Inspired By “KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS” Screenplay By: Robert Hammer and John Dighton
Based On the Novel “ISRAEL RANK” By: Roy Horniman
Cinematography: Todd Ranhazl
Editor: Harrison Atkins
Cast: Glen Powell, Jessica Henwick, Margaret Qualley, Bill Camp, Ed Harris, Topher Grace, Zach Woods, Phumi Tau, Stevel Marc
Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, a blue-collar stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.
This is a loose remake or more a modern retelling of the Alec Guinness film KIND HEARTS & CORONETS only set more realistically and taking out the gimmick of that film years ago. Where Alec Guinness played all the members of the family that was getting killed off.
It might have been an added incentive if this film had big stars making cameos as members of the family getting killed off, but only Topher Grace is recognizable as one of the kin in standing to inherit a fortune above out protagonist.
So the film really adds nothing except instead of being an outright comedy. It’s dark and slick. It attempts to be a social satire. Though never quite feels sharp enough. In fact at times it feels oddly rushed.
The film is darkly comedic and isn’t as bad as one would think. Considering how little fanfare or promotion the film got. Which the studio seemed to have cold feet after Glen Powell started in THE RUNNING MAN reboot that bombed. I don’t even remember seeing a trailer for this film. Until I had to go out and find it online myself.
The film plays pretty standard items entertaining as you watch but barely sticks with you once done. This fits in with the disposable films of yesteryear that were good enough for a watch and are rewatchable but therebisnMt much to them except for entertainment.
This film seems like it’s going to be a crowd pelaser until the end where it stays with it’s cynicism.
Strangely enough Glen Powell, plays a likable killer. That feels like he has shades of Patrick Bateman possibilities but is never that much of a sociopath or psychopath and had his reasons for his actions.
Margaret Qualley is a good femme fatale only because we barely know anything about her and comes across as a mystery but also a type. Though she wears chanel as her wardrobe in all her scenes. That gives you a hint to the heart of her character. Where her legs are all over.
Which is one of the films problems it’s
Likable enough bit has no real depth. The characters are more types. So that it never draws you in. So as it stays on the surface that is what you get and how you feel by the end.
The films screenplay was surprisingly on the 2014 BLACK LIST of scripts that those in the industry rank as the best unproduced they have read that year.
Which drags the film down and makes it feel more and more basic as it goes along. Especially in the end where the irony want to take over. As this is a film that shouldngave high stakes. Yet it all feels very telegraphed.
This feels like a film you would sneak Into after paying and watching another film or that you go to on a weekend, just because you want something to watch.
Cast: Matthew Sato, Will Sennett, Pell James, Olivia Rouyre, Fred Melamed, Chloe Cherry
A struggling writer befriends a powerful producer’s eccentric son.
This film plays more like a thriller version of SWIMMING WITH SHARKS. As it is more a detail of Hollywood insiders and trying to get ahead and have your dreams come true. no, it doesn’t play out in the board rooms. It plays out more on the party circuit and networking.
The film mostly works as a comedy and thriller at times. That by the end luckily everything comes together that might be left hanging in the first half of the film. though truthfully, it’s more comedy than horror as when it does decide to change its mood. It is quite sharp, not subtle. As the film tries to work as a satire until becoming a full on horror film towards the end.
If the film has any weakness, it might be and some of its characters, especially the lead who just comes across as way to clean cut for somebody who might not have been born in Hollywood, but has been in it long enough to know the culture and there’s nothing wrong with him not really being into drugs or alcohol as the film desperately wants us to show him challenging his morals and will he go down this dark path just to get his film made. Though they could’ve worked harder to make him more than every man and still be innocent.
Just as his relationship with his girlfriend or fiancé at first, I thought they were siblings notnromntically involved as throughout the film she’s disappointed and seems to have problems with him and at no point do they actually seem romantic or really have any chemistry?
It’s one of those films where you go with what is presented and you don’t really question too much as the film doesn’t really make you think either but you enjoy the ride you’re going on even if it’s familiar or you feel like you can predict what’s going to happen. It tries to offer a few surprises that aren’t really that big to a seasoned cinephile.
