OH, HI (2025)

July 25, 2025

Greetings again from the darkness. One of the benefits of watching so many movies each year is the exposure to various generations negotiating their way through a variety of genres. That ‘benefit’ can sometimes be painful, as in this latest from writer-director Sophie Brooks (THE BOY DOWNSTAIRS, 2017). Despite cringing at the trailer, I agreed to watch this because I’m a fan of the two lead actors.

Iris, played by the film’s co-writer, Molly Gordon (“Animal Kingdom”, SHIVA BABY, 2020) and Isaac, played by Logan Lerman (“Hunters”, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, 2012), are a couple heading to a rented farmhouse for a romantic weekend getaway. On the drive, each takes the appropriate part (Dolly and Kenny) as they harmonize to “Islands in the Stream”. It’s a typical rom-com moment for a (so-far) typical rom-com couple. An odd encounter at a roadside strawberry stand puts us on notice, without making anything too obvious. The farmhouse is quaint with a beautiful view … a perfect setting for the couple to initiate intimacy on the sofa, in the pond, and even in bed.

After Isaac prepares a romantic dinner, including scallops, the two head upstairs to toy around with the actual toys hidden in the closet. Soon Isaac is cuffed to the metal frame bed and the two are arguing quite fiercely about the ground rules for their relationship. In fact, Isaac doesn’t believe it’s an actual relationship, while Iris argues that he made scallops, so things must be serious! This is where filmmaker Brooks takes a mighty swing, and some will say it’s an absurd whiff, while others might view this as maximum creativity. Either way, it’s a narrative risk that borders on preposterous.

Iris leaves Isaac cuffed to the bed and tries to bargain for time to convince him that they are the perfect couple and deserve a chance. The next development certainly makes defending the film even more difficult. Iris calls her friend Max (Geraldine Viswanathan, BLOCKERS, 2018) and her beau, Kenny (John Reynolds, “Search Party”) to join her in this crime of captivity. When her friends agree to support Iris, soon a witch’s spell is conjured in hopes of finding a way out of the crime that Kenny’s obsession with “Law & Order” has detailed.

Personally, I prefer my rom-coms with a twist and a dose of dark comedy. I’m not sure what to call this or how to support the efforts. Isaac may not be a great communicator as a partner, and Iris may have some type of mental disorder, but the arrival of friends should have taken this down a different path. Kudos for attempting to salvage the ending, but mostly I would recommend caution when serving scallops for dinner.

Releasing on July 25, 2025

WATCH THE TRAILER

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Posted by David Ferguson

BAD EDUCATION (2020)

April 23, 2020

 Greetings again from the darkness. Trust in our national institutions may be at an all-time low, but it’s not like there haven’t been plenty of events over the years to make us wary enough to demand attention and oversight. This story of the 2002 Nassau County Schools scandal is a prime example. This is director Corey Finley’s follow up to his clever and twisted THOROUGHBREDS (2018), and the script is from writer Mike Makowski, who was a student in the district when the scandal hit.

Hugh Jackman plays Dr. Frank Tassone, the District Superintendent of Schools, while Oscar winner Allison Janney (I, TONYA) is Pam Gluckin, the Assistant Superintendent. Both are excellent, but Mr. Jackman delivers what might be his best ever performance. His Tassone is uber-charming, and clearly wants the best for the schools and students. We do notice some oddities about him. He seems to be overly concerned about his physical attractiveness – perfect business suits, facelifts, not a hair out of place, and big smiles to show the world he has it all under control. In contrast, if Ms. Janney’s Pam had a mustache, she would certainly twirl it as the story’s most obvious villain.

The film opens by informing us that the district has been evaluated as doing excellent in terms of student test scores, student admissions to prestigious schools, raising property values in the area, and with financial success that leads to a new construction project – one that appears to be more of an ego project than substantive for education. Ray Romano plays the President of the School Board, and we get glimpses of life at the school, and the challenges faced by the administrators. As with many things, if all is well, few questions are asked.

However, stuff hits the fan when a reporter for the school paper starts doing some basic research. Rachel (Geraldine Viswanathan, BLOCKERS) is writing a “fluff” piece on a new high dollar capital improvement project at the school, when she stumbles on irregularities in billing. It turns out Ms. Gluckin has been embezzling for years. When the discrepancies first come to light, the conversations with the school board and administrators is downright fascinating. The crime is obvious, but by going public, who does it help and who does it hurt? These people don’t want the kids to lose opportunities. They don’t want their property values to drop. And they don’t want the bad publicity that comes with being unaware fraud had been ongoing under their watch.

