt, capitalistic, villain (who looks familiar but I just can’t quite put my finger on why) trying to take over her hometown while also navigating her grief. Ross voices the character with a masterful touch, conveying the complex emotions that come with death through just her voice. It also cannot go unmentioned the importance of featuring a Black girl who shatters the stereotypes we often see Black women forced into in American media. Kat has a punk rock style, complete with green hair, eyebrow piercings, and platform leather boots. The goth “look” is traditionally associated with pale white skin, dark makeup, and straight, caucasian hair, so seeing a Black girl like Kat embody this aesthetic is a big win for representation. This movie is decidedly the least scary on the list, but the dark themes and entrancing stop motion animation could make even the toughest of viewers squirm. Ross brings a lot of life to a character experiencing so much death, and deserves recognition for her mesmerizing performance. 

Barbarian 

Georgina Campbell leads Barbarian as main character Tess, a genuinely kind young woman who arrives at her Airbnb rental in Detroit, only to find that there is already a man staying there. The man, played by Bill Skarsgård, insists she spend the night at the rental property rather than take her chances finding somewhere else to stay late and on short notice. This invitation triggers a very specific fear that women watching the film know all too well, and immediately puts the audience on edge. The story has too many twists to count, but it does a fantastic job of subtly weaving issues like sexual assault, gentrification, and toxic masculinity in without sacrificing the scary. Campbell’s character makes several questionable decisions throughout the story that can sometimes be frustrating for the audience to watch. She risks her own safety to rescue other characters more than once in the film, but it is ultimately her emotional intelligence, empathy, and strong morality–traits typically associated with femininity and perceived as weakness in our society–that make her a hero. Campbell has solidified her place in the horror genre with her role as the valiant final girl Tess.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the amazing horror movies with women lead characters this year. And, frankly, there is still room for improvement when it comes to representation in horror, and all media for that matter. But, when talking about flipping the script on what women should look like, how they should act, and whose stories are worth experiencing, horror is looking like the genre to lead the way.

Top photo: screenshot from Pearl official trailer

Nanny is a story of survival, grief, and isolation beautifully told by writer/director Nikyatu Jusu in her feature-length debut. Aisha (Anna Diop) is a Senegalese immigrant working for an upper-middle-class white family as a nanny. What begins as a promising way to establish a life in N.Y.C. and bring her young son Lamine (Jahleel Kamara) over from Senegal quickly spirals out of control for Aisha. The microaggressions begin piling up, threatening the agency she has over her own life – a common experience for Black women in America. 

As her working relationship with Amy (Michelle Monaghan) deteriorates, Aisha is overwhelmed with cryptic visions of Mami Wata, an African water spirit who personifies polar opposites, such as beauty and danger. African folklore used in horror is nothing new, but in the hands of a Black woman writer/director of West African Descent, this imagery goes much deeper and is more effective than what we usually see on screen. Jusu’s visual representation of straddling two worlds is also very effective. For example, when Aisha is with her own friends and family, she is surrounded by vibrant colors and warm lighting, but the moment she sets foot into her employer’s home, the vibes are cold, stark, and harsh. With a story that intertwines a mother’s intuition and ancient folklore, Nanny is a film that won’t be easy to shake. -Kahmeela Adams

Written and Directed by Nikyatu Jusu

Out December 16th on Prime Video

TOP PHOTO: (NANNY) AMAZON STUDIOS

For the characters in Women Talking, the question of forgiveness in the aftermath of violence is not just theoretical. Their mysterious injuries aren’t imaginary or demonic (as the elders in their isolated religious colony allege) but were caused by men – their husbands and relatives – drugging and raping them while they slept. The majority of the film takes place in a hayloft on their land, where multiple generations of women clandestinely meet to determine how they should respond to this betrayal. A schoolteacher named August Epp (Ben Whishaw) is present to take minutes, because none of the women have been taught to read or write. 

The members of the stunning ensemble cast, which includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley, argue passionately over whether they should stay and fight or flee, apologize to and accuse each other, and experience terrifying flashbacks. It can be difficult to tease out who is who, given their bare faces, bonneted heads, and voluminous dresses, but all is slowly unfurled over the course of 104 minutes. Director Sarah Polley’s brilliant craftsmanship is on full display, from the uncannily desaturated colors and wide-screen format to her careful adaption of Miriam Toews’ novel. These techniques, along with the characters’ old-fashioned names, give the film a certain standoffishness that’s a relief given the nature of the attacks. Though unsettling, the film itself is ultimately hopeful and should stir post-viewing discussions. -Jenni Miller

Directed by Sarah Polley, out December 2nd

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PHOTO: MICHAEL GIBSON

In response to Millie Bobby Brown‘s appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show where she stated that she would like to play Britney Spears in a biopic of her life, Spears complained “I’m not dead yet”. But do you need to be dead to have a biopic of your life? Some films such as The Runaways and Mommie Dearest would beg to differ but more classic icons like Frida Kahlo and Harriet Tubman, unfortunately, have passed, and can’t comment on their film portrayal. As a society, we develop deep awe and interest in celebrities of all kinds, and a biopic of a living icon can be an intimate way to give a deeper look at that person and their work. We’ve cut our list of great biopics about women down to a handful of portraits of women through history, both living and dead, that best portray the value in a film representation of notable icons’ lives. From the story of a deeply important abolitionist badass who saved many lives and reunited families, to the female rock ‘n roll era legends who brought women into the grimy side of rock n roll, biopics about women are an impactful way to enrich your feminist education. 

Frida

Frida Kahlo, one of the world’s most renowned female artists, is beautifully and intimately portrayed in this biopic of her life. Played by Salma Hayek, Frida (2002) brings the viewer on a dreamy journey through the artist’s scandalous love affairs with women and men outside of her marriage, controversial actions like dressing masculine and telling dirty jokes, and a life-altering bus accident at 18 that left her bedridden and changed the course of her life. Frida ultimately creates the perfect storm of intrigue and admiration. Set in Mexico City in the early 1900s, this biopic gives a deep insight into the life of one of history’s most unapologetic female artists.  Frida is avaiable to stream on HBO Max. 

Harriet

Cynthia Erivo powerfully plays the role of abolitionist and Underground Railroad concutor Harriet Tubman in her incredible life story of escaping slavery and then bravely turning back to help others to freedom in the 2019 film Harriet. After fleeing to the north from a life of southern slavery, Tubman meets some incredible people who show her a new life and encourage her to stay where she is free and safe. However, she soon can no longer bear being away from her family and friends and turns back to help them gain freedom too. Although there are small inaccuracies for the sake of the film’s dramatic narrative, the majority of the film is historically accurate. Harriet presents the story of an incredible woman with the justice she deserves. Harriet is available for streaming on HBO Max. 

The United States vs Billie Holiday

“Strange Fruit” singer Billie Holiday, played here by Andra Day, did not have a simple or straightforward path to stardom as a singer in the 1950s. Although she was beloved for her enchanting voice and emotional lyrics, The United States vs Billie Holiday (2021) shows the deep prejudice she endured when the FBI took notice of her iconic human rights protest song with lyrics relating to the lynching of Black Americans in the south. Since they can’t legally charge her for her song lyrics, the government targeted her drug use in an attempt to put away the jazz singer. Throughout this biopic, we see a complicated and influential woman whose path refuses to be covered.  The United States vs Billie Holiday is available to stream on Hulu. 

The Runaways

The punk scene has a history of not being kind to women. Joan Larkin (Kristin Stewart), a southern California teenager, changes her name to Joan Jett and teams up with a band manager, Kim Fowley, who helps her build her all-girl punk band. They find 15-year-old Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) to sing and be the face of the band, and with two other girls, Stella Maeve as Sandy West and Scout Taylor-Compton as Lita Ford, to create a four-piece group they become The Runaways. This empowering gritty female biopic follows the tumultuous ups and downs of rock stardom, both on stage and off.The Runaways is available to rent on a variety of streaming platforms.

Coal Miner’s Daughter

Following the story of country music star Loretta Lynn starring Sissy Spacek as Loretta, Coal Miner’s Daughter is a film about family, poverty, and the power of perseverance. The 1980 biopic is based on a biography published in 1976 by George Vecsey and follows the heartwrenching story of Lynn growing up in poverty-stricken Kentucky in the 1940s. At the age of 15 in the year 1958, she marries 22-year-old Oliver “Mooney” Lynn and by the age of 19 already is mother to four children. The family moves to Washington State, where Lynn sings her country songs in small town honky tonk bars and is later discovered by a Canadian record label when one of her songs is featured on a local radio station. Coal Miner’s Daughter is available for rent on a variety of streaming platforms.

Hidden Figures

Margot Lee Shetterly’s 2016 non-fiction hit book Hidden Figures was the inspiration for this movie by the same name. In 1961, a group of three African-American women whose mathematic work at NASA put the U.S. ahead of Russia in what was referred to as the Space Race with the goal of putting a man in space. Starring Octavia Spencer as Dorothy Vaughn, Janelle Monae as Mary Jackson, and Taraji P. Henson as Katherine G. Johnson, it’s truly a film that should be at the top of everyone’s “to watch” list. Hidden Figures is available for streaming on Amazon Prime. 

Erin Brokovich

Julia Roberts is a total bad bitch in this cinematic retelling of the Erin Brokovich story. When a car accident with an at-fault doctor puts Erin Brokovich into the hands of lawyer Ed Masry, this single mother of three loses the case but gains a job at the law firm due to her determined and undeniable spirit. Upon receiving her first case, she discovers a major cover-up on contaminated water that is leaving a small local community wrought with dangerous diseases. Roberts’ magnetic push for justice in this female-led biopic will leave you inspired to dig up some dirt yourself. Erin Brokovich is available for streaming on Starz.

Mommie Dearest

Based on the 1978 memoir of the same name by Joan Crawford’s adopted daughter Christina Crawford, this 1981 film stars Faye Dunaway as Joan Crawford in an unforgettable portrayal of the complicated relationship of a movie star and her child. This story starts with Mara Hobel as young Christina who seemingly had been rescued from the foster care system by a glamorous but lonely movie star, only to have her life quickly turn into her worst nightmare of abuse and terror. You may not necessarily feel inspired after watching this one, but it’s something of a camp classic, and the book, at least, helped many people feel less alone in their suffering. 

When I catch up with Regina Hall via Zoom, it’s a busy, sunshiny day for her in New York City, full of photo shoots and interviews. I can’t help but compliment the jovial actor on the chic headscarf she’s wearing, and when I do, she leans toward the screen with an infectious laugh and says, “It’s Zoom. Girl—the wig is right here. But I was like, ‘I’m not gonna have time to put the wig on. Whoever they are, they’re gonna have to get a little scarf today.’ So how are you?”

Hall, 51, has had a long and celebrated track record of box office successes since she ascended to widespread notoriety as Brenda Meeks in the Scary Movie films over 20 years ago. Over the next two decades, Hall established herself as a prolific character actor with an uncanny ability to convey everything from joyful ebullience to biting wit to searing trauma in a variety of contexts. Her TV credits include stints on Ally McBeal, Law & Order: LA, Insecure, and on last year’s critically acclaimed Hulu series Nine Perfect Strangers—a show in which she played a seemingly buttoned-up single mother searching for inner peace at a lavish retreat center led by a new-age guru played by Nicole Kidman. 

On the big screen, she is best known for anchoring projects that have since entered the Black film cannon—including The Best Man franchise; Gina Prince-Bythewood’s iconic first feature Love & Basketball; the aforementioned Scary Movie series that made her a household name; feminist buddy flick Girls Trip; and the 2018 comedy Support the Girls, a role that earned her the distinction of becoming the first Black woman to be awarded the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.

“It’s Zoom. Girl—the wig is right here. But I was like, ‘I’m not gonna have time to put the wig on. Whoever they are, they’re gonna have to get a little scarf today.’”

And now, in the wake of her Nine Perfect Strangers success, she’s starring in multiple high-profile projects at once. Her Netflix comedy Me Time, co-starring Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg, premieres August 26. The following week, the film Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. will be released theatrically and on Peacock September 2, starring Hall alongside Sterling K. Brown as the first lady of a huge Southern Baptist megachurch rocked by scandal. And then, on December 22, she’ll be returning to Peacock with The Best Man: The Final Chapters, a limited series that reunites both the cast of the Best Man films and the original director Malcolm D. Lee, who previously cast Hall in his films Barbershop: The Next Cut and Girls Trip. “It’s everyone from the original gang,” she says of the reboot. “Our growing babies are in it. And—it’s been good, it’s been fun. It’s so rare that you get to see everyone at the same time. It is kind of like a nice family reunion, with castmates and our director. Plus, the weather in New York has been beautiful, and we’ve been here since March.”

The wide-ranging performer also says that over the past few years, she has been prioritizing collaborations on projects with other creative people that allow her “to be of service.” To that end, she has been laser-focused on creating “more space for compassion and nonjudgment” by playing complicated characters in comedies, thrillers, satires, and dramas that uplift “what it means for us to be human,” she explains.

The Attico Boots; Spinelli Kilcollin Rings; Blazer, Bra Top, and Skirt: Sportmax

For instance, in Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul., Hall’s character, Trinitie Childs, welcomes a film crew into the home she shares with her disgraced pastor husband in an attempt to rid them of the residue of scandal and rebuild their congregation. Hall says she hopes audiences will learn from Trinitie and her navigation of the world she inhabits. “What do you do when your identity and your worth is connected to something that you now have to question?” she asks. “And as audiences, where does [that feeling] live? Where do we live when we think of abundance and charity? And then, a big thing in the church—and in the Black church especially—is sexuality. I’m not saying how someone should look at it. But I’m saying, perhaps we should look at it. Right? Wherever you arrive in your thought process, we always have to expand our way of thinking,” she continues. “It has probably been a long time since the evangelical community has done that. And perhaps this film will open up that type of dialogue.”

Our discussion around Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. and its ability to impact how we consider our own experiences with faith, spirituality, and religious institutions, eventually leads to questions regarding Hall’s own Catholic upbringing in Washington, D.C. She reveals that she actually considered becoming a nun when she was in her teens and then again at 40 after a painful breakup. “Nuns are quite radical,” Hall explains. “Back in the day, they decided, ‘I’m not going to get married to a physical man.’ They were sometimes even regarded as feminists.” When asked to elaborate on her own relationship with feminism, Hall is thoughtful. “I’m a feminist if you say being a feminist means being pro-woman,” she says. “I would also say that it does not mean that I’m anti-man. [Feminism] means both can exist and they don’t have to be opposing. But women have had so many centuries of living under patriarchal systems. And yet, we have so much wisdom. To be a feminist is to be pro-human. We come from an energy that is feminine. We are birthed from a woman. When you really think about it, women are walking miracles. That’s not to say that a man is less. I’m just honoring women and hoping that we are able to realize and actualize our full potential and see how that could serve humankind.” 

Speaking more practically about feminism and how it manifests in her everyday life, Hall notes that Master, the Prime Video psychological horror film about a haunted university that she produced and starred in prior to its release back in March, was led by female director Mariama Diallo and was created by an all-women crew. It was a rare example of a more inclusive Hollywood landscape, and she says she hopes projects like that one will continue to spur on creatives who may be struggling to reach their goals. “There will always be barriers in all things, right?” she says. “But you really can’t focus on that. You’ve got to focus on what you want, not what could get in your way. And then you also must be open to how and what it might look like, how it’ll happen, and what your role might be. I don’t know that my intention was to be an actress—that’s the truth. But life happened.” 

Carolina Herrera Dress; Sergio Hudson Blazer; Stuart Weitzman Heels; Anita Ko and Grace Lee Rings; Backdrop @WW3RUGS

After pausing for a moment of reflection, Hall confides that one of the central obstacles of her life—the death of her father—led her to acting. Her mother Ruby was a teacher, and her father Odie was a contractor and electrician. Both parents encouraged her passion for education and personal development, and she shared their love of learning and aspired to become a journalist until tragedy struck. When Regina was in her 20s, while studying for her master’s degree at New York University, Odie died suddenly from a stroke. The event was pivotal in Regina’s life, inspiring her to pivot and try to make her mark in Hollywood instead. “Events in my life happened. Those events led me in this direction,” she explains. “The loss of my Dad led me to being open and aligned with life—to a place where I could say, ‘Well, wait. This feels right.’ You’ve got to really be in touch with that sixth sense, that knowing, that is really powerful. And then, obviously, it’s going to be a lot of work.”

“To be a feminist is to be pro-human. We come from an energy that is feminine. We are birthed from a woman. When you really think about it, women are walking miracles.”

Now, 25 years after making that first big leap from journalism to acting (her first credited role was in an episode of the TV series New York Undercover in 1997), Hall is clear that the road to fame requires patience, endurance, and dedication. “Things aren’t always quick,” she says. “And everything that’s quick isn’t always worth it. Sometimes, there are so many incredible lessons in ‘nos,’ in waiting, in change, in failures. [When] I used to not get a job, I’d cry as if that single audition was going to end my acting career. But you learn to adjust to ‘nos,’ and not personalize them. And then you also learn to adjust to ‘yeses.’ There will be a ‘yes’ and a ‘no,’ and what’s for you is for you. You just need to keep working hard at being great.”

Alexander McQueen Trench Coat Dress; Brandon Maxwell Sequin Bodysuit; Casadei Platform Boots.

Hall’s penchant for finding lessons and opportunities under a variety of circumstances eventually led her to make history when she co-hosted the now infamous 94th Academy Awards in March with fellow comic actors Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. When asked what it felt like for Will Smith’s slap-heard-‘round-the-world to completely overshadow the fact that three women were hosting the broadcast together for the first time, Hall says, “It was a historic night for many reasons. I thought about it. And I thought, ‘Wow. That’ll be a Jeopardy question in 20 years, maybe.’ Do you know what I mean? ‘What three women…?’ Hosting was very exciting. And scary. But in a good way. In the best way that scary can be. The scary that makes you care.” 

“[When] I used to not get a job, I’d cry as if that single audition was going to end my acting career. But you learn to adjust to ‘nos,’ and not personalize them. There will be a ‘yes’ and a ‘no,’ and what’s for you is for you.” 

As the show aired, there was some debate online about whether it was appropriate for Hall to joke about wanting to give several single male celebrities “a PCR swab test with her tongue,” before pretending to pat down presenters Jason Momoa and Josh Brolin as a part of the gag. When asked about the discussion that erupted on Twitter that evening amid accusations of “reverse sexism,” Hall takes the question in stride. “The reality is that the power dynamic is not the same,” she says. “It’s kind of like talking about reverse racism. You can’t make an even comparison because that’s not reality. The guys were really so great and so much fun. And the truth is, we had permission. The guys were a part of the joke. And I think that’s very important. Later, other guys came up on stage—Bradley Cooper and Timothée Chalamet—and that was so much fun, too, but I didn’t touch them. Because that wasn’t discussed. All parties involved needed to feel comfortable and know what was happening. And it’s not my fault Jason Momoa and Josh Brolin are such handsome guys,” she says with a burst of laughter.

Before Hall and I part ways, I ask her if she has any words of advice for readers who not only may want to go into acting, but who also may just want to build a more purposeful life, since it’s something she seems very skilled at. She thinks for a minute, and then she surprises me. “There’s a lot you can learn from dogs,” she says. “I learned so much from my English Bulldog Zeus—about patience and living in the moment. When Zeus died shortly after Girls Trip came out [in 2017], the loss was deep. But the gift that he gave me was profound. I lived with this little creature who didn’t talk, but we communicated with such depth, with so many degrees of love. He left me with lifelong gifts. We think we rescue a dog. But what they teach us rescues us so much more. We think intelligence is supreme. But they’re so in the moment and so connected to life. We are so disconnected sometimes in our thinking. But dogs release, and release connects us more to God. There’s more room for manifestation when we release.”  

Photographed by Lia Clay Miller 

Styling by Marisa Elison / Makeup by Lewina David  / Hair by Shornell McNeal / Fashion Assistants: Serena Orlando and Marinela Lamar; shot at Coffey Street Studio

Top photo fashion credits: Coat, Tights, Gloves, and Platforms: Valentino 

This article originally appeared in BUST’s Fall 2022 print edition. Subscribe today!

A depiction of something—be it “bad,” like violence, or “good,” like a strong female protagonist—should never be conflated with the artist’s endorsement of it. But what is the cumulative effect of a medium like film that so frequently shows women being beaten, killed, and violated while simultaneously objectifying them?

Nina Menkes’ expansive documentary Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power, out October 21st, 2022, touches on those repercussions—the absence of women behind the camera, the lack of agency female actors have in sex scenes—while also picking apart the cishet male gaze encoded in film form. This is demonstrated through alternately grisly and humorous movie clips from different eras. For example, a gratuitous shot of Black Widow’s cleavage as she’s being interrogated raises questions about the efficacy of reappropriating sexist tropes.Unlike other art forms, cinema largely obeys the same formal conventions that were established in the 1930s.

Menkes does not argue that a “female gaze” should replace the current male-dominated paradigm, nor does she proselytize for the abolition of all on-screen eroticism. Rather, she calls for a radical reinvention of how shots and film grammar are formulated. Crucially, Menkes’ documentary is not calling for cancelation. Viewers are meant to wrestle with this film, not passively consume a simple message—and they’ll leave invigorated.

Top photo by Kino Lorber 

This article originally appeared in BUST’s Fall 2022 print edition. Subscribe today!

Sirens

Directed by Rita Baghdadi

Opens September 30, 2022

“I wanna see your fuckin’ heads banging!”

Sirens begins with the sound of an electric guitar guiding us into the world of the Slave to Sirens. Slowly the electric guitar gets accompanied by a voice, drums, and playful laughter until the music takes over entirely as we witness the all-female band go on stage. The Sundance-selected documentary Sirens, is directed by Rita Baghdadi and executive-produced by Natasha Lyonne and Maya Rudolph, is in theaters beginning September 30. The documentary follows the first-ever female Lebanese thrash metal band, Slave to Sirens, and the lives of the bandmates Lilas, Shery, Maya, Alma, and Tatyana. Based in Beirut, Lebanon, the documentary captures the band trying to fit in a society where they and their music are not welcomed. Sirens shows the reality in which the band was formed; demonstrations against the government, poverty, unstable electricity, bombs exploding, and anti-gay laws. But it is the only Lebanon they’ve ever known: “Since the day my grandparents were born, this country is fucked up,” one of the band’s members says.

Through their music, the documentary leads us through different worlds. Some are relatable—five women working closely together while trying to maintain personal relationships with each other and outside the band. Others are the political situation in Lebanon and how its old-fashioned reforms clash with the younger generation. We follow Lilas trying to navigate her sexuality and Shery having difficulties discovering herself as a musician and young woman. And yet, all are connected through the intensity of their music. 

Slave to Sirens’ music encapsulates the rage captured inside of themselves and their country; being unable to speak their truth, the anger explodes within their music. But the beauty of Sirens lies in the moments of vulnerability, like when the performance at Glastonbury Festival didn’t exceed their expectations; when a close friendship starts to go to pieces; or the reality of being a lesbian in a country where being in a same-sex relationship is illegal. The quietness of these moments stands as strongly as the contrast to the loudness of the metal music. 

Sirens exceeds when it manages to capture the moments where the world of Slave to Sirens collides with the conflicting worlds around them. Lilas is having a conversation with her mother about their current living situation. Lilas’ mother tries to persuade Lilas to stay with her forever – or at least until Lilas marries and has children – whereas Lilas argues that she can take care of herself and that this “is no longer the 1960s.” We see how Lebanon’s conservative regime keeps affecting young women’s lives, even when it comes from a place of love. As Lilas puts it, “Every time a woman wants to be something other than what society wants, it’s always an issue.”

The music works as a red thread in Sirens; throughout the documentary, we get to see how it connects Slaves to Sirens with their generation in Lebanon, distancing them from the society in which they grew up. In a scene, an intern fight between the bandmates glides into shots of the violent demonstrations in Lebanon accompanied by the band’s music. Even when trying to distance themselves, they are highly integrated with the country in which they live, as visibly shown when Lilas shows Shery pictures of a girl she went on a date with, just as a demonstration, shouting, “The people demand the fall of the regime” surpasses them. Sirens displays the lives of an all-female thrash metal band trying to break free from a society where neither metal nor women are allowed to exist on their terms.

Photo, top: Lilas Mayassi and Shery Bechara, founders of the all-female Lebanese thrash-metal band Slave to Sirens, as seen in the documentary Sirens, directed by Rita Baghdadi. Image courtesy of Rita Baghdadi

Nothing Compares

Directed by Kathryn Ferguson

Available on Showtime on October 2, 2022

Kathryn Ferguson’s documentary Nothing Compares shows how everything conspired to keep singer/songwriter Sinéad O’Connor quiet; yet when she was given a guitar and a microphone, her voice became a thunderous force of nature that still resonates in these insidiously theocratic times. 

Nothing Compares is as powerful as its subject. Belfast-based filmmaker Ferguson uses a blend of dreamlike footage shot in Ireland and archival news footage, along with O’Connor’s words in voice-over, to take the viewer back to a time in which it seemed as if the entire world stopped to ridicule a young woman speaking the truth. What’s striking in the film’s clip is that she was so young, shy, and introverted when the industry tried to make her into a pop star. But none of that prevented the media or the public from savaging O’Connor when she spoke up against the Catholic Church’s coverup of sexual abuse, America’s so-called patriotism, and Ireland’s abortion laws – all topics that we’re still protesting decades later.

The film’s compressed focus on the years 1987 to 1993 brings home just how prescient O’Connor was, and how fast and bright both her pop culture ascendancy and fall were. Only at the very end of the film do we see her today, barefoot and beatific, her voice as powerful as ever. “They tried to bury me,” she concludes. “They didn’t realize I was a seed.”

By Rufus Hickok

Photo: (Nothing Compares) Andrew Caitlin, Courtesy of Showtime

This article originally appeared in BUST’s Fall 2022 print edition. Subscribe today!

VESPER

Directed by Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper 

Out September 30

Vesper takes well-worn dystopian young-adult tropes and makes them new again—or at least more compelling than they seem on paper—through its sheer plausibility, an immersive atmosphere, and strong performances.

Vesper (Raffiella Chapman) is a 13-year-old girl scrounging to survive in a post-apocalyptic landscape. The most pressing enemy is food insecurity, brought on by earlier events but maintained by men like Vesper’s neighbor Jonas (Eddie Marsan), who relishes the power he has over other, less-fortunate folks. Her bedridden father (Richard Brake) communicates through a homemade drone, which serves as her companion through the weird wasteland. When Vesper discovers a mysterious woman (Rosy McEwen) in need of help, the teen agrees in exchange for a way to the Citadel, where the powerful live in relative luxury. Jonas and others like him, however, are on the hunt for this glamorous stranger, too.

Vesper is a singular experience, blurring the lines between sci-fi and horror. The filmmakers trust the audience to work out the finer details of this seemingly timeless dystopia themselves, which is especially refreshing in today’s exposition-heavy blockbuster landscape. At times, the film feels like an extended prologue to a larger tale, if only because it introduces viewers to a world demanding further exploration. 

Photo credit: IFC Films

This review originally appeared in BUST’s Fall 2022 issue. Subscribe now!

Notoriously shy artist Courtney Barnett lays herself bare in Anonymous Club, a documentary following her personal and professional evolution. Serving as a meditation on loneliness, expectations, and the existential dread brought about by the climate crisis—specifically the Australian bush fires of 2019 and 2020—this film resonates beyond music preferences. In both her songs and her conversations, Barnett echoes the fear, ennui, and unmooring of many around the world. 

Filmmaker Danny Cohen first tasked Barnett with keeping an audio diary as a means of facilitating an unparalleled look into her inspirations, concerns, creative process, and idiosyncrasies. Paired with vivid 16-millimeter video footage, these recordings serve as a voiceover for much of the film, allowing us to see montages of her experiences while listening in on her perspectives. Several moments of the film let us see just how much of herself Barnett gives when performing and writing. In a moment of unadulterated vulnerability, Barnett breaks down and cries on stage during a performance. Despite the audience’s support, she records fearing feeling ungrateful and misunderstood. Later, she embarks on a series of stripped-down solo shows in search of a reset. Barnett discovers that the remedy to this incessant despair, and its effect on her confidence and ability to produce music that she finds meaningful, is intimacy and connection. 

In creating her subsequent album, Tell Me How You Really Feel, she states, “This album is a lot more kind of gentle, open, and these songs focus on love of…being a loving person.” The relationships Barnett forges—with her audience, her bandmates, and Cohen—are the magic ingredient that captivates and endears the viewer. 

In a cheeky moment, Cohen remarks that he “can’t tell which is the real Courtney” upon displaying her self-portrait on ink and cardboard. It’s a small bit of levity that reinforces Barnett’s journey to see herself completely. Ultimately, Barnett affirms for us that self-doubt and introspection are intrinsic to our humanity, and therefore fundamental to our ability to create art that resonates with an audience. With this outlook, she has crafted “Here and There,” a touring festival for late summer 2022 that will feature artists she is personally inspired by, such as Sleater-Kinney, Caroline Rose, and Japanese Breakfast. She concludes that “there’s good things ahead, there’s good things coming, and there’s good things in the past, and you just have to take them, build on them, and rearrange them to get where you wanna get in the future.” 

Anonymous Club is available for rental on Amazon Prime.

The new horror comedy, Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, was written and produced by Sara DeLappe, directed by Dutch filmmaker, Halina Reijn. and stars the ubiquitous Pete Davidson, Amandla Stenberg, and Maria Bakalova (from Borat: Subsequent Movie Film). The film follows a young couple visiting their group of friends, with whom they drink excessively, eat cake laced with weed, and play a game called “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies.” The aim of the game is to turn off all the lights and “tag you’re it” each other to signify that a person has died. When one of them actually does, chaos ensues.  

The film begins with the two main characters, Bee (Bakalova) and Sophie (Stenberg) exchanging loving kisses before continuing on their journey for a weekend away to Sophie’s former schoolmate’s house. Bee and Sophie turn up uninvited to the party and each character’s unique form of narcissism is presented in an incredibly crafted way that is subtle, relatable, and hilarious. The dialogue between the characters is oddly familiar in its regurgitation of modern popular culture and our reliance on technology; the characters use their phones as flashlights to escape a killer on the loose, and their conversations are liberally sprinkled with phrases like “I’m an ally,” “triggered” and “my podcast.” 

By juxtaposing this current, politically correct terminology with  the very real threat of impending doom as the characters are massacred one by one, DeLappe slyly critiques pop culture by presenting these terms in life or death circumstances. Here is a scene from the film which displays just that regarding one of the character’s illustrious career of having her own podcast: 

Director Reijn aids in the criticism of current Gen Z culture in a breakdown of the first meeting scene between Bee and the other characters. She makes use  of a pool as a unique way to introduce Sophie’s group of nefarious friends. As Reijn explains, “We introduce them in a swimming pool. They’re like embryos floating,” she said. “It’s an abstraction, and then we know that they’re going to be born, and they turn out to be monsters later.” 

This masterpiece of a satire provides thought-provoking commentary on how young people conduct themselves today, rely on recycled information for their personal beliefs, and lack the ability to cope without the consistent use of technology, all while maintaining both comedic relief and moments of pure terror. If you haven’t already seen it, Bodies, Bodies, Bodies it’s a must-see this fall. 

Photo, top: Courtesy of A24 Films

“I could’ve easily set myself on fire,” “Weird Al” Yankovic tells me, dressed in one of his trademark Hawaiian shirts. Long gone are his iconic mustache and eyeglasses, revealing an earnest face that appears at least a decade younger than his 62 years. The pop-culture parody artist is referring to the time he paid homage to Jimi Hendrix by playing the accordion with his teeth, then dousing it in lighter fluid and setting it on fire in his 1985 film The Compleat Al. “I guess I have no fear,” he says. His willingness to take on such a risky stunt is a bit surprising, given that, despite his success, Yankovic isn’t known to be one of rock ‘n’ roll’s bad boys. In fact, the most salacious rumor I found about the man is that he smells incredible. Sadly, I am unable to confirm this as our interaction is entirely on Zoom, and I’m too afraid to ask. So, was this Jungian shadow-self emerging, I wonder aloud? “It was my evil twin,” he says with a smile.“

“I can’t believe the way my life turned out. I was an outlier; I was basically a freak.”

“Nobody, including myself, would’ve thought I’d have a career that’s lasted as long as it currently has.”Although Yankovic’s music is absurdist, his musicianship is no joke. “My band can play every genre imaginable seamlessly. They’re world-class musicians; they can change genres at the drop of a hat,” he explains. Some of Yankovic’s parodies have even out-charted their originals. “Eat It” hit #1 on the Australian charts, while Michael Jackson’s original, “Beat It,” peaked at #2. After selling more than 12 million albums, the 5-time Grammy winner’s career is still on the rise. He scored his first Top 10 hit on the Billboard 100 charts in 2006, followed by his first #1 debut album at age 54 with 2014’s, Mandatory Fun. And in 2018, he received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His newest endeavor is the twisted comedy Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, starring a surprisingly ripped Daniel Radcliffe as Yankovic.

“I’m almost reluctant to talk about the movie,” Yankovic tells me of the film he co-wrote, which will be released on the Roku Channel this fall. In crafting his life’s story, Yankovic has definitely had his share of seedy Hollywood stories to draw inspiration from, like when the TV show celebrity Boxing asked him to fight the female WWE wrestler Chyna in the early 2000s. “That’s one of the most egregiously horrible things I’ve turned down in my life,” he says. “I think she wound up fighting Joey Buttafuoco, who apparently gets all the work I turn down.”At first glance, the film seems to be a parody movie about a parody artist, but Yankovic assures me that it’s much darker than that.

“The tone of the movie is very serious. We’re not winking,” he says.