The works just enough to keep your interest so that you want to see the film through to the end even as it tries to be a little bit artistic and challenging towards the end it still comes off rather basic though one applaud the filmmaker for trying as the film still feels like a rough draft that needs a little bit more tightening.
Will Bennett give the films most entertaining and captivating performance throughout this film should definitely be a calling card for him
One doesn’t really want to pick on this film as obviously it’s low budget and a filmmaker work well with what they have and you can tell they are trying.
Cast: McKaley Miller, Keyara Milliner, Brice Anthony Heller, Morgana Van Peebles, Jayson Warner Smith, Will Deusner, Dermot Mulroney, Anne Heche, Hannah Celeste, Kelli Therinae
Eden, a bright student who is wait-listed at her dream college, attends a party hosted by a powerful Congressman’s son to get a letter of recommendation. However, she and her friend Zara discover that Schroder and his friends are involved in the disappearance of a missing girl. As tensions rise, Eden uses her wit and manipulation skills to navigate the dangerous social hierarchy of the wealthy elite and protect herself and those she cares about. As she delves deeper into the mystery, she uncovers shocking secrets and must fight to survive.
This film is a disappoint as the material is not bad. One only wishes they would’ve had more original ideas in which to not only present the film, but offer up style for the film..
As there are plenty of scenes in which the characters reactor act so dumb and not impulsively just either stupid or silly that it is beyond belief at times, so unfortunately it’s because of these things that keep the film going, where at certain points of the film it becomes so ridiculous that it’s funny while trying to keep this thriller tone
There is a final twist that you see coming, but there are plenty of places and ideas within the film where if they would’ve simply did a simple twist on the situation, the film could’ve been a little more entertaining and thought-provoking, but then it might’ve gone into being multidimensional in this film seems to wanna be one dimensional, cut and dry literally.
As for most of the film, there seems to be a lot of filler or stretching for time and a scene that should have been a lot more emotional and devastating here just seems to be played off to show a characters determination truly a taste of how evil they are, even though they’ve been presented that way throughout. Though at least it gives one of the characters who’s supposed to be a villain, somewhat of a soul or a chance to see the other side of them.
Though you know the main teen villian who seem cast here more for his look. Which telegraphs his evil side from the opening.
It even kills off one of the villains of color first. Who ends up seeming like one of the most innocent.
The main character is mostly to blame for the other character fates throughout. So at times it is hard to feel sorry for her. Especially as she brings it on herself and could have easily gotten out of this situation. Though it shows she has a soul through her actions. Even if her best friend who has hated most of these characters. Has an odd mid-movie feeling and about face of trying to give the bad guys the benefit of the doubt.
One can admit the film doesn’t truly get exciting until the major names in the cast actually appear which unfortunately isn’t until the last third of the film but they make their presence felt and make things or keep things a little more exciting especially the late Anne Heche’s performance, wishing she had been in more of the film as she makes a most scary and entertaining villain.
No ultimately the film is a thriller, but throughout it is a revenge tale no matter how it is dressed up even though the box art makes it look like it. Will Moore be something to the movie? READY OR NOT
Written & Directed By: Daniel Woltosz & Walt Woltosz
Cinematography: Jan-Michael Losada
Editor: Colleen Halsey
Cast: Amanda Arcuri, Jackson Rathbone, Kerri Medders, Elise Luthman, Ashlee Fuss, Ivon Millan, Courtney Henggeler, Nikki Leigh, Savannah Kennick
Chelsea, a high school introvert, is abducted through a social media app and is forced to look like other girls Brad holds captive. Chelsea desperately attempts to persuade them to escape before they all become victims in his virtual reality filmed murders.
At first one would think this film looking at the poster would be one of those paranormal or slasher films that comes out in theaters for a week before it is properly put on streaming. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t even belong on streaming. This feels more like a bad cable original
The film is a little confusing as to does. It wanna be in after school, special warning about the dangers of online predators in the dangers of online relationships without doing the proper background checks and research or doesn’t want to be a horror film about a deranged protagonist, and a final girl.
The film tries to mix, but by the end, it just feels like a rated lifetime movie that is a bit sensationalistic, and while it tries to be exploited, it never goes fall into any of what it hint at either sexual or violence wise, except for one gruesome death
Going into the film, you can pretty much guess what’s gonna happen in the type of film that it is going to be and while the lead is certainly twisted and most of the film plays more like a horror. The last five minutes then seems to want to be a kind of public service announcement.
