Weekend movie choices: Amusing comedy or forgettable biopic?
The summer blockbuster movies season is still a few weeks away, but in the interim two very different smaller pictures featuring female protagonists open today. Are they worth seeing? Read on to find out!
BABES
Imagine if all the bridesmaids in Bridesmaids were pregnant or had young children, and you’ll have some idea of the feel of this new mildly amusing comedy. Emmy-winning actress Pamela Adlon, best known for playing Sam on FX’s Better Things, makes her feature film directing debut with this attempt at a raunchy, comedic take on motherhood. Starring Broad City’s Ilana Glazer and Survival of the Thickest’s Michelle Buteau as longtime BFFs Eden and Dawn, Adlon’s picture tries to blend no-holds-barred humor about the indignities of pregnancy and motherhood with a heartfelt treatise on female friendship. Written by Glazer and TV writer Josh Rabinowitz, the picture mostly succeeds, thanks to Glazer and Buteau’s performances and lived-in chemistry.
The story follows Eden as she discovers she’s pregnant from a one-night-stand that also has an additional unexpected outcome. For guidance and support, Eden leans heavily on Dawn, a mother of a newborn and a toddler. Their dynamic is funny and real, and we readily believe they’ve been friends since girlhood. Conflict and strain of course ensue, as each struggles with life changes and the need for independence. A cliched ending involving an airplane flight (you can probably already guess what happens) nearly derails the picture, but the script’s pointed, humorous look at some hard truths about parenting, marriage, and friendship make the film worth seeing. Fun supporting turns by Oliver Platt as Eden’s flaky father, Stephan James as her hook up, and UC Davis alum Hasan Minhaj as Dawn’s exhausted husband Marty help elevate the picture’s comedy cred.
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Babes opens today in Bay Area theaters
* * * *
Back to Black
If you’ve seen the Oscar winning 2015 documentary Amy about the British grammy-winning singer Amy Winehouse, there is no reason for you to see this fictional version, which pales in comparison to the true story in every way. That single piece of advice can stand as a complete review of Back to Black, but for the sake of completeness, I’ll throw out a few more supporting observations.
Director Sam Taylor-Johnson, who also helmed Fifty Shades of Grey and Nowhere Man, a John Lennon biopic, offers us no insights into Amy’s inner life beyond the superficial. Starring British actress Marisa Abela as Amy, the film starts with Amy’s career just beginning, so her childhood and youth remain a mystery aside from her proclivity for singing and her close relationship with her beloved grandmother (Lesley Manville). Instead, the picture mostly focuses on Amy’s tumultuous relationship with her boyfriend (and later husband) Blake (Jack O’Connell, Unbroken) and the pain she suffers during their first breakup: the “black” in her song “Back to Black”, from which the film takes its title.
But watching Amy and Blake battle their various substance addictions and their “toxic codependence” (as Blake aptly terms their volatile dynamic) feels less like a compassionate plea for understanding and empathy and more like TMZ-level sensationalism. The picture often feels repetitive and strangely static much of the time, despite the inherent drama of the life of its subject. The only strength the film has going for it is Abela, whose uncanny channeling of Amy will no doubt have some of her fans do a double take, especially when they hear Abela sing. Abela’s similarity in look and sound is admirable. But why watch a fake version when you can see and hear the real thing? I’m still puzzled as to why this fictional re-tread was even greenlit, especially considering it adds nothing new to Amy’s story. Biopics are always tricky, but this one didn’t have to be: it didn’t have to be at all.
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Back to Black opens today in Bay Area theaters
