SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE (2023)

September 8, 2023

Greetings again from the darkness. By coming clean up front, my hope is that forgiveness and understanding is in order, and maybe others will be diverted from the same path I took. Between the film’s title, the trailer, and knowing it was based on Audrey Shulman’s book and true story, my assumption was that this was going to be a straightforward, good old fashioned chick flick. And although comparisons to BEACHES (1988) are not without merit, director Trish Sie (PITCH PERFECT 3, 2017) serves up additional layers (yes, pun intended).

Jane (Yara Shahidi, “Blackish”, Ticker Bell in PETER PAN & WENDY, 2023) and Corinne (Odessa A’zion, HELLRAISER, 2022) are lifelong friends, roommates and polar opposite twenty-somethings. Jane is an introvert who is pleasing her parents by studying for the LSAT in order to become a lawyer. Corinne is an extroverted party girl hoping to move up at the creative agency where she works for a tough boss played by Bette Midler.

Jane is really committed to two things: her friendship with Corinne and baking desserts, especially cakes. Corinne comes up with a strategy to help Jane meet more men. The plan is for Jane to bake 50 cakes over the next year, and the group will take each cake to a different bar to meet new people. They map out the bars geographically by stereotypes of local guys, and hang it on the wall. Corinee calls this “Cake-barring”, and Jane reluctantly agrees to participate, and we are along for the ride and an introduction to the beautiful SoCal people. The plan is progressing swimmingly until Corinne is diagnosed with a life-threatening disease.

Taking care of her friend becomes Jane’s focus, going against the preferences of Corinne’s parents, a bearded Mr. Fix-it played by Ron Livingston, and a deadpan mom played by Martha Kelly (“Baskets”). Corinne insists that the cake-barring continue, even as her health declines. Jane does find a boyfriend (Rish Shah), and during all of this, learns quite a lot about herself.

Cancer plays a more substantial role than the trailer would lead us to believe, and at the core, this film is about friendship and self-discovery. Corinne remains steadfast with cake-barring because she understands her friend Jane needs to build her confidence in social settings – and her delicious cakes are just the ticket.

Audrey Shulman’s book is based on her experiences of a similar year, and though it’s not a cookbook, it does contain 35 recipes. Here, director Sie uses very creative counters/chapters to keep us up to speed on the latest flavor, and the film admits to a year of “hospitals and bars”, It’s also the first time I recall hearing the phrase “underwear bully”, so kudos for that! The additional layers mentioned above are quite satisfying despite some of the unavoidable cliches. It’s a pleasure to see grown women in a true friendship built on doing the right thing for the other, and also for themselves.

Releasing exclusively on Prime Video on September 8, 2023

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Posted by David Ferguson

AMERICAN: AN ODYSSEY TO 1947 (2023, doc)

September 8, 2023

Greetings again from the darkness. Let’s begin with this: Danny Wu’s documentary ties legendary filmmaker Orson Welles into one of the most tumultuous periods of history. This is done not so much in a FORREST GUMP or ZELIG style, but more like one of those push pin boards Claire Danes used in “Homeland” by looping red thread around all the key characters and events. Wu opens with Webster’s 1913 definition of an “American” – originally applied to the aboriginal inhabitants, now applied to descendants of Europeans born in America, and especially to the citizens of the United States.

For cinephiles, much of Welles’ personal and professional story is well-known. Born in 1915, his mother died when he was ten. His father shipped him off to a liberal boarding school where he was free to pursue his passion in the theater, and all things creative. Fellow actor Simon Callow spends a good amount of time on camera recounting Welles’ passion for the theater, and especially acting, and how playwright Thornton Wilder and another legend, John Houseman, were instrumental in assisting Welles with early career breaks.

It’s at this stage where Wu drops in some ‘strange bedfellow’ politics, showing media mogul William Randolph Hearst playing a key role in getting Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected President. As the film progresses, we learn how this relationship shifted 180 degrees, and also how Welles later bore the brunt of Hearst’s powerful reach. FDR pushes through the Federal Theater Project, which keeps Welles working, and it’s in 1938 when Welles’ infamous broadcast of H.G. Well’s “War of the Worlds” puts folks on edge, and it’s the year Howard Kakita is born. We only get bits and pieces of Kakita’s story, but he and his family are linked to the United States, Hiroshima, and the internment camps established by FDR during the war.