The film does get into brainwashing Stockholm syndrome, and while it tries to be dirty and gruesome, it never quite thrills or make you really worry about the protagonists.
So that by the end feels like a nice try, but doesn’t truly satisfy anyone because you wonder who is supposedly the audience for this film and it just feels like a paint by numbers setup. From a father-son writing and directing duo.
One would guess this is supposed to be for teenagers, but none of it really comes across as believable, especially in dialogue when it comes to the teenage characters.
Though it is nice to see Amanda Arcuri from DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION have a lead role. One can only wish it was in a better film. Where half the time the audience is confused as to which kidnapped character is which. Since they are made to dress alike and respond to the same name.
Cast: Jude Law, Vicky Kirby, Ana De Armas, Sydney Sweeney, Daniel Bruehl, Felix Krammerer, Toby Wallace, Ingracio Gasparini, Richard Roxburgh
Based on a factual account of a group of outsiders who settle on a remote island only to discover their greatest threat isn’t the brutal climate or deadly wildlife, but each other.
I’ve learned nothing from age or experience. When I read a rating description that says graphic nudity and see that a film takes place on a remote island, my brain still lights up like a teenager who thinks cinema is about to deliver. Full frontal. Everyone. Sunburned and symbolic. Instead, Eden plays like a prank pulled by the MPAA: lots of male butts, a wet shirt doing some heavy lifting, and apparently breastfeeding now qualifies as “graphic.” If there’s a support group for grown adults disappointed by misleading rating descriptions, sign me up.
What’s funny is that this misdirection mirrors the film itself. Critics and early buzz framed Eden as something juicier; betrayals, affairs, wife-swapping, maybe even an orgy or two. The implication was that Ron Howard, of all people, was getting daring. That this was Howard pushing himself, trying to shock, or at least stir something beyond polite admiration. What we get instead is a film that flirts with danger and then immediately apologizes for it.
Eden is competently directed, handsomely produced, and based on a true story, three qualities that should theoretically give it weight. We watch a group of people who choose to abandon society and live on a mostly deserted island, arriving at different times for different reasons, only to slowly discover that isolation doesn’t bring enlightenment so much as irritation. They get on each other’s nerves, draw lines, form alliances, and eventually turn on one another. It’s Lord of the Flies adjacent, but with better grooming and a lot more passive aggression.
What complicates things and arguably makes the film more interesting than it intends to be is how clearly it maps onto contemporary racial and political anxieties. The most overtly “evil” figure does get what’s coming to them, but that act becomes the moral rot that spreads to everyone else. The so-called innocents are now tainted, forced to reckon with how far they’ll go to protect what they’ve decided is theirs. The island becomes a parable: for colonization, for gentrification, for what happens when people who see themselves as peaceful pioneers suddenly feel threatened.
Because this is based on a true story, it’s hard to accuse the film outright of bad faith, but it’s also hard to ignore its blind spots. Once again, the darker, Spanish-speaking characters are framed as loud, sexually promiscuous, domineering, and ultimately villainous, while the British and German couples are coded as pilgrims: earnest, fragile, and well-intentioned until pushed too far. The film seems unaware of how familiar this dynamic feels, or how neatly it mirrors modern anxieties about immigration and “who belongs.” If you’re going to villainize certain characters, at least give them dimension. Here, too many feel like ideas rather than people.
Structurally, Eden is odd. It spends much of its first half building toward a second half that never quite deepens what we’ve been shown. We get minimal backstory, and what little we do learn is mostly told to us rather than dramatized. In the Baroness’s case, her past is revealed through a lover in a way that feels meant to shock, but lands flat because it’s so plainly delivered and instantly believable. There’s no real mystery, just information.
The title, of course, refers to the Garden of Eden: a fertile paradise that could have sustained everyone, if only they hadn’t ruined it. And that’s the tragedy here, not just of the characters, but of the film itself. Eden has all the ingredients for something sharper, angrier, or more unsettling. Instead, it settles into respectability.
