Laughs outweigh flaws in Stewart’s smart political satire
Washington political strategists Faith (Rose Byrne) and Gary (Steve Carell) back opposing candidates in a mayoral election in a small Wisconsin town.
I try not to read reviews of any film I’m going to review so as not to be unconsciously influenced, but this week it was hard to miss the early review headlines in my social media feed for Irresistible, comedian Jon Stewart’s new picture. My fellow critics seemed to not just dislike the film, but to actively hate it. It has a 47 rating on MetaCritic right now. Ouch. I had to wonder if we all saw the same movie. Because you know what? I actually liked it. I finished watching my screener, and I assumed reviews would be positive. I was really surprised by the hostile reactions. The picture isn’t perfect, but it’s smart, relevant, and, most importantly, has some decent laughs. Am I the odd outlier here? Is my taste off? Or are my colleagues all wrong? All I can say is read on for my take, watch the picture, and then decide for yourself which camp you’re in.
2018 San Francisco International Film Festival ends this week
If you haven’t made it out to the SF International Film Festival yet, don’t worry – you still have one more day to catch some great films. The Festival ends tomorrow, Tuesday, April 17th, and tickets to remaining screenings can be found here.
Spinning Platters continues its coverage by taking a look at four films that screened at the Fest that will be opening soon here in the Bay Area (we note each film’s opening date below), so if you had hoped to see some of these at the Fest and missed them, you’ve got a second chance. And even though the Fest ends soon, stay tuned to Spinning Platters; we’ll have some wrap up coverage after the Fest concludes.
1.) Kodachrome (Canada/USA 2017, 105 min. Marquee Presentations)
Matt (Jason Sudeikis, l.), Zoe, (Elizabeth Olsen), and Ben (Ed Harris) have some fun.
Upon hearing the title of director Mark Raso’s new film, you would be forgiven for thinking it might have something to do with Paul Simon’s 1973 single of the same name. That song is referenced in the film, but never played, which is for the best, since the last film to take its title from a Paul Simon song was a huge flop. Raso fares better here, working from a script by the author and screenwriter Jonathan Tropper (This is Where I Leave You). Based loosely on a 2010 article in the New York Times about the closing of the last photo lab in the country to develop Kodak’s famed color film, Kodachrome is a father-son redemption story that calls to mind Sam Shepard, and not just because Shepard stalwart Ed Harris plays Ben, the estranged, terminally ill famous photographer father to Jason Sudeikis’s wounded music producer son Matt. The actors are believable as a father and son with a complicated history, which helps detract from the cliché of their road trip from New York to Kansas to drop off old Kodachrome rolls of Ben’s before the lab closes. Accompanying the duo is Zoe (Elizabeth Olsen), Ben’s nurse and assistant and, of course, love interest for Matt. Olsen’s likable presence and her chemistry with Sudeikis also help keep the story from feeling too obvious, and you find yourself wanting to spend more time with them. The film does occasionally succumb to the hackneyed, though, as when Matt and Zoe finally look at Ben’s developed slides (you’ll have long since guessed what’s on them), in a somewhat cloying scene that may remind some viewers of the famous “The Wheel” episode of Mad Men. But with its nostalgic look at how our analog world has given way to digital, Raso and Tropper manage to pull off a charming narrative that would have felt derivative with a lesser cast at the helm.
Kodachromewill open in the Bay Area this Friday, April 20th.