Curiously, the film indulges in all the rockstar clichés Yankovic managed to avoid. “I’m pretty straight edge, so when you see swilling Jack Daniels and smoking in the movie, hopefully you know that’s a bit of a stretch.”And Radcliffe’s abs? “No, that’s totally accurate,” he says, chuckling. – Kelly Kathleen

This article originally appeared in BUST’s Fall 2022 print edition. Subscribe today!

 header photographed by: Sam Jones

second photo:Courtesy of Roku 

Gina Prince-Bythewood was planning to take a break after her action-fantasy blockbuster, The Old Guard, premiered on Netflix in July 2020. But then she read the script for The Woman King and knew she had to make it her next project.

Viola Davis was already attached to star as General Nanisca, the leader of an all-female army known as the Agojie, whose members dedicated their lives to protecting the kingdom of Dahomey in West Africa, now Benin. If this sounds familiar, it’s because the Agojie have been rising into pop culture consciousness recently with an appearance in HBO’s Lovecraft Country and serving as inspiration for the fierce Dora Milaje warriors in Black Panther. “I felt like I was in a world I’d never seen before, meeting these women who I’ve never seen on screen before,” the 53-year-old director says of reading the script, adding, “When you see things like this, when you see yourself reflected heroically, that feeds you and gives you confidence.”

As a young child in California, Prince-Bythewood was devastatingly shy—too shy to even go trick-or-treating. Part of that shyness, she thinks, had to do with “growing up in environments where no one looked like me, which can do a number on your self-esteem.” She also found respite in sports, especially on the basketball court. “I love sports and everything that that teaches girls, and it absolutely influenced me being a director and how I move through the world. It just teaches you beautiful things, like aggression is good, and it’s OK to push yourself to be the best and outwork everybody,” she explains.

That dogged determination has supported Prince-Bythewood through numerous professional setbacks and challenges, including when she was initially rejected by UCLA’s film school, only to write an “impassioned” letter to the head of the program to appeal the decision. (It worked.) Later, it helped her to get through making her first film, Love & Basketball, when people would look right past her and address their questions to the white male producer. It also served her well while pushing for a then-unknown Gugu Mbatha-Raw to be cast in a starring role in 2014’s Beyond the Lights. And it was crucial when making The Woman King during the height of the pandemic, filming on-location in Africa. It also helps that Prince-Bythewood is a sort of rising tide who lifts all around her.

“I feel lucky that on my films I have women and people of color, who make me better,” she explains.

“This is not charity; these women are dope. When you’re in my position, you have to look past the resume, because oftentimes people just haven’t had the opportunity to show what they can do.” That sense of easy inclusivity infuses all of Prince-Bythewood’s work, which typically highlights the Black female experience in a way that humanizes and universalizes its characters, from the tomboyish Monica (Sanaa Lathan) in Love & Basketball to the activist Mamie Till-Mobley (Adrienne Warren, who also appears in The Woman King) in the television series Women of the Movement. As Prince-Bythewood points out, “We—and not just we Black folk, [but] America—learn about our history as if it started with enslavement, and there’s so much more. I’m happy to be able to tell this story and share with the world these women, this history, and show that it’s not just Black history, it’s world history. It’s global history. It’s our history. And that’s what I love about film, and what I get to do.” -Jenni Miller 

This article originally appeared in BUST’s Fall 2022 print edition. Subscribe today!

Makeup: Brandy Allen @ Celestine

Hair: Tiffany Daugherty @ Celestine

Photographed at Amiga Studio, L.A.

Photographed by Nalani Hernandez-Melo

Writer and director Lena Dunham’s latest project, Sharp Stick, is a reflection on sexuality and the desire to feel seen. The film follows Sarah Jo (Kristine Froseth), a 26-year-old caregiver for children with special needs who lives with her mother Madelyn (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and adopted sister, Treina (Taylour Paige), in a Los Angeles apartment. Sharp Stick quickly spirals from a view inside the life of the naive and childlike Sarah Jo into a sexual exploration as Sarah Jo begins a whirlwind affair with Josh (Jon Bernthal), the father of a child she cares for.

We learn early in the film that Sarah Jo had a radical hysterectomy when she was 15. This surgical procedure, in which parts of the female reproductive organs may be removed, left her with a scar on her lower stomach. Experiencing such an intense surgery at the conclusion of puberty seems to have had a profound emotional effect on Sarah Jo. The audience is left to assume that her virginity (in contrast with her mother and sister’s sex-positive lifestyles) is partially a result of her insecurities about the surgery and what it might mean for her sexuality and connection to her body. Sarah Jo  is visibly preoccupied with the surgical scar as well as the emotional ones—frequently removing her clothes to touch it—and during her first conversation with Josh she asks him repeatedly if he sees the scar, lifting up her dress to show it to him before he even agrees to have sex. 

It is this first intimate scene in which Sarah Jo asks Josh to have sex with her that sets the mood of the film. “I hit menopause when I was 17, and I don’t feel my body, and so I’m just asking you for this favor, for this one thing,” she tells him. Growing up in a home where she is frequently on the outskirts of conversations between her mother and sister, and with no friends (at least that we ever encounter in the film), Sarah Jo’s desperation for human connection and for external validation of her own place in the world is apparent. Sarah Jo listens to frequent discussions of sex between her mother, who has been divorced five times, and sister, who audibly declares her own tendency to develop powerful crushes quickly. Madelyn speaks openly to her daughters about the allure of sex and romance, while Treina spends her time practicing sexy TikTok dances and expounds about her own sexual entanglements. In contrast, Sarah Jo is wide-eyed and childlike: giggly, clothed in prairie dresses, and prone to construction-paper crafting.  Observing the ways that sex has shaped their lives, Sarah Jo perceives sex as the solution to the disassociation she feels between herself and others, and between herself and her own body. 

Coming 12 years after Dunham’s first (and only other) feature film, Tiny Furniture, anticipation surrounding Sharp Stick was high, but the characters in the film come across as insufficiently developed and unrealistic. There are moments that feel a little absurd, like an early scene in which mother and daughter Madelyn and Treina smoke weed together while listening to “My Neck, My Back (Lick It)” by Khia. Given that Treina (unlike Sarah Jo) is Black, the lack of direct explanation as to why Treina shares this more risqué bond with her mother while naive and innocent Sarah Jo does not feeds into stereotypes of Black women as wild and hypersexual. 

For Dunham, who already possesses a storied history of race-related missteps, this is not a good look. A 2013 article from The Atlantic detailing the racially problematic nature Dunham’s famed show Girls declares: “Dunham continues to cast non-white actors only when race defines their character—which is to say, she still doesn’t get it.” Treina’s portrayal in Sharp Stick seems to perpetuate this trend of Dunham’s.

The more lighthearted mother-daughter instances in the film are tinged with the dark discomfort that Sarah Jo feels in her own life and body. Ultimately, the film seems to be less of a story of Sarah Jo’s life than it is a contemplation on sex and what it means to feel seen. Sharp Stick went from a quirky story of an affair between a young girl and a married man to a frank portrayal of sex, human connection, and the fear accompanying it.

Sarah Jo’s discovery of pornography in the second half of the film is a major turning point. In an interview with W Magazine, Lena Dunham describes Sarah Jo’s character: “she’s incredibly naive, almost like a Disney princess, but she also does things that most people would consider “bad…” The character of Sarah Jo posits these traits in direct conflict with one another. Her preoccupation with her own lovability translates into an insecurity about her actions. She wonders if she is “bad at sex” and if that will make her “impossible to truly love.” 

Sarah Jo consumes a wide variety of different kinds of porn, taking notes on what she doesn’t like and eventually narrowing her search down to her singular favorite porn star, Vance Leroy. In his movies, Vance speaks in character to the viewer mid-coitus, calling his sexual partner “beautiful” and “pretty”. “I feel so connected to you,” he says, making eye contact with the camera. It’s clear why this particular pornography appeals to Sarah Jo: it creates the illusion of being seen and loved, even though it is coming from a man she’s never met.

We see Sarah Jo try desperately to quantify lovability in an attempt to harness it. She creates checklists of sexual acts, believing that by completing them she will become someone capable of being loved. It is this desire for love that I find to be the most real and relatable aspect of Sarah Jo. Even her quest to seek love through sexual prowess, although extreme, is familiar in that it posits love as something goal-oriented. But what Sarah Jo comes to realize by the end of the film—and what I am still working to accept in my own life—is that love is not earned. 

Stream Sharp Stick on VUDU, Redbox. Apple TV, YouTube, or Amazon Prime Video. 

Top Photo: Sharp Stick trailer

In an age where women’s rights are being negotiated, threatened, and in some cases revoked entirely, Jodie Comer’s astonishing performance in the recording of the play Prima Facie is incredibly relevant and timely. Named after the legal term “prima facie” which means that there is enough evidence to establish something as fact until proven otherwise, this play explores how sexual assault cases are handled by the justice system. In the wake of the SCOTUS’ overruling of Roe v. Wade, the discussion that this play promotes is incredibly necessary and vital. Having just completed a successful nine-week run at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London, it was recently announced that the play will move to Broadway in the Spring of 2023.

 

 

 

 

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 In this ground-breaking one-woman show, Comer, an English actor known for her work in Killing Eve (2018-2022), Free Guy (2021), and The Last Duel (2021), portrays Tessa Ensler, a young, bloodthirsty barrister (the British version of an attorney) from Liverpool who attends Cambridge Law School and like a chameleon, morphs to fit in with her posh peers. Ensler is a barracuda – a sharp, fierce, and ferocious woman who thrives in the courtroom and loves nothing more than the sweet taste of victory. Ensler defends men who have been accused of sexual assault and always wins. Comer opens the show by giving the audience a play-by-play of how she methodically tears down women who claim to have been sexually assaulted. Later on, the play takes a dramatic turn, and Ensler herself becomes a rape victim and consequently, her perspective drastically changes. The first half of the show is a master-class-esque crash course on how Ensler became the ruthless lawyer we met at the start. The second half is Ensler’s reckoning as a barrister, her journey to obtaining justice as a victim, and her quest to come to terms with being a survivor of sexual violence.

Throughout the play, Comer’s performance is almost manic, as she is constantly re-arranging the set to accommodate her needs as an actress and tirelessly darting across the stage this way and that throughout the show. She is full of boundless energy, showing incredible emotional range as she transitions from a persuasive, confident lawyer to a shattered woman who is trying to pick up the pieces of her life. Comer’s exhilarating portrayal of a savage barrister who will stop at nothing to achieve victory is both arresting and terrifying. From the very moment she steps on stage, before she even utters a word, Comer’s presence and vitality captures audiences immediately and manages to hold our attention in a fierce grip for over two hours. In this one-woman show, she successfully portrays multiple different characters and their various perspectives while keeping Tessa’s character strong and clear. 

While the overall plot of the show is brilliant, at times the writing felt muddled. Prima Facie mainly consists of long, rambling monologues that detail multiple different perspectives, including her mother, best friend Mia, and her rapist Julian. In rare instances, these monologues are interrupted by startling moments of clarity for both Ensler and the audience. Miller’s writing was such that Tessa’s dialogue felt like a never-ending run-on sentence. Prima Facie is like a runaway train barreling down the tracks, often nearly veering off-course. While Comer’s persuasive and charismatic performance helps to keep the train on track to its destination, the rambling dialogue and confusing script threatens to derail the show and muddles its message. In addition to this, the experience of seeing the show on film instead of live in the theater didn’t feel as powerful as it could have. The thrum of the ever-present energy that is always in the air in the theater was absent, and something I missed. 

Prima Facie hits cinemas worldwide from 21 July with @estreetprods! More screenings will be added soon.

Find your nearest venue: https://t.co/flqKTcZBHO

— National Theatre Live (@NTLive) July 8, 2022

 Overall, Prima Facie is enthralling, sickening, horrifying, and inspiring. Comer’s magnetic performance hooks us in and refuses to let go, while the statistics about how often sexual violence occurs and how little justice is served makes us queasy and frightened. According to RAINN, in the US, “out of 1,000 cases of sexual assault, only 310 are reported to the police, and subsequently, only 25 perpetrators are incarcerated.” Ensler’s change of heart and change of mission, in her quest to find justice for herself and for other women is inspiring. The show sparks a long-overdue discussion about sexual assault and how it is handled by our justice system. According to The Office For National Statistics, in England and Wales in 2021 “sexual offences recorded by the police were at the highest level recorded within a 12-month period (170,973 offences).” In 2021 alone there were 63,136 reported cases of rape, and only 1.3% of cases were prosecuted. The play sheds light on how the justice system in the UK was set up by men to protect men, and as it stands women are vulnerable to manipulation and abuse. Despite the fact that Prima Facie is a British play that takes place in London’s courtrooms, the deep-rooted problems in the justice system are universal. 

You can see Comer’s performance in Prima Facie in select cinemas worldwide. Tickets for the Spring 2023 Broadway showings aren’t on sale yet, but you can sign up for alerts for when they are. 

Header photo: screenshot from YouTube. 

Purple Hearts is an enemies-to-lovers romance about a liberal musician and a conservative marine. When Cassie, a singer-songwriter, finds out that her insurance doesn’t cover the insulin that she needs as a type 1 diabetic, she asks her marine best friend to marry her for the military spouse benefits. He can’t oblige because of his girlfriend, but his roommate, Luke overhears the conversation and realizes that marrying Cassie will afford him enough extra pay while serving to pay off his debts to his old drug dealer. Although Luke is conflicted over this decision because his dad worked for the military police and had taught him that lying to and/or taking advantage of the government is a serious misdeed, he marries her to protect his family from violence from his old dealer, Johnno. Obviously, Cassie and Luke fall in love (for real) and she runs to him, confessing her love as he is arrested by the military police for faking their marriage. This might sound cliche, overdone and predictable. It certainly is, but there’s nothing wrong with feel-good entertainment that may not reinvent the wheel, that makes audiences smile and feel content with a cozy happy ending. There is, however, A LOT wrong with Purple Hearts. We watched it so you don’t have to, and we were left with three glaring questions,

1. When did Netflix start producing military propaganda? Showing soldiers getting deployed and landing in a picturesque village where they play soccer with the local children who smile at them in awe lends itself nicely to a narrative of American saviorism in the military. At home, Cassie, a former critic of the military, later writes a song about her adoration of the troops. This sends the message that if you criticize the military’s practices, you clearly just don’t understand it and all of that apprehension will go away when you fall in love with your fake husband after he’s deployed. Celebrating those who serve is a good thing, but Purple Hearts took some strange stabs at romanticizing the institution as a whole.

2. Can we separate a person from their political ideology? Purple Hearts says yes. This movie has a thinly veiled message of “why can’t we all just get along?” However, the protagonists’ ideological differences are intertwined with theirs and their loved ones’ identities. Cassie’s mom came to the US as an undocumented immigrant, and Luke loves a nice secure border. Cassie is non-white, Luke defends his fellow marines who yell promises of ethnic cleansing in a crowded restaurant. For people with non-dominant identities, being “apolitical” and being swept away by passion for someone who doesn’t think your mom deserved safe entry to the country is a privilege they can’t afford.

3. Do women with opinions need to be fixed to be happy? Purple Hearts emphatically says yes. Enemies to lovers is all about both parties compromising and adopting parts of the other’s lifestyle to make their relationship work. Cassie lets the other marines get away with racism and misogyny, becomes a rock star mascot of the troops, and becomes the perfect military wife. She lets go of a lot of her fire to fit nicely into Luke’s world. But what does Luke compromise or sacrifice in the name of love? He goes to military prison and lies to the court, saying that Cassie didn’t know that a fake marriage like this was illegal under military law and that he coerced her into it, to ensure that she doesn’t serve any time (which would’ve been a more impressive gesture if he wasn’t the sole reason that they got caught). He doesn’t compromise his values for the relationship, and yet Cassie is expected to. Teenage girls are eating this movie up, and this message is…not great.

Purple Hearts has been sitting comfortably in Netflix’s top 10 most popular movies in the US since its release on July 29th. As the controversy around it rises, the viewership is only going up. Does Purple Hearts signify the start of a trend of love stories for a politically divided country, or will the criticism it’s garnered deter other filmmakers from touching the genre? After watching this movie, we are hoping for the latter.

 Header photo: screenshot from Purple Hearts official trailer.

Director Jordan Peele’s new science fiction thriller, Nope, tells the story of two siblings, Emerald (Keke Palmer) and Otis “OJ” Haywood (Daniel Kaluuya), continuing their father’s legacy of handling horses for television. Their family history has been intertwined with Hollywood and horses for generations. 

The first motion picture ever made was an 11-frame clip of a Black man riding a horse. Emerald and OJ are his descendants. The Haywood story spirals out from there as Emerald and OJ work to maintain their family’s legacy while grappling with the emerging extraterrestrial dangers that threaten their ranch home in rural California. 

While the clip of the man on the horse is ubiquitous in cinematic history, focus is generally given to the man who created the motion picture, while the identity of the rider himself is overlooked. Despite having heard about this pivotal motion picture in film classes and personal readings, I didn’t know that the man depicted in it was Black until I heard Emerald’s brief explanation of the clip’s history in Nope. 

This relegation of Black people to the background of the cinematic world is pervasive, not only in film history, but in present-day filmmaking as well. Peele actively rewrites this narrative by creating films like Get Out, Us and now Nope that position Black people at the center. The stories unfold from their point of view—a profound contrast to other popular horror films of recent decades in which Black characters are often either tokenized or treated as dispensable. 

Emerald is effervescent, charmingly disorganized and disarmingly thoughtful. We see this exemplified in her professional communications for the family business and in her personal relationship with OJ, in which she repeatedly attempts to draw him out of his own emotional shell. 

The central focus of Nope pulses outward from Emerald and OJ, using characters like Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun), a former child actor turned amusement park operator near the ranch, as foils for their own spectacle. As a child acting on a sitcom, Jupe watched his fellow actors suffer gruesome violence at the hands of a chimpanzee-gone-rogue on set. When Emerald asks him about the experience, he brushes it off as a funny story, though the repeated traumatic flashbacks the audience experiences through Jupe’s eyes suggest otherwise. Jupe’s emotional suppression in the wake of his trauma is a depiction of the price one must pay for a cinematic spectacle—foreshadowing the reckoning that Emerald and OJ come to terms with later in the film, as they experience the dangerous consequences of attempting to craft a spectacle of their own.

Time and again, the only adult character in Nope who exhibits emotional range is Emerald. While her male counterparts parry their way through fear-inducing experiences (in the case of OJ, often with a verbal utterance “nope” for comedic effect), Emerald carries the emotional arc of the story. The audience quickly learns to take our emotional cues from Emerald. It is her range, skillfully expressed by Palmer, that forms our emotional connection to her. She is funny, spontaneous and unfiltered at first—a stark contrast to her brother’s stoicism. As the film progresses, Emerald’s emotions follow suit: amplifying, getting serious, growing afraid along with the audience. 

Emerald’s emotionality is the bridge between the audience and the film. Without the personal, private scenes of Emerald as she sways with a certain calm and grace to the soft sweeping music from the record player in her room, or the close-ups on Palmer’s face as she watches her brother narrowly escape death, it would be easy to ignore the humanity of the film, to distance ourselves rather than embracing the full spectrum of feeling that comes along with the delicacy of fear.

Emerald’s expression of emotion is a far cry from either the scared-girl horror movie trope or the tokenized Black character. She is not portrayed as weak, nor is she one-dimensional. Rather, her emotional range from sunny and self-possessed, to determined and tenacious, to caring and afraid, brings a more complex level of depth to Nope.

In media depictions, femininity is frequently associated with emotionality, from Disney princesses crying over their stolid princely counterparts to the hot-and-cold, drama-fueled high school girls in teen shows like Glee and Euphoria. Emotionality, and conversely, femininity, become regarded as weakness. This is particularly true when, as in the case of many of these depictions, emotional distress is portrayed as something that male characters must save the females from. This trend is exemplified in a study of female agency in film from the University of Washington, which found that women are consistently rendered as submissive or dependent in comparison to their male counterparts. The study, however, doesn’t account for race. Black women are often also trapped in the cinematic trope of feminized submission, as in the case of films like Soul Food (1997), which emphasizes the role of female characters as domestically subservient to their husbands. Despite receiving more screen time throughout the film, Black women in Soul Food had significantly fewer lines than the men, and that dialogue repeatedly circles back to discussion of the men in their lives. 

Although Black women endure the brunt of sexist tropes in film, the lens through which they are portrayed is deeply altered by race. Black women are more likely than white women to be portrayed as hypersexual, overbearing, and violent. In general, Blackness has often been associated with violence in film, with different iterations of the “dangerous Black male” trope or the “brute caricature” as exemplified in formative popular films such as The Color Purple (1985) and What’s Love Got to do With It (1993) that feature Black males as abusers. 

Whether it be in the context of violence, sexualization or submission, Black bodies on screen are often tokenized as spectacles in and of themselves. By positioning Black characters at the center of the film, Nope subverts this notion. Emerald and OJ are not spectacles: they are the observers, the eyes through which we see the inconceivable phenomena unfolding. Both Emerald and OJ appear strong and capable in different ways— neither weak nor violent—from Emerald herself who is determined to expose and profit from the mysterious UFO sightings to quiet, serious and thoughtful OJ. When danger and fear build, male characters are not put in the position of saving or soothing Emerald. Instead, they work together with their disparate emotional approaches to cope with the risks that threaten them. 

Emerald experiences the emotions of the film with us. She is strong, yes, but she also gives in to her feelings in an authentic, refreshingly human way. As an audience, we don’t fear for her: we fear alongside her. 

Top Photo: Screenshot from Nope Official Trailer 

Kate Beacom and Louis Legge‘s Rehab Cabin is Misery for the Lindsey Lohan generation. Best friends Chloe and Dominic are at odds when Dominic decides to return to college after deferring for a year to hang out with Chloe, the immature, manipulative, and often insufferable antihero of the story. As Dominic starts to pull away, Chloe is grasping at straws to keep him home with her.  When the pair are helping Chloe’s dad out by driving for his limo service,  their favorite former child star and current public spectacle, Amanda Campbell drunkenly stumbles into their limo, mistaking it for her own. Chloe (and, to an extent, Dominic) takes this as a sign, the perfect opportunity for Chloe to bond with Dominic: they’re going to kidnap her. Chloe convinces Dominic that alcoholic Amanda must be rehabilitated so that she can return to her former movie star glory, and the only way to do this is by bringing her to Dominic’s family cabin and showing her a simpler, sober lifestyle, which Chloe gleefully dubs “Rehab Cabin”. 

As the situation spirals out of control, Chloe unravels with it. Real-life Amanda doesn’t live up to the little girl who Chloe has grown up worshipping in her movies, and when Amanda starts to bond with Dominic in captivity, Chloe’s jealousy flares and the movie takes a dark turn. Small things begin to chip away at Chloe’s deluded mind: the arrival of the cabin’s groundskeeper, the imagined exclusion, and Dominic taking the wrong side in the time-honored debate of NSYNC vs. Backstreet Boys. Watching Chloe devolve from laughably whiny into cruel, violent, and truly maniacal character had us holding our breath, nervous to see her next move. Lacey Jeka’s nail-biting performance as Chloe masterfully makes your skin crawl and gets the audience invested in her thoroughly unlikable character. This movie is full of biting commentary on the entitlement of the public to the private and personal aspects of celebrities’ lives and asks us to take a hard look at the smaller acts of misguided saviorism we engage in. Rehab Cabin is available on iTunes today, check it out here!

header photo courtesy of Rehab Cabin

There is no actor who portrays the cutting sadness and hope of being in love quite like Juliette Binoche, and it’s a talent she puts to great use in Claire Denis’ high-stakes romantic drama Both Sides of the Blade. Co-written with Christine Angot (who adapted her own novel for the screenplay), Both Sides reunites Binoche with Denis and Angot for the first time since 2017’s Let the Sunshine In, a more effervescent, if meandering, love story.

Sara (Binoche) and Jean (Vincent Lindon, from last year’s Titane) are chic Parisians in a long-term relationship, but a chance run-in with someone from their past, François (Gregoire Colin), throws a wrench into everything they’ve built. Denis expertly tweaks each angle of the love triangle, with Jean being pulled in multiple directions as a father and a put-upon son, while Sara contemplates rekindling a dormant romance. But however impassioned, the characters still feel remote. Without some additional details that either ended up on the cutting-room floor or were not included in the adaptation, it’s difficult to fully connect with anyone, despite the intensely raw catharsis on display. These small issues aside, the performances from Binoche and Lindon make the film well worth seeing, along with an ultimately satisfying finale.

Both Sides of the Blade opens July 8, 2022

Photo, top: Curiosa Films

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

Directed by Sophie Hyde

Out June 17

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande leads with an intriguing premise: an Emma Thompson-led sex comedy. Thompson plays Nancy, a widowed, former religious-education teacher who has only had sex with her husband and never had an orgasm. That is, until she hires sex worker Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack). Before they can get around to getting down, however, Leo needs to find his way through Nancy’s emotional fortress. Not the raunch-fest suggested by the plot, the film is instead a deeply empathetic portrait of middle-aged sexuality and the realities of sex work.

The narrative is constructed as a series of hotel room liaisons as Nancy and Leo get to know each other, showing the progression of their relationship alongside personal revelations (both good and bad). The script by British actor/writer Katy Brand gives all-too-rare screen time to an older woman’s experience with sexual desire and patiently provides space for Nancy to work through her body issues while also gently asserting that sex work is work. Good Luck is a two-person show, and its success hinges on the chemistry between Thompson and McCormack; thankfully, that chemistry is easy and abundant, as Leo and Nancy quietly change one another’s lives in this honest, intimate dramedy. –Dana Reinoos

Header photo: Searchlight Pictures

This article originally appeared in BUST’s Summer 2022 print edition. Subscribe today!

If you’re checking whether or not a piece of media is feminist, the Bechdel Test—coined by writer Alison Bechdel in her 1985 comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For—is a good place to start. It asks just three questions: are two women present in the work? If so, do those women have at least one conversation? And is that conversation about anything but a man? If the answer to all of those questions is yes, the test is passed!

Though the Bechdel Test has become widely popularized, it’s imperfect. There’s simply no way any set of 3 yes/no questions can cover all of the complexities of feminism and representation in fiction. For example, the array of lesbian movies with tragic endings may pass the Bechdel Test, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t stereotype lesbian relationships as overly dramatic and scandalous. It also doesn’t at all account for older women, who are still looked upon as undesirable by Hollywood. And now, it’s become the subject of controversy on Twitter, as users debate how useful it can be for analyzing Hulu’s new movie, Fire Island.

Fire Island is a queer retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, centered around a group of gay men finding love and friendship on what might be their last vacation together. Every significant character, besides Margaret Cho’s Erin, is a gay man. It’s a fun, tender, refreshingly queer rom-com—but, as writer Hanna Rosin complained in a now deleted tweet, it doesn’t pass the Bechdel Test. In her view, it actually completely fails the Bechdel Test, prompting her to ask, “Do we just ignore the drab lesbian stereotypes bc cute gay Asian boys?” Of course, Gay Twitter wasn’t into that take, which is why the tweet was promptly deleted and an apology was issued.

I deleted a tweet that many of you rightly pointed out was offensive. I’ve read your responses and I hear you. My tweet was careless and thoughtless. Truly. The movie was telling a story about queer AAPI men, whose experiences don’t show up enough in movies or anywhere else 1/3 pic.twitter.com/FEI0sDqXJe

— Hanna Rosin (@HannaRosin) June 7, 2022

Rosin was right in that the film offers little representation for lesbians, but she tragically missed the mark in minimizing the roles of the “cute gay Asian boys.” Gay AAPI characters are exceptionally rare in Hollywood, and Fire Island centers not one, but two gay AAPI couples. The men in these couples aren’t tokens—their stories are rich, carefully developed, and faithful to what is perhaps Jane Austen’s most iconic novel. In no way could their romances have been fleshed out fully if the movie were to try and adequately represent every queer identity imaginable. 

Alison Bechdel jumped into the debate to set the record straight, adding a very specific exception to her rule: 

Okay, I just added a corollary to the Bechdel test: Two men talking to each other about the female protagonist of an Alice Munro story in a screenplay structured on a Jane Austen novel = pass. #FireIsland #BechdelTest

— Alison Bechdel (@AlisonBechdel) June 8, 2022

 This is in reference to a scene where characters Noah (Joel Kim Booster) and Will (Conrad Ricamora) discuss their love of Alice Munro. Thanks to that scene, and Bechdel’s blessing, Fire Island passes the Bechdel Test. Bechdel’s tongue-in-cheek amendment also delivers an important reminder; the Bechdel Test isn’t rigid, nor is it all encompassing. A completely accurate Bechdel Test, with no exceptions, would require thousands more corollaries—that’s simply too much to tweet.

Perhaps the film doesn’t pass the “unamended” Bechdel Test, but it does make visible the queer, Asian identities which are so often disregarded and ignored. The Bechdel Test is just one of many ways to measure representation in film; it is not, however, an excuse to detract from the accomplishments of a movie centering marginalized people, even if that movie doesn’t highlight every marginalized identity. Misrepresentation isn’t the fault of Fire Island. It’s the fault of a movie industry that’s hesitant to tell stories about underrepresented groups.

Top photo: still from MacArthur foundaiton Youtube video 

Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Neptune Frost is a gorgeous, Afrofuturist musical that tells a story of love, loss, and anti-capitalism. With a script by Williams, an actor/poet/playwright whose work defies easy categorization, Neptune Frost is a cultural experience that is open for interpretation while still conveying a specific message about surpassing the boundaries. Uzeyman, a Rwandan actor/playwright/director and the film’s cinematographer, communicates beauty and pain through vibrant colors and beautiful Black skin lit to perfection, with a dizzying array of influences from Sun Ra to Solaris. 

Set during an uprising in the hills of Burundi, Neptune Frost follows an intersex runaway on a journey of self-discovery. Neptune (who is played by Elvis Ngabo and then by Cheryl Isheja after the character experiences a near-death transformation) is searching for a place to belong when they meet Matalusa (Kaya Free) in a time and space neither could have imagined. Both outcasts, together they create the power needed for their tribe to survive and thrive, both literally and figuratively. Finding our own identity and the tribe we belong to is something we can all relate to, no matter what country you call home.

Neptune Frost opens today, June 3, 2022

Photo top: Chris SCHWAGGA Courtesy of Kino Lorber 

Adventures in Success, a mockumentary-gone-right, depicts a small modern day sex cult in the Catskills that prioritizes the female orgasm, which they believe will heal Mother Earth. It’s members spend a lot of their time “jilling off”— if you know what I mean. Classified as a “dark comedy,” the movie doesn’t feature a star-studded bunch, but each member of the small cast really makes the movie what it is. This film takes the concept of a “sex cult” down a peg, normalizing its members—as if your cousin’s weird roommate decided to start a makeshift sex cult that wasn’t scary or intimidating. In a world of following your dreams, woke rhetoric, and experimental millenials, Adventures in Success makes us think about how far we’ll go to immerse ourselves in what we believe will make a difference— no matter how absurd. 

The film starts with a new member, Erica, joining the group of seven, and we  mirror her immersion into the group with our own. Cult members Nina, Asia, Ant, Max, Khan, Mo, and Bobby, and their leader Peggy Appleyard, welcome her with open arms. But the small town they live in somewhere in Upstate New York, is skeptical and detached, calling them strange and eccentric in interview-like clips throughout the movie, and shunning them in public interactions. 

The format of the film, with interviews integrated throughout, makes the plot and its characters feel real, as if we could drive through the Catskills and spot these people even now. Much of their time in the woods is unscripted, and it really makes the movie laugh-out-loud hysterical. In many scenes, male members of the cult, played by Alec Jones-Trujillo, Khan Baykal, Mo Stark, and Robby Rackleff, wander the woods with each other, talking and attempting to connect to Mother Earth. In these scenes specifically, they improvise, speaking over each other, stumbling, and leaving long silences while they wait for what is next from their fellow actors. They have an uncomfortable intimacy, and paired with the lack of a script, it mirrors reality in a way that can’t just be acted into. It is tangible to the viewer and unflinchingly sincere.

Often, the viewer feels like we’re witnessing something we shouldn’t—like we’re the only rational person in the room, unmarred by the bizarre yet strangely familiar teachings of their mystical leader, Peggy—and yet, we are stuck somewhere between the unchanging townspeople and the cultish behavior of the “Jilling-Off” bunch.  Lexie Mountain, who plays Peggy, portrays the brazen and whimsical leader in a way that steals the show quite often. She exudes the confidence and dedication a cult leader must need, with ease. 

The movie is full of sneaky questions, such as whether you can survive as a group of more “woke” or “aware” people (even to an absurd extant) in a small, unaccepting town. Or whether you can follow your whimsical dream, even when your dream can’t pay the bills. And how do you fulfill your objective when the rest of the world is skeptical and unwilling?

Adventures in Success presents its characters as standing somewhere between slavishly following group-think, and attempting to create heartfelt, tangible change. The movie is beautifully made, and exudes authenticity. It makes us laugh, cringe, and think deeply about ourselves and who we shun or welcome in the name of comfort. Adventures in Success is an adventure you should take. You can watch it on Amazon, Apple TV, or Altavod.

Photos Courtesy Utopia Distribution

Sammy Ko (Miya Cech) is at a major turning point in her life. The 13-year-old has been acting out since the death of her mother, and after a particularly impressive display of vandalism, her dad, Angus (Leonardo Nam), gives her an ultimatum: Sammy must complete a class at the local community college, or it’s off to Camp Sparrow Cliff for the rest of the summer. A third option presents itself to Sammy when she crosses paths with Margot (Rhea Perlman), a children’s magician who sees something of herself in the grieving teen.