This feels like a movie that wanted to be Oscar bait or at least Oscar-adjacent. The cast is stacked with respected dramatic actors, with Sydney Sweeney standing out as the lone box-office draw, seemingly happy to be along for the ride. Her role grows in importance as the film progresses, culminating in a quiet tragedy that works more on paper than in practice.
There’s something faintly admirable about this film simply existing. In a climate where everything is either a franchise extension, an algorithm-approved product, or an awards-season personality test, this feels like a movie that was made because someone genuinely wanted to make it. And that someone is Ron Howard: Hollywood’s ultimate steady hand, a director whose career has been defined less by provocation than by craftsmanship. That’s both the film’s greatest strength and its most limiting factor.
The problem isn’t that the film is bad, it isn’t, but that it often feels unsure of who it’s for. Is this meant to be an Academy-friendly legacy piece, the kind that quietly accumulates nominations and polite applause? Is it for history buffs, who might argue it works better as a limited series, where the ideas could breathe rather than be efficiently summarized? Or was it aiming for a broader, prestige-curious audience that no longer really exists in the same way? The film seems caught between these identities, resulting in something that’s respectable, handsomely mounted, and faintly adrift.
Howard directs with his usual classical restraint, which gives the film an old-school texture almost quaint in its pacing and presentation. In another filmmaker’s hands, this material might have been stranger, riskier, or more formally exciting. Here, it’s competent to a fault. When the film reaches for anything risqué or emotionally sharp, it feels slightly self-conscious, like it knows it’s stepping outside its comfort zone and wants credit for the attempt. Nothing lands disastrously, but very little surprises.
Ultimately, this feels like a story Ron Howard wanted to tell and add to his already extensive résumé. a solid, professional entry that might have caused real waves in the ’80s, ’90s, or even the early 2000s. Today, it risks getting lost in the endless churn of content, not because it’s disposable, but because it’s modest in a moment that rewards extremity. Still, there’s value in its existence. It’s a reminder of a kind of filmmaking that’s becoming rare: sincere, controlled, and unconcerned with spectacle. You may not love it, or even remember it vividly, but you’ll likely agree. it didn’t waste your time. And these days, that almost counts as a quiet victory.
This seems to fit in with his more recent films that are a bit dark in its visuals and story, but also have an audience friendly presentation where a normal sea is gained through more traditional family values.
Ana de Armas is the scene stealer but that’s also because she’s the villain and only character who is truly of interest throughout the film. Her character causes most of the drama and through her instructions and actions. The actual action and betrayals of the film happen. Sydney Sweeney’s character only gets to be that way by the end as it ultimately seems like it’s her characters story of growth and maturity.
In the end, Eden is fine. The production is polished, the performances solid, and the intentions sincere. But once the villains exit, so does much of the tension. What remains is a group of attractive people circling their guilt, convinced of their own moral superiority, and slowly realizing they’re not so different from one another after all. It’s not bad. It’s not great. It’s a well-made film that feels oddly lost, unsure whether it wants to provoke, condemn, or simply be admired. And in trying to be all three, it never fully becomes any of them.
Cast: Charli Xcx, Alexander Skarsgard, Rosanna Arquette, Rachel Sennott, Kate Berlant, Hailey Benton Gates, Jamie Demetriou, Issac Powell, Rish Shah
A rising pop star navigates the complexities of fame and industry pressure while preparing for her arena tour debut.
This film is definitely more for Charli XCX fans then necessarily movie goers just discovering this meta mockumentary. As I believe the film will make more sense or be deeper to those in the know.
As truthfully, in the past, this could’ve easily just been an extra on her latest album brat in the deluxe edition. Rather then a full theatrical roll-out, but while one would think this is going to be her version of a concert film. It is as it kind of dissects what goes into a tour and performance to a degree.
As interestingly enough, we’re watching this film as she gets ready for a tour and yet we barely and rarely hear any of her actual music or songs throughout the film. We more see what it takes to set up a show, as well as all the little decisions that have to be made and how confusing it can all be.
As one can admit at times I was a bit confused as to what exactly was happening at certain times also, if you are epileptic or have a light sensitivity, watch this film with caution as there are a lot of flashing lights a lot of quick cats a lot of handheld camera work that throws off your concentration at times.