Once Ms. Gluckin’s scheme has been exposed, Jackman really kicks it into gear for Tassone. Any additional details would spoil the fun, but it becomes clear that he’s a master manipulator. Corrupt people have a way of convincing themselves their actions are justified, given the good work they do. You know the drill – underappreciated and underpaid. Solid support work comes from David Bhargava as Rachel’s father, who is also going through his own professional crisis. Alex Wolff is the editor of the school paper, and he faces his own moral dilemma in a scene where he knows the right thing to do will actually cause harm to his college opportunity. Finally, Rafael Casal stars as Kyle, a bartender/dancer and former student of Tassone, as they are reunited in Las Vegas.

Director Finley and cinematographer Lyle Vincent (THROUGHBREDS, A GIRL WHO WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT) shoot in harsh light, never allowing the truth to hide behind soft filters. These are complex people with real lives and real families and real friends, all doing good things for the students. Watching a compromise of morals or a twisting of ethics is always a bit uncomfortable, but the film shows just how easy we can overlook the obvious. The film features brisk pacing with some dark humor in moments that least deserve humor. The trailer is a bit misleading, as the comedy is quite dark in nature. A low-key approach to filmmaking provides none of the over-the-top dramatic flair we expect. Instead it’s social commentary and a psychological study of pathological liars and manipulators … in positions that bring public trust.

premieres HBO April 25, 2020

watch the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVffM3OZkH8

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Posted by David Ferguson

BLOCKERS (2018)

April 5, 2018

 Greetings again from the darkness. Teen sex comedies exploring new boundaries are a Hollywood tradition. ANIMAL HOUSE (1978), PORKY’S (1981), AMERICAN PIE (1999), and SUPERBAD (2007) all pushed the limits of decency for their era, and provided varying levels of laughter while doing so. In her directorial debut, Tina Fey protégé Kay Cannon (“30 Rock”, PITCH PERFECT franchise), offers up what has been called the first “Feminist teen comedy”, and the risqué humor is far more extreme than that of its predecessors noted above.

We have become quite accustomed to the all-too-common male-centric perspective in these types of movies, so kudos to director Cannon for taking a look from the other side: a Female-centric teen sex comedy. Co-writers Brian and Jim Kehoe unfortunately try to cram too much into what should mostly be a laugh-a-thon. We get the #SexPact2018 from 3 high school senior best friends who agree to lose their virginity on prom night. We get the far-too-involved parents trying to prevent that from happening. We get those same parents dealing with the pending empty nest syndrome, while those three friends are immersed in drugs, alcohol and sex talk. If that’s not quite enough, there is also a sexual identity awakening and a hotel party more extreme than you would find in Las Vegas.

Leslie Mann plays Lisa, the helicopter single mom to Julie (Kathryn Newton). WWE star John Cena is Mitchell, the overprotective dad and life coach to Kayla (an outstanding Geraldine Viswanathan); and comedian Ike Barinholtz (“The Mindy Project”) is Hunter, the estranged/absentee/banished dad to Sam (Gideon Adlon). Julie envisions the perfect romantic encounter, while Kayla just wants to be done with it, and Sam is still trying to figure out why she isn’t so attracted to boys.

Riffing off of the “one wild and crazy night” theme, prom night is chosen by the three amigas, and what follows is outrageous and periodically hilarious. Most of the humor comes courtesy of the parents on the ill-fated ‘blocking’ mission. The story bounces from heartfelt emotions of parents to ‘butt-chugging’ at a party. There is also a car explosion, felony breaking and entering, and projectile vomiting. Perhaps there is an overuse of hulking John Cena crying, but that’s less cringe-inducing than the role-playing of Gary Cole and Gina Gershon (parents of one of the girl’s dates).

Setting the story in Chicago allows the filmmakers to take on the conservative Midwestern attitudes toward sex, while also providing a teenager with the “I’m getting as far away as possible” (UCLA) comeback. It makes sense that SUPERBAD co-writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are Producers, as this film often feels like the female cousin to that 2007 film. Hannibal Buress has a small memorable role, as does Jimmy Bellinger, as fedora wearing Chad. The real standouts here are relative newcomer Geraldine Viswanathan, and John Cena, who previously has excelled with less screen time (DADDYS HOME 2, TRAINWRECK). Many will be offended on numerous occasions, and certainly most parents will be uncomfortable with the drug use and sexcapades of teenagers. However, the theater was often filled with boisterous laughter, proving that this is what constitutes contemporary cinematic comedy. Only you can decide if you are OK with that.

watch the trailer:

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Posted by David Ferguson