comedy – Page 27 – PopCult Reviews

Movie Review – 13 Going on 30

13 Going On 30 (2004)
Written by Cathy Yuspa & Josh Goldsmith
Directed by Gary Winick

There are movies with trailers that are locked in my mind being films I never got to watch for some reason or another. Being the youngest sibling or sometimes the odd person out, I missed out on movies.

Or maybe I thought the moment I had a chance to view it, I was too cool for it. Let it be known. I will be removing all sense of coolness.

13 Going on 30 was one of those movies for me. I just assumed it would be a female version of Big or other movies where a teenager wishes to be flirty and thirty.

Movie Review – Plan B

Plan B (2021)
Written by Prathi Srinivasan & Joshua Levy
Directed by Natalie Morales

There seems to be a resurgence of teen comedies in the last few years with the likes of Booksmart that follows the footsteps of Superbad with female leads. I am in for it, and I think I might be a little biased regarding Natalie Morales’s directorial debut.

This film is centered around Sunny (Kuhoo Verma), a straight-laced Indian-American teen who, with her stoner Mexican-American friend (Victoria Moroles), seeks to get plan B after a regretful sexual encounter.

Movie Review – Baby Done

Baby Done (2020)
Written by Sophie Henderson
Directed by Curtis Vowell

Baby Done is a 2020 film of a young couple who work as arborists and plans to live their lives as much as possible. Zoe (Rose Matafeo) tries to hide from her boyfriend Tim (Matthew Lewis) that she’s pregnant, but he finds out either way.

My interest in this film was the knowledge that Taika Waiti had produced it. He’s putting his money where his mouth is when it comes to presentation with Matafeo being half-Maori and hiring regulars that have been in Taika Waiti’s movies such as Rachel House.

Movie Review – Unpregnant

Unpregnant (2021)
Written by Rachel Lee Goldenberg, Ted Caplan, Jenni Hendriks, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and William Parker
Directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg

Yes, I am reviewing another HBO Max property. No, I am not getting paid by them. If anyone has a way to get Warner Brothers to Venmo me five dollars, I’d much appreciate it. (Or do a sympathy payment on Patreon)

Unpregnant showed up on streaming in September 2020. Yes, last year. Has it been that long?

The story follows Veronica Clarke (Haley Lu Richardson), who is 17 and pregnant, and in need of an abortion. Due to the lack of support from her friends, her overwhelming boyfriend, and Missouri law, she has to road trip to New Mexico. Her only choice is to ask her former best friend, Bailey Butler (Barbie Ferreira).

TV Review – Hacks Season 1

Hacks is an HBO Max series that has a total of ten episodes. Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) is a legendary Las Vegas comedy diva clinging to keep her spot as younger performers threaten to take her dates.

Vance’s agent sends Ava (Hannah Einbinder), an entitled 25-year old, to help freshen up the material, and Vance begins mentoring her.

While I was looking to see what others were giving it high praise as a comedy. I don’t know if I entirely agree, or maybe I’ve become quite picky about my comedies.

Movie Review – Brittany Runs A Marathon

Brittany Runs A Marathon felt like it was being promoted everywhere if you ever bothered with running websites or apps. Little clips of Jillian Bell turning from party girl to runner in the short clips or blurbs here and there in the year of 2019.

Or that was solely me when I started my running journey. Fear not, my running is still uninspirational, but I will be comparing notes.

Patron Pick – Playtime

This is a special reward available to Patreon patrons who pledge at the $10 or $20 a month levels. Each month those patrons will get to pick a film for me to review. They also get to include some of their own thoughts about the movie, if they choose. This Pick comes from Matt Harris.

Playtime (1967)
Written by Jacques Tati, Jacques Lagrange, and Art Buchwald
Directed by Jacques Tati

I had just watched this for the first time recently, but it was a close contender for my 40 Favorite Movies list. I don’t like to put recent first-time viewings on a list like that; I prefer for time to pass, to revisit the movies, and then decide if it has earned that spot. However, Playtime is one of the greatest films ever made, without a doubt. It delivers incredible cinematography, physical performances, sight gags, and production design. It’s hard to say there is much of a story here, but it doesn’t matter. The film’s title informs us that this is an exercise in cinematic play. Jacques Tati is influenced by the great physical comedians in all the best ways and distills what he learned from them into what is the closest I think we’ll ever get to Where’s Waldo on film.

TV Review – Starstruck

Starstruck (HBO Max)
Written by Rose Matafeo and Alice Snedden
Directed by Karen Maine

As we continue with me watching things, you might be looking at this and wondering ‘another romcom?’ and my answer would be: If you pay me (link to patreon), I might consider something else, but for now, mama’s gotta do what feels right.

Starstruck is a BBC-Three show picked up by HBO, starring Rose Matafeo as Jessie and Nikesh Patel as Tom Kapoor. It feels like one of those fan-fics you would encounter on Tumblr while bored one night, except Jessie would be either ‘you’ or Y/N (your name) and has less sex in it.

Movie Review – The Lovebirds

The Lovebirds (2020)
Written by Aaron Abrams and Brendan Gall
Directed by Michael Showalter

We’ve all been there, scrolling through Netflix and wondering what to watch. Sometimes it’s like playing Russian Roulette to find what’s right for you. With some of us lucky enough to work from home, sometimes being entertained during quiet times is necessary. Honestly, why work more? The work environment within the USA doesn’t bring us reason to go above and beyond, especially when the benefit doesn’t trickle down.

Movie Review – My Dinner With Andre

My Dinner with Andre (1981)
Written by Andre Gregory & Wallace Shawn
Directed by Louis Malle

Growing up, I heard about My Dinner with Andre in the context of making fun of it. As a young person with limited knowledge of film & art, it did sound like a silly idea for a movie. Two people at dinner talking in real-time. My expectation of film was that you would have the standard five-act structure with conflicts and character arcs. These seemed like a super boring and dumb idea. It became a movie that kept coming up on lists and in internet discourse, so that I developed some respect for it from a distance, still having not watched it. Now I can say it’s one of the best films I’ve watched this year and is a challenging but also easily accessible watch. We’ve all had dinner with people we maybe weren’t elated to see and had to converse with them. In that way, My Dinner with Andre is about a universal experience.