As the film, kind of show, Charli XCX trying to be herself, trying to put on a show and trying to be representative of her music while you have all the power players behind the scene, wanting to take more and more control and make more of the decisions that she doesn’t necessarily agree with or has to compromise for peace and for better.
So that we see her continuous confusion and dissatisfaction as people try to treat her as a star, but also more as a puppet to get what they want out there more than what she wants.
As the film tries to be dryly, funny throughout it is a documentary and kind of a comp Meta comedy at heart that sends up celebrity and shows some of their more privileged hardships
This isn’t gonna be the film you expected to be in some ways. It is truly eye-opening, but in other ways at times, it can be confusing in a little bit annoying. So through it all you have Goodwill for the singer, hoping it will all come together.
Even if it doesn’t give you quite the ending you’re hoping for that would tie it altogether like at least one live performance. Knowing its own way, it feels like this film is meant to be a finale or a goodbye to a certain era for her. This is the end of the brat era for her that she has lived with for quite a few years and might be ready to slow down as she’s in a different headspace or looking for something different looking to evolve and move on to a new time in her career and expression in her songs
As even this era of her career the BRAT album era and the album just seem to be a no holds a bar affair. It’s own kind of halftime report on the status of her career. where she just wanted to express everything she could and making a mainstream album that was more all about celebration and partying more than anything with still having that emotional pole to show that you’re still a person underneath it all a human being and approve that she could just do it. She could have hit album if she really tried, but now she wants to go back to making more music that she likes and she wants to not necessarily have to keep serving out hits. She can Slow down and not make so much of an impact so that maybe she can enjoy it more and not have so much writing on that and what is next.
I think this film is kind of a snapshot or placeholder for her and her career and a little message for her fans. At heart it’s a vanity project something made and allowed for her success. Also allowing itself to be a self important parody.
I will say, even though I am a huge fan of hers. This one was a slight disappointment for me as it might be for some, but I imagine most of her fans will probably love it.
Cast: Harry Melling, Alexander Skarsgard, Lesley Sharp, Douglas Hodge, Jake Shears, Mat Hill, Nick Figgis, Zoe Engerer
Colin, a weedy wallflower letting life pass him by, meets Ray, the impossibly handsome leader of a motorbike club, who then takes him on as his submissive. Ray uproots Colin from his dreary suburban life, introducing him to a community of kinky, queer bikers and taking all sorts of virginities along the way. But as Colin steps deeper into Ray’s world of rules and mysteries, he begins to question whether the life of a 24/7 submissive is for him. Has he found his calling, or simply swapped one form of suffocation for another?
The film is less graphic than I expected it to be.
Even though it does start off with a little bit of a shock. Though sexually frank it shocks more with its moments of tenderness. That is more universal for us all.
Though I think it uses the BDSM aspects of the relationship as shocking at first, but also to show a kind I’ve avoidance of intimacy, especially when it came to emotions which Skarsgard’s character seeks to avoid.
As he loves control and power, where we and Harry Melling’s character are not sure if he keeps him around just because he’s a willing consenting victim of sorts or if he feels that this is his way of showing his attraction and care for him. As obviously Skarsgard character is a fantasy come true. Skarsgard plays up the hot hunk with no emotions to the hilt. He has played this before and seems willing to try most freaky roles and go for it. Though making them recognizable human eventually.
What is interesting is what plays out a more hard-edged cruel version of how most relationships are where at first it’s all about the attraction and the sex were one person usually has to take the lead. Hear the roles are more defined as in most relationships. They are either switched communicate communicated about or naturally happen.
Whereas most thing, what’s the worst I could happen will be something sexual here, the relationship relationships or sexual upfront, but more afraid of getting emotionally and personally involved. As it ruins the dynamic and the power-play.
For a film that seems like it’s going to be hard to take or heart edged. It’s got a surprisingly sweet spot and story. It might be mine, the audience of the film. SECRETARY now this film is a little more hard, edged around the heart, and not quite as romantic..
That we do see a relationship evolve. I believe some of the more interesting scenes are with Harry Melling’s character and his parents them wanting to see him happy but his mother who is dying of a terminal disease can tell something is off. We’re not quite right or not quite equal in the way, the relationship is by the end our premonition proves to be right.