Marvelous and the Black Hole is the debut feature film by Kate Tsang, an animation writer for Steven Universe Future and Adventure Time: Distant Lands. Tsang uses on-screen sketches and illustrations throughout the film to bring us deeper into Sammy’s emotional world. She releases her pent-up rage by giving herself stick-and-poke tattoos, and her inner world is dark and violent. But her friendship with Margot gradually shows Sammy that her story is worth sharing, rather than keeping it all inside.

Cech and Perlman have a sweet chemistry, and the film succeeds as an endearing account of an unlikely friendship and a bond formed in the black hole of living with grief, all with a dry wit and a refreshingly darker edge than films of this ilk typically have. -Kate Beacom

MARVELOUS AND THE BLACK HOLE: written and directed by Kate Tsang. Out April 29.

This article originally appeared in BUST’s Spring 2022 print edition. Subscribe today!

Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman is about a sweetly witchy house in the woods where a little girl in mourning for her grandmother happens upon a playmate with the same name as her bereaved mother. The bereaved mother, Marion, has just exited stage left, too upset by the death of her own mother to deal with the house and its archives — the childhood notebooks, the shadow panther that hunts and haunts her bedroom at night.

Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) and her new friend, young Marion (Gabrielle Sanz, Joséphine’s twin), have the same serious little faces and nondescript clothes — sneakers, sweaters, overalls, jeans — and Petite Maman could take place at any time in recent history. They make up elaborate plays and put on costumes and confide in each other. They romp in the woods, specifically in a delightful wooden hut that Nelly had heard her mom talk about making when she was young. Marion brings Nelly to her house, and it is the same house that Nelly’s parents are cleaning out. Marion’s mother walks with the same gait as Nelly’s beloved grandmother.

It is simple, beautiful child logic — a child’s gaze, steady and clear.

“My films are about trying to console people,” Céline Sciamma said in an interview with Little White Lies. Petite Maman is about “intergenerational trauma and love,” she told Screen Daily, describing her script for the children’s movie My Life As A Courgette as a way to “[create] a safe space for radical feelings.” It seems Petite Maman offers the same respite — at least it did, for me.

Grief needs a container. For Nelly, it’s a house and the woods behind it. That liminal space offers Nelly a way to fully grasp her melancholy mother as her own person in a way few of us will ever manage, and to see her grandmother as a young woman, as a mother herself.

Like Marion, I had the great good fortune of inheriting my mother’s house when she died, but it was in Texas, a place I do not want to live. It was a house for a family, which I did not have. The scant emotional connection to it that I had was warped by the very strange weeks I spent sitting shiva with an alcoholic punk who nipped into my late father’s cocktail cabinet and whose dog peed on my dead mom’s carpets.

In fact, I realized late one night, I fucking hated that house. I would never live in it. When I dreamed of being home, that was not the house I dreamed of, not my childhood home, a strange little carriage house with a mansard roof on a side street near downtown Dallas that was just big enough for my mom, my dad, and me. Once I’d sold the house, my brain and body sped up like I was a computer whose owner had finally force-quit all of the programs running in the background. I was just picking up speed when COVID hit full force, and then I  back to being in the terrible limbo of grief time. At least now I’m no longer alone in that grief — we’re all here together.

When my mom died, my grief was too big to contain. It is exhausting to grieve the dead, not just because of the millions of offensively petty things that need to be taken care of or (if you’re lucky) delegated, but because the effort to control grief requires immense energy. To speak of the grief, to think of it, to write about it is terrifying. It is only now, with movies like Petite Maman, that I can access these feelings safely, almost three years later. And while I enjoy horror movies for thrills and catharsis as much as any other Final Girl devotee, it’s a relief that nothing bad happens during those 72 minutes spent inside Sciamma’s container. As Elif Batuman wrote in the delectable New Yorker profile, “Perhaps Sciamma is on to a secret that nobody else has guessed: you don’t actually have to shoot Chekhov’s gun.”

TV veteran Mayim Bialik is no stranger to entertainment. The former child star is just as known for portraying the title character on the 90’s sitcom Blossom, as she is neuroscientist Amy Fowler on The Big Bang Theory. With a lifetime in “the biz” the Jeopardy host is charting new territory, writing and directing her first feature film, As They Made Us. Inspired by her own family, the film centers around Abigail (Diana Agron), a divorced mother who just can’t seem to break away from her dysfunctional family. Her father Eugene, played by Dustin Hoffman, is slowly dying from a degenerative disease, while her mother Barbara (Candice Bergen) is steady in denial.

BUST sat down with the first-time director to discuss grief, imposter syndrome, and what people get wrong about the caregiving experience.

BUST: So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: Just how much of this film is autobiographical?

Mayim Bialik: Ha! I mean, I haven’t thought of it in percentage terms. Many things about the story are from my childhood and many things are completely fabricated and literally never happened. So, what I kind of decided I when it went from a writing project to oh this might actually become a movie was that I wouldn’t go scene-by-scene and say, ‘This happened, or this didn’t happen and so on.’

I mostly wanted to explore this sibling relationship and what happens when siblings react differently to a home with mental illness and addiction.

 B: You have such an amazing career as an actress and game show host. Why did you decide now was the time to write and direct your first screenplay?

 MB: For me, a lot of this process learning as a woman…what it means to be in a space that I wasn’t trained to be in, or that wasn’t my path necessarily. You know, I was a child and teen actor and then I went to grad school, had two kids, and I left academia to be home with them. You know, all these interesting things around of my identity and a lot of shifting places for me as a woman.

Being a woman in science was its own thing, being a woman who wanted to have children while having an academic career was its own thing. Choosing to be home with kids was its own thing, as was choosing to return to work.

My father passed away seven years ago… and there’s a very specific year of mourning in traditional Judaism that goes for a year after someone–a parent, sibling, child or spouse passes – and so after that year, words started coming to me. Memories, images, many accompanied by music, and I started writing them down. I did not think, ‘I want to make a movie’. Like, I just didn’t have that notion, which, many people have pointed out that – that many men in my position – would have said, “I’m gonna make a movie!”

I wrote out my feelings and kind of constructed this story…and then sat on it for about a year.

I was nervous to take that on – particularly as a woman. There’s something about even as a feminist – even as a woman with a place in academia – there was still something very uncomfortable about taking that space up. I would say that continued as I questioned, Well, I never went to film school. It was my ex-husband–who I’m still very close with–who said, ‘you know, most dudes come out of film school with the confidence of I’m gonna make a movie and I’m gonna write it and direct it and it’s gonna be amazing! And he said, ‘Why not see yourself like that?’

B: Candice Bergen plays Barbara, Abigail’s mother, who is in denial about her husband’s grim diagnosis. What do you think people get wrong or don’t understand about the care-giving experience?

 MB: What I learned is how much women do balance. So, when it comes to the point of life where they have to caretake because let’s say, their husband or their partner is not well, what we see is sort of a clash.

For my mom it was a woman who was always in control of everything. And all the sudden, you’re presented with something that’s completely out of your control. There’s no time course for it – I mean, there’s a rough time course, but there’s no way to kind of plan around a lot of the specifications that occur. I think for my mom it was a real challenge, and I wanted to show some of that complexity. We see a lot of the doting wife, or we see a lot of the distant wife. But many women find that they are juggling both of those things. There’s an irritability and a frustration with the lack of ability by someone who is not well, there’s a strong desire to love and be there for them. I think that’s often where children, historically daughters, step in to fill in all those blanks. And I think that’s what happened in my family and many cases, and that’s the relationship I wanted to show.

B: You have a PhD in neuroscience, but you were a child star. Why was it so important for you to invest so heavily in your education?

MB: I come from an immigrant family–three of my four grandparents are immigrants to this country. Plus, I was raised with a very strong work ethic. My mom’s parents were sweatshop workers, so I was raised with the immigrant experience being one of we barely survived, and we struggled to get to this country, so that you could go to college. Like, that literally was the message.

I knew that I wanted to go to college no matter what. I fell in love with science when I was on Blossom. When I was about 15, I had a female tutor, and it was my first time working one-on-one with a woman in science. She was young and passionate and also from an immigrant family. I also wanted to have more of a – quote – ‘normal’ life, you know? I had grown up on people’s televisions, but I was never really taken with fame or money. Those things didn’t drive me and I wanted to be in a place where I was valued for kind of what was in my brain and not what I could offer you.

B: As a newbie director, are there any female directors you admire?

MB: I mean, I’ve always been inspired by strong female comedians. And I was raised on, you know…Lucille Ball and Tracy Ullman and Carol Burnett and those kinds of females. Greta Gerwig is someone who, when I discovered her, I feel like I found the person that I most kind of admire and would like to be. Eliza Hittman is another person–a really fantastic director. I actually completely reached out to her cold when I was doing pre-production for my movie, and said, ‘I admire you so much. Can I talk to you?’ And she actually spoke to me! She gave me some really great general advice, in particular about some of the challenges of being a woman in this position.

B: Finally, what are you hoping viewers take away from this very personal film?

MB: It’s funny. I feel like this is the question I should be most prepared to answer, but you know what? I think [the takeaway] is very, very, very personal. I’ve spoken to people for whom this helped them understand more about their sibling who left, or their distant parent. I’ve spoken to people for whom [this film] helped them understand grief better. And I’ve spoken to people for whom it helped them understand how much of their past still lives in their present.

 So, I think it really is a very personal journey. I do think that this family structure is very touching, and so, the complexity of that, is what I’d like people to leave with.

As They Made Us is in theaters and on-demand now. 

Header Photo by Storm Santos

2nd photo: Quiver 

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair

Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun

Writer/director/editor Jane Schoenbrun’s feature debut, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, is a harrowing peek into teenage isolation and the pervasive power of the Internet. 

Casey (Anna Cobb) is embarking upon the “World’s Fair Challenge,” an online horror game that triggers mysterious transformations in the player. Creepypasta-style videos featuring real YouTube content creators document graphic physical and psychological transitions, but the viewer is left wondering how much of Casey’s transformation is real and how much is for the benefit of those who stumble across her videos.

This slow-burn story makes great use of webcam footage shot in Casey’s attic bedroom, which is decorated with glow-in-the-dark stars and blacklight paint, contrasted against snowy, lonely scenes of the mundane world. The only person Casey directly communicates with is via Skype; JLB, played by horror veteran Michael J. Rogers, uses an eerie illustrated avatar in lieu of his real face, all of which gives an unsettling subtext to his guidance and concern when it’s revealed that he’s much older than the baby-faced girl. 

Cobb’s raw talent is hard to deny, especially after a freak-out sequence sure to make many “scariest moments” listicles. Both the filmmaking and her performance give the film a sense of chilling authenticity that lingers long after the credits roll. Instead of offering quick jump scares or more traditional gore, Schoenbrun’s film forces us to look inward. The less you know about this one the better, but it’s sure to leave you reeling. –Danielle Ryan

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair is out April 22nd 

This review originally appeared in BUST’s Spring 2022 print edition. Subscribe today!

header photo: Utopia 

What would you do if you found out that freedom was closer than you thought? Or simply a state of mind. Alice, the brainchild of debut director Krystin Ver Linden, is a revenge thriller set in the Antebellum South on a remote Georgia plantation. The film stars Emmy award winner KeKe Palmer (Akeelah and the Bee, Hustlers) as its eponymous heroine longing for her freedom and rapper-actor Common (The Chi, The Hate U Give) as the disillusioned political activist suffering from arrested development from losing his mother to the movement. 

The movie is inspired by the actual events of several enslaved families who, for generations, remained captive long after the Emancipation Proclamation was decreed. Many of the families were passed from white family to white family, laboring under a peonage system, hoping their lives would improve. Others, crippled by the fear of being killed if they ran, remained isolated from knowledge altogether. 

The film opens with Alice running through a deeply wooded area surrounded by nothing but trees when she stops herself from running to release a scream. We then see her getting married to a man named Joseph (Gaius Charles) in a secret ceremony at dusk, where the priest pronounces the pair “man and wife” bound together until “distance do you part.” Unfortunately, before they can consummate their union with a kiss, they’re quickly interrupted by the frail framed plantation owner Paul Bennet, played by Johnny Lee Miller (Settlers, Elementary). What follows are the familiar scenes of fearful Black people cowering under the brunt of punishment devices and iron rods. After a violent exchange with Paul, where Alice is released from the chains he put her in as punishment for her disobedience the day prior, she blinds him with a shard of glass and makes a run for it. Earlier on Joseph had tried to escape the plantation and ended up losing his life. Alice had plans to get away and never look back. She runs a short distance through the forest before stopping to take in the overwhelming sight of nothing but the trees around her. 

She then quickly resumes her running, and tumbles onto a busy freeway–something she had never seen before in her life. For me, this is when the sequencing feels slightly off. Not only was it disorienting to see her run out into the bright open street, but it was also baffling to think that freedom had been just footsteps away the entire time. We also just spent a third of the film entrenched in stagnant plantation life that, in actuality, was in the twentieth century and not the 1800s. 

The freeway is also where she meets Frank, who stops just short of running her over with his truck when she runs out into the street. In an act of chivalry, he picks her up and places her in his truck, with plans to leave her at the hospital. He drops her off, thinking that she has amnesia, and the hospital can help. But he overhears the nurse talking about sending her off to a sanitorium, and he has a change of heart. Frank recalls the trauma of his mother’s experience with the sanitorium and decides it would be better to take her back to his place. 

Once Alice returns to Frank’s humble abode, the pace picks up. We immediately learn that it’s 1973, and the urgency in which Frank tries to bring Alice up to speed on Black culture feels like watching a game of Black Card Revoked with Frank serving up bologna sandwiches on white bread and a crash course on Black History. Alice goes from seeing nothing but the small family of white plantation owners where she compares her face to a sketch in an Anna Karenina novel while staring doe-eyed into a mirror, to being immersed in the 1970s Black Power Movement. 

Palmer has the gift of vulnerability. It was easy to believe that she was taking in everything for the first time, especially while watching Pam Grier kick butt and take names in the Blaxploitation flick Coffy. To help set the tone, and jog Alice’s memory, Frank’s apartment was filled with Black culture references. From Diana Ross’s iconic Rolling Stone cover, Angela Davis speaking on television, and piles of books and Ebony Magazines.  

The way in which Alice inhales the amount of information in a span of days causes her to permanently discard her old plantation attire, which covered her from neck to ankle, and don a Black Panther-inspired fashion replete with an afro. Her rapid evolution is somewhat of  a stretch. However, Ver Linden touches on the metanarrative of the power of information in shaping ideas and how quickly it can change consciousness. All of which serve as tools for liberation. Palmer is nuanced and charming from beginning to end. I don’t think any other actress could have embodied the innocence and strength she brought to the title character.

We do get to see Alice not only get angry, but get revenge. Once she’s armed with information on who she really is as a Black woman, and what’s been done to her, she decides to go back and free her family from the plantation. The transformation from a naive and ignorant enslaved woman to an assertive, empowered, and beautiful free Black woman in a crop top and leather pants makes you root for her.

I loved every minute of her badass moments, as well as her encouraging words to Frank. There’s a moment where Alice asks him to go back to the plantation with her and fight and we discover that his masculinity has been eroded right along with his confidence, due to being a Black man in America. This is one of Common’s most vulnerable  scenes and he shows an adept range of emotions. It’s obvious that he needs an encouraging word as well as a woman’s touch to revive the fighter in him, without Alice’s strength and tenderness smoothing out his insecurities, he would still be in his apartment watching the movement on tv and eating a bologna sandwich. The chemistry between the two was undeniable and beautiful to see. 

Photo Courtesy of Rogers and Cowan PMK

The most prominent theme is that of the Black women’s resilience and self-reliance. The main character is especially symbolic of a time when the floodgates of information were flung wide open. We can also draw parallels to the world’s present-day civil unrest during the pandemic when the film was shot and where people defied all warnings and threats to their lives to come together in solidarity for Black people. Through Alice we witness how truth and information can cause a radical shift in consciousness and that shift is where our society finds itself today. This aspect of empowerment should resonate with most audiences. 

The only drawback was the haste in which the actual story was told. Although it was heavy with visual iconography, it felt light on the actual story development. The haste in which both Alice and Frank transform demands the audience to not only suspend their disbelief, but to do lots of dot connecting. 

The script touches upon many historical themes quickly and with subtlety, so you better be paying attention, or you’ll miss them. For me this movie signifies a change in our times and the direction that movies in the genre are being told. Alice is daring to change both the  narrative and perceptions of what it means to be free and who gets that privilege. Even with its quickly reconciled ending, I hope Alice will be seen as a stroke of genius by this rising director, when film students examine her creative cannon.  

Photos courtesy of Rogers and Cowan PMK

As a child of the 1990’s, must I even tell you how many Saturday nights in suburbia I spent watching episodes of MADtv?  Though only eight when the show premiered, it became one of my favorite programs to watch, and with hyped-up, uber funny impressions of childhood favs like Whitney and Oprah, comedic actress Debra Wilson was naturally one of my favorite ensemble members. An original cast member from the pilot episode, Wilson exited the series after eight seasons in 2003, after getting whiff of pay disparities between she and white-male castmates hired after her.

Since then, she’s been keeping busy, doing a ton of voice over work in television (Family Guy, The Boondocks,) video games and as a presenter and announcer for tv shows, including the recent revival of NBC’s the Weakest Link. She’s back in front of the camera in Moon Manor, a film about life and death. Wilson portrays Fritti, a death doula hired by Jimmy (James Carrozo,) an Alzheimer’s patient who has decided to throw one last blowout before lights out.

I spoke with the comedic legend about the important work of death doulas, why Moon Manor is a film about living, not dying, and whether the voiceover indusrty actually has a diversity problem or not. 

BUST: Tell us a little about Moon Manor?

 Debra Wilson:  [Moon Manor] is a heartfelt exploration of love, death, and what happens beyond death. You know, it’s about someone choosing their own death and really knowing what life is by that type of choice. It wasn’t left up to anything else. It wasn’t left up to a disease, or anything other than a great, powerful, wonderful, and clear minded choice, before that choice would have been taken away — by society, family, laws, or anything else. And so it really is about knowing how to live, by choosing your own death.

B: How did you first become involved in this project?

 DW: The directors Erin Granat, Machete Bang Bang had seen my stuff, online —interviews, the spiritual aspects of some of the online interviews that I do. And they said, ‘Wow, we would like to put her in the running for this.’ It wasn’t an offer, directly more than it was an opportunity to speak to me about what the role was, and what they were hoping to bring to the table and their expectations, and what I wanted to bring to the table, that’s how it began. We ended up having a very long conversation about it and before I knew it, they were like… ‘I think you’re in alignment with what we want. And we’re in alignment in our spiritual flow, and our intention.’

B: Who is Fritti?

DW: She is a death doula. And a death doula, or any doula is characteristically — if you think about people who’ve taken their time to be doulas, from birth, to death, and everything in between, it is a study and a love of the human condition, and being a support and a vessel in that human condition for things that are important that are  life changing and game-changing ways of relating to society.

Fritti wants to serve a higher purpose, she wants to be of service, which means to a certain extent, dropping the ego, but also knowing the ego must be in place for certain things that are the realities, regarding and surrounding us. But her main purpose is to be a support to those who are creating that transition, and to help them create that transition as if it is going to be art, and to help them be able to move through and go through, and get by, being that buffer.

[I think] it says a lot about the personality of someone who says I’m here to be of service to you, and all that you need, and all that you want, to make sure that you have the comfort necessary for you to know that this transition is a full-fledged thing that you can go to with the greatest of honor and the greatest of peace.

B: Can I ask you a little bit about death? Since this is a movie about death.

DW: No, it’s not about death. It’s about life — life! It’s about creating these amazing and profound choices in life that show that you are cognizant and and living a full one. It is about choosing life in a way that allows whatever transition, whenever that transition, to be something of your choice — taking control of that to a certain extent, and making that decision, when it is time to leave and shuffle off this mortal earth. It is the life you lead and the life you’ve left behind, and the life you’ve created, that continues to fertilize those behind you.

B: Jimmy suffers from Alzheimer’s and has chosen to end his life on his own terms. What are your thoughts on assisted death for terminally ill people?

DW: it’s not a matter of not being aware, or unaware, it’s that that they’re so hyper aware that they don’t want to forget, they don’t want to die in that state. They don’t want to remember that their last things are… I forget, I don’t know…because those people who have caregivers or family, they are constantly reminding you that you are forgetting, and so there’s a frustration that goes with this, and there’s an anger that goes with this and person doesn’t want to leave with that.

Yes, there are joyful moments and those begin to flip very quickly as dementia spreads. And I know that all too well in my family. So it’s really wonderful when someone says, before I do forget those things, before I go into that anger stage, before I get to that stage, I don’t know why I should wait? And so I think personally, that there, there is forethought, as opposed to ‘no, you can’t do this legally,’ I get that. But consciously, there is forethought that says, this has been thought of very, very clearly. And I want to go with a certain dignity. And I don’t want others to make that choice for me.

 

 

 

 

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B: You do a lot of voice over work, yes? I’ve heard different things about diversity, or lack thereof, in the voice over world. Do you think that’s still a big issue in entertainment?

DW: People make that a big issue, but they’re not paying attention to the transmutation that’s also going on. It’s one of those things that yes, it was talked about a while ago, but in the process, nobody has done the research to be able to go, ‘Well, wait a minute, there are these transitions happening.’ As human beings, whatever you focus on increases, so it depends on what you’re focusing on, because I’m not hearing that. And I’m not seeing that. And I’m on many aspects of the industry, when it comes to voiceover. So I do everything from NBC promos to podcasts, to announcing on network game shows. I voice the game announcing for the Weakest Link on NBC. And I also do the show announcing on [Steve] Harvey’s new judge show on ABC. And so, as I’m moving through these experiences, I’m finding that is beginning to move away, and I think with the rise of, Black Lives Matter Movement, and the LGBTQ movement…and the movement that really sprang up after [the murder of] George Floyd, began the dialogues and the conversations and the change within the entertainment industry. And so now that kind of dialogue has been happening, and it is continuing to happen, and I’m watching it in the things that I book and the things that I do, where it’s not a matter of color at all.

B: Anything else going on that you’d like readers to know about?

DW: I’m obsessed with the paranormal and parapsychology. Two friends of mine, Barry and Brad Klinge, used to have a series on the Discovery Network called Ghost Lab, it was a paranormal investigation series that was really, really popular. They don’t do it anymore,  but all of those investigations of the things they found and all their prolific aspects of it and evidence, which there is a great deal of, they decided to turn it into a podcast called The Investigators. I said, “I love you guys,” I’ve been fans of them before I became friends and I said, I really want to narrate it. I just want to be a storyteller that tells the story prior to you guys discussing, you know, some of your your best cases and the things that went on, and all the evidence that was left off of the television. And they said, Sure!

It just a bucket list thing for me, I don’t want anything in return, I just want to be able to tell these stories. So I started doing that show…and then they said, ‘Listen, we love your narration style, because we love the way you tell stories and that you draw people in. Would you like to do something for yourself?’ It’s called Ominous: with Deborah Wilson, and you can find it wherever podcasts are available. 

 It’s almost like sit down at midnight, pull your blanket up, have your tea, and listen.  It’s like listening to a radio show, and here’s the interesting thing: it’s more than just a story. These paranormal cases of UFOs and and other encounters are all true. They all come from real, actual cases. They’re all real true firsthand accounts, not by me, but people I know, so to be able to tell their story, the way I tell it, is really another gift to me.

Moon Manor is streaming now. 

Photos: Courtesy of Good Deed Entertainment.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were TV pioneers. Ball, a B-movie actress turned comedy legend, and Arnaz, a Cuban-American refugee and musician turned producer extraordinaire–fell in love with each other on a movie set, and against all odds got married and portrayed one of the first mixed race couples on TV at the time, in I Love Lucy. Mind you, this was in the ‘50s. At a time when sexism and racism was far from taboo and proudly showcased on the quilt of American culture, the female-led, multicultural sitcom was nothing short of groundbreaking. Not only was a woman the lead character, but a Latino man with an accent was playing her husband. The IRL couple exposed the country to what a more inclusive America could be. The Ricardos (their TV family name) were beloved and welcomed into living rooms across the nation. It’s no secret the real life couple made an impact on the entertainment industry, but behind every game-changing celeb power couple, is a very real pair of humans. 

“To the rest of the world, a Hollywood couple has no problems. Of course we do, but I don’t think they believe it. If we have a house, two cars, and a pool, what the hell problem have we got?” Lucille Ball said, referring to the couple’s complicated relationship. “It’s too bad Lucille and Desi weren’t Lucy and Ricky,” Desi Arnaz added.

Amy Poehler’s documentary directorial debut, Lucy and Desi, is full of memorable soundbites like that one. The film, which is available to stream on Amazon Prime, offers a more intimate look into the lives of these TV legends. When filmmaker and executive producer Ron Howard approached Poehler about directing the film, she took advantage of the opportunity to share the couple’s story in their own words.

“It was really important for me to hear as much from Lucy and Desi—the people—as we could, so we really started digging into the recordings,” Poehler said in a recent interview with Elle Magazine.

The recordings Poehler is referring to are the hours of unheard archived audiotapes Ball and Arnaz recorded in preparation for their individual autobiographies. Thanks to Lucie Arnaz Luckinbill (the couple’s first born), the audiotapes along with never-before-seen retro home videos were made available to the documentary team. The treasure trove of vintage material added a vivid sentimentality to the film.

Pace clipping, the documentary spans from their respective traumatic childhoods, to their rise to stardom and garnering of industry-titans status, their heartbreaking and complicated love story and divorce, and finally their inevitable departures from life. 

Lucy and Desi includes interviews with industry icons close to the famed couple, like Carol Burnett, Bette Midler, Spanish-American actress Charo, TV writer Norman Lear, and more. We also get interviews with family members, including the Arnaz children, and Lucille Ball’s brother, Fred Ball. Audiences are invited into some of the family’s most personal experiences, even getting insight into how Ball and Arnaz spent their last moments together–a scene that had my lower lip quivering like a trilling horse and scrambling for the nearest tissue. 

The dark underbelly of Ball and Arnaz’s personal lives are merely touched on in the doc (like Ball’s connection to the Red Scare and Arnaz’s infidelities and alcoholism), as are the ways the two made significant contributions to the industry, like creating the multi-camera sitcom format, and founding the model for the “rerun” (because Lucille Ball had a baby and the couple needed, like, a sec). The film also nods to how they made impacts culturally, like Arnaz allegedly introducing the conga line to the States, Ball establishing a space for women-centered sitcoms, and the two redefining what an “American” family looks like as a mixed race couple.

“In Lucy and Desi, I think people will see two outsiders and two gatekeepers who were not typical of the 1950s,” Poehler told Elle Magazine. “They were a very modern couple: a white woman and a Cuban American and recent refugee who changed the game. They took huge risks and they used the power they had to lift people up.”

The film comments that the couple’s success is not due to luck or any so-called “genius”–rather their impenetrable work ethic and perseverance, with a nod to Ball’s in particular. Ball was an unstoppable force. I Love Lucy outpaced Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, the Presidential inauguration (Lucy amassed 44 million viewers vs. Eisenhower’s 29 million), and ultimately outpaced Arnaz’s desires. In the documentary, Arnaz expressed the difficulty he had with the overwhelming success and work load.

“[Lucille] didn’t want to quit. She’ll never wanna quit.”

Arnaz reveals in an audio recording. “I’m not judging. . .I happen to like other things, besides being in front of an audience.”

In 1962, when Arnaz’s drinking problem and depression got out of hand, Ball had to take over the couple’s production studio, Desilu productions, and eventually bought him out. Ball became the first woman to run a Hollywood studio, but she wasn’t happy about it. Ball’s passion was in performance—not producing, but that didn’t stop her from doing what needed to be done.

“ ‘Kid, that’s when they added an S to my last name,’ ” Burnett recalls Ball telling her about her transition to the head of the studio. 

Throughout the film, Poehler remains focused on the couple’s vulnerabilities and humanity. Like the aged home videos sprinkled throughout the documentary, the hardships and disappointments Ball and Arnaz experienced are looked at through a rose-tinted lens. The film is more interested in what worked than what didn’t, and the result is an absolute love-letter to the couple. Though some may find issues with the sugar-coated narrative, I loved sinking into the warm fuzzy feelings and nostalgia-ride this doc provided. After watching it, I wanted nothing more than to watch I Love Lucy reruns (which they invented!) and belly laugh my way into the past.  

Lucy and Desi is a perfect way for newbies and mega-fans to come together and honor the legacies of these two brilliant icons, and witness their imperfect yet unconditional love for one another.

Watch the trailer for Lucy and Desi below! Now streaming on Amazon Prime.

Photos: Screenshots from youtube 

On February 11th, Netflix released their sequel to Tall Girl, Tall Girl 2. The Tall Girl series focuses Jodi, a junior at Ruby Bridges High School, who is so close to being truly happy…if only she weren’t tall. Jodi has been bullied, harassed, and embarrassed by kids in her high school for being 6-foot-1. Though Jodi is constantly worried about her height and often gets rude comments about it, she is also white, blonde, conventionally pretty, and has two loyal friends. But even then, Jodi’s life is seemingly miserable because of her height—she is envious of every girl who isn’t tall, even her sister, and hates being asked the signature “how’s the weather up there?”

The plot points and characters in Tall Girl 2 seem to insinuate that as long as you claim your differences, everyone will stop bullying you and you will become popular. This, we know, is not the truth. People cannot be bullied one day and beloved the next, and the insinuation that they can be is misleading. But for Jodi, her big gesture at the end of Tall Girl entirely changes her life for the better, and herein lies the problem: Jodi isn’t a blueprint for those who are struggling with being bullied over unchangeable things—she’s a fairy tale. 

As someone who is not tall, I do not have the “tall girl” experience, but as someone who is Black, I did feel offended by Tall Girl’s premise. In watching the first movie, I was astounded by how much emphasis Jodi put on being tall as a source of struggle. At the start of the first movie, we see her walking through the halls of her high school, her voice introducing us to the world of the movie, when a pair of boys ask, “How’s the weather up there?” and laugh. She looks annoyed and a little sick of behavior, but she continues to introduce her day-to-day life through a voice-over. Then she says, “You think your life is hard? I’m a high school junior wearing size 13 Nikes. Men’s size 13 Nikes. Beat that!” I was immediately distanced from the character— I can beat that, even in my privilege, I understood that wearing big shoes and being tall was not the worst thing for a high school junior to go through. I was taken aback by her callousness. That very line even spurred a TikTok trend where people called out how ridiculous she was by comparing their own, more serious issues.

The main issue is that everyone around her in the movie seems to be worse off (her best friend, Fareeda, is a Black fashion designer whose parents don’t want her to follow her passion, and her co-star is a brown kid who was fat-shamed). Even through these more difficult experiences, Jodi never really acknowledges the struggles of the people around her; she is always in crisis or talking about herself while throwing shallow compliments or words of encouragement at her friends.

Seemingly, Jodi has been ruled by her insecurities her whole life and has blamed that on her height. It was never her six-foot frame that restrained her, however— it was her unwillingness to see that being tall is not oppression. She was always pretty and kind, she always had the traits of someone conventionally “popular,” but she was victimizing herself, getting in the way of her potential. Even then, the movie does support her in this delusion. The characters all change their tune; they drop everything to support her when she’s down about her size, while she does virtually nothing for their endeavors. It seems like this issue was big enough for a change to occur in the sequel. 

In the first movie, Fareeda’s struggle with her passion for fashion design is rarely spoken about, but in the second, we actually do see more of Fareeda and her parents dismissing her dream. Jodi wears her friend Fareeda’s shirt to a small boutique and the owner asks where Jodi got the shirt, which results in Fareeda selling her shirts in the store. This development is a big step away from Jodi-centeredness for the Tall Girl movies, but it feels more shallow and staged than the rest of the movie (they are passing comments and random scenes that don’t keep the plot going), as if the uproar from the first movie forced the writer’s hand. Ultimately, it is Jodi’s newfound confidence that allows her to wear the shirt and subsequently name drop Fareeda. Again, it all comes back to Jodi. 

The characters attend Ruby Bridges High School for goodness sake, and it’s a movie about the plight of a pretty white girl who is tall. For those who don’t know, Ruby Bridges was the first black girl to integrate her elementary school in Louisiana in 1960. Bridges was 6 years old as adults and children alike threw things at her and called her names as she walked into the building. Jodi’s high school plight as the tall girl all takes place in a building named after Bridges. Though the irony is clear, it seems like the movie takes Jodi pretty seriously, and there’s a minimal sense of self-awareness.

In Tall Girl 2, Jodi has seemingly overcome her insecurities and preconceived notions about being tall, and she’s ready to shine. Jodi really blossoms, wearing new, more stylish clothes and receiving excited greetings from strangers in the halls. In a word, the events of Tall Girl have completely augmented Jodi’s high school experience. 

If it was never about being tall, why is the movie called “Tall Girl“?

In watching the sequel, I began to realize something unsettling: it was never about being tall. In the second movie, Jodi is popular, every named character who is a man is interested in her romantically, and she has an entirely new wardrobe. People who used to bully her are silent (or in love with her, in one character’s case). After claiming her tallness, Jodi is living her best life— but it’s not as if she isn’t tall anymore. To compare, people who are fat-shamed don’t stop getting fat-shamed just because they own it, people whose parents don’t approve of their passion don’t get their approval once they decide they don’t care, people who are bullied for stigmatized physical differences don’t stop getting bullied when they make a speech at homecoming. Jodi’s life is completely changed after she owns her tallness in Tall Girl, but the change is entirely unrealistic, and to me, reveals that being tall was never Jodi’s problem in society. This is emphasized even more in the second movie, to the point where I got frustrated. If it was never about being tall, why is the movie called Tall Girl? Why does it take itself so seriously? Why does it compare fat-shaming to being bullied because you’re six feet tall? Why is Fareeda’s (Jodi’s best friend) struggle never acknowledged or unpacked? Why does everyone else seem to have worse problems, and yet Jodi is moping around? 

