Palo Alto

The James Franco – Gia Coppola team is one I definitely want to see again. Palo Alto is a movie that seemed to flow pretty under the radar, reaching success as audiences stumbled upon it. Though, if you follow James Franco on Instagram, you would absolutely know about the hype for this movie.

As I was watching, I couldn’t help myself from thinking that this is like a present day Catcher in the Rye. Even though my teenage years were spent in a place highly unlike Palo Alto, I felt I could feel and relate to all the experiences the characters were going through. Palo Alto very accurately depicts the fragile mental state of the teenage mind struggling to grow up in this world.
The performances were excellent. It was slightly baffling to me to notice how these relatively young actors tackled a somewhat heavy subject matter and displayed it with such truth and accuracy. For example, Emma Roberts strayed from her normal airy performances as a cliché teenager to someone with depth and dealing with the must humiliating truths of what goes on in a seventeen-year-old girls head. While some parts made me laugh, others made me cringe – but in the best way.

Ultimately the credit must go to Gia Coppola for taking Franco’s characters from page to screen in such a realistic way and without losing their intent. I may have had the advantage of knowing the story because of reading Palo Alto, the book. Yet, Coppola transformed these somewhat scattered stories into a linear plot centered on three or four main characters, each dealing with growing up in their own way.

Early on, the movie was hard to understand – being that it was a little scattered and nothing quite explained as to where the movie was going. But as the movie progressed, Coppola hit her stride with her filmmaking style and script.

Moira’s MVP: Emma Roberts/ Gia Coppola

American Beauty

Who doesn’t love Kevin Spacey? The man is a force of nature. Any House of Card fan has to understand the feeling of loving a character that you hate so much. It’s not even a love to hate situation, you actually love him (or at least I do). But before Frank Underwood, there was Lester Burnham. The common theme of the “mid-life crisis” strikes again, but this time with a pretty serious twist.

On the superficial, Mena Suvari’s character Angela is the American Beauty that the title refers. After all, she is what seems to trigger Lester (Spacey) into one of the funniest and devastating spirals. But her beauty is not real as the audience comes to know just as Lester does. The beauty is not in the affair Annette Bening’s Carolyn has with Buddy the King of Realty, or the $4,000 dollar couch. Lester comes to find this in the final year of his life. It is not the image of the perfect family, it is not the choking down one’s true sexuality; it is the relationships formed. Directed by Sam Mendes, this film tackles all that is superficial and blows it wide open. Here we are, an audience fearing mediocrity and the potential to never break from the ordinary.

I would also like to remark that Carolyn Burnham is Annette Bening’s best uptight character and works perfectly in the movie. With Chris Cooper and Allison Janney rounding out the start-studded cast, I felt as if I knew the pain in each of the characters, not just the ones I could easily relate too.

American Beauty is a phenomenal movie satirizing the superficial of American culture and delving into the simple but complex human emotions that can cause for so much pain and happiness in ones life. Whenever you see a plastic bag floating in the air, just think RIP Lester Burnham and long live Frank Underwood.

Moira’s MVP: Kevin Spacey

 

Afternoon Delight

I could start this review by saying something corny like: Afternoon Delight was delightful this afternoon. Corny for sure, but true. This movie is smart, witty, and hilarious. Kathryn Hahn is perfect as a bored housewife with not enough going on in her life, but at the same time way too much going on. She owns the awkward and uncomfortable humor that so much of the movie is carried upon.

The movie follows her through a mid-life crisis, how original. But unlike so many movies tackling the same subject, Afternoon Delight strikes the balance between the sad and pathetic with the hilarious. While there are scenes that follow Rachel (Hahn) through her poor choices, it is slightly uncomfortable and I could not stop myself from laughing. Juno Temple does a very convincing job as a “sex worker” befriending the confused Rachel. While the audience and even Rachel’s friends and family can tell that this stripper/prostitute does not want to turn over a new leaf, Rachel is persistent. It is predictable but the journey getting there is too funny to pass up. I mean its worth it just to see parents smoke a bowl in a garage while their five-year-old son sleeps in a radio flyer wagon.

Josh Radnor does an excellent job countering Hahn in their “stuck in a rut” marriage, but unfortunately all I see is SHMOSBY! Jane Lynch’s performance is a breath of fresh air compared to her days as Sue Sylvester. She has reminded me why I thought she was funny in the first place. But here the real scene-stealer is Bridesmaid’s co-writer Annie Mumolo as “Kosher Amanda”. Mumolo holds a smirk for nearly her entire part and her non-verbals are funnier than some entire characters. Needless to say, she kills it as “Kosher Amanda” and after all that she is not even kosher.

Moira’s MVP: Kathryn Hahn

How I Met Your Mother

As the Final Episode of one of the greatest shows of the twenty first century is set to air, I can’t help but feeling a little reminiscent. For anyone who has not seen the show, it is a must see. It’s a perfect combination of funny and emotional. With any show that runs for nine seasons, it will be heavily focused on relationships (and long running inside jokes). These characters are real and have very real problems, like hating the guy who took your one accidental curly in your basket of shoestring fries or interventions for fake British accents. But the show also touches on much deeper topics, like infertility and losing loved ones. This show tackles life and how much better life with relationships. Whether that relationship is Marshmallow and Lily Pad or Ted’s Best Friend Barney, life’s greatest moments are only great when you can share it with someone great. And to think, this is all done in 20 minutes. For me, it is the next generation of Friends and even though I desperately want to know who the mother is, I never want to.