This isn’t a film that one would expect where emotions will become a commodity that you in the audience might find yourself choked up in a good way over the film so I can give the film that much credit. As the audience gets involved way more than expected.
As by the end, though it does have a definitive ending it still leaves you wanting more be it in the form of revelations and answers. As by the end it ends up being a coming of age tale. As Melling’s character learns all sorts of lessons and breaks all kind of virginities of his own.
Cast: James Sweeney, Dylan O’Brian, Aisling Franciosi, Lauren Graham, Chris Perfetti, Tasha Smith, Cree, Katie Findlay, Kody Harvard
In Twinless, two young men meet in a twin support group and form an unlikely friendship. Roman and Dennis both search for solace and an identity without their other halves and soon become inseparable outside the group. But when Roman meets Dennis’ ebullient co-worker, Marcie all is revealed to be not what it seems, as each man harbors secrets that could unravel everything.
This is a buddy comedy, but not a traditional one. Nor is it romantic, but it does involve intimacy. This also seems the type that film festival is like Sundance love. Though at least this film truly does earn it.
The film feels more with emotional humor and situational humor, all at once, as well as the absurdities of life and almost a comedy of errors that leave things awkward throughout the madcap situations the lead characters find themselves in. While dealing in loneliness and how when in that state any connection large or small might feel deeper and bigger to one individual. While the other might find it more casual or fleeting.
Though for all of it comedic persona or personality, it gets deeply dramatic at times as a cloud of melancholy hangs over most of the film as the film looks at loneliness and the power of bonding in friendship.
Dylan O’Brien gives a great performance in this film playing two roles and you believe him as two totally different characters. Even though they are related as they are both different and unique. As even though he is phenomenal in this film, kind of wanted to see more of him as the twin who has the shorter amount of Screen Time, who is the more entertaining in charismatic one.
Speaking of dazzling performances Aisling Franciosi again manages to transform herself to an almost unrecognizable character than she has played before emotionally and physically. So that throughout you can’t Take your eyes off of her. While you understand why she is fallen for
Don’t get me wrong. The film is very quirky but at times it feels all too real not necessarily identifiable because of how deep the characters dig themselves but again there’s an awkwardness to it that is undeniable and feels very cringe while you watch.
The film can be understated and it stars the Writer/Director James Sweeney. Who also definitely comes across as memorable throughout the film. I’m playing the depressive yet obsessed lead but you appreciate his performance. As he seems to be smart, but makes all the wrong decisions and isn’t afraid to admit to and indulge in his dark side.
This is a film that is hard to describe or categorize exactly. As it does take you on quite the journey, even while It seems like it’s standing still though can say that it explores friendship, like any other relationship, but not one that mature is overtime more one that is intense though just as strong
Cast: Albert Finney, Brenda Fricker, Tara Fitzgerald, Michael Gambon, Rufus Sewell, David Kelly, Patrick Malahide, Mick Lally
Alfred Byrne is a middle-aged bus conductor in Dublin, Ireland in 1963. He would appear to live a life of quiet desperation: he’s gay, but firmly closeted, and his sister is always trying to find him “the right girl”. His passion is Oscar Wilde, his hobby is putting on amateur theatre productions in the local church hall. We follow him as he struggles with temptation, friendship, disapproval, and the conservative yet oddly lyrical world of Ireland in the early 1960s.
Honestly if not for some course language and a particular scene of sexual nature. This could have been a television movie. Thankfully it is a feature film for the big screen which explains the high quality cast.
I will admit I came for actress Tara Fitzgerald who I had a teenage crush on in the 1990’s and whitening e always wanted to watch this film. It took me so long. Because it reminded me of the film BRASSED OFF with her in it.
Watching this film after it being out 30 years truly shows how times have changed. As this might have been a bit stirring at the time, but watching it now seems almost quaint.
As we watch Albert Finney as an effeminate older man who is obsessed with theater. Plays in particular and puts together the locals I. Whichever place is obsessed with that time of year. His friends think he should find a nice girl to settle down with, others think he is eccentric and passionate only about his interests.
Though we can tell that he is gay or has feelings for men. Even as he coddles and curates a local female who he has star in his play and it looks like it could be a cute little love story of acceptance and being about more than physical love.