In the end, Jodi’s character is ultimately self-aggrandizing, and though these movies have made some other tall girls feel seen, it portrays a flawed message. I 100% think being a tall girl is a struggle— I’m not denying that— but I think the movie blows it out of proportion. Everybody has insecurities, and those insecurities can often cause us to freeze up and close in on ourselves, but owning those insecurities doesn’t change them, it only makes us more comfortable in our own skin. And I am proud of Jodi for owning her differences and choosing to love herself, but the way Tall Girl and Tall Girl 2 frame her struggle is not through insecurity— it’s through height. In a day and age where diversity in characters and oppressive systems are being called out, the movie feels a bit tone-deaf. If you don’t believe me, watch it with a critical eye. Both movies are streaming on Netflix now.

Photos courtesy of Netflix.

In the second frame of Joachim Trier’s new Norwegian film, The Worst Person in the World, which was nominated for Best International Feature and Best Original Screenplay, a table of contents appears on the black screen – “A film in 12 chapters, a prologue and an epilogue.”

This dictum sets the tone for the book-like structure that follows – the chapters chart the characters’ lives, relationships, and milestones neatly. We think we know what to expect. We begin in the prologue where we meet our protagonist, Julie (Renate Reinsive) – a lost, 29-year old in Oslo, trying to figure out what she wants. She starts off as a disciplined medical student, but quickly decides that psychology is her true passion, not long before abandoning the medical field altogether and deciding that she should be a photographer. “As Ride Like The Wind” by Christopher Cross plays and we watch Julie turn careers, men, and hair colors on a dime, it appears as if we know what we’re going to get with Trier’s film – a classic coming-of-age rom-com.

For a while the film plays into these expectations. Trier gives us a prototype rom-com plot – in the midst of her existential crises, Julie meets Aksel (Danielsen Lie), a successful 44-year old comic artist who is drawn to her “flakiness” and carefree nature. They are in love, but their 15-year age gap creates distance between them, which draws Julie into the arms of Eivind (Herbert Nordrom), a fellow millennial flitting through life, creating the classic love triangle.

In one of the most memorable scenes of the film, when Julie is faced with a moment to confront Axel about the doubts she’s been having, she quite literally stops time. The frame freezes on Axel pouring coffee in their cozy apartment, and Julie runs wildly through the streets of Oslo to find Eivind. This uniquely crafted scene is the first hint that this film is not your classic rom-com. The Worst Person in the World is a movie with its pulse on time and loss. 

With fluid camera movements and seamless tonal shifts, Trier reminds us that time keeps moving for Julie. She returns to confront Aksel and he is completely heartbroken. In a painfully realistic scene, Julie and Aksel go through the five stages of grief on their last night together. Aksel, at 44 years old, cannot accept the reality that the love of his life is leaving him. 

Trier expertly explores the particular relationship between time and womanhood in this film as well. In the eighth chapter, Julie and Eivind decide to take shrooms. Julie’s trip begins in the kitchen – as the gray floor beneath her melts into ravaging ocean waters. In her drug induced state, classic symbols of womanhood emerge. She sees her ex-boyfriends, pulls out a used tampon, and imagines a baby suckling on her breast. The most striking part of this scene is Julie’s youthful face on the body of an old, overweight woman. But Julie is not afraid or disgusted. She’s at peace, suggesting that the passage of time doesn’t have to be scary. 

Throughout the film, Trier uses the omniscient third-person voiceover to take us through Julie’s journey. But in the third act of the film, that voice over disappears. When a main character succumbs to sickness, The film shifts from a lively rom-com to a languid, bittersweet drama. While the plot twist came as a surprise, the focus on confronting mortality felt like it had been coming all along. Trier dropped in deep musings on the passage of time throughout the film to prepare us. Even something as seemingly ‘fun’ and ‘youthful’ as taking drugs at a small get together, becomes about the characters’ existential fears regarding time. While the 12 chapter structure of the film remains throughout, the style and tone of the movie get messier – mimicking what happens when real life crashes in.

When tragedy strikes in the third act, Julie, a character who has been immature, reckless, and indecisive is forced to grow into the woman she’s been striving to become.

While it has all of the makings of a rom-com – the voiceover, the red-herring love interest, the quirky asides, Trier was never trying to tell a love story. The Worst Person in the World is a poignant film about grief and loss. It was the first movie I’ve seen since my mom died two years ago that I felt accurately captured what it means to truly live with loss. With Trier’s fearless and unique directing and Reinsive’s grounding and relatable performance, this film explores all of the ways in which loss enters our lives and lets you contemplate what it looks like to truly live – boldly, messily, beautifully – even in the wake of loss.

All photos screenshots via YouTube

Right away, we learn three things: Emily (Aubrey Plaza) has a criminal record, $70,000 of student debt, and a bit of a temper. She’s stuck in the gig economy, delivering food for a catering company in Los Angeles and making endless loan payments that don’t even cover the interest on her debt. She can still get interviews for office jobs, but it’s a catch-22: tell the truth about her record and get thrown out right away, or lie and get thrown out later. When an interviewer catches her lying, she doesn’t apologize or explain. She gets mad. Emily doesn’t understand why her past mistake should be held against her forever, keeping her trapped in dead-end jobs under this mountain of debt. And as the title implies, going straight will be almost impossible. But Emily is trying to, with everything she’s got.

But while Emily is bitter about her curtailed chances, she’s not heartless. Shortly after the blown interview she does a catering colleague a favour, and in return he hooks her up with a side gig as a ‘dummy shopper’. This involves going to a warehouse where her photo is taken for a fake driver’s license and she’s given a credit card with stolen data to match. If she buys a flatscreen TV with that stolen card and succeeds in getting it out of the store, she gets $200, cash. The professionals who run the crime ring are cousins, Khalil (Jonathan Avigdori), silent and menacing, and Youcef (Theo Rossi, from “Sons of Anarchy”), who does the talking. He’s a careful and calm presence, a big surprise in that unpleasant environment, and Emily is impressed. She successfully buys the TV, gets her money, and immediately asks for more work. She handles a dangerous situation with surprising skill, which means Youcef is impressed.

Writer-director John Patton Ford does a wonderful job of showing how the mutual interest between Youcef and Emily slowly blossoms both professionally and personally. It’s always enjoyable watching a movie that teaches the audience something, especially when it’s based on something normal people could plausibly get away with, like buying a TV. Rossi plays the part of a hardened criminal as a wounded bird, a gentle man who has to work at not caring about the consequences of his actions, unusual choices in a thriller. And soon it’s clear that for Emily and Youcef paying close attention to each other is more important than the actual work. It’s like two people poking each other’s bruises, which can be incredibly sexy if it turns out the bruises match. 

And it’s obvious Emily is very bruised. A stepfather is mentioned in passing but never seen or heard from. Her only friend, Liz (Megalyn Echikunwoke), works for an ad agency as a graphic designer, has a gorgeous apartment and takes long business trips to Portugal. When they meet for drinks, you can see Emily clenching her throat so as not to choke on her jealousy. Jeff Bierman’s cinematography makes Emily’s world feel flat and the gorgeous weather feel oppressive. Liz’s world, where people are nice to each other, friendship isn’t a luxury and there’s plenty of money, might as well be the dark side of the moon. But when Emily and Liz are laughing together it’s the only time we see Emily anything close to happy. 

Happiness is almost impossible, since the movie also slowly makes it brutally apparent how Emily is responsible for most of her own problems.

Despite being told never to fence anything from her home address, one night she ignores the advice and learns a painful and expensive lesson. But not for long; almost immediately Emily allows her anger to take over. The subsequent fight in the street shows not only her quick thinking and her ruthlessness, but also a frightening capacity for violence. This is extra shocking since Plaza is primarily known for comedy, but there’s nothing funny about what Emily is capable of. Plaza has turned her deadpan persona against itself, manifesting nothing but contempt, spite and an enormous capacity for rage. It’s a huge part needing big emotions performed by a big star, and Plaza goes all in. She completely owns the movie – in every scene, we can feel her every thought.   

It’s all the more impressive since there are no guns in the movie, not that their absence lowers the stakes or minimises the violence. The choice to make Emily the engineer of her own troubles means this is not a likeable movie, but it is a relatable one. The mountain of debt piled on Emily’s back means that you never question why she is so willing to take these risks. And it’s all too easy to understand how someone can get into a little bit of trouble and slowly discover that, despite their best efforts, they’ll never get out of it. The question of how far Emily is prepared to go will keep you on the edge of your seat, hoping that something will come right at last. Because don’t even the worst of us deserve a little human kindness? Or do we?

Emily The Criminal premiered this past Sundance Film Festival 2022. Keep an eye out for a wider distribution soon. -Sarah Manvel 

Benedetta 

Co-written and directed by Paul Verhoeven 

Out December 3

Over the course of his career, Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven has transitioned from sneered-at trash master to auteur, with “guilty pleasure” films like RoboCop, Total Recall, Showgirls, and even Starship Troopers garnering him reconsideration by cinephiles as a visionary of subversion. In 2008, he published a theological text, Jesus of Nazareth. So, it seems inevitable that he would eventually make a movie about horny nuns.

Inspired by Judith C. Brown’s biography Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy, Benedetta is exactly what you’d expect. Sister Benedetta Carlini (Virginie Efira) has baroque visions of Jesus, bleeds copiously from stigmata wounds, and succumbs to the wiles of a gorgeous neophyte named Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia) who fingers Benedetta’s bum during services. As Benedetta gains power at the convent, the sisters begin to suspect she’s full of BS, especially the pragmatic abbess (Charlotte Rampling). The plot thickens with political intrigue and allusions that may be lost on viewers lacking historical context—but let’s face it, we’re really here to see Benedetta and Bartolomea ditch their nuns’ habits and pick up some bad ones. When it comes to nunsploitation, Benedetta’s blasphemy falls somewhere between Black Narcissus (1947) and The Devils (1971). And its New York premiere even drew protestors—in this day and age, that’s nothing to sniff at. –jenni miller

Header photo courtesy of IFC Films

This review originally appeared in BUST’s Winter 2021/2022 print edition. Subscribe today!

With New Year’s Eve approaching, you can be sure of one thing: the equally notorious and lazy January 1st is coming. In case you were looking for movies to binge-watch all day long to get over the craziness (or loneliness—hi Omicron!) of the previous night, we have gathered a list of 2021’s must-watch films about, starring, or created by women. 

Titane by Julia Ducournau

 Photo by Carole Bethuel, Courtesy of Neon

Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2021, Titane is a disturbing move intersecting between family drama, sci-fi, horror and homoretism at times. Julia Ducourneau’s second long feature after Raw, is a technical and storytelling tour de force going against the flow of the French movie industry. Featuring Agathe Rousell as her first big role, and Vincent Lindon, one of most prominent French actors, the movie is a strong, disturbing, and at times violent depiction of a father/son relationship. 

Spencer by Pablo Larraín 

Photo courtesy of Neon

As Christmas approaches, Spencer is the not-so-perfect, holiday movie to watch. Directed by Pablo Larrain (Jackie) and starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, the movie is as much resplendent as it is devastating. Taking place over three days: Christmas day, Christmas Eve and Boxing Day of 1991, Spencer is a poignant exploration of depression, eating disorders, and what it’s like to be a part of the British Royal Family. Kristen Stewart’s memorable performance has led her to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best actress.

Ma Belle, My Beauty by Marion Hill

Photo courtesy of Good Deed Entertainment

Polyamorous relationship, depression, and South of France, Ma Belle, My Beauty, directed by Marion Hill, sees Bertie (Idella Johnson) and Fred (Lucien Guignard) move to the South of France right after their wedding. Later meeting again with Lane (Hannah Pepper-Cunningham)— part of their polyamourous relationship which complicates everything. Ma Belle, My Beauty portrays a, rarely seen, positive light on this kind of relationship. 

Language Lessons by Natalie Morales

Photo by Jeremy Mackie Courtesy of Shout! Factory

The Zoom application has taken over a significant part of our lives in the past couple of years, and Natalie Morales understood how to take advantage of it. Her debut film, Language Lessons, that she co-wrote and co-starred with Mark Duplass, was entirely filmed over Zoom. A touching illustration on grief and online friendships, almost making you feel like you are spying on them. Full of charisma, the characters get to know each other at the same time the viewer is learning to know them.

False Positive by John Lee

False Positive is a terrifying illustration of how the patriarchy is infiltrating every part of a society—mostly the medical field. Directed by John Lee, this movie is a thrilling, bone chilling exploration of how child birth is set to benefit the patriarchy. Starring Ilana Glazer as the main character, she is portrayed as the vessel of her husband’s (Justin Theroux) misogynistic desires. Between confusion, manipulation and thirst for revenge, False Positive is a strong and memorable movie on pregnancy.  Streaming on Hulu

Photo: Screenshot from YouTube

Zola by Janicza Bravo

 Courtesy A24 Flms

Zola is an absolute tour de force when it comes to understanding the central place social media takes in our lives. Instead of being inspired by a book, Janizca Bravo’s movie is based on a viral Twitter thread written by Aziah “Zola” King. Narrated by Taylour Paige, the movie is a hilarious, and sometimes disturbing adventure centered around stripping, sex work, and absurd dialogues. 

Photo: Screenshot from YouTube 

Shiva Baby by Emma Seligman

Gatherings with family can turn out to be painful and boring experiences, in Shiva Baby, it’s neither of them but mostly stifling, hilarious and extremely relatable. Directed by Emma Seligman, the movie is focusing on Danielle (Rachel Sennott) when she has to go to a funeral in which she meets her sugar daddy, her ex-girlfriend, and is facing incessant questions about her studies. 

Photo: Screenshot from YouTube 

Together Together by Nikole Beckwith

In Together Together Ed Helms and Patti Harrison offer a touching performance on pregnancy and surrogacy. Directed by Nikole Bekwith, the movie features Matt, a single man who wants to become a father, and Anna, a twenty-year-old barista who offers to be his surrogate. Together Together is poignant for representing the depersonalization that pregnancy can occur for a person.

MOXIE! by Amy Poehler

 Colleen Hayes/NETFLIX © 2021

Based on the novel of the same name by Jennifer Mathieu, Amy Poehler’s take on Moxie is a heartfelt exploration of growing up as a teenager. Starring the director as the mother, and Hadley Robinson as Vivian, this movie is a reality check on the importance of teenagers’ interests and feelings. It is also a tale of feminist heritage as Vivian gets inspired by her mom’s old feminist zines to fight against the sexist harrassment at her high school.

Promising Young Woman by Emerald Fennell 

Between psychological and dark comedy, Promising Young Woman is a powerful take on rape traumas and how easily victims are being forgotten. Directed by Killing Eve’s showrunner Emerald Fennell, the movie features Carey Mulligan, a vengeful dropout med student, looking to avenge the rape of her best friend by not letting her fall into oblivion following the announcement of her attacker’s wedding. Promising Young Woman is a powerful take on how sexual trauma can consume a person.

Photo: Screenshot from YouTube

Directed by Tunisian-French directress, Leyla Bouzid, the movie illustrates a love story between two young students, Ahmed (Sami Outalbali), born and raised in the suburbs of Paris, and the bubbly Farah (Zbeida Belhajamor), freshly arriving from Tunis. They met on their first day at The Sorbonne University where they are pursuing a degree in literature. However, when Ahmed discovers a corpus of erotic and sensual Arabic literature, he is torn between his obvious love for Farah, his sexual desires, and his will to repress it. 

A Tale Of Love And Desire is a cultural reset that goes against the stereotypes towards Arab people established by centuries of colonialism and French White Supremacy. 

Leyla Bouzid’s tour de force is her authentic portrayal of the many meanings of being Arab in France. Ahmed and Farah are placing themselves at the opposite of what is being shown in French media. Inspired by the director’s surroundings, Ahmed demonstrates a strong sense of self identity, through his love for literature. Meanwhile, Farah is breaking any presupposed sterotypes about what it is to be North African. “I wanted to show that French people from North African origins often misunderstand the North African youth,” explains Leyla Bouzind in an interview for Le Point Afrique. To the point where she will be the one helping Ahmed in his quest for emancipation and to reconnect with his origin. Especially when he is forced to have an Arabic poem translated by his father, a language the student doesn’t speak, nor read. 

This movie doesn’t dig into the traumas of being Arab in France but more into the identity multiplicity, rarely portrayed in the French film industry. The movie is a refreshing portray of intimity, desire, prudishness and self-discovery, but also an homage to 18th century Arabic erotic litterature. Leyla Bouzid’s wish was to showcase Arabic masculinity in a truer form. “We are rarely interested in the intimity of people living in suburbs, as if it was only made of conflicts,” said the director. 

Very rightly, Sami Outalbali won the prize for Best Male Actor at the Film Festival of Angouleme, while the movie won the award for Best Film. This film is a must watch for French speaking individuals. It is a story that finally shows an accurate and deeper version of Arab people, but is also for anybody who is looking for a story about desire and love. 

Top Photo: Screenshot from YouTube 

Need some fun flicks to round out your next holiday movie night? Have no fear! We’ve got you covered with some amazing by-women, for-women movies guaranteed to get you feelin’ festive. 

200 Cigarettes

Dir. Risa Bramon Garcia, 1999 

Set on New Year’s Eve 1981, this ensemble comedy follows the lives of different groups of New Yorkers as they prepare to say goodbye to the old and ring in the new at their friend Monica’s (Martha Plimpton) NYE bash. The film features a truly loaded ensemble cast: ’90s teen royalty, Christina Ricci (Lizzie Bordan Chronicles), and Gaby Hoffmann (Transparent) play two Long Island high schoolers who get lost in the city and wander into a Lower East Side punk club. Meanwhile, Courtney Love and Paul Rudd appear as best friends struggling to not act on their major sexual tension. In a further “who’s-who” of Hollywood, the film includes Kate Hudson, Janeane Garofalo, and Ben Affleck. Plus, the film’s soundtrack is stacked with pop classics like Kool & the Gang’s “Get Down on It” and “Our Lips Are Sealed” by The Go-Go’s. 

Carol

Dir. Todd Haynes, 2015 

If you want to get all up in your feels this winter, grab some tissues and put on Carol. The 2015 drama, based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel, The Price of Salt, tells of the forbidden love affair between Therese (Rooney Mara), an aspiring photographer, and socialite Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett). The two women meet by chance and quickly fall for each other but must conceal their relationship in a world that’s not yet ready to accept their love. Set in New York City at Christmastime, the film contrasts its characters’ yearning with their cheery, festive environment, making this tale all the more heart wrenching. 

Happiest Season

Dir. Clea DuVall, 2020 

Clea DuVall (But I’m a Cheerleader, American Horror Story) directed and co-wrote this queer twist on the traditional holiday rom com. The film follows Abby (Kristen Stewart) and Harper (Mackenzie Davis of Halt and Catch Fire) as they visit Harper’s family for Christmas, with Abby planning to propose to Harper on Christmas morning. But as it turns out, Harper hasn’t exactly told her conservative parents about her and Abby’s relationship. In fact, she hasn’t even come out to them yet. Abby, shocked and hurt, reluctantly agrees to “play straight” for the weekend until Harper’s ready to spill the beans to her family. But as one can imagine, things don’t go quite as planned…

A Diva’s Christmas Carol

Dir. Richard Schenkman, 2000

This early-’00s retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol pulls out all the stops for campy Christmas fun. Vanessa Williams (Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty) plays Ebony Scrooge, an ego-centric pop sensation whose runaway success has made her a demanding diva (and total holiday buzzkill). All this changes on Christmas Eve, when the ghost of Ebony’s former singing partner, Marli (Rozanda “Chilli” Thomas of TLC), tells her that she’ll be visited by three spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future…and yeah, things are going to get nasty. This movie is so delightfully over the top that it’s impossible not to love, and as an added bonus, it features two original Christmas songs performed by Williams and Thomas.

Pieces of April

Dir. Peter Hedges, 2003

This comedy stars Katie Holmes as April Burns, a 20-something New Yorker who invites her estranged family to Thanksgiving dinner at her and her boyfriend, Bobby’s (Derek Luke), apartment after discovering that her mother (Patricia Clarkson) is dying from breast cancer. As April’s family makes the trek from suburbia into the city, details about their complicated relationships with each other are gradually brought to the fore. Meanwhile, April struggles to make a presentable turkey and Bobby zooms around the city looking for a nice suit. The movie is full of playful humor but, at its core, shows just how precious time with loved ones really is. 

Little Women  

Dir. Greta Gerwig, 2019 

Whether you’ve read the book five times or are going in cold, Greta Gerwig’s 2019 iteration of Louisa May Alcott’s classic tale of four precocious sisters is the perfect feel-good movie for the whole family to enjoy. With an all-star cast, including Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, and Timothée Chalamet, the film breathes new life into the March sisters’ stories with breathtaking design and newfound feminine power. It’s a perfect ode to the ups and downs of sisterhood and will have you dreaming of snowy woods and cozy nights by the fireplace all season long.

Black Christmas

Dir. Bob Clark, 1974

If you’re bored of the happy endings found in most holiday movies, feel free to take a total 180 with this 1974 Christmas-set horror flick starring Olivia Hussey (1968’s Romeo and Juliet, Death on the Nile). A small liberal arts college is quieting down for the holidays when several sorority girls are murdered by a mysterious stalker. As the sorority sisters investigate their friends’ deaths, they stumble into an underground campus conspiracy and must fight for their lives. Black Christmas is inspired by the Canadian urban legend of “the babysitter and the man upstairs” and is also based loosely on a series of real-life murders that occurred in Montreal in 1943. The film has garnered a cult following over the years and is now credited as one of the earliest slasher films, as well as inspiration for John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978).

The Holiday 

Dir. Nancy Meyers, 2006

Nancy Meyers (Father of the Bride, The Parent Trap) wrote and directed this charming romance, which stars Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz as a Londoner and a Californian who arrange a two-week home swap to escape their heartbreak during the holidays. In typical rom com fashion, both women stumble into love while in their temporary homes and must decide whether to extend their stays or return to their old lives. While The Holiday is a bit predictable plot-wise, it’s the kind of light, easy watch that’s perfect for a fun night in with friends and a glass of wine. Plus, Winslet and Diaz are both so charming you can’t not root for their characters’ happy endings.

Last Holiday 

Dir. Wayne Wang, 2006 

Queen Latifah stars as Georgia Byrd, a burned-out department store employee working gruelling days during the holiday season. When Georgia learns that she has only weeks to live due to a rare brain condition, she says “screw it!” and decides to blow her savings on a luxury European vacation. Staying at the posh Grandhotel Pupp in the Czech Republic, she mingles with retail magnates, mistresses, and even a US Senator. Free from inhibitions for the first time ever, Georgia touches the lives of all those at Grandhotel with her carefree spirit. In the process, she starts to realize she’s been a “somebody” all along. 

Tangerine

Dir. Sean Baker, 2015

Tangerine follows a transgender sex worker, Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez), as she treks through LA’s red-light district on Christmas Eve night. Fresh out of a month-long prison sentence, Sin-Dee joins forces with her best friend, fellow sex worker Alexandra (Mya Taylor), to hunt down her fiance, Chester, who has cheated on her with a cisgender prosititute. Interestingly, neither trans actress had been onscreen before this film. When director Sean Baker first met Taylor at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, the two immediately hit it off. He later met Rodriguez through Taylor (the two were old friends) and incorporated both women’s lived experiences into the film’s plot, creating a refreshing, almost jarringly raw portrayal of LA’s sex industry. Tangerine is also notable for its technical achievements. It was shot entirely on an iPhone 5S, allowing Baker to utilize dynamic, close-up shots to create an intimate character study.

Photo by //unsplash.com/@rruprrup?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&;utm_content=creditCopyText”>Aleksandra Sapozhnikova on Unsplash

The teaser trailer for Downton Abbey: A New Era is finally here. Following the box office success of the first Downton Abbey film in 2019, which saw the Crawley’s preparing for a visit from the King and Queen of England, its sequel reveals a long-kept secret and a Crawley family summer vacation.

The trailer for A New Era opens on the Dowager Countess disclosing a past love affair, “Years ago before you were born, I met a man, and now I’ve come into possession of a villa in the South of France.” It teases a wedding, some new faces, and Gatsby-esque parties and frivolity on the French Riviera.  

The beloved cast returns, including Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern as Robert and Cora Crawley, Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley, and everyone’s favorite Dame Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess. They will be joined by Hugh Dancy (Hannibal,) Laura Haddock (Guardians of the Galaxy,) Nathalie Baye (Catch Me If You Can) and Dominic West (The Wire,) though their roles have not yet been revealed. 

Smith’s return is notable, since in the previous film her character, the Dowager Countess, confessed to her granddaughter Mary Crawley (Dockery) that she may not have long to live. “I’m leaving the family and the place that I treasure in talented hands,” she says, passing the torch to Mary.

Written by series creator Julian Fellowes and directed by Simon Curtis (The Art of Racing in the Rain, My Week with Marilyn) the film is set to be released in theaters March 18, 2022.

Photos: Screenshots from YouTube

 Pablo Larraín’s Spencer is a tender, difficult, resplendent, and devastating movie. It is very, very good. Kristen Stewart brings all her formidable powers to bear, blazing through the screen with a flamboyant, heartsick chaos that sears through quiet dialogue and tense, terrible scenes of solitude.

Part of the challenge of the movie—and part of why it was such a hot-button topic in its casting to its star’s accent—is that Diana seems untouchable. She is so beloved, so deeply mourned, so tragic that it becomes difficult to embody her with meaningful, adequate scope and energy on screen.

The Queen (2006) and The Crown Season 4 (2020) both approached the character of Diana tremulously, self-conscious of the beloved aura around the late princess and reluctant to dip their toe into anything more complicated than the pure tragedy of her loss. Spencer’s Diana, on the other hand, is viciously present.

The movie takes place over three brutally intense days:  Christmas Eve, Christmas, and Boxing Day, 1991. The movie has a sense almost of an Agatha Christie country home murder mystery: the full British royal family is confined—most largely stoic but instantly recognizable—at Sandringham House under unflinching regulation, surveillance, and silence. The tone of the holiday is one of tension and oppression: exactly the opposite of expectations for a Yuletide family gathering.

As the film opens at the beginning of the Christmas holiday, Diana is still destined to be the Queen of England, trapped in her broken life with the maddening awareness of a sane inmate in a Cuckoo-style asylum. By the end of the three days, it is clear Diana will never be queen. The balances tip toward her freedom, but instead of relief freedom feels like free fall. It is something of a comfort to know, out of narrative, that she will eventually have a life free from the bell jar we find her in, if only for a few years. As the film says in its opening frames: this is a fable based on a true tragedy. But the tragedy of this story isn’t the limp default that I’ve seen in so many other narratives.

 It has been a decade since Diana’s iconic fairytale wedding to Prince Charles.  Jack Farthing, (The ABC Murders) gives a convincing performance as Diana’s royal husband who now barely speaks to her and is careless enough to buy the same elaborate pearls for both his wife and his mistress.

Jack Nielen and Freddie Spry (both in debut film roles) appear as an observant William and an adorable Harry.  William is about nine years old—old enough to recognize his mother’s pain, but equally unable to combat it. Timothy Spall (Harry Potter) stalks the hallways as a militant servant, explicitly hellbent on the royal image of dignity and control, made clear in a number of stony monologues. The compassionate but circumspect head chief, Darren, played by Sean Harris (The Green Knight,) is one person who conspires to try to console and to protect Diana, but ultimately, Sally Hawkins’ Maggie, (Shape of Water) appears as the one true ally Diana can rely on in the shitstorm that is life in the royal family.  

Adrift in an eating disorder, the mother of two is largely out of control of her own life as it is viciously subsumed by the demands  of her family-in-law. Even her private failures, like her frenzied imaginings of Anne Boleyn (Amy Manson) stalking her from the shadows, feel like a sort of victory because they are purely hers. It is a truly miserable setting. Stewart creates a character who can catch and transmit that mood with devastating clarity.

Diana is haunted, angry, restless, and a  dreamer. She is immaculately lovely in each and every frame, wielding beauty and presence with self-aware power. Part of the pain that radiates from every precise moment of the film is that Diana is fully intellectually and emotionally aware of the trap where she has landed. The dream of her life has turned sour, and she cannot reasonably act against the decline. Anne Boleyn appears as a warning specter—the royal bride of a cheating royal husband, whose life itself was stripped away at the behest of his temper and lust. How true to life is this spiral is feels questionable—but the emotional sincerity of it hits home, even if it’s not true to literal events.

This version of Diana on screen in Spencer is certainly a character, rather than a reincarnation: she isn’t conjured from strict references and recordings, but from raw emotion. She appears as a storm—the opposite of the doe-eyed Crown presentation. But this stormy, unbalanced Diana is far more human, far more aching, than her previous screen counterpart.

Some viewers may find this intimate, loose vision of Diana disrespectful. Larraín and Stewart definitely do not tiptoe with this character—and it was initially jarring, to see this icon of a woman tumbling apart, out of control of herself and her world. But her brilliantly, determined strength is clearer than it could possibly be in a quiet, tame, sad Diana like The Crown’s. Diana feels dangerous and strong and genuine through Larraín’s lens, fiercely holding herself apart as an individual against enormous odds and strains. The film ends with Charles walking into a Boxing Day gathering with the Queen, played by Stella Gonet (The Crown,) in a stiff but resigned terror as he is about to open his mouth and reveal his decision—or rather, his appeal to the powers the be—to end his marriage.

The emotions of Larraín’s Spencer are vivid and articulate. At times, they run the risk of being heavy-handed, but once of the temperament of the movie is clear, its emotive weight feels poignant rather than unsubtle. I had to check that my mask wasn’t tearstained before leaving the theater.

This performance is undoubtedly one of Kristen Stewart’s best, alongside Personal Shopper, a monumental victory over a near-impossible role.

 Top photo: Screenshot from youtube 

American actress Kristen Stewart has announced her engagement to partner Dylan Meyer. 

While Stewart is currently the centre of the attention thanks to her portrayal of Princess Diana in recent feature Spencer, it’s for personal reasons that she is once again under the spotlight. Kristen Stewart had met Dylan Meyer, (screenwriter for Moxie)  eight years ago on the set of a film, but the two didn’t begin dating until 2019 after meeting again at a friends party.

 

 

 

 

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She announced the great news while promoting her new film Spencer on Tuesday on Howard Stern Show, “I wanted to be proposed to, so I think I very distinctly carved out what I wanted and she nailed it. We’re marrying, it’s happening.” While describing the proposal, the Chanel amabassador added “With two girls, you never know like who’s going to fulfill what weird f***ing gender role thing. We don’t do that or think about it in those terms.”

Ever since its release on November 5th, Spencer has been described as a nightmarish version of Princess Diana’s life and could bring the actress her first Oscar, as describes CNN “‘Spencer’ is a horror film, and it wants you to know it.” Jackie’s director, Pablo Larraín, is, simultaneously being praised and criticised for his fictional interpretation of Princess Diana’s very real meltdown. 

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#Spencer is one of the most haunting, draining & overall best movies of the year with striking cinematography & an exceptional score. Kristen Stewart disappears as Princess Diana delivering the most complex, layered & best performance of her career. She’s winning that Oscar pic.twitter.com/h2sd33rUS9

— Connor Carey (@ConnorMovies) November 5, 2021

Stewart’s next project finds her taking the lead once again-this time behind the camera. The newly engaged starlet is set to direct an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, The Chronology of Water. The book retraces the author’s struggle as a competitive swimmer growing up with an abusive father and an alcoholic mother.

Top photo by Gage Skidmore

By now you’ve probably heard of Titane. It won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, marking only the second time a female director has won since Jane Campion made history with The Piano in 1993. It will be France’s Academy Award submission this year, and it is blowing minds all over Twitter and Letterboxd. It’s hyped as hell. 

Enjoyed the wild hairpin turns of Julia Ducournau’s second feature (after the excellent ‘Raw’). It is totally and wholly its own beast, starting shockingly and unflinchingly in your face and ending in an about face… that’s best experienced for yourself. Genre busting brain fuel. pic.twitter.com/JlpW6A7Tuj

— edgarwright (@edgarwright) October 8, 2021

Titane isn’t just the best movie of this year, I think it might be the best of the last several. I’m high above the clouds rn and my brain is mush but my god, it’s so fucking funny, disgusting and moving all the same. Julia Ducournau Forever. Long live the New Flesh ‍? pic.twitter.com/z7Ba47iF1K

— ??Brandon Streussnig ?? (@BrndnStrssng) October 1, 2021

barack obama is going to put TITANE on his end of the year list and i am going to lose my fucking mind

— demi adejuyigbe (@electrolemon) October 3, 2021

Titane follows Alexia (Agathe Rousselle, in her first feature role) from a childhood car accident, when we see her outfitted with a titanium plate in her head to her adulthood, where she is a dancer at a car show, giving autographs to desperate dudes, including one who follows her to her car afterwards. He tells her he’s in love with her, and maybe she could give him a chance. She responds to his advances by stabbing him in the ear with her hairpin. 

She heads back into the car show venue, after this dude dies on top of her, to shower. The car she performed on (with?) flirts with her, and she gets into the car and has sex with it. It’s probably my favorite sex scene in cinema history to be honest, I appreciate the level of trust you have to have in the film and the story during a scene like this. It was funny without being silly, and it was sexy and scary. When you go into a movie expecting “horror” and find yourself trying to figure out if it’s sci-fi or fantasy or horror or all of them at the same time, it rules. There was even a moment where I allowed myself to think it was going to be a sci-fi horror fantasy automotive romcom? Which maybe it kind of is?

