comedy – Page 13 – PopCult Reviews

TV Review – Beef

Beef (Netflix)
Written by Lee Sung Jin, Alice Ju, Carrie Kemper, Alex Russell, Marie Hanhnhon Nguyen & Niko Gutierrez-Kovner, Joanna Calo, Kevin Rosen, Jean Kyoung Frazier
Directed by Hikari, Jake Schreier, and Lee Sung Jin

Even though we’re attempting to make a permanent life in the Netherlands, I still keep tabs on what is happening back in the States. There are people I love back there, so it’s important to know if violence escalates, the food supply chain is deteriorating, etc. One thing I’ve noted in the last year is a rapid increase in random violent acts, especially on the roadways. Driving in America has always been a particularly hazardous venture, but it appears things have gotten worse? In states where open carry laws have been relaxed, you can’t go a day without hearing about multiple road rage incidents that end in gunfire. The series Beef presented itself in its trailers and marketing as a show about how one of these conflicts escalates wildly out of control, and that was a pretty intriguing premise.

Solo Tabletop RPG Review & Actual Play – Fake Guru, Real Vice

Fake Guru, Real Vice (Sealed Library)
Written & Designed by Sealed Library

You can purchase this game here.

Based on Chris Bissette’s The Wretched, Fake Guru, Real Vice asks the player to imagine they are someone who has influenced the thoughts & behaviors of the masses. You may be a famous self-help figure, a tech billionaire turned motivational speaker, or an influential megachurch preacher in my game. You’ve accrued a lot of material wealth and skeletons in your closet. Those skeletons are about to break out, starting with a popular gossip magazine’s story exposing just some of them. Your PR team has assured you they are taking legal action and that nothing more will come out. However, when you are honest with yourself, you admit much more is about to explode.

Movie Review – Terms of Endearment

Terms of Endearment (1983)
Written & Directed by James L. Brooks

Television was where creator James L. Brooks started, and that influence can be seen in his second feature film, Terms of Endearment. The production looks like a movie, but the plot points and character types feel similar to characters that would populate one of his many sitcoms. The difference is that Brooks was able to touch on the subject matter no network censor would have allowed on the air. Terms of Endearment is pretty frank about female sexuality (heteronormative, of course), and we even have a central character die of cancer. It is rare to have a beloved character pass away on a sitcom, but in the world of movies, it is easier to get away with those things. In this way, Terms feels like Brooks is translating the story structures and character beats he knows into a new format.

Movie Review – Observe and Report

Observe and Report (2009)
Written & Directed by Jody Hill

In 2009, America got two mall cop movies. In January, the Kevin James vehicle Paul Blart, Mall Cop was released, and just a few months later, in April, Observe and Report dropped in theaters. At the time, this film was unfairly maligned and lumped in with Paul Blart. On the surface, they share a lot of elements but are ultimately vastly different movies with very different perspectives on law enforcement. Observe and Report is a film that full-throatedly yells, “All Cops Are Bastards,” and rightfully so. Police were not brought into existence to protect the ordinary person. They were an alliance made between those with systemic power and violent organized gangs with the express purpose of protecting private property. The misconception that police exist to watch over communities and spare them from harm is a myth that is proven false day after day. This isn’t about what a nice guy your cop uncle is or how the policeman gave you a lollipop when you were growing up. Those are anecdotal and ultimately irrelevant. ACAB is about the actual role of police in our societies and how they employ state-sanctioned violence to keep the populace virtually enslaved.

TV Review – The Venture Brothers Season One

The Venture Brothers Season One (Adult Swim)
Written by Jackson Publick, Doc Hammer, and Ben Edlund
Directed by Jackson Publick

In the early days of Adult Swim, it was always a surprise to see what would pop up beside the standards like Space Ghost, The Brak Show, and Aqua Team Hunger Force. One of these surprises was a one-off pilot for The Venture Brothers in 2002. The show combined elements of Jonny Quest and The Hardy Boys to make a spoof of both these shows and their associated genres. The Venture Brothers would run for seven irregularly scheduled seasons and recently culminated with a streaming film on Max that serves as a series finale. It has been about a decade since I last watched the show, so I decided to go back to the beginning to revisit familiar episodes and see where the series went after I moved on to other things.

Movie Review – Hi, Mom!

Hi, Mom! (1970)
Written & Directed by Brian DePalma

We often associate Robert DeNiro with the work of director Martin Scorsese. Some of the actor’s best work has been under the guidance of this filmmaker: Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Casino, The Irishman. However, DeNiro didn’t make his film debut in Scorsese’s work. Instead, their colleague Brian DePalma first brought the iconic performer to the big screen in 1968 with his dark comedy, Greetings. DeNiro would reprise his role of Jon Rubin, a young aspiring filmmaker. Hi, Mom! is a bitterly angry film about the time in which it was made, so abrasive that it was issued an X rating and had to make one specific cut to drop down to R territory.

Movie Review – Asteroid City

Asteroid City (2023)
Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Directed by Wes Anderson

“All Wes Anderson movies are the same,” they shout. From an aesthetic point of view, the director is exceptionally consistent these days with a particular visual sensibility. I would argue that it has changed over time. Go back and watch Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, then compare it to this film and The French Dispatch. They are very different in how they look but share similar rhythms. That’s what I find is true about all his work, the rhythm of the stories, characters, and comedy. Asteroid City is no exception, but I would argue a need to look deeper than the surface level or study how what’s happening aesthetically flows into the themes explored in the story. Asteroid City is a profound film about big emotions, particularly grief, and how we process them.

PopCult Podcast – Blue Jean/You Hurt My Feelings

Two new 2023 releases are spotlighted in this episode. One is a period piece about a lesbian teacher in 1980s England dealing with the pressure of staying closeted to keep her job. The other is a contemporary comedy about an author who overhears her husband saying he doesn’t like her work.

TV Review – Kevin Can F**k Himself

Kevin Can F**k Himself Season One (AMC)
Written by Valerie Armstrong, Dana Ledoux Miller, Kevin Etten, Craig DiGregorio, Noelle Valdivia, Mel Shimkovitz, Tom Scharpling, Sean Clements, Kate Loveless
Directed by Oz Rodriguez and Anna Dokoza

The television landscape has changed wildly in the last few years. When I was growing up, my television screen was filled with cheery families in sitcoms and silly high-concept procedural dramas, ala The A-Team and Knight Rider. Something shifted in the late 1990s with the arrival of The Sopranos, the idea that television could feature highly dysfunctional people in everyday settings doing terrible things. From there, this would grow into something like Breaking Bad, Weeds, Better Call Saul, and more. Yet sitcoms remained. Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens featured the trope of the schlubby idiot husband whose wife tolerates his mediocrity.

PopCult Podcast – Sanctuary/Rye Lane

Love is in the air this week on the PopCult Podcast. Our first film explores the power dynamics between a wealthy hotel heir and his ambitious dominatrix. The second film is about love blossoming between two young people in modern London.