Then he third act happens and everything goes toosy turbulence and what he and we thought of certain people is exposed. By the light of day and their true ide tires come out in the open.
Honestly that is when the film seems to come alive or at least gets a lot more interesting whereas it feels like there was a ton of buildup just to get to this and it works effectively as a kind of shock but also of everyone showing their cards good and bad
What does work for this film is how deeply rooted the film and characters are in the community who offer a kind of chorus for all the moods and feelings and most of them might not get their time in the sunlight, but they certainly get to shine and help influence and entertain the audience. They are at the heart of the film that has its obvious stars, though luckily it’s quite ensemble.
It’s shocking again that they got the cast that they did Albert Finney, Michael Gambon, Brenda Fricker, David Kelly and a young Rufus Sewell and of course the enchanting Tara Fitzgerald. All for a coming out story.
Then again we all have our stories and coming out can be a defining moment in one’s life, so why not tell it with the best cast that you can get of acting superstars even at the time even if they are way above the quality of the material as Michael Gambin is more supporting and feels almost like an extended cameo throughout.
Give the film a chance but don’t expect too many fireworks. It’s like Levi’s blue jeans in fact, dependable durable something you can count on, but not necessarily a brand you go on and on about, but you’re glad exist and is there
Written By: Brandon Scott Jones, Alex Knauer and Arthur Pielli
Story By: Alex Knauer and Arthur Pielli
Cinematography: Marco Fargnoli
Editor: Sarah Lucky
Cast: Rebel Wilson, Augourie Rice, Mary Holland, Sam Richardson, Justin Hartley, Zoe Chao, Alicia Silverstone, Avantika, Chris Parnell, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Ana Yi Puig
In 2002, Stephanie is the most popular girl in her high school. She’s the captain of the cheerleading squad and dating the quarterback, and she’s well on her way to becoming the prom queen. Girls want to be her, guys want to be with her. She has it all until she falls off the top of the cheerleading pyramid and goes into a coma. Fast-forward 20 years and she finally awakens from her coma as a 37-year-old woman. She returns to her high school and tries to resume her role as the star of her school–and her quest to win the prom-queen crown.
SENIOR YEAR is the kind of movie that knows exactly what it is: big, glossy, goofy comfort food. It’s not aiming for cinematic greatness, it’s aiming to be the movie you throw on at home on a lazy night and end up enjoying more than expected. And honestly? Mission accomplished.
There’s an ongoing difference these days between films that feel made for the big screen and films designed primarily for the couch. Senior Year is very much the latter. It has that polished, sitcom-style sheen bright, easy, familiar, and built around laughs more than visual ambition. You can usually predict where it’s heading, but the fun lies in watching how it gets there.
And to its credit, it gets there with plenty of charm.
The premise is ridiculous in the best possible way: a high school queen bee from 2002 wakes up from a twenty-year coma and decides the most important thing to do is… go back and win prom queen. That’s wonderfully absurd camp. The movie leans into it too Y2K nostalgia, exaggerated teen-movie tropes, cheerleader melodrama, and enough millennial references to make you laugh and wince at the same time.
What’s surprising is that underneath all the glitter and satire, the movie occasionally sneaks in some heart. The emotional lesson arrives a little differently than expected, which gives it a bit more freshness than your average streaming comedy. Even some of the more stereotypical side characters get little moments of depth, which is a nice touch.
And Rebel Wilson remains the movie’s secret weapon, even when she’s the entire movie’s not-so-secret weapon. She has that rare comedic gift of committing fully to a joke without seeming self-conscious. There’s no vanity there, no hesitation just a willingness to look silly for the laugh, which makes her instantly likable. Even when her character is being gloriously ridiculous, she’s hard not to root for.
The supporting cast helps keep things lively too, with Mary Holland and Sam Richardson doing particularly strong work in the “steal scenes whenever possible” category, as they just try to play their characters straight to hilarious effect while Alicia Silverstone’s presence adds a fun wink to the whole enterprise.
Is the film forgettable? Probably. Is it deep? Not remotely. But it’s cute, breezy, colorful, and genuinely funny in stretches. It understands the assignment: be a crowd-pleaser, hit the nostalgia button, and let everyone’s inner teenager have a good time.
Cut To The Chase 