Titane is written and directed by Julia Ducournau, a French filmmaker who rose to notoriety when her first feature film Raw premiered at Cannes in 2016 and was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize, an award given at a number of international festivals by the International Federation of Film Critics. Raw tells the story of a lifelong vegetarian who goes to veterinary school, is forced to eat raw rabbit during a hazing, and develops a taste for human flesh. 

Shot by Ruben Impens, who also shot Raw, Titane looks cool as hell. The violence is shot somewhat matter-of-factly, forcing you to watch and not making any particular comment on the action as you do. Impens uses pinks and blues heavily, and the cold surfaces of the apartments and public buildings the characters exist in, works to reinforce the genre-fuckery that is Titane. What becomes a family drama takes place in cold, sterile environments that recall action movie settings. The score by Jim Williams, another repeat collaborator from Raw, continues this hot and cold theme. Synths are present and at times it sounds like a horror movie soundtrack, but the choral vocalizations and bells can bring warmth and humanity to even the most foreboding tracks.

We learn quickly that Alexia has killed before, and a group murder scene evokes Tarantino with its mix of humor and violence. Alexia kills roommate after roommate but grows weary of all the extra people she has to murder. But violence hits differently when it isn’t intended to add a coolness factor. Ducournau is aware of and curious about the impact violence has on the human body. We see the consequences of the action and that’s what makes Ducournau’s violence and body horror so shocking. 

On the run after her slaughter-fest, Alexia disguises herself as Adrien Legrand, a boy who has been missing for years. She hacks off her hair, shaves her eyebrows, binds her torso, and breaks her nose. Here we meet Vincent, played by Vincent Lindon, who won Best Actor at Cannes for his performance in 2015’s The Measure of a Man. A supermasculine figure in a raw moment, he is impossible to look away from. Vincent sees “Adrien” and wants to believe it’s him so badly that he does. Vincent’s desperation and desire for love and connection is strong enough to outweigh any suspicions he might have. 

The evolving relationship between father and son is sweet, affecting, and surprising. Lindon’s performance is heartbreaking. He loves his son, and is patient with him, despite Alexia-as-Adrien’s guarded attitude towards him. It’s never clear if Vincent ever really thinks Alexia is his son, but this poses my favorite question in the film: did Vincent just want someone to love? 

He’s an intimidating physical presence– Ducournau asked Lindon to weight lift for a year and half to prepare for the role– but his eyes are sad and kind and he is so earnest in trying to usher Adrien out of his shell. The role seems written for him. Ducournau told Variety, “In life, he’s someone who moves me because extremes are constantly co-existing in him. He’s like this big suit of armor, he wears his body like an armor, and yet he’s constantly on the verge of crumbling. I knew I could show him like no one had seen him before.”

Where the movie doesn’t really land is on the “queerness” of its story. Alexia’s non-mainstream sexual attraction to cars, I’ll give you. Themes of a chosen family? Absolutely. But Titane has been praised for being “gender-defying” when it says as much about gender identity as Mrs. Doubtfire does. Alexia’s cross-dressing to disguise herself as Adrien has nothing to do with her gender expression, it’s a means of deception. 

Jude Dry at Indiewire sums it up, “The iconography of transmasculine transition is used as window dressing in this gory fable. The dreaded Ace bandage, long out of use and which appeared most prominently in the controversial film Boys Don’t Cry, leaves red lacerations on Alexia’s breasts and back. To keep up with his demanding job, Vincent injects his bruised buttocks with steroids every night, flailing pantingly on the bathroom floor after each violent jab. Titane twists these milestones of transition — a beautiful and liberating experience for most trans people — making them painful and grotesque in service of its bent toward body horror.”

Titane is a genre-bender for sure, but calling it gender-bending or -defying is grasping at straws. The movie is a hell of a ride, from serial killer murder fest to fish out of water to family drama to car-baby-origin story. The real depth of the film is in the relationship between Vincent and Alexia-as-Adrien, and in the lengths people will go to connect with another person, and to love and be loved.

Photos by Carole Bethuel, Courtesy of Neon

When it first hit the big screen in 2009, Jennifer’s Body was by no means a box-office hit, grossing a mediocre $31.5 million worldwide against a $16 million budget. The now-iconic horror comedy, which stars Megan Fox as a high school cheerleader possessed by a man-eating demon, suffered from a marketing campaign that couldn’t quite pin down its target audience. 

While director Karyn Kusama and screenwriter Diablo Cody intended for the film to speak to a young, female demographic, studio advertisers had different ideas.

“In those conversations, I was like, Oh, OK, we are seeing either we made a movie that they see completely differently, or what’s in front of them is something they don’t want to see,” Kusama told Buzzfeed News. “And at the time it was painful, but now I’m realizing this is evident of the world at large.”

The film’s title itself was intended as an ironic commentary on female objectification, but this became lost in the many ads and posters highlighting Megan Fox’s body and sexuality as the film’s major “sell.” 

As the film began its theatrical run in September 2009, it attracted an audience not of teen girls – who would, presumably, identify with the plights of the teenage protagonists – but rather, straight men. In fact, the “shocking” sleepover kiss scene between Jennifer (Fox) and her best friend, Needy (played by Amanda Seyfried), featured heavily in the film’s marketing campaign as a way to attract bros to the box office.

Alas, this exploitative strategy was still not enough to get the film its expected turnout. Jennifer’s Body raked in a modest $6.8 million on its opening weekend, compared to the $7.9 million opening of fellow horror film Paranormal Activity that same year. 

But as time passed, Jennifer’s Body shifted into a very different cultural niche. As new feminist movements took shape and enormous strides were made for the LGBTQIA+ community, popular reception of the film evolved into one both cult-like in devotion and inspiring in the social ideals it represented. Refinery 29 deemed Jennifer the “feminist revenge hero who came too early” while Vox called the film a “feminist cult classic.”

Now, with the #Metoo movement, many of the film’s original scares have developed an additional layer of horror, this time with their stark presentation of sexual assault and male power structures. 

via GIPHY

Jennifer’s kidnapping and abuse by a group of men has become more than a frightening plot point; it’s a condemnation of all the real-life, egregious abuses that have come to the fore and now dominate our news cycle. 

The horror genre has often depicted female sexuality as a dangerous (even deadly) taboo, but Jennifer’s Body embraces it as a source of empowerment for its characters. True, Jennifer is not a sympathetic victim of abuse; rather than justifiably going after her attackers with her new inner-demon, she targets random, innocent people. This, however, is a feminist statement in itself: there are no perfect victims. Jennifer turns into a monster (literally) and wreaks havoc across her town, but this doesn’t change or excuse the abuse she suffered. If anything, it amplifies it. 

Over the last five years in particular, Jennifer’s Body has been widely re-evaluated in the context of its queer representations and heralded as a lesbian love story ahead of its time. The same kiss scene that was originally marketed for the male gaze has since been examined as a testament to the highs and lows of same-sex attraction. Jennifer and Needy exhibit all of the denial, yearning, and passion that come with evolving queer identity. 

Cody told Buzzfeed News that she included the Needy-Jennifer kiss in the script to show that, despite her denial and confusion, Needy is undeniably in love with Jennifer. While the film’s queer subtext may have flown unnoticed in 2009, Cody believes that contemporary audiences are able to pick up on this emotional complexity “without me dropping an anvil on them.” 

Jennifer’s Body needed cultural norms to evolve before it could prove itself to be more than a sensationalist horror flick, and now it’s finally getting its due. Megan Fox herself revealed to the New York Post that she’s had countless girls thank her for helping them explore their sexuality.

“I can’t tell you how many girls, from 30 down into their teens — or, f–k that, my age, too — come up to me and are like, ‘I realized I was gay because of you,’ or ‘I felt comfortable coming out because of you,’ because of ‘Jennifer’s Body,’” the 35-year-old actress told the Post.  “If my purpose on Earth was to help one girl come out of the closet and feel OK about it, I had an amazing purpose here.”

These days, Jennifer’s Body is a regular commodity in queer film screenings and feminist academia. It’s been compared to other flicks like Carrie and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night as an example of effective feminist subversion of horror tropes and “radical” re-examination of female sexuality. The film can also be viewed as a precursor to recent socially-minded horror hits like Halloween Kills (2021), which examines the phenomenon of the “final girl” and  Thelma (2017), in which a college student finds that her queer yearnings correlate with psychokinetic abilities. 

In a 2018 headline, VICE wrote that “Jennifer’s Body Would Kill if It Came Out Today,” and yes, it’s admittedly easy to fantasize about a world where the film was released to the critical acclaim and fanfare it deserved. But to dream of artistic justice for Jennifer’s Body is to totally discount the power of cult receptions. What makes the film so powerful is the very way that changing social norms and critical theories have altered its meaning and made it so beloved to feminists and the LGBTQIA+ community alike.

If you have yet to join the Jennifer’s Body fandom, you’re in luck: the film is now streaming on Amazon Prime and is, of course, the perfect movie night choice with Halloween now fast-approaching. So grab your popcorn (and maybe your feminist theory books) and settle in for a night of scares.

 Top Photo: Screenshot From YouTube

As 2019’s Avengers: Endgame marked the conclusion of a decade-long series, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is continuing to grow with new spin-off sagas. Marvel’s Eternals is rallying up the next superhero team to combat evil, only this time we are seeing women take the lead. A star-studded cast featuring icons like Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, and Richard Madden, there are a lot of new faces making their MCU debut. 

 Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians) is set to be the first Asian woman to headline a Marvel film. Following the release of this year’s highly-anticipated Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Chan’s character Sersi, is poised to push boundaries for the studio in expanding their league of heroes. The Eternals are a team of immortal aliens who have been secretly living on Earth for 7,000 years and are pushed out of the shadows to combat their evil counterparts, Deviants, following the events of Avengers: Endgame.

 Sersi is an Eternal who empathizes with humans and works alongside Ikaris (Richard Madden) to get the team back together and save humanity. According to director Chlóe Zhao, Chan’s role will make you “rethink what it means to be heroic,” as Sersi is “not your typical superhero.” In comparison to previous Marvel films, Sersi’s strengths don’t lie in her powers or her fighting skills, but in her connection to Earth.

 Oscar-winning filmmaker Chlóe Zhao is also changing the game as the first woman of color to direct an MCU production. Inspired by the world-building of films like Blade Runner 2049 or Arrival, Zhao entered this project fighting for more practical locations to fit her vision.

 When asked about Chan’s portrayal of Sersi, Zhao shared, “It has always been a passion for me to create a nuanced female superhero that is rarely seen in this genre. She[Chan] brought a beautiful sense of gentleness, compassion, and vulnerability to Sersi that I believe will invite viewers to rethink what it means to be heroic.”

 Eternals has one of the most diverse casts in Marvel history, featuring its first deaf superhero played by Afro-Mexican actor Lauren Ridloff (The Walking Dead.) Taking on the role of Makkari, known for her superhuman speed, her deafness has been reconfigured as an asset rather than a disadvantage. According to Ridloff, “Let’s just say Makkari would not be as fast as she is if it wasn’t for her Deafness.”

 In contrast to the Marvel movies over the last decade, and the superhero genre as a whole, the MCU has started to diversify its cast and crew to feature more women and people of color. Salma Hayek, playing the role of Ajak, told Variety, “It’s not diverse for the sake of being diverse. It’s the way [Zhao] chose every single one of us that really creates a family for the purpose of the Eternals.”

Marvel’s Eternals releases theatrically on November 5th; no Disney+ release date as of now. 

Top Photo: Screenshot / YouTube

Halle Berry will make her directorial debut with the upcoming Netflix sports drama Bruised, in which she stars as a disgraced fighter who must defend her name and rediscover her power. 

The 55-year-old Oscar winner plays Jackie Justice, a former mixed martial arts champion who left the sport after a devastating loss. Still humiliated years later, Justice is persuaded into a vicious underground fight by her boyfriend and manager, Desi, played by Adan Canto (X-Men: Days of Future Past). Suddenly, Justice is back in the game, attracting the attention of a fight league promoter, played by Shamier Anderson (Goliath), who promises her a new life in the ring. 

But redemption is never quite so easy. Just as Justice is putting the pieces of her career back together, Manny (Danny Boyd) – the son she abandoned as an infant – appears on her doorstep. Now, Justice must fight not only for her own reputation but for the security of her family. 

Bruised first screened as a rough cut at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival and was soon after purchased by Netflix. In conversation at TIFF, Berry revealed that the character of Jackie Justice looked very different when she first read the Bruised script by Michelle Rosenfarb in 2017.

According to Entertainment Weekly,  Justice was first described as a “25-year-old Irish Catholic girl”.  Berry, however, saw herself in the character and pitched herself for the lead. “Why not a Black woman? It’s an old genre; there’s so many great fight films that have been made,” Berry told Variety.  “I made the point why it would be worth retelling an age-old story with this new twist.” 

Major changes to the film didn’t stop there. Once Berry had convinced the film’s creative team she was right for the lead, she was still dissatisfied with the several potential directors she met with for the project. None of them shared her vision for a gritty, unforgiving portrayal of female fighters. It was Berry’s producing partner, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, who eventually suggested that Berry herself helm the picture and fulfill her long-time dream of directing. 

It was an easy decision for the Monster’s Ball actress, who threw herself into many new responsibilities on set. “As an actor, I always show up and do my part, and I can only do what I can do,” Berry told Variety.  “Being the director, I have a part in the totality of every department. I get to have a voice. That was different, and I really loved that.”

 

 

 

 

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The mother of two told the New York Times that, to portray her MMA fighter character as realistically as possible, she trained four to six hours a day in everything from boxing to jiu jitsu. In true badass actor fashion, Berry actually cracked two ribs while filming a fight scene with co-star Valentina Shevchenko but kept acting (and directing!) through the pain. 

Ultimately, Berry’s relentless devotion to the project has come from her connection to Justice’s journey as a woman, mother, and person of color.

“I understand being marginalized as a Black woman and the anger, resentment, fear and frustration that comes with all of that,” Berry told the Times. “If I could put all of that into this movie, all the things that I know so well, then I knew I could create a character that will not only be real, but will resonate with women of different races, too.” 

Bruised will premier in select theatres on Nov. 17 and globally on Netflix Nov. 24. Until then, check out the trailer for the jaw-dropping redemption story here: 

Top Photo: Still from “Bruised” courtesy of Netflix 

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So it’s officially October, and what better way to start off Spooky Season than binge-watching some intensely scary movies. Better yet, since we are all about recognizing women in the film sphere, how about a list of some women-directed films that are sure to make your skin crawl. We covered all the bases, some supernatural, some disgusting, some nostalgic, but these are six horror thrillers that you can stream at home in anticipation of All Hallows Eve. 

The Love Witch

Directed by Anna Biller; released November 11, 2016

If you’re looking for a retro spin on a modern-day horror tale, The Love Witch will make you feel transported back to the psychedelic age of 1964. This campy portrayal of obsessive romance and sexual horror follows the journey of Elaine (Samantha Robinson), a gorgeous young witch traveling across the coast of California in pursuit of new romance. After the unexpected death of her husband Jerry, Elaine craves the undying love from a devoted suitor. Trained in the art of witchcraft, Elaine concocts potions of everlasting devotion that make men fall to their knees in front of her. Once she grows tired of their clinginess, she “disposes” of them and moves on to her next lover. In her sophomore piece, Director Anna Biller reconfigures the femme fatale trope, melting feminism with witchcraft to show the power women hold as both sexually desired and sexually desiring. Shot in the Technicolor style of ‘60s horror classics like Rosemary’s Baby (1968) or Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), The Love Witch pays homage to pulp novels of the past and charms viewers into watching Elaine’s love affairs end in death, almost as if we too are under her spell.

Available for streaming on Pluto TV

Candyman

Directed by Nia DaCosta; released August 27, 2021

As a sequel to 1992’s Candyman and the fourth installation in the slasher franchise, Candyman revisits the age-old myth of the Candyman killer. In the 1977 Cabrini-Green housing project in Chicago, many described Sherman Fields as an “odd fellow” who handed out candy to local White children; however, these candies had razor blades inside of them. Police shot and killed Fields in cold blood, only for him to be exonerated weeks later. Another “Candyman” Daniel Robitaille (Tony Todd) provides a different origin story dating back to a 19th-century interracial affair that resulted in his lynching. Legend has it that if you say “Candyman” five times in a mirror, the Candyman’s spirit is summoned to kill you. Flashforward to the present-day, gentrified Cabrini-Green neighborhood, Anthony McCoy (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is a struggling artist who becomes wildly obsessed with the Candyman myth. After Anthony designs a mirrored art exhibit at his girlfriend Brianna’s (Teyonah Parris) gallery, more and more spectators fall victim to the Candyman. Anthony begins to unravel his past life in Cabrini-Green, as the Candyman is revealed to be a symbolic reminder of the Black men who were wrongfully killed in racially targeted crimes. Under the direction of Nia DaCosta and co-written by Jordan Peele, best known for his Black horror movies Get Out (2017) and Us (2019), this modern sequel to a decades-long saga continues to inject racial commentary into the forever-evolving horror genre. 

Available on Amazon Prime Video

Jennifer’s Body

Directed by Karyn Kusama; released September 18, 2009

With TikTok teens planning their next sexy Halloween costume, the early 2000s horror classic Jennifer’s Body has seen a cultural resurgence over the last year. Best friends Anita “Needy” Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried) and Jennifer Check (Megan Fox) couldn’t be more opposite. Needy is the nerdy “plain Jane” who has always been second (and needy) to her childhood best friend, Jennifer. The stereotypical smoking hot, popular cheerleader Jennifer befriends an indie rock band, Low Shoulder, who later drag her into the middle of the woods to perform a Satanic ritual in exchange for fame and fortune. Jennifer, who is not actually a virgin, becomes permanently possessed and begins her rampage of seducing and eating boys. While past critics have deemed the film as just another “teen flick” for teenage boys to ogle at Fox, under a new lens in 2021 many girls see Jennifer’s Body as a criticism of female friendships. Needy is representative of many girls who feel like they’re in their best friend’s shadow. The sexual tension between Needy and Jennifer is laced throughout the film, offering a queer lens that many viewers now find extremely relatable to their own lives. This reorientation of Jennifer’s Body as a feminist film could only be achieved under the direction of Karyn Kusama and her female creative team, with many of us asking if we honestly give a f*ck about how many boys Jennifer killed. Best put in the words of Jennifer Check herself, “Boys are just placeholders, they come, and they go.”

Available on Amazon Prime Video

Berlin Syndrome

Directed by Cate Shortland; released May 5, 2017

Leaning away from the supernatural end of the spectrum, Berlin Syndrome is probably one of the most freaky choices on this list because it could actually happen to some of us! We follow Clare (Teresa Palmer), a young Australian photographer backpacking across Europe and taking her next stop in Berlin to capture snapshots of Cold War-era architecture. There she meets Andi (Max Riemelt), a German schoolteacher whose charm (and fluency in the English language) whisks Clare off her feet for a one-night stand. Little does she know that the following day she will be locked alone inside his apartment, as the once-charming Andi becomes her captor for the next few months. While many movies focused on captor/captive relationships tend to delve into the complex inner-workings of the kidnappers themselves, evident in M. Night Shyamalan’s Split (2019), director Cate Shortland is effective at focusing our attention on Clare’s enigmatic backstory. Clare is a character that appears at surface level to be an adventurer, a traveler, a creative; however, her gradual retreat into solitary madness keeps viewers on the edge of their seats through every potential escape from captivity.

Streaming on Netflix

Raw

Directed by Julia Ducournau; released March 10, 2017

If you’re a fan of the bloody, gory, gross-out sh*t, then Raw may fit your needs. A coming-of-age horror story chronicles first-year veterinarian student Justine (Garance Marillier), who, you guessed it, loves animals so much that she’s been a life-long vegetarian. Following a hazing ritual where Justine is forced to eat raw rabbit kidneys, she develops a unique craving for raw meat to the point where she accidentally cuts off her friend’s finger and starts eating it (um, awkward). Throughout her transition to cannibalism, Justine begins to get sexual gratification out of eating other’s flesh. Eventually, Justine and her best friend Alexia (Ella Rumpf), who crazy enough is also a cannibal, are iced out by the rest of their class for their weird dietary habits. Alexia and Justine go on to murder and eat one of their friends, Adrien (Rabah Naït Oufella), with Justine left wondering how to return to her former self. Raw was shown at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, with some viewers allegedly needing medical attention after fainting during the graphic, cannibalistic scenes. Needless to say, if you’re into watching something that will turn you into a devote vegan, then Raw is your solution.

Streaming on Netflix

Nocturne

Directed by Zu Quirke; released October 13, 2020

For fans of Black Swan (2010), Nocturne embodies that all-consuming downwards spiral for success and perfection. Developed under the Blumhouse umbrella, Nocturne looks at classical musicians’ competitive, cutthroat nature in the overwhelming jealousy Juliet (Sydney Sweeney) feels towards her twin sister Vivian (Madison Iseman), a Julliard-bound piano prodigy. Juliet begins to vilify her sister for her success. Zu Quirke intertwines the sheet music throughout the film, almost manifesting Juliet’s inner thoughts and mania. Music becomes integral in both the character’s lives and horror thematics. As opposed to many other films on this list, Nocturne is pure horror because it reflects reality. Sweeney, best known for her role as Cassie on Euphoria, offers brutal psychological destruction of a woman who must prove herself, even if it ends in death.

Available on Amazon Prime Video

Top image: Still frame from Jennifer’s Body

Karen Dalton is a name that more fans of Blues and Folk music should know, but don’t. Revisiting the early 1960s folk-music scene that sprung from Greenwich Village in film, can feel like well-trodden territory, and musicians such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie are considered folk music legends. Karen Dalton sprung from the same era, but never quite received her due. Passing away in 1993, the guitarist and banjo player had been an underground favorite slowly gaining popularity over the last 50 years. Musicians like Nick Cave, Adele, and Joanna Newsom have even shouted her out as an influence. And now, thanks to a new documentary, the unsung legend is finally getting her flowers. 

Karen Dalton: In My Own Time is a personal, affectionate portrait of a musical artist, full of stories from friends, family, and collaborators and rich with artifacts from Dalton’s personal archive. The film is directed by Richard Peete and Robert Yapkowitz, who met working in the props department of Debra Granik’s film Winter’s Bone, eventually became roommates, besties, and now co-directors. While working together the two also discovered a shared love for Dalton’s music and set out to make a film to share amplify her story to the world. 

BUST sat down with Peete and Yapkowitz to talk about the making of the film, Karen’s legacy, and what kind of artist she might be today. 

BUST: Once you had discovered your shared love of Karen Dalton, how did the idea for the documentary come about? 

RICHARD PEETE: We were at a bar in Brooklyn, where we lived, and all of Karen’s peers were on the jukebox but Karen wasn’t. We decided that if anyone was going to make a documentary about Karen then we should, and we’d get Karen on the jukebox. 

ROBERT YAPKOWITZ: The movie came out of [our] love of the music and this realization that a documentary about a specific musician can really help get a new set of eyes on them, and expose them to a new generation, people that wouldn’t have had access to them before. 

RP: It’s been cool hearing the different reactions from people seeing our film—there are new fans, and then we there are also people who have loved Karen for years and are finally getting to see footage and hear her talk for the first time, and access to these journals and diaries that nobody’s had access to before. 

B: How much information was available when you started? 

RY: There was a very small amount of footage that we knew existed because it had been released on a DVD with a reissue CD in the early 2000s. And we knew these fragments of stories, but one thing people who knew her kept coming back to were the contrasting elements of her personality. She was on one hand very strong and confident in her abilities, but on the other hand very fragile and hesitant to allow herself to be vulnerable.

RP: If Karen was a musician now and had access to the internet and could just record in her living room, [she would have had] the ability to get herself out there, without physically putting herself out there. 

B: At what point did you learn about her personal archive and gain access to it?

RP: It was pretty early on. Our first interview was with Peter Walker up in Woodstock, and he had the most information for us. It was our first stop, so we were like, “Oh, this is going to be easy, look at all this great stuff we found” and it didn’t work out like that. He let us film and scan a lot of stuff but not everything. It wasn’t until a few years later, when he realized how serious we were and he trusted us, that he let us go back up there and scan the rest of the journals and diaries. 

B: What was collaborating with Karen’s friends and family like? Were they protective of her?

RY: We had spoken to people on the phone quite a bit and had built relationships before we went to interview them. By the time we got to them they were comfortable in speaking frankly about most things. It just took a little bit of time. Even though there are tragic elements to her story, it feels like everyone who knew her is more proud of her than anything else. They’re proud of the music she left behind. It overshadows any sort of negative experience they may have had with her. This many years later, they look back on it and they’re proud to have known someone and played music with someone who created something so unique. 

B: How did Angel Olsen get involved, and what was the process of recording Karen’s journals like? 

RP: It took a while to figure out how we wanted to use the journals. We had a friend do voice over and we learned that it’s got to be the perfect person. We needed somebody that could perform and deliver because this was the emotional heartbeat of the film. And we knew Angel was a fan. It was just a perfect way for her to contribute, and she nailed it. She got the nuance and the certain little comedic beats and the sad parts. She did a really incredible job. 

RY: It’s nice to have someone else like Angel read it just to contribute in some way besides sitting down and giving an interview and saying “I love Karen Dalton’s music” you know? There’s only so many times you can hear that before it loses its meaning, so to have people like Angel and Julia Holter, who did the score, contribute in those ways is not only showing their support for Karen and her legacy, but it’s also truly helping tell the story. 

B: What are your favorite Karen Dalton songs? Are there any modern songs you wish she could cover?

RY: My favorite Karen Dalton songs at the moment are “Same Old Man,” on her second album In My Own Time, which Light in the Attic records will be releasing as a special edition in honor of the 50th anniversary. And I love her version of “Reason to Believe” right now, of course. 

RP: I’ve been listening to “Blue Notion” a bunch, and of course, “Something On Your Mind,” her version of “Remembering Mountains.” Hearing her do a version of Kurt Vile or Nick Cave or St. Vincent or something, I’d like to see her take on some of their tracks. 

RY: I’d love to hear her duet with Courtney Barnett. Someone like Vagabon as well. There are so many great artists coming up now, great female artists with really unique voices.

Karen Dalton: In My Own Time is open now at Film Forum in New York City, and will premiere on October 8th in Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa before being released to streaming platforms on November 16. 

[This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity purposes.]

Photos: Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment

DATING & NEW YORK

Written and directed by Jonah Feingold

Out September 10

In a world where meeting a potential partner in-person seems almost impossible, Dating & New York dramatizes today’s most common method for mingling-hooking up on dating apps. The romantic comedy follows Milo (Jaboukie Young-White from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah) and Wendy (Francesca Reale from Stranger Things) as they embark on a casual, friends with benefits relationship- no feelings, just sex. Writer/ director Jonah Feingold presents their story as a modernized fairy tale set in New York City with imagery and music that evokes vintage romantic films from the past. In true rom-com form, the central couple’s relationship coexists beside the casual relationship of their friends, Hank (Brian Miller from Bridge and Tunnel) and Jessie (comedian Catherine Cohen). As one connection blossoms into something more, however, the other comes infected with the one thing they are all trying to avoid- feelings. 

Dating & New York is very effective in its depiction of the relationship woes that frequently surface as the result of modern technology. From ghosting to catfishing, it’s a jungle out there, and this film is perfect for those seeking a mirror image of their own online dating lives. -PAYTON TOOMEY 

Photo courtesy of Maria Rousche 

LANGUAGE LESSONS

Written and directed by Natalie Morales

Out September 10

Natalie Morales, the actor, has been gracing our screens for more than a decade (Parks & Recreation, Battle of the Sexes, Dead to Me), but Morales the director is having a moment: Language Lessons, which she co-wrote and stars in with Mark Duplass, is one of the two features she helmed during lockdown. It’s the quiet, intimate flipside to Plan B, the chaotic quest movie she directed for Hulu, and both are must-sees. Much of Language Lessons’ closeness comes from the format- it was filmed entirely over Zoom, the perfect vehicle for the touching tale of a long-distance relationship. 

Duplass plays Adam, a guy whose husband gifts him weekly Spanish classes with Morales’ Cariño in Costa Rica. At first, Adam’s lavish home, “kept man” lifestyle, and charmingly self-centred banter rankle Cariño. But a tragedy sets their lessons on an unexpected trajectory, and with only two locations, two actors, and lots of talking, the story is carried mostly by their captivating charisma and chemistry. Audiences get to know each other, with all the awkwardness, caginess, and unexpected vulnerability an online-only relationship can foster. Watching can feel like eavesdropping, and you’ll want to keep spying on this duo after the final frame. – LISA BUTTERWORTH

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Mackie

 This review originally appeared in BUST’s Fall 2021 print edition. Subscribe today!

On September 8th, at the 78th annual Venice International Film Festival, Jamie Lee Curtis received the Lifetime Achievement Award. In anticipation of the final two installments in the Halloween franchise, Halloween Kills (2021) and Halloween Ends (2022), Curtis will be reprising her role as protagonist Laurie Strode. 

When asked about Curtis’ career, Alberto Barbera, Festival Director, stated: “To date, her extraordinary four-decade career reminds us that true talent, combined with intelligence, wit, endurance, and sheer grit, are the hallmarks of this true and unforgettable star.” The child of Hollywood actors Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis has had a career that transcends decades, as a star of horror classics and cult comedies, a two-time Golden Globe recipient, and more recently a New York Times best-selling author of children’s books. While Jamie Lee Curtis’ career began with 1978’s Halloween, the actress has performed in over 40 films and 20 television shows, including Charlie’s Angels (1978), Freaky Friday (2003), and Knives Out (2019).

Jamie Lee Curtis was awarded a lifetime achievement award at the Venice International Film Festival.https://t.co/aEgyZrb1nb

— NPR (@NPR) September 9, 2021

Giving birth to the “final girl” trope, Halloween (1978) set a precedent for American horror in leaving one final female character who is strong enough (or pure enough) to escape death. Laurie is the quintessential “Scream Queen,” discovering her friends’ bodies and narrowly escaping Michael Meyer’s attacks. Only the appearance of Dr. Loomis, who shows up just in time to shoot Meyers to “death,” is what saves Laurie. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the horror genre we know and love was heavily influenced by Italian horror, known as “Giallo.” These Giallo films combined erotic pulp fiction and grotesque horror elements that inspired the American slasher genre of Curtis’ debut. When asked about receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Curtis shares: “Italian Cinema has always honored and heralded the genre that gave me my career, so I couldn’t be more proud and happy to accept this award from the Venice International Film Festival on behalf of Laurie and all the courageous heroines of the world who stand tall in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles and refuse to yield.”  

Founded in 1932, the Venice International Film Festival is the world’s oldest film festival and is part of the “Big Three” alongside the Cannes Film Festival and Berlin International Film Festival. Since 1969, past recipients of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement have included Julie Andrews (2019), Jane Fonda (2017), Tim Burton (2007), and Steven Spielberg (1993). 

As a follow-up to 2018’s Halloween, Halloween Kills (2021) picks up right where we left off with Laurie and her family believing Michael Meyers to be dead after locking him in the basement of Laurie’s burning house. Laurie must lead the Haddonfield community in hunting down and killing off Meyers once and for all. The sequel will feature recurring characters from Laurie’s past, with actors Nancy Stephens, Kyle Richards, and Charles Cyphers reprising their roles from the original Halloween (1978). 

Halloween Kills (2021) is set for a U.S. theatrical release on October 15th and same-day streaming on Peacock for paid-tier members. You can check out the trailer below!

Top Photo: Screenshot / YouTube

In its latest curated collection, the Criterion Channel highlights the work of the “Queen of Paris” herself, Josephine Baker. The actress, dancer, activist, and French Resistance hero was born in St. Louis on June 3, 1906 but achieved international fame in France, where she spent most of her adult life and built her legendary entertainment career. 

Baker started out in Paris’ illustrious cabaret halls, where her magnetic persona soon elevated her to the silver screen. With her 1927 film debut, Siren of the Tropics, in which she plays a West Indian girl who falls for a French traveler, Baker became the first Black woman to star in a major motion picture. Tropics is included in the collection along with Baker’s first talkie, Zou Zou (1934), a backstage musical surrounding a Black woman (Baker’s) unrequited love for her white childhood friend.

The collection also features the 1935 comedy Princesse Tam-Tam, in which Baker plays a shepherd girl who rises through the ranks of French society with a faux princess persona. The last film in the collection, La revue des revues (1927), highlights Parisian nightlife in true Roaring Twenties fashion, with Baker’s extravagant dance segments embodying all the glitz and glam of post-war Paris. 

Baker rose to fame during the rampant imperialism of the 1920s, meaning most of her onscreen roles showcased her as the object of colonialist fantasies. The actress’s many racially-charged nicknames included “Bronze Venus,” “Black Pearl,” and the “Creole Goddess.”

It’s near impossible to separate Baker’s trailblazing career from the overt racial stereotypes of her work. In fact, the image in which Baker is most widely immortalized comes from the 1925 stage show La Revue Nègre, where she descends from a palm tree wearing pearls, wrist cuffs, and a skirt made of rubber bananas to perform a danse sauvage or “wild dance.” 

Contemporary critic Pierre de Régnier described the dance as such: “She grimaces, crosses her eyes, wiggles disjointedly, does a split and finally crawls off the stage stiff-legged, her rump higher than her head, like a young giraffe.”

The Criterion Channel addresses the complex dynamic between Baker’s legacy of empowerment and onscreen subjugation through an interview with Terri Simone Francis, Director of the Black Film Center/Archive in the Media School at Indiana University. 

Francis explains the different phases of Baker’s career while also discussing how Baker’s self-perception contrasted with a deeply exploitative entertainment industry.

