"Better Nate Than Ever"

Loved the books, by Tim Federle.  The movie, not so much.  Way (way way) too Disney-fied.  The books had depth.  It was about an awkward boy getting it all wrong as he tries so very hard to get it all right, to find a place for himself in a world which doesn't seem to have a place for him.  The film doesn't dig down.  It goes for the cheap laughs and the kind of syrupy fakeness you see in 1980s sitcoms.  There are about a thousand product placements.  Even the play Nate is auditioning for (ET:  The Musical) is changed to "Lilo and Stitch" (a Disney production).  In the film Nate doesn't sing an historical Broadway song.  He sings "Let It Go".  Also from a Disney film.  The one saving grace is that the kid, Rueby Wood, has a few really decent musical numbers.  It's the only time I really enjoyed myself.  Unfortunately, the whole thing is poisoned for me.  This should be a film about a seventh grader figuring out who he is.  Instead it becomes a 93 minute ad for Disney.  So, blech.  Read the books.

"And Just Like That"

(***SPOILER ALERT***) There’s a lot to hate about “And Just Like That …”, starting with trying to care about the problems of rich, entitled white women who are utterly clueless about the world outside of their privilege.  As many have mentioned, the attempt to diversify this show is cringeworthy at times.  How anyone, in this day and age, can be so inept at dealing with the racial and gender issues which abound in the modern world is just stunning.  And there is the aging, or lack thereof, of the leads.  Yes, it is 16 or so years later and for two of the three women, it looks like 16 years later.  That’s not a bad thing.  We’ve all aged, and the world has changed since these happy-go-lucky characters danced across 5^th Avenue in their ridiculous heels.  What is harder to watch is Kristin Davis, who has been vocal about people picking on her looks but given that this was always a series about looks, I say you reap what you sow.  That Ms. Davis has fallen into the addictive hole of face fillers is not a surprise in a business where young women, like Lady Gaga, can’t walk away from the temptation, but it is a serious challenge to watch her performance and be distracted by a face that doesn’t move and a lisp created by some weird frozen upper lip.  And, of course, there is the much-discussed issue of Big’s death.  Everyone is upset that Carrie’s first action isn’t to call 911.  If I read the filming correctly, it wasn’t meant to be literal.  First, Big is alive and looking at Carrie.  The water from the shower is off.  Then, he’s dead and the water is on.  Flashes – he’s gone, he’s not, eyes closed, eyes open.  I ~think~ it was meant to be a way of envisioning the surreal quality of finding a loved one dead, unexpectedly.  It just wasn’t done that well.  Honestly, Joss Whedon did it much better in “Buffy” with the episode “The Body.”  

All that being said, much like the original series, there is something here.  Underneath.  Something which has you coming back.  Peel away the self-obsession and stupidity (wearing four-inch heels to paint rooms in a women’s shelter?  Really???) there is a theme which hits home, albeit slowly.  You get to a certain point in life, and you think, “this is it … this is the target … this is where my life will be …”  And then.  Then, someone dies, or something shifts, and “just like that” the comfort zone you are in goes out of the window.  This isn’t a series about women looking for love.  It’s about mature women who have found and lost love, and are trying to navigate a terrain they never imagined for themselves.  And that is what got me to watch it.  FYI, shout out to Sara Ramirez, who is mesmerizing in their performance as Che – they breathe new life into the familiar.

"Never Have I Ever"

It would be easy to dismiss this as more teen drama.  And it is.  But it isn't.  Devi (and the actress who plays her, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is a complex person.  She is utterly self-obsessed and a truly lousy friend, but she also lost her father suddenly and is struggling, in a very real way, with the whole growing up/defining herself thing, adding in layers of a grieving mother and an Indian family.  It's rich.  It's also funny.  John McEnroe is the narrator -- and before you jump to the conclusion that he is an odd choice for the role, it fits ... perfectly.  There is snark but a connection.  McEnroe nearly tanked his career with hissy fits and temper tantrums.  He doesn't just mirror Devi's pain.  He understands it.  And that's reflected in in the tone with which he helps to tell her story.  The balance of characters, all more layered than you would think, makes the show very watchable, even with the cringe moments.  

"The Adam Project"

Somehow landing in a Ryan Reynolds phase, I came across "The Adam Project", a layered film which was both funny and thought-provoking.  It's funny.  It's sad.  It's deeper than you might think.  There is Adam, a time-traveling, smart-mouthed guy (Reynolds), who is none too nice to his childhood self.  Clearly, he has issues.  There is his younger self -- played wonderfully by Walker Scobell -- who has the same mouth but still has sees promise in the world.  A stellar cast provides the rest of the puzzle:  an absent father, an overwhelmed mother, a missing love, an evil scientist (there is always an evil scientist in these things).  And, of course, there is time travel.  Which you kind of have to wrap your head around.  If someone goes back and meets their former self and therefore changes history do they never actually go back and meet their former self and change history?  Yeah.  Time travel.  Fun.  Anyway, I found the film much more warm and touching than expected.  It had real depth for a so-called "Sci-fi" picture.  Very worthy, very deserving of praise.