Godmothered

 Godmothered (2020)

Starring Isla Fisher, Jillian Bell, Jane Curtain, Santiago Cabrera, and June Squibb

Directed by Sharon Maguire

Written by Kari Granlund and Melissa Stack

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B

Table 19

Table 19 (2017)

Starring Anna Kendrick, Craig Robinson, June Squibb, Lisa Kudrow, Stephen Merchant, Tony Revolori, and Wyatt Russell

Directed by Jeffrey Blitz

Written by Jeffrey Blitz

***This film is currently streaming via HBO***

Summary (in 500 words or less):  A group of unwanted guests find themselves seated at a table at the back of a wedding reception where they bond over their various foibles and idiosyncrasies.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: D+

Movie Review - Other People

Other People (2016)

Starring Jesse Plemons, Molly Shannon, Bradley Whitford, Maude Apatow, Madisen Beatty, Paul Dooley, and June Squibb

Directed by Chris Kelly

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

Eschewing the melodrama (for the most part) that accompanies films of its ilk, writer-director Chris Kelly has crafted a surprisingly light-hearted, emotionally poignant debut feature in Other People which revolves around a difficult subject -- coping with the impending death of a loved one.  It doesn't surprise me that the film is loosely based on Kelly's life seeing as how the film feels believably lived in, managing to meld comedy with drama effortlessly with neither aspect feeling short-changed.

David (Jesse Plemons) is a gay twenty-nine year-old television comedy writer who has moved back home from New York City to California after his mother Joanne (Molly Shannon) is diagnosed with cancer.  With treatment not helping, Joanne decides to quit chemotherapy and try and live the rest of her life to the fullest with her son, two daughters (Maude Apatow, Madisen Beatty), and husband (Bradley Whitford) making the most of their remaining time together.

From the outset of the film, we know that Joanne has died.  Writer Kelly smartly does this so that we in the audience aren't wondering, "Will she make it?"  Knowing that she doesn't, we become more invested in the characters and their journey instead of trying to guess the ending.  Sure, this creates a sense of melancholy from the get-go, but Kelly smarty counters the depressing mood with the character David's humor which he obviously has learned in large part from his mother.  Cleverly choosing comedienne Molly Shannon to play Joanne, director Kelly has an actress obviously well known for her comedic roles, but Shannon is just as good in the quieter, more dramatic moments when the heaviness of her situation rears its ugly head.  Jesse Plemons is also very good here, mining comedy from its deadpan aspects which proves a nice counter to Shannon's more broad type of humor and the two styles work well with one another and also meld nicely with the film's more dramatic moments.

The film falters a little bit when it delves into David's private life -- moments detailing his relationship with his father who has disapproved of his gay lifestyle for the past decade fall flat and feel a little tacked on to the real crux of the story, however true they may be to Kelly's real life.  Still, the film allows the character of David to interact with a bunch of different characters other than Joanne -- his sisters, his grandparents, his ex-boyfriend -- and this variety of relationships creates an incredibly well-rounded character at the center of this little indie film.  This is a fantastic debut for writer-director Chris Kelly and I look forward to seeing whatever he can craft next in his cinematic career.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - I'll See You in My Dreams

I'll See You in My Dreams (2015)

Starring Blythe Danner, Martin Starr, June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place, Malin Akerman, and Sam Elliott

Directed by Brett Haley

At the center of I'll See You in My Dreams is a lovely performance from Blythe Danner (in her first leading theatrical role after nearly five decades in the industry) as Carol Petersen, a widow whose husband died two decades prior and is now finally contemplating the possibility of getting into a relationship with another man.  Danner is very good, easily anchoring the film with her charm, glowing exuberance, and reflective emotion.