“Rather than avoiding the perils of racial-sexual representation, she danced in to them, laughing as she drifted between respectability and ‘waywardness,’” Francis wrote in a recent Literary Hub essay on Baker. “Baker was an adventuress and an artist who took major risks—and in doing so opened up possibilities for thinking through performance in film history.” 

This Criterion Channel collection arrives with the news that Baker will be memorialized in the Panthéon of Paris with an honorary ceremony on November 30. Inclusion in the Panthéon is one of France’s highest national honors and has only been bestowed to 80 other people, including Victor Hugo, Voltaire, and Marie Curie. 

Baker will be the first entertainer, sixth woman, and first ever Black woman to receive this honor. 

“World-renowned music hall artist, committed to the Resistance, tireless anti-racist activist, [Baker] was involved in all the fights that bring together citizens of good will, in France and around the world,” said Elysée Palace, the official estate of French President Emmanuel Macron, in a recent statement. 

Baker will be further commemorated in an upcoming limited series based on Sherry Jones’ 2018 novel, Josephine Baker’s Last Dance. Actress Paula Patton, best known for her work in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011) and Warcraft (2016), optioned the rights to the novel in 2019 and is slated to star in and produce the TV project. Further details about the production have not yet been announced. 

“Josephine Baker had an incredible life and was a remarkable woman,” Patton told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s been a childhood dream of mine to play such an inspirational person and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to tell her story.” 

The “Starring Josephine Baker” collection is now streaming on the Criterion Channel for subscribers only. Subscriptions start at $10.99 per month with a free, 14-day trial option.

Top Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Universal Public Domain Dedication

Second Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain 

Discovered by Howard Hughes at 18 and poised to become Universal Studios’ answer to Marilyn Monroe, Mamie Van Doren made a name for herself in the ’50s playing big screen bad girls. Now 90 and as daring as ever, Van Doren opens up about sexism, censorship, and that time she almost hooked up with Marlene Dietrich. 

“Mamie Van Doren is a Hollywood icon. Tough as diamonds, she is the very last of the platinum blond studio starlets—appearing in 41 films between 1951 and 2002—and she is, at this very moment, casting her spell on me.

“Do you like one-night stands?” Van Doren asks sweetly over the telephone from her home in Newport Beach, CA. She says exactly what she means and isn’t waiting for a permission slip. After decades of rebelling against ageism and gender norms, today she still poses as a nude model, and her desire to destigmatize female sexuality is ever-present. Within minutes, she’s uncovered my peculiar fetish for pencil mustaches and begins to dish. “Clark Gable had that mustache, you probably would’ve liked it,” she says, giggling, then goes on to describe how his signature facial hair tickled her in the kissing scenes for their 1958 film Teacher’s Pet. “We had to shoot 10 takes [because of it]. I had such a crush on him.”    

A complex and provocative woman, Van Doren is the star of numerous midcentury films centering around counterculture and rebellion, including Untamed Youth (1957), High School Confidential (1958), and The Beat Generation (1959). Her performances made her the subject of juvenile delinquent fantasies for decades to come and gave her a reputation as the ultimate bad girl.

Often captured bewitching audiences beneath a shock of icy blond hair, the points on her bullet bra sharp as daggers, there was nothing safe about Van Doren, and the censors knew it. A decade before the sexual revolution, she had the nerve to prioritize her own pleasure, saying and doing what she wanted, and she’s still that way today. 

The press crowned Mamie Van Doren, Marilyn Monroe, and Jayne Mansfield the “Three M’s” in the 1950s. Hollywood’s “It” girls, they were considered the cream of the honey-haired crop. But while her peers would go on to die tragically in 

their youths, further glorifying and commodifying them, Van Doren would not, outliving the combined ages of both Monroe and Mansfield decades ago. Her survival has spared her legacy the tacky adorations sold at tourist traps next to Van Doren’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But it also keeps her from the same degree of deserved recognition. 

“I guess I’m known for fucking. That’s become my favorite word.” 

Photo: Thomas Dixon

Photo: Still from Untamed Youth, 1957

“Can you imagine? I’ve been here almost a hundred years?!” she exclaims, laughing. “Imagine all the crap I’ve been through!” In fact, when I catch up with her she’s just celebrated her 90th birthday and is busy working on the follow-up to her 1987 memoir, Playing the Field. “How you treat your age depends on your attitude, so try to fucking forget about how old you are,” she muses before adding, “life doesn’t even start until 40.”

Born Joan Lucille Olander, she grew up on a farm in South Dakota during the Great Depression. Her family had no electricity or running water and scarlet fever, polio, and tuberculosis were rampant in her community. “Only the strong survived,” Van Doren recalls. “Every day, I saw a hearse taking someone away. The whole family [next door] was wiped out from scarlet fever.”

As a child, she was weaned on golden-era greats like Mae West and Jean Harlow, who helped her develop a taste for the sultry more than the sweet. And when her family moved to L.A. when she was 11, her interest in Hollywood grew. Taking her cue from her favorite femme fatale Carole Lombard, she paled her blonde to platinum and set out to see her name in lights.orn Joan Lucille Olander, she grew up on a farm in South Dakota during the Great Depression. Her family had no electricity or running water and scarlet fever, polio, and tuberculosis were rampant in her community. “Only the strong survived,” Van Doren recalls. “Every day, I saw a hearse taking someone away. The whole family [next door] was wiped out from scarlet fever.”

Her ambitions almost ended before they began, however, when she eloped at 17 and found herself in a violent marriage. One evening, her husband attempted to throw her off their second-story balcony in a drunken rage. She fought for her life, escaped that man, and recommitted herself to creating a career. “I really wasn’t interested in getting married,” she says of her outlook after that. “A woman had to cook and be a prostitute for [her husband]. They had to do everything for him, and all he had to do was go to work in the morning. I don’t think so, that’s not my scene. I did what I wanted to do. I always have.”

Van Doren marched on, landing a gig modeling for famed pinup artist Alberto Vargas and winning the Miss Palm Springs pageant when she was 18, which brought her to the attention of producer Howard Hughes. Through Hughes, she eventually made it into the pictures. But even in the small roles the studios assigned her at the beginning of her career, she always seemed to draw focus. “Oh God, the [studio executives] were afraid of me,” she recalls. “They wouldn’t put me on certain shows because they didn’t want women copying me and being independent.”

And as her screen time grew, her voluptuous figure and provocative moves soon provoked the ire of the censorship board trying to make films of the day adhere to the “Hays Code.” According to the Hays guidelines, “no picture shall be produced that will lower the moral standards of those who see it.” This meant no “unnecessary passion,” interracial relationships, homosexuality, and of course, none of Van Doren’s signature pelvic thrusts. “I couldn’t do a forward bump when I was doing my dancing,” she recalls. “It wasn’t acceptable. Elvis was acceptable but women were not. Well, I just said, ‘Fuck that noise,’ and I went for it.” 

Photo: Photoplay magazine, 1958

Rock ‘n’ roll was just making its way into the mainstream as Van Doren’s career was taking off. But fearing the havoc her hips would create, censors insisted she stay seated while singing during certain televised performances. “I was constantly a target,” she says of that time. “I was banned from TV because I was too sexy. I was giggling and wiggling, and they didn’t want women to do that. So, I was bad, and Marilyn was good.” 

The Catholic church would come for her, too. The “Legion of Decency” was a rating system created by the Church to censor films they deemed indecent and immoral. And Van Doren’s film Untamed Youth was the only American film condemned by the Church in 1957. “They wouldn’t give me The Legion of Decency because, I guess, my breasts were too large, or I wore a cute sweater,” she quips. “That’s why he hated me, because I was a woman.” The “he” she’s referring to is Cardinal Francis Spellman, the enraged archbishop who personally condemned Van Doren and did his best to destroy her career. (Though it’s interesting to note that credible allegations of child molestation against Spellman eventually surfaced in 2019.) “He thought he’d stop me, and he did for a while. You have no idea, I was fighting the studio, fighting the Hays office,” she says with both pain and pride in her voice. “I was really having a problem. But I managed to pull it off. I’m glad I could help others in the future. Mae West opened the door for me. I opened the door for Madonna.”

In the 1960s, Van Doren began transitioning from film to live performances. In one memorable brush with fate, she was unable to perform a gig down South, so Jayne Mansfield was offered the job instead. It was on her way to this show that Mansfield was killed in a fatal car crash. Profoundly affected by the tragedy, Van Doren decided to give back by making her first of two trips to Vietnam to entertain the troops. “Nobody knows what war is up close until you witness it,” she says. “For three months, I flew around in a helicopter wondering if any second I’d be shot out of the sky.” Then one night after a performance in the Mekong Delta, it looked like her fears might come to fruition. “All of a sudden I saw a red light…they were shooting rockets off, and the rockets were really coming after us. We nearly didn’t make it.”

Another very close call would be in Saigon. After dinner one evening, she surprised a group of children attaching grenades to her jeep. Shortly after visiting multiple army hospitals, she would find herself admitted to one, spending three months bedridden with dysentery. “I nearly died in Vietnam,” she recalls. “I came so close to death.” In recognition of her service, Van Doren was made an honorary Colonel in 2015. “I sign certain things Colonel Van Doren,” she says, humbly.

But even the horrors of war couldn’t prepare Van Doren for the date she went on with Burt Reynolds not long after returning home. In a misguided attempt to seduce her, he  invited her to his set to watch him perform his own stunts. “That, to me, wasn’t very impressive. I had just gotten back from Vietnam. That’s the genuine thing,” she says. “He jumps through a window and gets lots of applause and I’m thinking, ‘I’m bored to death.’”

But then he said something that made her decide to give him a chance: “You know,” he told her, “I’ve been considered the male Mamie Van Doren.”

She decided to indulge her curiosity. “Well, I found out when I got to his apartment, he was no male Mamie Van Doren,” she recalls. “One of those lady cigarettes would have covered it nicely.”

Reynolds, however, was far from Van Doren’s only celebrity lover. She and music mogul Quincy Jones actually met as teenagers and quickly became sweethearts in the 1940s when racial segregation was overt, not implied. “We started to go out, making out, and going to all the Black places,” she recalls. “We weren’t allowed to go to any white places, they wouldn’t serve him. They wouldn’t serve me, either. It was really bad. We’d have to hide.” This was at a time when studios contractually controlled everything about an actress—from dictating their diets and monitoring their weight to managing their sex lives, pregnancies, and marriages. The studio executives were clear, dating a Black man would mean the end of her career. “I didn’t care,” she says, “he was perfect for me.”

Other celebs the press has romantically linked to Van Doren include Clark Gable, Johnny Carson, Elvis Presley, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, and Warren Beatty. But for Van Doren, there will always be one star she will think of as the one who got away. It was a rainy day in 1956. Van Doren was in a powder blue suit and fox fur stole on her way to a fitting at Columbia Studios. When she arrived, a German accent caught her attention. “Oh my God, I’m thinking to myself, it’s Marlene Dietrich,” Van Doren tells me. “I felt so, I’m just, I’m just shaking.” Dietrich perched herself above Van Doren, her rain hat dapperly covering one eye. “Well, that was enough to do me in,” she tells me. “I knew she kissed women in her movies and that really turned me on.” Dietrich was oozing confidence. “I never had anyone flirt with me like that, and it was Marlene Dietrich on top of it! She acted like she was interested!” Van Doren explains she had just given birth—to Perry, the son she had with her second husband, bandleader Ray Anthony—and wasn’t sure what to do. “Today, it would’ve been a different story. Now that I’m older, I would realize being with Marlene Dietrich would be very sensuous, and she must be very, very, good at what she does,” she tells me with the only hint of regret she reveals in our entire two-and-a-half-hour conversation.

Van Doren would go on to finally find the love of her life in her fifth husband, actor and dentist Thomas Dixon, whom she has been married to for the last 42 years. “I’m very sexy, even now. My sexual desires run really good about once a week,” she says of keeping that romance alive. “The feeling is even better than it was when I was younger because I enjoy it more.” Dixon is 17 years her junior and Van Doren thinks that is part of what makes them work. “It pays to be with somebody younger so when you get older you have somebody to help you. Generally, it’s the other way around, the men expect the women to take care of them.”

When it comes to passions, however, Van Doren isn’t single minded. She’s also deeply invested in politics. During the last administration she reveled in using her Twitter account to troll Trump and she campaigned hard for Kamala Harris, whom she believes will be our next president. “We will have a woman, a Black woman, president. Isn’t that something?” she exclaims. “I never thought I’d live to see that. I hope I live that long to see it. I mean, I really do.” 

Photo: Born Reckless poster, 1958

It’s clear after meeting her that the real secret to Mamie Van Doren’s eternal glamour is her unwillingness to self-destruct. Many forces tried to stop her, but she just continues fighting for the right to be herself. And at 90, she remains unjaded, unfiltered, and deeply inspiring. She would, unlike so many others before her, survive the double-edged sword of Hollywood starlet stardom, only to emerge stronger than ever. “You can do anything you want to do,” she reassures me before we say goodbye. “If you want to do it bad enough.”  

Words by Kelly Kathleen

This article originally appeared in BUST’s Summer 2021 print edition. Subscribe today!

The first peak at the new Princess Diana biopic, Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart as the late princess has debuted. 

Spencer is set over three days during Christmas at the royal family’s Sandringham Estate in 1991 as Diana decides to end her very public and troublesome marriage to Prince Charles (Jack Farthing). Spencer is directed by the celebrated Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larrain, who is also known for his direction on the acclaimed 2016 movie Jackie about former First Lady Jackie Kennedy. 

Despite her death nearly 25 years ago, Princess Diana continues to be a cherished cultural figure. Known for her warm demeanor, compassionate charity efforts, and her personal struggles with bulimia and mental health, her enduring legacy has led to a recent resurgence in cultural productions about the icon. Recently, interpretations about her life have been featured in Netflix’s hit show The Crown, and in the Broadway musical Diana, a song and dance show about her life, set to debut on Broadway on November 2nd. Now it is Stewart’s turn to embody the icon.

Of playing the people’s princess the Twilight actor said that she felt “protective” of Diana and found mastering her accent “intimidating”. She also described the movie as a “really poetic, internal imaging of what that [experience] might have felt like rather than giving new information.” 

The trailer mixes cuts of the opulence of royal life—big homes, beautiful dresses—with the pressure of its spotlight—the camera flashing, Diana crying. In the trailer’s final moment we see Diana being told, “They know everything,” before she responds, “they don’t.” 

The film is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival next week before it’s released in theaters on November 5th, 2021. 

Top Photo: Screenshot from Youtube

Written and Directed by Marion Hill. Out Now 

Newlyweds Bertie (Idella Johnson) and Fred (Lucien Guignard) have just moved to the South of France and seem to have it all. But Bertie’s depressed after the loss of her mother and struggling to adapt to her new life as an American expat. As a last resort, Fred decides to invite Lane (Hannah Pepper-Cunningham), who once dated both Bertie and Fred in a polyamorous relationship, into their home. But Lane and Bertie didn’t part on the best of terms. And when Lane becomes involved with another woman (Sivan Noam Shimon) while staying with the couple, even more tensions rise to the surface.

Audiences rarely see films that depict polyamory in the positive, thoughtful, and normal way that Ma Belle, My Beauty does. Still, the film isn’t without its faults. A perfect version of this movie might highlight the complicated relationships between all four characters, but it’s only Bertie’s dynamic with Lane that feels fully explored. Nonetheless, the chemistry between these characters is palpable, and although the story is slow-paced, it often feels beautifully subtle. Ultimately, Ma Belle, My Beauty takes the tired love triangle trope and obliterates it, creating something new. –Lydia Wang

Watch the trailer for Ma Belle, My Beauty here: 

Top Image: Courtesy of Good Deed Entertainment 

This review originally appeared in BUST’s Summer 2021 print edition. Subscribe today!

“Guess the Carney is out of the cage!” exclaimed Birds of Prey actor Jurnee Smollett. The actor, who starred as Black Canary in the 2020 Harley Quinn vehicle, confirmed that her character will be getting her own stand-alone sequel, in a tweet last Friday. 

Guess the Canary is out of the cage! ? So excited to finally embark on this adventure with my creative soul sis @MishaGreen. ?? #blackcanary #dinahlance #lettttssssssgoooooo ahhhhhhhhh!!!!! https://t.co/GocuNdEn6E

— jurnee smollett (@jurneesmollett) August 20, 2021

The project will be helmed by Misha Green who most recently wrote and created critically acclaimed, but short-lived HBO show Lovecraft Country. The sci-fi show set in the segregated,1950s American South, also featured Smollett as Letitia Lewis, who’s on a journey in search for her friend’s missing father. Green and Smollett first worked together on Underground, a dramatic series on historical stories of the underground railroad in Antebellum Georgia, which ran for two seasons between 2016 and 2017 on WGN America. 

In August 2020, the friends and co-collaborators expressed interest in working together on a stand-alone Black Canary movie in an interview with Variety. “I mean, you can’t help but imagine it a little bit,” Green told Variety, “It’d be exciting, I know that.” Smollett agreed, saying, “If [the] dynamics fell the right way, I would absolutely do it in a heartbeat, and Lord knows, I follow Misha wherever she leads me.”

There’s no word yet on when we can expect production to start, but in the meantime catch the Eve’s Bayou actor in the upcoming science-fiction film Escape from Spiderhead. Based on the George Saunders short story of the same name, the film depicts a futuristic society in which experiments are conducted on prisoners given emotion-altering drugs; it is set to be released by Netflix at an undisclosed date later this year. Green was announced as the director and writer for the upcoming Tomb Raider sequel starring Alicia Vikander, reprising her role as Lara Croft. With Green still working on a draft, there have been no announcements about production or a premiere date as of yet.

Top Photo Credit: Penpusher, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons 

Michaela Coel joins the Black Panther family as… well, we don’t know who yet. What we do know is that Variety reported Coel is on set at Atlanta Pinewood Studios filming the sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Although details of plot and characters are currently being kept under lock and key, the mystery only adds to the excitement, with many fans eager to find out how writer-director Ryan Coogler plans to continue on without the late Chadwick Boseman. 

Coel who first hit the scene writing, directing, and starring in raunchy comedic series Chewing Gum, which ran for two seasons. Most recently she struck gold with provocative HBO Max drama, I May Destroy You, which earned her three Emmy nominations at this year’s ceremony. This is not to mention her other roles in shows such as Black Mirror and Black Earth Rising as well as the movies Been So Long and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. 

The secrecy surrounding Coel’s role in the Black Panther sequel has left many on Twitter with no choice but to throw out some predictions of their own. A popular fan theory is that Coel has been brought on to play Ororo Munroe, otherwise known as Storm. This speculation is supported by the comics in which Storm and T’challa are married (she’s even listed as his spouse on Wikipedia). 

Fingers crossed for Storm ?? https://t.co/SsJvSeMdSz

— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) July 21, 2021

Other fans have thrown in their two cents, wondering if she could perhaps be casted as either Aneka, a captain of the Dora Milaje, or Madam Slay, a leopard controlling supervillainess and lover to Erik Killmonger. Both were originally featured in the Black Panther comics and Michaela Coel would kick ass as either of these iconic characters. 

My guesses are Madam Slay, Ororo Munroe, or Aneka.

But I have no idea but I love Michaela Coel joining the MCU. https://t.co/alFHvBLjFF

— always manifesting (@Steph_I_Will) July 21, 2021

Hopefully Marvel Studios will soon gives into our demands and reveals which character the British actor will play. But in the meantime keep up the conspiracy theories, and let’s see who’s on the mark? Regardless of the role she’s taken on, we know she’s going to absolutely SLAY. 

Look out for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever on July 8, 2022.

Top Photo: Screenshot Via Youtube

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The latest addition to the Disney canon is an animated tale centered around a magic-less teenage heroine. Encanto takes place in a small village in the mountains of rural Colombia where the Madrigal family lives. Blessed by the mountains, each member of the family has a special, magical gift. Some have super-strength, while others can shape-shift, except for one of them: fifteen-year-old Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz of In the Heights and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.) 

The trailer bursts with all the color, life, music, and magic that adults and children have come to love from Disney flicks. The Madrigal house dances while the children play with tigers and toucans. At the center of it all is Mirabel, our bespectacled protagonist who is struggling with her place in a world of wonder when she feels anything but—very relatable for anyone who has ever felt like they don’t belong. 

The movie features original songs from the composer Lin-Manuel Miranda ( Hamilton, In the Heights, and Disney’s 2016 Moana) as well as Colombian singer-songwriter Carlos Vives. In addition to Beatriz, appearances from the predominately Latinx cast include Diane Guerro, María Cecilia Botero, and Wilmer Valderrama. 

Encanto hits theaters November 24th, 2021. 

 Top Photo Credit: Screenshot from Youtube 

“You wanna hear a story about how me and this bitch fell out? It’s kinda long but it’s full of suspense,” hilariously narrated by Taylour Paige as the title character, Zola kicks off with the infamous line that started it all. With hypnotic visuals and an unparalleled musical score, it’s hard to not get swept up in this hoe trip from hell. Directed by Janicza Bravo and co-written by playrite Jeremy O’Harris (writer of Tony Nominated Slave Play), Zola is based on the viral 2015 Twitter thread by then Detroit Hooters waitress Aziah “Zola” Wells. Zola keeps you at the very edge of your seat, is packed with a damn near gluttonous amount of comedic relief, and is just undeniably entertaining. 

The movie starts out in a restaurant with a thinly veiled likeness to Hooters, where Zola is working when she meets a customer named Stefani. The two instantly click and Stefani invites Zola to hang out that night. The girls spend the night exchanging stories, laughing, being on the same wavelength and, to quote the original Twitter Thread, “vibing over [their] hoeism.” It is clear that these girls are in complete and utter platonic infatuation with each other. Stefani is an exotic dancer. So is Zola. Stefani is also a walking, talking red flag in stripper heels. With blonde cornrows, inches long acrylics, and an exaggerated blaccent, the audience is sent into a communal cringe as they watch this white bastardization of black womanhood slither her way into gaining Zola’s trust and friendship with manipulation and half-truths.

Screenshot via Youtube

The next day, we find Zola on a roadtrip to Florida with Stefani, Derek, (Stephani’s man-child of a boyfriend played by Nicholas Braun), and Stefani’s “roommate” named X (Coleman Domingo) who “takes care of” her. Before long, Zola finds out that what Stefani described as a way to make “a shit-ton of money,” actually involves escorting, not just dancing, and that X moonlights as Stefani’s pimp. 

In the spirit of “I knew this was a bad idea” and “damn, did not see that coming,” shit goes awry. Thankfully the film manages to maintain a wicked sense of humor while still addressing grim topics like sex trafficking, white woman privlege, and toxic relationships, it truly juggles it all well.You won’t be able to tear your eyes away from this mesmerizing downward spiral.

It’s undeniable that Zola is a story created by and for the digital age. Dialogue pulled and inspired by the Twitter thread is accented by the chirps of Tweet-like notifications. Additionally, slapstick-comedy-esque short form videos, strategically timed selfies, and reputation ruining Facebook-like posts are littered throughout the film. 

Another thing the film gets right is casting. Each actor manages to deliver performances that will have you rooting for characters who are completely irredeemable. Taylour Paige and Riley Keough perfectly portrayed the chemistry and intensity of a fresh-out-of-the-oven female friendship—as well as its demise. Taylour Paige should win an Oscar for her use of side-eye alone, filling the character of Zola with both sass and a relatable “oh hell no” attitude. Paige’s voice takes on the role of puppet master as her narration instructs us to pay close attention, listen up, and not trust a word Stefani says. And how could we dare disobey? 

Zola is playing only in theatres now.

Top Image (L-R) Riley Keough, Taylour Paige Photo By: Anna Kooris, A24

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New Documentary By Beth B On Lydia Lunch, The War Is Never Over

For those unfamiliar, Lydia Lunch has been recording as well as making Indie and underground films and videos since 1979. She has never been on a major record label nor had any mainstream success in the US despite her volume of work which is vast and often unprecedented. The film tells of Ms. Lunch’s growing up in Rochester, NY with a distracted mother and an abusive father. At 16 she decided that she’d had enough so she split to NYC with a suitcase and $200. She met Alan Vega and Martin Rev of the band Suicide and was very inspired by their art as antagonism approach to music which she co-opted, starting with her first musical endeavor Teenage Jesus and The Jerks. This put Lydia and the post Punk “No Wave” genre on the map and she hasn’t looked back since.

After Teenage, subsequent bands like, 8 Eyed Spy, Beirut Slump, Harry Crews, and Big Sexy Noise followed. Along with musical and spoken word collaborations with well known cohorts like Nick Cave and The Birthday Party, Exene Cervenka (X), Sonic Youth, Marc Almond (Soft Cell), Einstürzende Neubauten, and J. G. Thirlwell (Foetus) to name a few. As well as filmmakers, like Ms. B, Richard Kern, and Nick Zedd. Most noteworthy is that Lydia was somehow able to see all of these projects through mostly on her own without much, if any, financial backing. She is the true definition of an “Indie” artist.

Beth B’s personal and professional 40 plus year relationship with Lunch works to her advantage. Ms. B uses this knowledge along with a ton of footage and still photography in a nuanced capacity appropriately in sequence as Lydia’s timeline progresses. This allows Lydia to expound up her radical Feminist perspective and opposition to the oppressive male patriarchy. Beth especially conveys the difference between Lydia’s “Fuck You!” public persona with some of her offstage insights and philosophies. Specifically when Ms. Lunch’s candidly speaks about the sexual abuse which she suffered as a child by her father. This is obviously the first trauma that she endured which informed her subsequent life’s work.

Beth B and Lydia Photo by Curt Hoppe

Included are Interviews with artist friends like Carla Bozulich (The Geraldine Fibbers), filmmaker Richard Kern, Thurtson Moore (Sonic Youth), Jim Sclavunos (Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds), and Donita Sparks (L7). Along with her current band members (Retrovirus) renowned drummer Bob Bert, bassist Tim Dahl, and guitarist Weasal Walter who add their thoughts and memories about knowing and working with Ms. Lunch.

There are many documentaries presently about various people who inhabit the worlds of art, film, and music. The War Is Never Over stands out because there has never been a subject quite like Lydia Lunch who continues to fight the good fight against all forms of abuse, degradation, and oppression. I can’t imagine her doing anything else.

In addition to the movie, there is a book, LYDIA LUNCH – THE WAR IS NEVER OVER, a companion piece to the film with extensive interviews (some of them done by Beth B) to make up a very comprehensive oral history of Lydia. 

Where to view The War Is Never Over:

Upcoming Showings (Physical)
IFC Center, New York, NY — June 30
Plaza, Atlanta, GA — July 2
Nuart Theatre, Los Angeles, CA — July 31
The Frida Cinema, Santa Ana, CA — August 6
Roxie Theater, San Francisco, CA — August 6
Hollywood, Portland, OR — August 8
Music Box, Chicago, IL — TBD
Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY — September 12
Upcoming Showings (Virtual)
Brattle, Cambridge, MA — July 2
Space Gallery, Portland, ME — July 2
Winnipeg Film Group, Winnipeg — July 2
Cleveland Cinematheque, Cleveland, OH — July 2
Denver Film Society, Denver, CO — July 2
Music Box, Chicago, IL — July 2
Roxie, San Francisco, CA — July 2
WFMU, Jersey City, NJ — July 2
Downing Film Center, Newburgh, NY — July 2
VIFF, Vancouver — July 16 – August 31

Live Appearances
TV Eye, New York, NY (with Retrovirus) — July 2
Moroccan Room, Los Angeles, CA (with Sylvia Black and others) — July 29
Nuart Theatre, Los Angeles — July 31
The Makeout Room, San Francisco, CA (with Eugene Robinson) — August 5
Roxie Theater, San Francisco (with Eugene Robinson) — August 6
TBD New Haven, CT — August 15
TBD Pittsburgh, PA (with Retrovirus) —September 8
TBD Canton, OH (with Retrovirus) — September 9
Healer, Indianapolis IN (with Retrovirus) — September 11
Saint Vitus, New York, NY (With Retrovirus) — September 21

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Earlier this month, Twitter entered a new discourse on which character is the real villain of The Devil Wears Prada. The consensus? Nate (Adrien Grenier). He effectively makes Andrea (Anne Hathaway) quit her job because she’s not spending enough time with her boyfriend. The film tries to tell the story of a big, bad boss that is the antagonist, but Miranda (Meryl Streep) is just super driven and likes things the way she likes them. We can all relate.   

Streep’s iconic character is not the only misunderstood “villain.” There are plenty of stories where a strong female lead who is assertive, dedicated, or simply over everyone’s bullshit is made out to be the bad guy. Sometimes they do bad things, but so does everyone. The villain, however, is specifically a mal-intentioned antagonist. Here are five examples where the big, scary woman we all thought was the villain actually isn’t: 

1. High School Musical

Movie villain: Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale)
Real villain: Literally everyone else

All three movies are the foundation of my childhood, so it took me some time to come to terms with this, but everyone in these movies sucks. Sharpay is kind of bratty, sure, but she values designer items and gives all the shits about the things she loves, namely theater. Meanwhile, Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) come out of nowhere and fully make a plan to ruin the spring musical for her. They and their friends go so far as to hack the school’s scoreboard. (Apparently flashing numbers are a fire hazard.) Talk about antagonists. And they gain nothing from it except extra time to flirt. Who’s the real bully at East High? 

2. The Parent Trap

Movie villain: Meredith Blake (Elaine Hendrix)
Real villain: Again, everyone else

Again, the movie “villain” is still a relatively shitty person, but all of the other characters aren’t saints either. Nick (Dennis Quaid) and Elizabeth (Natasha Richardson) split up their TWIN DAUGHTERS. How many movies and TV shows have to be made for us to understand that the whole “switched at birth” or “separated at birth” trope leads to disaster? Like, who does that to kids? And then neither of the parents actually recognize their own kid. You’re going to try to tell me that Meredith is the villain because she’s upset her fiance is flirting with his ex-wife and is honest about the fact that she prefers Evian water to children? Absolutely not. There’s a damn vineyard on the line here. Also, the twins tried to drown her. Not cool. 

3. The Emperor’s New Groove

Movie villain: Yzma (Eartha Kitt)
Real villain: Emperor Kuzco (David Spade)

Does she attempt to murder the emperor? Yes. And I see how that is bad. But the emperor sucked. He wanted to build a fantasyland on top of a poor neighborhood. He was basically going to gentrify a cartoon world. And he whined so much. He also was objectively a bad emperor. Yzma probably would’ve done a better job. He didn’t care about anyone but himself—a bad character trait for someone responsible for a lot of people. He got what he had coming when she turned him into a llama. Yzma is written off as just another power-hungry sorceress, when in reality, she (and probably everyone else) is fed up with Kuzco’s bullshit and was the only one proactive enough to do something about it.

4. She’s All That

Movie villain: Taylor Vaughan (Jodi Lynn O’Keefe)
Real villain: Zach Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.)

Here we have another bad person who is still mislabeled as the villain. Taylor is a bully, which is bad, but she never actually tries to stop Zach from messing with Laney’s (Rachel Leigh Cook) life. It’d be cooler if she did, but she’s not the antagonist; Zach is. Laney is shy but confident in what she’s doing. Then comes along some bumbling buffoon with a bet to “make her pretty.” And as all buffoons do, he ends up liking her but doesn’t tell her about the bet. When Laney finds out, Zach gets upset at her being upset. He’s being an ass to Laney all while still having a girlfriend. Granted, Taylor’s cheating on him—but she’s with a Real World star, so, like, who cares? Zach is still the bad guy, as well as his ass-hat friend who made the bet. Also, whoever thought the “she’s pretty once she takes the glasses off” thing was a good idea. is a villain in this movie. As a glasses-wearer, fuck you. 

5. Grease

Movie villain: Betty Rizzo (Stockard Channing)
Real villain: Danny Zuko (John Travolta)

This is probably the only movie on this list where the “villain” never really did anything wrong. It’s not her fault she’s a sassy, sarcastic, realist queen. And when she thought she was pregnant, none of her friends were there for her. They spread rumors about her instead. Doesn’t that make her the victim? Danny, on the other hand, is an absolute piece of shit. He tries to grab Sandy’s (Olivia Newton-John) boobs without her consent and then sings the sappiest song complaining that he has a “prude” girlfriend. Shut up, horndog.

Header photo: screenshot via YouTube / Clips via GIPHY

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I imagine it’s difficult to make a film about artistry. I’m not talking about a biopic of a real-life artist (or reasonable facsimile), or a film interpreting their works—those have been made, and several have been quite moving (Never Look Away with its stirring Gerhard Richter analogue, or the emotional catharsis surrounding Vincent van Gogh’s death by suicide as brilliantly painted across the screen in Loving Vincent, to name a few).

But for the medium of film to not only establish a fictional artist protagonist, but also to successfully convey that protagonist’s approach to their own creative process in a way that feels true to life and not totally didactic or literal, seems like an awfully daunting task. In this sense, David Wnendt’s The Sunlit Night is an interesting experiment in figuring out a way to get an audience to understand not only how its specific artist protagonist conceives of the world around her, but how that particular worldview informs her actions and relationships with the film’s other characters. It’s just a shame that it’s not a particularly enjoyable film.

After being subjected to a comically brutal art school critique (which opens the movie with a bit of a satire fake-out not borne out by the rest of the story), and following a rejection from an artist residency, Frances (Jenny Slate) naturally feels adrift and unfulfilled as an artist. On a whim, Frances takes a job as a studio assistant for the irascible Nils (Fridtjov Såheim), a Norwegian artist (and Jim Gaffigan look-alike) whose best days are largely behind him. Why not exchange her claustrophobic relationship with her parents (David Paymer and Jessica Hecht) and relative privacy, and perceived freedom of the Lofoten Islands in the Arctic Circle?

