Tag: Mary Holland

SENIOR YEAR (2022)

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Directed By: Alex Hardcastle

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.

Sometimes that’s enough 

Grade: C+

MAGGIE MOORE(S) (2022)

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Directed By: John Slattery

Written By: Paul Bernham 

Cinematography: Mott Hupfel

Editor: Tom McArdle

Cast: Jon Hamm, Tina Fey, Michael Stock, Nick Mohammed, Happy Anderson, Derek Basco, Louisa Krause, Mary Holland, Christopher Denham, Bobbi Kitten

Police Chief Sanders investigates the bizarre murders of two women with the same name and unravels a web of small-town lies. He meets and quickly falls for Rita, a nosy neighbor who is eager to help solve the mystery.

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This is a cute Earnest detective story, that still manages to offer some twist and shocks by the end, even though it plays a little bit more like a personal procedural where we see the crime or least most of the crime before it happens, and we know the motives behind the crimes but we watch as the characters deal with the aftermath and we wait to watch the police slowly figure out what’s going down. As well as provide a romantic comedy element. 

what keeps you interested in this film is other than the crime aspect is the lead played by John Hamm and his virginalling relationship with a neighbor of one of the victims played by Tina Faye, and how they play off of each other bonding over the case but then getting to know one another and at first what looks like friendship becomes a slow burn romance that has its own challenges

even though this is based off of a true story, it’s not quite as dark as let’s say a film like Fargo, but it has the characteristics like it’s a lightweight version of it where there is hope and there’s room for more comedic caricatures, but most of the characters are also three-dimensional, even when they feel quite familiar and identifiable

so that in the end, this film doesn’t offer anything new. It could almost be an episode of poker face more shows in that manner like Elsbeth but only here we at least get original characters investigating that makes this film all the more interesting and more of an Odyssey as we get to know everyone involved and don’t know anyone as soon as we come in.

Jon Hamm stars in the film and his old costar from the show MAD MAN John Slattery directs the film. So what while that show has finished this almost feels like a fun side project for them to collaborate on.

The only unbelievable point of the film is that Jon Hamm is a bachelor and he can’t find too many women interested in him throughout except for Tina Fey.

The film at times is a bit offbeat yet traditional. more like a sitcom version of FARGO not the FX series, though it doesn’t feel as deep, but it is filled with strange characters that feel original and comedic at the same time.

The film is enjoyable as long as you don’t put your hopes up as it is more a slow burn character piece with some crime and comedic elements. Don’t expect a big knives out type mystery. just watch and let yourself be charmed by the film. Perfect for the armchair detective in us all.

Grade: B-