By this stage, we have a grasp on what Wu is doing with his film – a blend of historical and biographical material. As a 25-year-old wunderkind, Welles secured an unprecedented contract with RKO, giving him total control of his work. The rough draft of his initial project is co-written with Herman Mankiewicz and John Houseman, and is titled “American”. This work is fine-tuned and becomes the 1941 classic, CITIZEN KANE. It’s at this point that Welles experiences the power of William Randolph Hearst, who crushes the distribution and box office of the film. Of course, even more than 80 years later, it’s still considered a cinematic masterpiece.

What many may not know is how Welles used the theater for many projects promoting anti-racism, at a time when Jim Crow laws were booming. Wu uses the example of Isaac Woodard to bring home the often-disgusting nature of this era. Sgt Woodard was headed home after serving in the war, when he was severely beaten to the point of having his eyes gouged out by a small-town sheriff and deputy. The tragic story is told by Woodard’s nephew and author Laura Williams. The blinding of Isaac Woodard is described as igniting the Civil Rights Movement.

Mr. Kakita offers more details of his family revisiting Hiroshima after the bomb, and we learn how J Edgar Hoover started a file on Welles during the era of McCarthyism and blacklisting suspected communists. After RKO re-edited (butchered) Welles’ film, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, Welles felt rejected at most every turn and decided to move to Italy and live a quiet life focusing on the art of moviemaking. Described as transitioning from “Boy Wonder” to the “youngest has-been”, Welles did visit the U.S. periodically, and here his life has provided quite the perspective for Danny Wu’s innovative storytelling.

The film has a limited theatrical release on Sept 8, 2023 and digital release on Sept 12.

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Posted by David Ferguson

PORTRAIT OF THE QUEEN (2023, doc)

September 5, 2023

Greetings again from the darkness. Although not one of those Americans mesmerized by every move made by the Royal Family, I have long admired Queen Elizabeth II for the manner in which she conducted herself in public. Having served as Monarch for seventy years at the time of her death, the Queen displayed a rare and much appreciated decorum throughout her lifetime in the public eye. In fact, director Fabrizio Ferri begins the film by asking citizens to describe her in one word, and what we hear is no surprise: consistency, constraint, strong, constant, respect. Obviously, she was Queen for the entire life of most British citizens, so her passing was an emotional jolt.

Rather than produce a traditional documentary on her life, director Ferri instead opts to use Paola Calvetti’s 2019 book, “Elisabetta II, Ritratto di regina” as the focus (pun intended). With apologies to the Kardashians, supermodels, and Tom Brady, it’s likely that Queen Elizabeth has been the most photographed person on Earth since she ascended the throne. In contrast to the usual chronological lifeline, we get a fascinating look at some of the photographs and photographers … those that have recorded history via Royal portraits.

Actor Charles Dance is the (often) on screen narrator, and even he and the photographers being interviewed are shot with artistic lighting. Elizabeth and her family had early photos taken by Marcus Adams and Cecil Beaton, and we hear directly from many of the later photographers such as Brian Aris, Jason Bell, Julian Calder, Chris Levine, David Montgomery, and John Swannell, and their insight is often quite intimate and enlightening. One of the best is when we are told that once you photograph the Queen, no other subject will ever be intimidating for the photographer. The only segment that seems out of place is the interview with Susan Sarandon, who recalls meeting the Queen. This comes across as a disruptive celebrity inclusion meant to appeal to American viewers, rather than a contribution to the film.

The film is a brisk one hour and fourteen minutes, and is a stellar balancing act between the actual portraits (some which we’ve seen, others we haven’t), those shooting the portraits, and insight into the world-famous woman at the center. Dating back to her coronation and the eleven-pound bejeweled crown, Queen Elizabeth II’s presence was that of style, grace, and dignity. The pictures don’t lie.

Available on digital beginning September 5, 2023

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1 Comment | Documentary | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by David Ferguson

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