Frances processes the world around her as various artistic analogues, cross-referencing each situation in her life—whether for the better or for the worse—with visual signposts, presented in voiceover for the audience’s sake. The Sunlit Night is based on a novel by Rebecca Dinnerstein Night; not having read the novel, I can nonetheless imagine that this comparative device works better on the page. Indeed, early in the film, when Frances reinforces the chaos of her too-small childhood apartment (where her parents sleep on a pull-out couch and she shares a bunk bed with her sister) by comparing it to the way colored rectangles fit together in a Mondrian painting, it almost feels like the film is pointing out how self-consciously artsy it is—as if it’s only through the protagonist referencing iconic works of art that the audience will accept that the movie is about an artist.

Yet as The Sunlit Night continues, it becomes clear—through Slate’s carefully dispassionate monologuing, as well as through sheer repetition—that Frances’ need to withdraw from her immediate surroundings and retreat into an art history textbook is a coping mechanism for better dealing with her own life. Yasha (Frances’ love interest, played by Alex Sharp) is immediately compared to Caravaggio’s Boy with Fruit (and what a spectacular look-a-like piece of casting that is!), while a girl in the frozen food section of the supermarket reminds Frances of a Renaissance angel, inspiring her to use the girl as a model for her own work.

Per Frances, Norway is “so beautiful, it’s almost like a bad painting”—like a painting from a dentist’s office waiting room that you’re meant to glance over, register as pleasant, and forget the second you step across the threshold. As filmed by cinematographer Martin Ahlgren, it’s both luminous and harsh, serving as an adept backdrop for The Sunlit Night’s more pensive moments,  

as well as a setting for establishing—and dispelling—different kinds of fantasies. If Frances comes to Norway for some peace and quiet (the goats that invade her sleeping trailer notwithstanding), hoping that through isolation and work, she might remake herself as an artist and a person, The Sunlit Night takes pains to show through Frances’ various encounters that it is through connecting with others honestly that true change occurs.

Nils, whose glory days of fame are behind him, is painting a barn for a Norwegian tourism agency, hoping it will reignite his career. The dynamic between Frances and Nils could easily veer into the clichéd—the nascent artist struggling to develop her own voice meets grouchy over-the-hill mentor—but thanks to Slate’s strong work as a scene partner, their partnership begins to grow in ways that feel both realistic and unexpected. (It also helps that the barn project is visually interesting. The Sunlit Night wisely introduces Nils as an artist who has fallen out favor with the art world, meaning that narratively, there’s no pressure for the ultimate final work of art to be spellbinding or astounding. Our expectations are set low enough that the finished barn, brightly colored and rough-hewn colors the Norwegian landscape, creates a wonderful picture at times.)

Similarly, over the course of the film, Frances also interacts with Haldor (Zach Galifianakis), the leader of an ersatz Viking-style village in the area. Originally from Ohio, Haldor has decamped to Norway to live out his fantasy of living in an imagined romantic past. (Since the movie is relatively short for a feature, it’s as if casting Zach Galifianakis in this role functions as shorthand for telling the audience precisely why he didn’t feel like he fit in back home.) In contrast, the only character who has come to Norway for intrinsically honest reasons is Yasha, who hopes to give his late father the send-off he had long desired—at the top of the world. It is perhaps Yasha’s solemnity and purpose of mission that attracts Frances to him, ultimately leading to the surreal spectacle—as far as watching The Sunlit Night is concerned—of a Viking funeral led by Zach Galfianakis where Jenny Slate also sings the Mourner’s Kaddish. (Only in a place that is so beautiful as to not seem real, a place where the setting is as much a character as in any given film about New York City.)

In the future canon of Jenny Slate films, The Sunlit Night is not anywhere near the perfect match with the material that was Obvious Child (2014). But it does feature an appealing lead performance from Slate, and is earnest and honest in its largely successful attempt to translate creative thinking onto the screen in equally creative ways.

Top photo: screenshot via YouTube

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Grisly thriller False Positive explores the ultimate body horror premise: women and people able to give birth are forced to do so to benefit the patriarchy. Produced, co-written by, and starring Ilana Glazer, the movie is definitely a departure from what Broad City fans have come to expect from the feminist comedy mainstay. But a ribbon of dark humor runs through this ambitious, gory horror flick. Glazer’s meek heroine Lucy is like a docile, feminine vessel waiting to be filled with an embryo implanted via IVF by her esteemed fertility specialist (Pierce Brosnan). Surrounded by self-assured, blithely sexist men, Lucy is buffeted between her invasive, condescending boss (Josh Hamilton) and her seemingly perfect but very selfish husband (Justin Theroux) who expects her to sacrifice her identity to become a mother. Rounding out the impressive cast are Gretchen Mol in a memorable turn as an enthusiastically evil nurse, and Sophia Bush, who delivers a great Stepford-style mommy character hidden behind a sweet smile. Lovers of classic cinema will delight in the subtle nods to Rosemary’s Baby, and children’s book fans will sympathize with Lucy’s fantasies of Peter Pan being a part of her future child’s life. But be forewarned: False Positive’s shocking ending is not what to expect when Lucy is expecting. 

False Positive
Directed by John Lee
Out June 25 on Hulu

By Brandy Barber
Photo credit: Hulu (False Positive)

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2021 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe today!

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Insecure star, Issa Rae, will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming sequel to Into the Spiderverse.

Rae, 36, will be lending her voice as Spider-Woman—aka Jessica Drew—in the sequel to the 2018 Oscar-winning animated movie, accompanied by Shameik Moore as Miles Morales and Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson are directing the sequel. Phil Lord and Chris Miller are returning as producers along with Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Christina Steinberg. Peter Ramsey and Aditya Sood will be returning as executive producers. Alonzo Ruvalcaba is co-producing the movie. 

Marvel debuted the character of Spider-Woman in 1977—15 years after the original Spider Man, and likely inspired by the burgeoning second-wave feminist movement. Although her backstory has changed over the years, in the earliest versions, she was embodied by a human woman named Jessica Drew who’d had a spider implanted in her by a group of evil-doers named HYDRA. The character was killed off in 1983, then somehow resurrected in later books. There’s a possibility that Drew’s backstory might be changed, however, since Into the Spiderverse writers are known for doing so, Slash Film reported. 

In addition to Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson (Peter B. Parker), John Mulaney (Peter Porker/Spider Ham), Nicolas Cage (Spider-Man Noir) and Kimiko Glenn (Peni Parker) will be starring in the upcoming film.  Further details about the upcoming film are being kept quiet for now. 

This role is a dream come true for Rae. “Since the third grade, I’ve loved Spider-Man, comic books, memorabilia, everything,” she gushed to Variety.

Rae is currently filming the fifth and final season of the hit HBO show Insecure, which earned her three Emmy nominations, including outstanding lead actress in a comedy series, Essence reported.

The film is set to release on October 7, 2022.

Top photo from BUST 
Middle photo: screenshot via YouTube

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Victoria Moroles isn’t new to the entertainment industry by any means, but her recent role starring in Hulu’s feature film Plan B arguably takes the cake. Originally a small-town girl from Texas, Moroles relocated to Los Angeles early on to pursue her dream of acting. In the years since, she’s managed to build quite the resume, and when approached by director Natalie Morales with the opportunity to co-lead her first major film, she simply couldn’t refuse. 

The comedy follows best friends Sunny (Kuhoo Verma) and Lupe (Victoria Moroles) as they embark on the wildest of journeys to find an emergency contraceptive after one disastrous sexual encounter. I had the recent pleasure of chatting with Moroles, as she reflected on key moments and themes that audiences see play out over the course of the film. Let’s dive in.

Over the course of your career, you’ve demonstrated significant range as a performer. You’ve worked on light, whimsical productions like Disney’s Liv and Maddie, and you’ve also worked on projects a bit darker in tone such as MTV’s Teen Wolf. Tone-wise, Plan B—as a more racy, teen comedy that also packs a powerful message—seems to be a departure from some of your previous work. What was it like for you preparing to embody Lupe, as opposed to some of your previous roles? 

I’ve been professionally working since I was 15, but this is my first co-lead. I feel like it’s the most responsibility I’ve held in a job so far. I was really excited for that, but I also knew that there was a bit more work I had to prepare for. I think what I was really concerned about in the beginning was making Lupe a really well-rounded, multidimensional person within the three weeks I had to prepare. I had never done anything to this capacity, even in film.

I think [with] this specific comedy though, a lot of it was being super prepared [and] being present with Kuhoo. I feel like with this type of questy, road trip, a lot of it relies on the chemistry between us and what happens in the moment. I think both of our main goal was to be as present as we could with each other and keep the characters true to themselves. I just tried to let loose, take risks, and have fun.

Lupe and Sunny have such an admirable friendship. It was especially interesting watching these two leading characters of color support one another through similar, yet non-interchangeable experiences of navigating conservative, predominantly white spaces. On a much larger scale, this film itself is occupying an important space in Hollywood as well, featuring writers and a director of color. How much of that was factored into your decision to sign on for the making of this film?

I was just lucky enough to be able to get the opportunity to be a part of it. There was a decision on my part, but I truly felt like Natalie saw the potential that I could give and took a shot on me. It wasn’t really any of my decision, but I was so happy to be able to be a part of it. I’d like to note the inclusion behind the scenes; even our DP and head of lighting were both females as well. That was the first time I had ever been on a set like that. 

There was a moment in one of our first rehearsals where I looked at Natalie and Kuhoo, and I just got really emotional because I couldn’t believe the opportunity that I had been given; they’re both so incredibly talented. I think that specifically for this film, we’ve seen this story told before by two white females, and to have two non-white females front and center is incredible.

 If I could’ve seen this when I was younger, there would’ve been so much more understanding for me to feel like I was being seen, truly seen. I hope that it does that for people who can connect to either of them.

Image provided by @victoriamoroles | Victoria Moroles and co-star Kuhoo Verma

The film really underscores how problematic abstinence-oriented sex education can be, and how that fosters a culture of stigma and shame around sex and intimacy. Can you reflect on some of the messaging around sex and intimacy you recieved growing up, and how that may’ve informed your performance?

I love this question because I actually left school when I was in 7th grade. I started homeschooling, so I never really got a “proper” sex ed class. My memory of sex ed was through a booklet and me just trying to understand it myself, which I dont think is very good.

I’d like to talk quickly about my relationship with my mom because she grew up in a very religious Mexican household as well. I feel like that kind of influenced some of her parenting. I would never want to speak for her, but just my experience being a teenager, I knew that’s what she went through. I always had a hesitation about how to navigate the conversation with her specifically, and with my parents, because I had heard of her experience. 

That was a little though for me, and I think there’s so much shame around expressing yourself sexually when you’re that age. I did end up talking to my sister about it though, and she said “This is human. You’re human and you’re young.” I finally found somebody to trust and talk to about it, and I hope that if anything, this film will [help] people to find somebody who they feel safe enough with to have that conversation.

There’s a key scene in the film where Lupe and Sunny go to their local pharmacy to buy an emergency contraceptive, and the pharmacist on duty refuses them because of what’s called a “Consciousness Clause.” The idea seemed so ridiculous to me that I remember immediately pausing the film to do a bit of research about it myself. I’m wondering how much of your research for this film felt like a learning experience, as it’ll surely be for so many watchers?

Absolutely, it was a huge learning experience. To be quite honest with you, I’m from [a small town in] Texas, but I’ve lived in Los Angeles for the past twelve years. So I feel like, in some way or another, we can get caught in a bubble; especially if we live in bigger metropolitan areas, and not really understand that this is something very real that happens all across America. Even when I read the script…I had to go and [do] research myself. 

That was all talked about and explained to us, so that we knew what the actual laws were behind the reason for the film. But I’m so happy that you paused and took a second to look that up, because I didn’t know about it. I know that there’s obstacles to accessibility to reproductive care and sexual healthcare…for women and minorities for sure, but I just didn’t know about that specific law. Hopefully we can get something done about that.

Lupe and Sunny then embark on a roadtrip to locate their nearest Planned Parenthood, and with every road trip film comes the obligatory sing-along scene. When her favorite Christian trap song comes on the radio, Lupe can’t help but rap along, as hard as she tries not to. What’s a musical guilty pleasure of yours that you can recite word for word?

I think we all have one. I’m a huge classic rock fan, so I can pretty much recite any Fleetwood Mac… but that seems so silly compared to Lupe’s Christian rap song. I was a huge J. Cole fan when I was younger, so when his Forest Hills album came out, I did everything in my power to look at the lyrics and memorize everything. Everybody can recite “No Role Modelz” though. 

A huge part of the culture of shame and stigma that we see Lupe and Sunny navigating is how it causes a breakdown in communication around sex and intimacy, even with those we’re closest to. We soon find out that Lupe isn’t as sexually liberated as she claims to be, and that she’s actually concealing the fact that she’s coming into a queer identity. How conflicting do you think its been for Lupe to exist in spaces where transparent conversations about queerness seem impossible to have—whether at home, in school during sex ed, or even with her very best friend?

I think that it’s been incredibly frustrating. I personally as Victoria can’t imagine what that would’ve been like to go through, just the boiling frustration, because I know to some extent what the shame felt like at that age.

But then on top of it, to not even be able to have anybody in my family to talk to about it either, I think that that’s where a lot of the deflection with her humor comes from. It’s where her need to help Sunny comes from. She’s definitely a huge stoner…because it’s a source of not really being connected to reality, and I think that what you said has a lot to do with that. 

But I think along the journey that she and Sunny have, [there’s] something about being taken out of your “bubble” or hometown. [They] take a risk and go outside; they’re going to this big city. I think that kind of gets her mind working a bit. I think that’s what kind of allows her to take that initial risk to even go to the bowling alley.

I feel like once you allow yourself to take a risk and allow yourself to be seen inside, it’s a hugely courageous thing to do, but you do take a further step into allowing people to see you. I think that’s what you see her kind of get to towards the end of the film. Not fully, but she took some big steps.

At its core, this is a film about the ongoing fight for widespread access to reproductive health services. Toward the end, Sunny and Lupe have a really devastating realization that the Planned Parenthood they traveled through hell and back for had been permanently shut down. There are a few shots of the empty facility that really hit home this idea that there’s an abundance of resources out there being denied to people who truly need them. How did you manage to tap into the raw vulnerability that this scene required, as Lupe, supporting her friend through a moment where she feels like all hope is lost? 

It’s definitely one of the most memorable scenes, the scene in front of Planned Parenthood. At that point during filming, we had been through so much as Kuhoo and Victoria, but also within Sunny and Lupe. It was a really big let down. It was towards the end, the last third of us filming, so to have had all of these experiences and obstacles that we had tried to get through…I mean they’re crazy and they’re wild but they’re tough. If you’re a teenager, you’re trying to navigate this whole journey they go on. It’s really a lot to take in. 

At that moment I just felt like all I could do was hold her. We didn’t know what the last resort would be; this is what we came for. I think it just symbolizes a bigger problem, which is that these centers are closing down, and that it’s a very real thing that people are not able to get access to what they need. If anything, I hope that people connect with…what we were trying to do with that scene; [that] it opens up the conversation to say, “Hey, this can’t happen.”

I don’t want that to be just a picture of reality; I want it to be more of the fact that this is happening, and it’s going to keep happening if we don’t do something about it. Hopefully there’s some kind of connection and then motivation within the portrayal of that scene. 

Image provided by @victoriamoroles

Do you have any last words for viewers? What are you ultimately hoping audiences will take away from Plan B? 

There’s a lot of heaviness, especially with what we just discussed behind the reality of why the film was made and written. Our writers can speak to that. But at the end of the day, it’s a film about friendship too, so I really hope that people can go on the journey with Sunny and Lupe and somehow connect to either of them, parents included. I think that it’s going to be really nice for parents to see, [and] for them to connect with Sunny and Lupe’s parents, but also for them to hopefully feel nostalgic within themselves [and] remember their teenage years…. 

The deep need for friendship is huge right now, and I just want people to laugh and cry. I don’t want you to cry, but if it happens that’s good; it’s healthy. In some way, this film was really healing for us and I want it to be healing for other people too. That’s kind of ridiculous to say because it’s such a wild ride that they go on, but that’s what TV and film is for. 

Top Image By Tracy Nguyen

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Shot on Super 16mm film during a brutal Appalachian winter, Holler recalls the grainy immediacy of Barbara Loden’s 1970 film Wanda, a major inspiration for Riegel. At times, the narrative feels a little too sketched out, rather than filled in, but Barden’s performance is compulsively watchable and beautifully complicated. This is a unique, uncompromising portrayal of working-class men and women—but especially women—who have been shoved to the margins.

Holler
Written and directed by Nicole Riegel
Out June 11

By Jenni Miller
Photo: Jessica Barden in Holler (IFC Films)

This article orginally appeared in the Summer 2021 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe Today!

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The lesbian bar has become an endangered species in the U.S., with numbers dropping from 200 in 1980, to 21 in 2021. The Lesbian Bar Project documentary was released three days into Pride Month and serves both as a call to action and a tool to educate people about the vitality of lesbian bars to the queer community. 

This 20-minute documentary follows the women keeping these spaces alive and thriving, along with activists, attorneys, and politicians who frequent these bars, finding comradery and acceptance within their walls. Throughout the film, we are introduced to gay women, such as Lisa Cannistrac, the owner of Henrietta Hudson who is looking to cultivate a space that welcomes all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity; and Rachel and Sheila Smallman, the couple who started Herz, a lesbian bar in Mobile, Alabama. We also learn about Kimberly Mckeand, a civil rights organizer and LGBTQ activist, and Witt Washington, an attorney in D.C. who first started using they/them pronouns at A League of Her Own, their local lesbian bar. 

Once upon a homophobic time, gay bars were one of the only places for queer bodies to gather, but advancements in technology and the LGBT liberation movement have provided the community with other options. The Lesbian Bar Project brings attention to the need to preserve our history and, thus, our culture via the support and celebration of these places. For many lesbians in the 90s, bars such as Cubbyhole and Meow Mix were where they met friends, lovers, and found family. 

This is a documentary about rebuilding and maintaining community, and the perfect watch for anyone looking to educate themselves this Pride season and donate to a worthy cause. As if you need another reason to support queer businesses this month! You can help by donating at lesbianbarproject.com or by getting wasted at your local lesbian bar.

Top image: screenshot via lesbianbarproject.com 

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The film will star Dakota Johnson as Anne Elliot, a 27-year-old single woman who, while managing her haughty family’s bankruptcy, is reacquainted with a man she was persuaded to break up with eight years prior, giving her another opportunity for love.

Unexpectedly, Sex God Henry Golding, who will also star in the remake, will not be playing the main love interest, but rather Anne’s cousin, Mr. Elliot. Cosmo Jarvis is cast as Captain Frederick Wentworth, Anne’s estranged former fiance.

There is no word yet on specifics of the modern retelling or how it will impact the storyline, but expect some significant changes from the 1818 novel. For one thing, in the original plot, Mr. Elliot is not only Anne’s cousin, but also a potential marriage prospect, something that might not fly with audiences today.

Filming is currently underway, however, so hopefully we won’t have to wait too long to find out!

Top photo credit: Walt Disney Television via Flickr

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Love, loss, and heartache are just a few of what Frances “Franco” Stevens endures. Founder of the lesbian magazine Curve, we watch the story of Stevens and her journey to finding herself, creating the magazine, and self-acceptance. Viewers will enjoy Stevens’s authenticity and genuine personality, never bowing down to the norms of her day and overcoming adversity.

Stevens first discovered her attraction to women while married to a man. This didn’t end well, ultimately leading to divorce and ostracization from her family. While job searching, she found the idea for Curve. Securing a job at an LGBTQIA+ book store and taken in by employees, she began developments for the magazine. Stevens wanted to create a magazine for lesbians that was relatable and not pornographic. While at a horse race, Stevens maxed all of her credit cards and bet all of her money in hopes of bringing her idea to life. Stevens won a lot of money and used it to invest into her creation.

Ultimately, the magazine was a huge success, appealing to queer women who were in need of community. Throughout the documentary, we follow Stevens experiences through a number of trials and tribulations. She bares her soul for the viewers. Filled with raw emotions, Ahead of the Curve is a must-see documentary that people of all backgrounds will genuinely enjoy, especially those who are interested in learning about the intricacies and history of lesbian and queer media. This documentary is an eye opener, educating viewers on the struggles of LGBTQIA+ folks and their battles for acceptance and representation. 

Ahead of the Curve will be available to watch on Apple TV and other digital platforms on June 1.

Top picture screenshot via Ahead of the Curve Trailer

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Cicely Tyson was a brilliant star of stage and screen whose dignified demeanor leant itself to roles with real gravitas over a career spanning more than 70 years. Think you know what made Cicely so noteworthy? Then take the quiz!

Cicely was born on December 19, 1924, in ________.

a. Harlem, New York
b. Bridgetown, Barbados
c. Detroit, MI
d. San Juan, Puerto Rico

Cicely’s breakout role was in this 1972 film, a performance that got her nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

a. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
b. Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
c. Diary of a Mad Black Woman
d. Sounder

Cicely received the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor in the United States—from this U.S. president.

a. President Clinton
b. President George W. Bush
c. President Obama
d. President Trump

When Cicely died in January 2021 at age 96, she was only one award short of an EGOT. Which one didn’t she win?

a. Emmy
b. Grammy
c. Oscar
d. Tony

Complete the following Cicely quote: “I was determined to do all I could to alter the narrative about Black people—to change the way ______ in particular were perceived, by reflecting our dignity.”

a. Black women
b. women
c. feminists
d. mothers

Answer Key: 1.a, 2.d, 3.c, 4.b, 5.a

By Emily Rems
Photo: Ron Jaffe/CBS

This article originally appeared in the Summer 2021 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe today!

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Mother’s Day might be over, but here at BUST we dont need a holiday to honor moms. If you’re looking for more ways to celebrate, a great pick would be Shantrelle P. Lewis’ debut documentary In Our Mother’s Gardens. Distributed by Ava DuVernay’s Array and now available to stream on Netflix, this film is a deep exploration of the matriarchal lineages of black and brown families. It’s a multigenerational interrogation of how the legacies of those that came before us continue to live on through the daughters and granddaughters of today.

If the title sounds familiar at all, it should. In Our Mother’s Gardens is a nod to Alice Walker’s book In Search Of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose (1983), a collection of essays in which the iconic author and poet articulates womanist philosophy and meditates on movements for social justice. Lewis’ documentary makes clear its references to Walker’s work by quoting her at the very beginning: “How simple a thing it seems to me that to know ourselves as we are, we must know our mother’s names.”

No longer “in search of” our mothers’ gardens and fully standing within them, metaphorically speaking, the film gathers a host of guest speakers among the likes of Tarana Burke, Dr. Brittney Cooper, and Lewis herself to powerfully name their mothers and grandmothers, reflecting on their respective lineages, and all of the gifts and lessons that continue to manifest in their everyday lives. Listening to each one of them sharing fond memories and personal family stories is an extension of the African oral storytelling tradition, and really illustrates how black womanhood isn’t a monolith by any means. 

Production-wise, the film is beautiful. Lewis brilliantly pairs tons of old photographs and archival home footage with vibrant, colorful graphics that bring them back to life. There’s humorous editing and fun animations, making for a really engaging viewing experience. There’s even an outrageously hilarious, but poignant skit reenacting Harriet Tubman leading the ancestors to freedom, using Black Barbie dolls. Incredibly well-executed, In Our Mother’s Gardens is a film that encourages all watchers to know their history and honor those who laid the groundwork for them to truly live. 

Top Image: Screensot From Array’s “In Our Mother’s Gardens” Trailer

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Remembering Carrie Fisher is often a hard task because, unlike most celebrities, she was a person. Her mental health and substance use struggles were tabloid fodder for years. After coming to terms with her mental health, Fisher became an activist for individuals living with substance abuse disorder and bipolar disorder. Both things are touched on in her books Wishful Drinking and The Princess Diarist.

In middle school, I picked up Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher. This, as indicated by its title, is not a book for children. The audience was Carrie Fisher stans, and Star Wars superfans who were clamoring for behind-the-scenes details from the films. What it provided was an unflinching journey into the life of Carrie Fisher. It tackled her marriage, addiction, and life after Star Wars. I finished the book and fell in love. Having not seen Star Wars since infancy, my affinity was fully to Fisher; I didn’t know Princess Leia. 

This is not the case for all fans; and loving Leia more than Fisher is reasonable when you didn’t spend your adolescent years thinking the two of you would make great friends. Princess Leia is the ultimate sci-fi female hero. A 19-year-old Fisher cautiously took over the screen as a main protagonist in one of the largest pop-culture moments of the 20th century. But, that Fisher is not the same one who said she didn’t consider men people on Larry King.

via Spencer Althouse on Twitter

Carrie Fisher was once an insecure kid. That portion of her story is covered in her diaries from the filming of Star Wars in The Princess Diarist. Young Fisher’s insecurity  is often ignored when discussing the memory of the powerhouse that Fisher became. But to appreciate what Fisher was, you first have to appreciate how she got there. Carrie Fisher did not wake up at 20-years-old as the woman who could write something like Wishful Drinking.

Via Star Wars press photos

Fisher was born into the spotlight. Her parents, Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, were mega-stars in the 1950s and ‘60s. Before Eddie left Debbie for Elizabeth Taylor, they were painted as the perfect American family. The Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds split was the Brad, Angelina, and Jennifer of the era. And that familial turmoil was splayed out for the eager world to see. From the jump, Fisher’s personal information was public. 

Then, Star Wars happened. Fisher’s life became more public than what was previously thought possible. During the filming of the first episode in the series she began an affair with co-star Harrison Ford. This relationship diverts from the in-control Fisher I always remembered. In this relationship she was nervous, never felt like she was enough, and was constantly insecure. She was a 19-year-old desperately in love with a 33-year-old married man.

Don’t take this period of insecurity and uncertainty out of your view of Carrie Fisher. Her ability to later make fun of Harrison Ford for these events — in front of his future wives — was hilarious and her style. Fisher does not need to be viewed as an always powerful woman to be an incredibly powerful woman. 

In the decade following her breakout role, Fisher was living with her bipolar disorder and her substance use challenges. She was hounded and harassed by the media when the symptoms of her mental illness became apparent. It took years for Fisher to get an accurate diagnosis, and when she did, she became an advocate for mental health.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Gary Fisher the Dog (@garyfisher)

After her Star Wars career, Fisher became one of the most well-respected script doctors in Hollywood. A script doctor is someone who is brought in to fix movie scripts when something isn’t quite right. It takes an incredible knowledge of movies, writing, and patience. Fisher worked on such titles as The Sister Act, Coyote Ugly, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. 

Fisher was also a mother to actress Billie Lourd, who recently welcomed her first child. The pair would get to work on set together for Star Wars: The Last Jedi before Fisher’s death.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Billie Lourd (@praisethelourd)

May the 4th is about the magic of Star Wars and the love that world has inspired; not the magic that was Carrie Fisher. But because National Carrie Fisher day has yet to be approved by any national government, this is what you get. Fisher was more than a bra-less space princess, or even who she was at 60. The trials of her life are what made her the incredible figure she was, and to ignore the dark parts ignores the tenacity of one of the most memorable women of the 21st century.

Cover image via Starwars.com photos

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Movies about having babies are a little more complicated today than they once were. Frozen eggs and sperm donations; in vitro fertilization; surrogacy; nontraditional family structures; and, of course, the question of whether bringing another human into the world is even a morally responsible thing to do, have all entered the conversation.

Together Together, directed by Nikole Beckwith and out digitally on May 11, dives into the more emotion-based complications that can arise during a modern pregnancy. Ed Helms stars as Matt, a single 40-something who wants a baby, alongside Patti Harrison as Anna, a 26-year-old barista and loner who volunteers to be the surrogate. The movie proves that, despite questions of science and ethics, the decision to bring a baby into the world often becomes, above all, a matter of emotion.

On a scientific level, Together Together focuses on the biology of womanhood. It’s striking that Harrison, who is transgender, plays the kind of role that trans women are rarely welcomed into: not only a role that is not characterized by trans-ness, but also one that centers around female biology and the mechanisms of the uterus. The movie is split into “trimesters.” Anna blames her emotions on hormones. Her co-barista, Jules (gloriously played by Julio Torres), delivers biting one-liners, including one about how his favorite app is “an app that tracks your periods” (Why do you have an app that tracks your periods?” “Not my periods, your periods.”). Anna is often treated like a walking womb by those she comes into contact with. “I only matter for, like, the next, like, nine months or so,” she says to Matt over dinner early in the film. Despite its emotionally heavy subject matter, the movie could be viewed as a satire, a spirited criticism of the notion that female biology defines a woman.

Julio Torres as Jules; by Tiffany Roohani/Bleecker Street

Anna is refreshingly awkward and truthful, but any sense of her individual personhood beyond being a mere “baby-vessel” is neglected by the people around her. Still, the complications of personalization during surrogacy are not lost on her. Her estrangement from her family due to their reactions to her giving a baby up for adoption when she was younger has led her to try to keep others at an emotional arm’s length. Any connection between her prior pregnancy and her decision to be a surrogate is not explicit, but it seems to be related to her belief that she can physically carry a baby without forming an emotional attachment. She attempts to distance herself from any allusions to the fetus’ personhood, like finding out its sex or referring to it as any vaguely human-esque name (“Radio” leans too masculine; “Soda” is feminine; “Leaf” is generally too human; so she and Matt land on the neutral “Lamp”). Of course, her efforts to remain detached become a ticking time bomb.

Matt (Ed Helms) and Anna (Patti Harrison); by Tiffany Roohani/Bleecker Street

Together Together illustrates the fact that boundaries are crucial for both parties during surrogacy. The movie’s tension comes when the boundaries between Matt and Anna are absent, bent, or violated. Their relationship is the major complication in an otherwise smooth pregnancy; Jules astutely describes Matt to Anna as “the straight, single guy who you see all the time slash exclusively who fathered the child inside of you.” In the beginning of the film—the first trimester—Matt is one of the many characters who treats Anna like little more than a baby-carrying machine. He starts by micromanaging her, coughing to hint that she should order a side salad instead of potatoes to protect the baby’s health (before ordering carbonara himself), and trying to dictate whether she should be having sex while pregnant. He carries Awkward Dad Energy: In his well-meaning attempts to be sensitive, he makes everything worse. As they spend more time together, he begins to treat her more like his actual daughter (she stays at his house; they binge-watch Friends; he practices braiding her hair and pantomimes teaching her how to insert a tampon). This dynamic inevitably brings the surrogacy into emotionally precarious territory.

Matt (Ed Helms) and Anna (Patti Harrison); by Tiffany Roohani/Bleecker Street

It is suggested that the relationship between Matt and Anna is built not just on the utility of Anna’s womb, but also on their shared loneliness. “It’s not the best thing in the world, being alone,” Anna says to Matt in the opening scene. Matt supports himself through the app he designed, Loner, which allows users to view other users without any communication. But neither character is ever really physically alone in the movie, which feels like either a missed opportunity to develop their respective individuality and bring their aloneness to life, or an intentional choice to focus on their relationship and the unborn baby rather than on either character.

The movie puts forth an “odd couple” dynamic and an unconventional child-bearing process with a charming lightness and without judgment. Still, both Anna and Matt are characterized primarily in relation to babies: his personality sometimes feels restricted to that of a standard-issue “out-of-touch dad,” while her entire backstory is told through her past pregnancy. And without a clear sense of the characters’ individuality, some of the most emotion-driven moments of their relationship feel like they’re still in the gestation period.

Even so, the final moments of Together Together deliver the movie’s biggest heart-punch, showing Anna at her most alone and her most individual. Angel Olsen’s “Spring” plays as the picture fades, giving the perfect, bittersweet voice to something unsaid: “Don’t take it for granted, love when you have it/You might be looking over a lonelier shoulder/Remember when we said we’d never have children/I’m holding your baby, now that we’re older/How time has revealed how little we know…” This inconclusive conclusion proves that resistance to an emotional attachment—to an idea, to a person, to a future—can end up making that attachment even stronger. 

Top Image by Tiffany Roohani / Bleecker Street

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If watching another pre-recorded event wasn’t in the cards for you this week, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. The Independent Spirit Awards are a breath of fresh air in the pretentious chaos that is awards season. All of the nominated films had budgets under $22.5 million, a number that’s shockingly low when you consider Godzilla vs. Kong had a budget of over $155 million. 

Over the years, The Independent Spirit Awards have given us more Aubrey Plaza and Laura Dern than we deserve, and I am forever grateful for that. Here are the biggest winners for 2021:

Promising Young Woman

Photo Via Focus Features

A big winner at the 36th annual Independent Spirit Awards was the revenge fantasy flick, Promising Young Woman. It took home Best Female Lead for Carey Mulligan and Best Screenplay; two of the largest awards of the night. It was nominated for Best Director but did not take home that prize.

Nomadland

Photo Via Searchlight Pictures

Thursday was a great night if you’re a Nomadland fan. The film won Best Editing, Best Director, Best Feature, and Best Cinematography. The only category it was nominated in and lost for was Best Female Lead.

Minari

Photo Via A24 Films

While nominated in most categories, Minari only snagged one win Thursday night. With two nominations in the Best Supporting Female category, the film’s standout Yuh-jung Youn captured the win over co-star Yeri Han. Minari was also nominated for Best Feature, Best Male Lead, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.

Palm Springs

Photo Via Hulu

Early quarantine fave Palm Springs was only nominated in one category, but it managed to secure the win for Best First Screenplay for Andy Siara.

Other fan favorites like Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and The Assistant, were nominated but were unable to take home any wins.

Top image via Searchlight Pictures

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Though the ’90s is often referred to as the Golden Age of Black cinema, men were overwhelmingly at the helm of many of the groundbreaking films that came to fruition throughout the decade. Even cult-classics such as Waiting to Exhale (1995) and Set It Off (1996), films that both celebrated and complicated our understandings of Black womanhood, were male-directed.

