Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
7.2
Deep in the vein of “Book Club” and “Last Vegas”… sprinkle in some Gronk and Brady… you get this movie. Not bad, not phenomenal. Good laughs and a good time at the theater with your gal pals.
Adding the twist of the 28-3 comeback in the story and way more Guy Fieri than anticipated… I was pleasantly surprised.
6.7
It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen a movie this calculated to win Oscar’s. There’s typically one every year that crosses the line into being ham-handed with its intent.
While there may not be much in the way of story here, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, along with perfectly cast set pieces. Past that, it’s a movie about loving movies, race relations, feminism, and mental illness… checking off all the boxes on a “let’s win some awards” bingo card more so than treating any of the subjects with much care, unfortunately.
6.7
What started as a case of “holy shit this is a toxic relationship. Don’t fall for this ultimatum, buddy.” Evolved into an awkwardly funny rom-com, and somehow landed the plan as a play projected on the silver screen of sorts.
Great performances by all involved, even if the characters didn’t quite fit in certain scenes. But that may have been intentional to drive narrative tension and discomfort for the sake of illustrating the uncomfortable nature of the topics at hand.
At the end of the day – relationships take work. And it’s kind of an awkward situation when your partner is willing to put in the work with someone else and not their partner. Even worse when you meet “the other person.” Even worse when you challenge them to a fist fight. There’s definitely some charming moments sprinkled amongst the awkwardness. Not my favorite, but not as bad as the first 20 minutes led me to believe I was in for.
6.5
You’ll be questioning reality as the lines between fact and fiction blur… like the edges of an infinity pool. See what I did there?
If you can make it past the strobe light orgy scenes and make it to the most uncomfortable bus commandeering scene… congratulations! You’ll leave the theater befuddled and slightly pissed off at the abrupt ending. This film leaves you feeling like your all-inclusive vacation was filled with nothing but Montezuma’s revenge and rain, only to have someone kick you in the nuts at the airport just as you’re about to board the flight home to safety.
Mia Goth absolutely kills it, but I do sometimes worry about her being pigeon-holed as “unhinged female lead who creeps everyone out” moving forward. From “X” to “Pearl,” and now this… it’s a danger. But in the meantime, she’s got a knack for it.
I think there’s a social commentary about tourism to poverty-stricken nations and abuse of locals, but again, it’s hard to get past the strobe light orgies to get that deep into the story.
6.1
So… it’s kind of a rip-off of “Halloween 2”… but with more aerobics influence and a slightly more “pop” soundtrack. The kills are ridiculous, and a questionable amount of the runtime takes place inside solely the women’s locker room/shower… but that’s to be expected in an 80’s slasher. Ghost woman was an… interesting angle.
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 