However, as you move away from Danner at the center, I'll See You in My Dreams as a film doesn't quite match the actress's performance.  Director/co-writer Brett Haley has the makings of a nice short film here, but when stretched out to feature length, the flick flounders a bit.  We're given typical "girlfriend" moments where a cast of funny co-stars -- June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place -- are rather wasted despite working well off of each other.  A rather odd (although admittedly somewhat intriguing) friendship for Carol with a much younger pool cleaner (Martin Starr) walks a weird line of hinting at romance while at the same time creating a maternal-type relationship.  (Granted, I think that was the point, but it never quite feels anything but unsettling.)  And let's not even delve into the fact that once again we're given the "old people smoking pot for comedy" trope which is, as loyal readers know, quite possibly my least favorite movie go-to and reason enough for me to knock this one down a few pegs.

Once again, Blythe Danner is very good here and reason enough to give this one a watch.  Her performance is absolutely captivating and as she navigates the tricky road of her character's late-in-life renaissance, Danner certainly holds the audience's attention.  It's just a bit of a shame that the film itself feels as if it's in need of a little more critical re-writing in order to fully flesh out Carol's new lease on life.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - Nebraska

Nebraska (2013)

Starring Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Stacy Keach, and Bob Odenkirk

Directed by Alexander Payne

Nebraska is a beautifully sweet film.

I'd leave the review at that and just let you discover for yourself the simplicity of Alexander Payne's gem (charmingly written by Bob Nelson in his screenwriting debut), but I do feel like I need to give this flick a bit more of its very deserving due.

On the surface, Nebraska is the simplest of stories.  An older man receives one of those junk mailings that says he's won a million dollars (which he obviously hasn't) and, despite his family telling him otherwise, sets off to trek from Missouri to Nebraska to claim his prize.  With a stubborn father hellbent on picking up his winnings, his son decides to drive his dad to Nebraska, along the way discovering things about his father that he never knew.

A road trip of discovery.  You'd think, considering that we've seen this tale told dozens of times before, that Nebraska wouldn't resonate at all, but it absolutely works.  Bruce Dern plays the cantankerous father Woody, a guy who likes to imbibe quite often and, on the surface, seems as if he's headed down that Alzheimers-esque road of quiet forgetfulness.  Yet despite the slow-paced gait and the mumbled words, Woody's certainly "all there" -- yes, he may not be thinking quite as clearly as in his youth, but Dern shows us Woody hasn't forgotten the pain of his past and the hope for his future (however false that hope may be).

Countering Woody's millionaire aspirations is his son David's attempts to bring his father back to reality.  Thanks to Will Forte, best known for his work on Saturday Night Live, the audience gets to see Woody through his son's eyes -- a son that respects his father, but also ponders what made the man into the hard-drinking, perhaps rough-around-the-edges, guy that raised him.  Forte's role here is understated, yet important.  It's obvious he finds the whole premise a bit ridiculous, but he recognizes that his worn-down and beleaguered father feels that he needs to accomplish this task in order to provide for his family.

(June Squibb plays the hilarious wife who can't understand why her son David is kowtowing to his crazy father's whims and she's certainly a hoot whenever she's onscreen.  Kudos also to Bob Odenkirk who has a nice role as David's older (and more successful) brother.)

The problem with this review of Nebraska is that I'm really not getting across anything I want to get across about this movie.  I've moderately praised Bruce Dern's great performance.  I've placed my comments about the marvelous June Squibb's performance in parentheses (parentheses!?!?) seemingly indicating that I didn't enjoy her role nearly as much as I did.  I've thrown one positive sentence the screenwriter's way.  I haven't even touched on director Alexander Payne's ability to capture small town Americana in a way that feels both entirely respectful and the tiniest bit mocking at the same time (in beautiful black-and-white cinematography no less).  I've got so much I'd like to say about Nebraska, but I can't find the words to say it.  In fact, I've been sitting on this review for OVER TWO WEEKS now, not being able to formulate the words as to why I truly enjoyed this film as much as I did.

Perhaps the reason is because the beauty of Nebraska lies in its authentic simplicity and sometimes  authentic simplicity is incredibly tough to describe simply because it feels so goshdarn real.  It's a film that never once feels forced, yet instead feels like a slice of life.

So instead, I'll stop this review here and reiterate my first sentence of this review:  Nebraska is a beautifully sweet film that, despite this incredibly lukewarm and disappointing critique, is positively worth seeing.

The RyMickey Rating:  A-