Nonetheless, the ’90s bore witness to several filmmakers like Julie Dash (Daughters Of The Dust, 1991), Cheryl Dunye (The Watermelon Woman, 1996) and Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou, 1997) whose works have stood the test of time and managed to construct cinematic universes that truly center Black women’s experiences. By example, they’ve illustrated the importance of Black women not only being in front of the camera, but being integral figures in the crafting of their own stories.  

A few present-day breakout filmmakers that both follow in their footsteps and forge their own distinct paths are those among the likes of Regina King, Janet Mock, and Ava DuVernay. Let’s all continue celebrating the abundance of Black women filmmakers making waves in a largely white-male-dominated industry by amplifying their amazing contributions to the world of film. In no particular order, here are 10 Black/BIPOC women filmmakers we should all be looking out for:

1. Numa Perrier

Perrier’s career in film significantly gained traction in 2008 when she co-founded Black & Sexy TV, an indie, Black-owned network where she produced several steamy films and original series. She later took to the director’s chair and in 2019, her debut feature film Jezebel premiered at SXSW. Now streaming on Netflix, Jezebel is a semi-autobiographical depiction of Perrier’s time as a digital sex worker. Perrier now owns a production company called House of Numa.

2. Dee Rees

Rees’ debut feature film Pariah, a coming-of-age tale about a young teen coming to terms with their sexuality, really put this writer-director on the map when it premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2011. In 2015, Rees went on to write and direct HBO’s Bessie, an Emmy award-winning film exploring the life and times of the legendary blues singer Bessie Smith. Most recently, Rees co-wrote and directed the screen adaptation for Mudbound, a dramatic period piece exploring heightened racial tensions in the deep south. The critically-acclaimed film is streaming now on Netflix. 

3. Tourmaline

Tourmaline’s filmmaking career is largely rooted in her extensive work as an activist in the fight for trans and queer lives. Working alongside co-producer Sasha Wortzel, her earlier films STAR People Are Beautiful People and Happy Birthday, Marsha! explore the lives and historic activism of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson. Her most recent project Salacia (2019), a period piece on the life of a Black trans woman in 19th century New York, was picked up by the Museum of Modern Art in 2020. 

4. Radha Blank

Blank’s journey began as a playwright. Though many never made it to the big stage, her scripts aided in landing her in several television writer’s rooms. In her spare time, she indulged in comedy and rap music under the stage name RhadaMUSprime. This all culminated in the wildfire success of her breakthrough 2020 film The 40-Year-Old Version, a semi-autobiographical film in which a struggling playwright pursues a rap career exploring the common middle-aged woman’s experience. The 40-Year-Old Version is now streaming on Netflix. 

5. Amma Asante

Asante’s debut feature film A Way Of Life (2004), a dramatic telling of teen motherhood, really jump-started her fruitful career in film and television. She is perhaps most known as the director of the 2013 historical film Belle, inspired by the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle in 1700s England. In the years since, Asante has had her hands on a number of high-profile projects as director of Where Hands Touch (2018), and even branching out into television directing on The Handmaid’s Tale (2019) and Mrs. America (2020)–both streaming on Hulu. 

6. Nayala Moon

Moon left the professional world to pursue her lifelong love of filmmaking. She especially seeks to tell stories centering LGBTQIA+ experiences. Some notable projects of hers were released in 2017, including short films NOVA and Two Trans Women, as well as a web-series entitled Bad Alley. More recently, Moon graduated with an MFA in film production and her student thesis film One Last Deal (2020), which follows the relationship of Sara and her boyfriend Bill as they hustle to raise the money for her bottom surgery, saw much success in the film festival circuit. 

7. Nosipho Dumisa

Dumisa co-founded an independent film production company named Gambit Films in 2009. Under Gambit she released her debut feature film Nommer 37  (2014), a South-African crime thriller, which gained much attention from critics when featured at several notable film festivals including SXSW. The award-winning filmmaker is most notable for her recent work as a writer-director for Netflix’s original hit series Blood & Water (2020), a teen thriller following the lives of several troubled prep-schoolers.   

8. Nia DaCosta

DaCosta’s career took off when her first feature film Little Woods (2018) premiered at Tribeca Film Festival. Starring Tessa Thompson, the crime thriller follows two long-lost sisters raising the funds to pay off their recently deceased mother’s home. DaCosta is currently director of a modern-day sequel to the original 1992 film Candyman, set to be theatrically released this upcoming August 7. She is also set to direct Captain Marvel 2, which will premier in 2022.

9. Chinonye Chukwu

Chukwu had a very rocky start with her debut feature film Alaska- Land (2012), which was completely rejected by the film festival and development lab circuits. Her follow-up short film A Long Walk (2014) gained a bit more notice, but it wasn’t until 2019 with the release of Clemency, that the writer-director got the praise she deserves. Starring Alfre Woodard, the film follows a prison warden’s re-evaluation of the nature of her job in the days leading up to a death-row inmate’s execution. Clemency is now streaming on Hulu. Chukwu is also set to direct an upcoming film informed by the memoir of Elaine Brown, former chairwoman of the Oakland chapter of the Black Panther Party. 

10. Tayarisha Poe

Poe stamped her mark on the film industry with her 2019 short film Honey And Trombones. Her most notable work, however, is her 2019 feature film Selah And The Spades, an intimate portrait of the dark side of boarding school. The film premiered to much critical acclaim at Sundance Film Festival, and is now available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Poe has since gone on to direct for television with Two Sentence Horror Stories (2019) and The Twilight Zone (2020).

Top Image: Screenshot From Sundance Institute X Radha Blank Collab Video

All Videos Have Been Sourced via YouTube & Vimeo:

Jezebel Trailer

Bessie Trailer

Happy Birthday, Marsha! Trailer

The Forty-Year-Old Version Trailer

Belle Trailer

One Last Deal Trailer

Blood & Water Trailer

Candyman Trailer

Clemency Trailer

Selah And The Spades Trailer

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We all love a good comeback story, don’t we? It’s a tale as old as time, and there’s a certain level of inspiration and hope that audiences can draw from the story of a person who, against all odds, manages to rise above their seemingly insurmountable circumstances. In Tina Turner’s case, however, the public’s obsession with her triumph over domestic violence has both catapulted her into mainstream success, and haunted her for a great number of years. 

In what will serve as her final farewell to life in the public eye, HBO’s new documentary TINA explores the life and times of the legendary Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Tina Turner rose to fame in the early 1960s as the lead singer of Ike & Tina Turner. Her powerful voice, electrifying performance style, and untamed sexuality set her apart from any other premiere act in her day. The five-part documentary powerfully underscores Turner’s struggle to break free of her Ike & Tina past and rise to even greater stardom as a solo artist in the 80s.

In doing so, the film plays with the idea of the “comeback” narrative, forcing audiences to reckon with how damaging Turner’s hypervisible redemption story has been to her emotional and mental wellbeing. Ironically though, directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin largely mishandle Turner’s great send-off film by constructing the documentary itself as a comeback story and feeding into an arc of redemption. As beautifully executed as this documentary may be, it’s ultimately a film that doesn’t take its own advice. 

Parts one and two of TINA establish Turner’s life as a tragedy; one that overwhelmingly revolves around her tumultuous romantic relationship with the late Ike Turner. In fact, the very first question we overhear a producer asking Turner is about the infamous 1981 People Magazine interview, in which she chose to publicly reveal the true extent of the physical, emotional, and sexual abuse she’d suffered in that marriage. Much of the first half of the film is anchored in audio clips of Turner recounting these events. While successful at relaying important information concerning Turner’s upbringing, her troubling adjustment to fame, the joy she found in motherhood, and her spiritual awakening—all of these other defining aspects of her life feel peripheral to the documentary’s guiding force: this harrowing interview, along with other archival footage and audio of her explicity addressing domestic violence.

Alongside the audio recordings, the film spends a great deal of screen-time using visual liberties to reconstruct Turner’s account of events. One of the shooting locations is Turner’s now-abandoned Los Angeles home. The film powerfully juxtaposes old home videos of Turner cooking for her family and tucking her children into bed with present-day footage of the empty abode. The rust-stained pool and the unsettlingly quiet dining room gives viewers the sense that Turner never fully accomplished what she set out to when making this her family home.

The camera slowly pans down the hallway and enters Turner’s old bedroom, where the red carpeting and wallpaper ominously hint that this was indeed her house of horrors. The descriptions of violence get painfully vivid in this segment, grossly forcing the audience to visualize the harm being inflicted on Turner, and ultimately allowing the “abused woman” narrative to consume the telling of her life’s story. 

The documentary foregoes some of its raw, emotional complexity as a means of positioning Turner as some trope-fulfilling character within the context of her own lived experience. This decision co-opts Turner’s liberation, reducing it to a simplistic plot device.

As with every redemption story, the documentary really picks up when Turner decides to fight back. The film similarly utilizes visual aids as a means of illustrating the rock legend’s great escape. There’s footage of cars on a highway, alluding to Turner’s infamous limousine fight with Ike. There are a few shots of a hotel bedroom where Turner describes how she waited for Ike to fall asleep before packing her things. The shaky camera movements simulate Turner running for dear life in the dead of night, barely evading the oncoming traffic. All the while, triumphant music is playing in the background, selling this moment as one of victory and never quite capturing the terror and distress that Turner herself recalls.

To truly ground this moment in Turner’s reality would’ve been to somewhat relinquish the film of its power to mold a clean-cut comeback story. The documentary foregoes some of its raw, emotional complexity as a means of positioning Turner as some trope-fulfilling character within the context of her own lived experience. This decision co-opts Turner’s liberation, reducing it to a simplistic plot device.

And thus, the comeback begins. (Literally, part three of the documentary is dubbed “Comeback.”) A newly divorced, middle-aged Turner takes on an ageist, racist, sexist recording industry, embarking on a journey to establish herself as a solo rock ‘n’ roll artist in her own right. Tina is persuaded into doing the People Magazine interview in order to gain exposure and debunk the myth of the Ike & Tina era as her glory days. The film masterfully delineates how Turner would forever be tethered to this narrative, and ultimately her abuser, for the rest of her days.

While she did eventually go on to record Grammy Award-winning albums, headline sold-out tours, and star in massive franchise films, there wasn’t an overwhelming reinvestment in Turner’s artistry until her survival story molded her into someone the public found worthy of rooting for. She escaped one abuser only to become entrapped in a lifelong cycle of abuse with the public, in which her re-traumatization would be exchanged for their patronage and adoration. 

Discussing the mega-success of her debut solo album Private Dancer, Turner remarked: “No, I don’t consider it a comeback album. Tina had never arrived. It was Tina’s debut for the first time. This was my first album.” This is perhaps the most important concept of the film, yet the documentary itself continues to frame Turner’s life as a comeback story until the very end. Parts four and five briefly address how the legend continues to prevail over harassment from the press, how she’s learned to forgive, and juxtaposes her current loving relationship to husband Erwin Bach with her former relationships that were rooted in abuse. It’s the ultimate happy ending. Turner is the victor who’s found a healthy love and managed to come back from the trauma caused by her own “comeback.” Simply put, the storytelling employed by Lindsay and Martin feels redundant. 

For this to be a film that explicitly seeks to spotlight how detrimental this particular narrative has been in Turner’s experience, TINA is a sadly missed opportunity to liberate her from the arc of redemption once and for all. “I had an abusive life,” Turner reflects in the documentary’s final moments. “There’s no other way to tell the story. It’s a reality. It’s a truth.” But, it almost seems as though the world has forced Turner into resigning to the idea that the telling of her life’s story would be of less value if it were to diverge in any way from the narrative being projected onto her.

Ultimately, TINA never gives the icon the chance to be proven wrong; to be given a space to tell a story that doesn’t dwell on her trauma, or her will to survive said trauma against all odds. The documentary is generally a good film, but only because it relies on an age-old “hero’s journey” formula. What makes a good story isn’t always what makes a responsible one, and the world has long neglected to fully assess its responsibility to Tina Turner’s.

Top & Bottom Images: Screenshots from TINA trailer & teaser

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As the documentary Hysterical begins, neon signs flash over photos of comedians when they were young girls. The signs read: “BE PRETTY. BE SOFT-SPOKEN. DON’T BE BOSSY. BE NICE. DON’T BE MESSY. SMILE.” While these expectations tend to be ingrained in the brains of girls and women from birth to death, some of them are counterintuitive to a life in comedy. How can a comedian make people laugh without a bit of bite and a bit of mess? 

Hysterical, which premieres on FX on April 2, considers the fact that women still have a hard time breaking into the comedy scene and convincing audiences that what they have to say is worth listening to. The documentary’s title comes from the Latin word hystericus, or “of the womb,” and has historically been ascribed to women as a belittling insult and an exclusively female clinical diagnosis of insanity. The positive usage of the word, which denotes that something is uproariously funny, tends to apply to a comedy scene that remains dominated by men. The documentary makes the case that the life of a woman in comedy is not about emulating men and shunning all associations with womanhood, but about reflecting what the experience of womanhood is really like. “It’s not about talking like men, or talking about the stuff that they talk about,” Judy Gold says in the doc’s opening sequence. “It’s about our experience, and that is as valid as theirs.”

Hysterical showcases the viewpoints of 15 comedians, including Margaret Cho, Nikki Glaser, Kathy Griffin, and Sherri Shepherd, and is cut with lo-fi clips of twentieth-century comedians like Phyllis Diller, Moms Mabley, and Joan Rivers. The sheer volume of comedians the documentary features and references is ambitious, and sometimes distracting, but it works to eliminate the idea that women in comedy are a homogeneous, brash blob. “Everyone assumes you’re kinda the class clown that’s, like, ‘Look at me! Look at me!’” Fortune Feimster says of the standard comedic personality. But each comedian in the documentary describes a vastly different upbringing, recalling immigration and racial bias; bullying and tomboyishness; nuclear families and suburbs; cities and farms; tradition and eccentricity; shyness and aggression. One theme that unites each of their stories is their sense of being an outsider—a shared truth that undoubtedly allowed for the observation essential to building real comedy chops.

Hysterical disproves the tired “women aren’t funny” myth through the bits and subsequent laughs sprinkled throughout, but this is not the documentary’s purpose. Instead, it questions, without definitively answering, why that mythology came into existence and continues to exist today. “There are funny men and funny women,” Wendy Liebman says, “but I do understand that men may not want women to be funny.” 

As the interviewees recall their earliest leaps into the comedy world, each offers a variation on the same story: They fearfully got onstage, told some jokes, felt on top of the world, and decided that they knew what to do for the rest of their lives. But as they started to push into the comedy world, each encountered gender-related pushback. One of the central issues Hysterical explores is the question of safety, which is not something male comics have to think too much about while traveling for work, performing late-night gigs in dingy basement clubs, or staying in seedy motels in close quarters with men who are, in some cases, unhealthily used to an ego massage. “There’s the dream, there’s the fantasy, and then there’s the reality check,” Marina Franklin says. “I had never understood sexism until I got into the comedy scene.” 

Hysterical disproves the tired “women aren’t funny” myth through the bits and subsequent laughs sprinkled throughout, but this is not the documentary’s purpose. Instead, it questions, without definitively answering, why that mythology came into existence and continues to exist today.

While Hysterical covers the frequent use of misogyny as a comedic device, it does not push for political correctness in joke-telling. The documentary recognizes that jokes are always subjective and often uncomfortable. Many of the women who appear in the doc advocate for free speech, even when that speech is brutal (Gold even wrote a book about it called Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble). When Kathy Griffin posed for a photo while holding up a model of Trump’s disembodied head covered in fake blood, for example, she was forced to cancel a major comedy tour. Kelly Bachman, a comedian and rape survivor, was met with a series of boos and shouts of “shut up” when she called out Harvey Weinstein while he was in the audience at Downtime Bar. The real issue in comedy is not controversial punchlines, but dangerous attitudes and actions among comedians, as in the cases of Bill Cosby, Louis C.K., and Chris D’Elia, to name a few. Some comedians and audiences use the free-speech argument to justify misogyny, but do not apply the same argument to women who call misogyny out in their own sets.

“The things we’re talking about as comics, it’s like, this is your experience on this planet. And comics are here to just hold up that mirror to be like, ‘This is us,’” says Iliza Schlesinger. “I think George Carlin calls us comedians modern-day philosophers — we’re also whistle-blowers! You’re standing up for what you believe is right, and you’re calling things out. It’s my job to stand up there alone, in the dark, and tell you where I see bullshit.”

Many of the issues for women in the microcosm of the comedy scene reflect broader issues women face out in the world, including meeting the demands of motherhood while working for lower pay than their male counterparts.

Hysterical addresses serious issues within the comedy world, as well as the individual traumas female comedians have faced, but it balances this seriousness with a fitting sense of laughter and community. Many of the issues for women in the microcosm of the comedy scene reflect broader issues women face out in the world, including meeting the demands of motherhood while working for lower pay than their male counterparts. It makes sense that women’s experiences of being silenced, not taken seriously, or deemed outsiders in the comedy world and the world at large, lend themselves to the introspection and social commentary that comedy calls for. As the Hysterical women discuss the motivations behind their comedy, a resounding theme emerges: the creation of community, empathy, and healing. The documentary highlights that their emotion, or “hysteria,” or whatever anyone wants to call it, is an asset to being “hysterical” in the comedic sense of the word. 

“Women have an advantage in stand-up comedy, because we’ve been dabbling in our feelings for far longer than men have,” Glaser says, “and so that’s why we’re killin’ the game right now.”

Top Image via FX Networks

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The 93rd Annual Academy Award nominations have shattered (or, at least, chipped away at) the glass ceiling (or, at least, the high ceiling of Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre).

The 2021 Oscars ceremony will be unusual in that it will be broadcast from multiple locations, and will honor movies that most people watched via streaming services due to pandemic restrictions. But one of the most historic aspects of this year’s awards show is the inclusion of two women in its Best Director category. The category has long been dominated by men, and has never included more than a single female nominee at a time.

In 2021, female directors being nominated for awards should not be groundbreaking news—but it is. This year marks the first Oscar nomination for English actor and filmmaker Emerald Fennell, who is nominated for her incendiary directorial debut, Promising Young Woman. Chinese director Chloé Zhao, who directed Nomadland, is also a first-time nominee and the first woman of color to be nominated in the category. As the winner of the directorial prize at the 2021 Golden Globes, Zhao is in a strong position to become the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for Best Director. This recognition is worth celebrating not just for the credit given to these women and their visions, but also for what it could mean more broadly for the future of women in film.

Only five other women have been nominated for Best Director in the 93-year history of the Academy Awards. The first was Lina Wertmuller for Seven Beauties, a 1975 Italian film about a man imprisoned during World War II. Jane Campion was nominated in 1994 for The Piano, a period drama about a psychologically mute woman entering an arranged marriage, and Sophia Coppola was nominated in 2004 for her Tokyo love story Lost in Translation. In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first—and, so far, only—woman to win the prize, for directingThe Hurt Locker (which is, incidentally, a male-dominated film about the Iraq War). Most recently, in 2018, Greta Gerwig was nominated for her semi-autobiographical directorial debut, Lady Bird.

The significance of this year’s nominees extends beyond their gender and to the stories their nominations correspond to. In Zhao’s Nomadland, protagonist Fern sheds all of the trimmings of conventional American life—comfort, convenience, romance—in order to traverse the country in an RV. Fennell’s Promising Young Woman makes room for moral complexity in its fresh spin on the feminist rape-revenge thriller. These are not just stories that happen to be directed by women; they are stories about two different dimensions of the experience of being a woman. 

As women are given more directing opportunities and more credit for their projects, studio bigwigs may come to recognize—if only from a strictly-business standpoint—that women filmmakers are worth funding and supporting. This could lead to the creation and distribution of more women-helmed films and to a boost in the visibility and reach of empowering stories like Nomadland and Promising Young Woman. Due to the prominent role art plays in shaping culture, this shift could spark more open conversations around the issues, taboos, and perspectives such films address about how women are positioned in contemporary society.

While Regina King was snubbed by the Academy for her direction of One Night in Miami… this year, let’s hope that the male-dominated and male-named Oscars grow to include Black women directors in the years to come. Still, the future of female directors appears to be heading in the right direction (no pun intended).

Photo by Mason Kimbarovsky on Unsplash

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In 1957, J.D. Salinger wrote a letter to a movie producer explaining why he had not released the rights to a film adaptation of The Catcher in the Rye. “There are readymade ‘scenes’—only a fool would deny that—but, for me, the weight of the book is in the narrator’s voice… his asides about gasoline rainbows in street puddles, his philosophy or way of looking at cowhide suitcases and empty toothpaste cartons—in a word, his thoughts,” Salinger wrote. “He can’t legitimately be separated from his own first-person technique.” 

The same could be said about the 2021 film adaptation of Joanna Rakoff’s 2014 memoir, My Salinger Year. The memoir details Rakoff’s life while she worked in the literary agency that represented Salinger in the mid-‘90s and received countless letters from his fans. Rakoff, who is now a successful freelance writer, revisits post-graduate uncertainty, unfulfilled writing dreams, a bygone New York City, complicated relationships with friends and lovers, and how she felt about it all. It’s a story about Rakoff, disguised as a story about Salinger; with the movie, the opposite is true. 

Despite My Salinger Year’s relatively recent time period, both the book and the movie are built on—as Rakoff’s character (played by a wide-eyed Margaret Qualley) says—“the nostalgia factor.” Joanna is far from her riot grrrl and slacker contemporaries; she inhabits a buttoned-up, 90s-meets-50s world as she types on a typewriter in a sort of cathedral of carbon copies. In the movie, her pre-Miranda Priestly boss, Margaret (coolly played by Sigourney Weaver), assures her, “It’s perfectly fine to wear trousers if you’re a woman.” The Agency’s hallowed halls bear a black-and-white portrait of Salinger, and are lined with oak bookshelves bearing his books, the last of which was published in 1963. The movie’s settings, scenes, and characters are swathed in the rich jewel tones of the author’s book covers—ochre, ruby, emerald, sapphire. In both the My Salinger Year book and the movie, the stiff stuffiness of the literary world colors Rakoff’s experiences with a certain romance. But while the book treats Rakoff’s job as context, the movie treats it as her identity. 

Rakoff’s memoir allowed her to own her story, but the movie often positions her as a secondary character in the stories of the people around her. Each character—especially Joanna—is glimpsed too briefly to become complete. The movie is too busy paying respect to other writers—Salinger, Rachel Cusk, Judy Blume, Joanna’s boyfriend Don, and people all over the world who wrote fan letters to Salinger—to pay sufficient respect to the writer of its own source material. Above all, the movie itself comes across as a fan letter to Salinger. In a 90-minute movie based upon a 274-page book, let alone a memoir, screen time is precious and must remain focused on the point. The letters fans wrote to Salinger and the replies Rakoff wrote back are a prominent plot point in the book, but they are not the point.  The movie’s attempt to connect the dots between Salinger, agency employees, fan mail writers, and Joanna’s lovers and friends fails to form a cohesive picture of Joanna herself.

Of course, it could be argued that Joanna’s story being stifled by others’ is the central theme of both the book and the movie. “All day we sat, our legs crossed at the knee, on our swivel chairs, answering the call of our bosses, ushering in writers with the correct mixture of enthusiasm and remove,” Rakoff writes in her memoir, “never belying the fact that we got into this business… because we wanted to be writers ourselves.” The movie retains the book’s basic plot in terms of scenes and sequence. The disconnect is not in the scenes that appear, but in the point of view that is largely left out. Although the movie adaptation carries the tones and textures that brought the Agency to life in Rakoff’s memoir, it neglects to enliven Rakoff’s own voice. 

The movie’s most shining moments are the few fleeting glimpses into Joanna’s reverie: eating $12 cheesecake in the Waldorf Astoria to the tune of “Moon River”; tearfully watching her ex-boyfriend, Karl, play “Claire de Lune” on the clarinet in a church; a joyful waltz with Karl back at the Waldorf. Still, not much is revealed about Joanna—her motivations, her fears—other than her yet-unmet writerly aspirations and which authors she prefers to read while waiting for the subway. My Salinger Year is a deeply introspective book and, as Salinger said of Catcher, the weight of it lies in the narrator’s voice and thoughts. Without these elements at the fore, the movie feels flimsy.

In obscuring Rakoff’s voice, the My Salinger Year adaptation sometimes comes across like poor writing—stilted, disjointed, and half-formed. Its greatest mistake, though, is presenting Rakoff herself as a blank page.

Top Image via IFC Films.

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Creating a good biopic can be a hit or miss. Regardless of the identity of the historical figure or entertainer, capturing the complexities of a person’s entire existence can be quite a daunting task — and with The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Lee Daniels both fails and succeeds at capturing her legacy.

The film is both visually stunning and masterfully cast. Lead actress Andra Day’s uncanny embodiment of Holiday and chilling vocal performance have rightfully earned her a Golden Globe award this past week, making her the second Black woman to ever be awarded in the Best Drama Actress category. But, with the currently shifting nature of the biographical film category, especially as it pertains to Black women exercising increased creative control over their own cinematic narratives, I was left questioning how much Lady Day’s voice actually rang through. Is the film just another pretty picture, or does it successfully give Holiday’s legacy the justice it deserves? 

This latest attempt at bringing Holiday’s life story to the big screen certainly isn’t the first. That accolade goes to the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues, a very loose adaptation of Holiday’s 1956 memoir of the same title. While the book itself is widely recognized for some of its historical inaccuracies, the film takes immense artistic liberties while portraying Holiday as a barely functioning victim of circumstance and romanticizing her notoriously abusive relationship with then-husband Louis McKay (Billy Dee Williams). Diana Ross’ debut performance as the starring lady further tanks what would have otherwise been an entertaining film — she in no way becomes Holiday. Rather, she is exactly as she appears: Diana Ross painfully impersonating the legendary blues singer. A huge miss, as far as biopics go.

Unlike its predecessor, The United States vs. Billie Holiday takes its historical cues not from the famed entertainer’s memoir, but from Johann Hari’s Chasing the Scream: The First and Last Days of The War on Drugs. The film uplifts Holiday and her anti-lynching anthem “Strange Fruit” as essential precursors to what would eventually become the Civil Rights Movement. Her musical activism fortifies her as an official target of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which sought to criminalize her for heroin addiction and exploit her tumultuous romantic relationships. This powerful framing breathes life back into Holiday’s legacy, underpinning the duality that marked much of her life: her world-renowned stardom and extreme isolation; her intimacy with both men and women; and her fight to maintain her integrity as an artist while also navigating law enforcement’s incessant harassment. Though far greater than any previous attempt to cinematically capture Holiday’s life story, I’m not entirely certain that this is the story she would’ve wanted to tell.

Now streaming on Hulu, The United States vs. Billie Holiday was released amid a momentous shift taking place in the greater biopic film category. In recent years, Black women have taken back the reigns of their own on-screen narratives, with television networks and streaming services such as Lifetime, VH1, and Netflix investing in their stories. As they live and breathe, singers and entertainers among the likes of TLC, Michel’le, Roxanne Chante, Salt n Pepa, and Wendy Williams have been integral members of the writing and production processes of their respective biographical films— a privilege that Lady Day will unfortunately never have. She did, however, gift us with something that’s arguably more important: her autobiography.

Despite many criticisms it’s received, Lady Sings the Blues is Holiday’s rawest retelling of her life. Having had the opportunity to read it this past year, I found myself affectionately referring to her as “aunty Billie” while soaking up the wisdom that bled through each page about what informed her singing, her struggles with addiction and mental health, and her experience with a burgeoning prison industrial complex. It’s her own story in her own words, and that’s as good as it gets. 

The book’s factual inaccuracies were all the more interesting because she most noticeably omits details concerning her intimate life. While she does discuss being sexually assaulted and participating in sex work at a young age, she never explicitly acknowledges her queerness and suggests that her mother was unaware of having sent her to live in a brothel, though it is widely understood that Sadie Fagan (Holiday’s mother) was a sex worker herself. In obscuring these aspects of her and her mother’s sexual histories, Holiday exercises her power to refuse anyone else’s terms of transparency. But, it’s these very same intimate details that become highly visible in The U.S. vs. Billie Holiday.

Several scenes insert Tallulah Bankhead (Natasha Lyonne) as an important romantic figure and confidant in Holiday’s life, and reimagines her mother as the very person who pressures her into sex work. The film somewhat captures Holiday’s tendency to evade revealing too much of her personal life through the fictional interviewer Reginald Divine (Leslie Jordan), whose invasive line of questioning is often met with Holiday’s silence and Miss Freddy’s (Miss Lawrence) redirection. In effect, it’s not actually Andra Day’s character who reveals these intimacies; the movie itself fills in those gaps by way of flashback, speaking for her. But should it? 

By William P Gottileb via Wikimedia Commons

All of the revelations that make for a more entertaining, award-winning film weren’t necessarily things that Holiday spoke about at length for public consumption. After all, as a young Black girl coming of age in the 1920s, Holiday was conscripted into a world where her intimate life would be the subject of much public scrutiny. Saidiya Hartman’s Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments examines how, at the turn of the 20th century, young Black women spearheaded a revolution of Black intimate life and were criminalized for sex work, having casual sexual encounters, engaging in interracial relationships, and existing beyond the constraints of gendered and heterosexual norms — all of which were different aspects of Billie Holiday’s lived experience. A true radical she was, both in the spotlight and behind closed doors. But, in her intimate life, she also faced serious consequences and acted well within her right to maintain an air of mystery concerning some of the specifics. As Holiday once sang, it really “ain’t nobody’s business.”  

Day powerfully amplifies the legendary singer’s voice in ways that weren’t accessible to Holiday in her own lifetime, and as a performer, manages to say everything Lady Day perhaps felt she couldn’t.

Despite the utter catastrophe that was the 1972 screen adaptation of Lady Sings the Blues, its one redeeming quality is that it rings slightly more true to Holiday’s personal memoir. And ultimately, in today’s world where our politics have greatly shifted toward sex positivity and the protection of Black women and queer folks, it’s truly The U.S. vs Billie Holiday’s Andra Day who does the necessary work of interpreting Holiday’s story with immense care.

“I look at her voice as a scroll, upon which all of the trauma is written—every hit, every minute in prison, every cigarette, every sip, every slam of heroin or cocaine, but also all of her triumphs—it’s all written on the scroll of her vocal cords,” she remarked in a recent interview with BUST. Day powerfully amplifies the legendary singer’s voice in ways that weren’t accessible to Holiday in her own lifetime, and as a performer, manages to say everything Lady Day perhaps felt she couldn’t. Still, though, one can’t help but wonder what defining moments would’ve made the cut this time around had she been part of the filmmaking process. Better yet, it’s truly exciting to see present day Black women entertainers tell their own cinematic stories, on their own terms. 

Top Image: Photo Takashi Seida / Paramount Pictures / Hulu

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The dream of the ’90s is alive in Moxie. The new film, coming to Netflix March 3, follows a contemporary teen named Vivian as she leads a feminist revolt at her high school inspired by her mom’s old riot grrrl ’zines and music. Based on a YA novel by Jennifer Mathieu and directed by Amy Poehler (who also served as a producer and plays Vivian’s mom), the movie is a heartfelt exploration of growing up and learning how to fight for yourself, with the added bonus of a Bikini Kill-driven soundtrack. “When you’re in high school, things matter,” says Poehler, 49, who made her young cast a playlist primer on the riot grrrl era. “So many films make fun of the importance of things when you’re that age, but what I’ve always loved about high-school movies is that you really feel like you were there. You cared as much as they did.” Here, she talks about her own school days and Moxie’s real-life parallels. 

You signed on to produce and direct Moxie first. What made you decide you wanted to play Vivian’s mom, too?
I wasn’t thinking about that at first because I really like directing, but acting and directing at the same time is kind of difficult. I had done it with Wine Country and with episodes of TV, and I thought, “This’ll be so exciting to have a really young, enthusiastic, energetic cast that I can have fun with, and I don’t have to participate in any of the acting part.” But then, as we developed the character, I felt like I understood her. 

“So many films make fun of the importance of things when you’re that age, but what I’ve always loved about high-school movies is that you really feel like you were there.”

What’s the 2021 equivalent of a ’zine?
Fuck it, I’m not gonna say I’m too old for this—I think it might be TikTok. I mean it! You start falling into these places where you can find like-minded people, or people who are different than you are who open your eyes up to new stuff. There’s some version of that where people start to hear very specific, individual voices and experiences which feel universal. I know that’s not the real activist, indie answer. But just from a global perspective of “Where are my people?” that might be one. 

How did high-school Amy respond to sexist school dress codes like the one depicted in the movie?
I didn’t really experience that, but so many members of the cast had. Everything that we deal with in the film, whether it be young women feeling like their voice aren’t heard in the classroom, to dress code stuff, to student elections feeling unfair, to female administrators not taking women’s problems seriously—every time we would film a scene, the next day we would see in the news a very real example of that. When we were touring some high schools to shoot at, we had a moment where a principal said, “Excuse me one second,” and turned to a girl and said, “You have to zip up that hoodie.”

Did you have any input into your character’s amazing collection of band T-shirts?
Yeah, I did! We talked a lot about that. Even though in the real ’90s I wasn’t actually in the pit, I did get a chance to see music, and I was always really, really proud of the fact that I had a T-shirt to prove it. That doesn’t go away even when you’re in your late 40s. I can remember very distinctly getting my Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams T-shirts—which I know is not very punk rock, don’t get me wrong—but I can remember being so psyched to roll up the sleeves and wear one the next day in school.
–Eliza C. Thompson

Photo: Amy Poehler and Hadley Robinson (Colleen Hayes/NETFLIX © 2021)

This article originally appeared in the Spring 2021 print edition of BUST Magazine. Subscribe today!

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