“Flower” is a coming of age story in reverse. When we first meet the adolescent main character Erica (Zoey Deutch) she is already jaded by life. Her father is in jail and she is involved in a very dubious plan to earn his bail money. Over the course of time she regains her innocence, flip flopping the usual teen movie formula.
Erica lives with her mom (Kathryn Hahn) and the latest of mom’s new boyfriends-turned-fiancées (Tim Heidecker) in the San Fernando Valley. A hellraiser, Erica and her pals Kala (Dylan Gelula) and Claudine (Maya Eshet) target older men to blackmail. When she has enough cash she hopes to buy dad his freedom. Her rebel-with-a-cause life is turned upside down by the arrival of Luke (Joey Morgan), her troubled soon-to-be stepbrother. Luke brings with him a dark secret that could change everything in Erica’s life for better and for worse.
No spoilers here.
The beauty of “Flower” is less in its wonky storyline and more in its effervescent performances. The down ‘n dirty indie—it was shot in just 16 days by Henry “The Fonz” Winkler’s son Max—focuses on Erica’s journey which rests comfortably in Deutch’s capable arms. The actress, best known for turns in “Before I Fall” and “Why Him?,” navigates the film’s uneven tonality, hurtling over its implicit quirkiness to find the qualities that make us feel for Erica. Do we care about Erica the blackmailer? Not particularly. But we can care about why she resorts to blackmail and that’s where Deutch shines.
“Flower” is all over the place. In its quest to be unconventional it covers a lot of ground. It’s part quirky family drama, part rebellious teen comedy and even part “Bonnie and Clyde” but Deutch and cast, including Morgan as sad sack Luke and the always fantastic Hahn, breathe life into it.
Writer Samantha Kemp-Jackson and social media star Stewart Reynolds join Richard and Beverly Thomson and CTV NewsChannel’s ‘Behind the Headlines’ panel. This week they take a closer look at the #DeleteFacebook initiative’s traction, a GO Transit arrest and a Wisconsin university considering doing away with majors like English and History.
Check out the Richard Crouse Show on NewsTalk 1010 for March 17, 2018! This week Richard welcomes Fan Expo HQ Vice President Andrew Moyes, Tanner Zipchen and one of Toronto Comic Con’s cosplay guests, Violet Love.
The busy actor — Goggins soon be seen in the TV remake of L.A. Confidential and the Marvel blockbuster Ant-Man and the Wasp — drew on personal experience to create a backstory for his character. Like the villainous Vogel, Goggins’s job frequently takes him away from his son Augustus and wife, filmmaker Nadia Connors.
“My in for this experience was thinking about the day (Vogel) said goodbye to his family,” he says. “He’s a father and has two daughters. I just kind of meditated on saying goodbye to them, kissing his wife, walking out the door for what Mathias Vogel thought would be a year of his life and culminate in some great discovery.
“One year turned into two years, which turned into four years, and hopelessness set in. You meet this guy seven years into this experience and he has a real opportunity to get off this island. People will do whatever it takes to get back home and see the ones they love.”
On this episode of “Pop Life” actor Danai Gurira speaks about the significance of Black Panther, her work as an African playwright and the need for powerful storytelling. Then the “Pop Life” panel, “Black Mirror” and “12 Monkeys” actress Lisa Michelle Cornelius,artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival Cameron Bailey,and “Taken” and “Kim’s Convenience” star Simu Liu,speak about the changes they’re seeing in the entertainment industry when it comes to diversity.
Crouse moderates the show’s lively panel discussions – set in the POP LIFEbar – featuring actors, journalists, and entertainment personalities debating hot topics in pop culture and the arts.
“My first radio boss told me something I’ve never forgotten,” said Crouse. “People want to hear about people. It’s simple and true and that’s what we’ve brought to POP LIFE, the chance for some of the most interesting people from pop culture – actors, musicians, newsmakers and authors – to share their personal stories and opinions. We keep it conversational and you never know what people will say. I can’t wait to share this season with our viewers.”
Crouse is the resident film critic for CTV News Channel and CP24. His syndicated Saturday afternoon radio show, THE RICHARD CROUSE SHOW, originates on NEWSTALK 1010 in Toronto. He is also the author of nine books on pop culture history including Who Wrote the Book of Love, the best-selling The 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, its sequel The Son of the 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, the best-selling Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils and Elvis is King: Costello’s My Aim is True. He also writes a weekly column for Metro newspaper.
In addition to airing Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CTV News Channel, POP LIFE also airs Saturday nights at 12 midnight ET on CTV and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. ET on CTV News Channel. Encore presentations of the show air Saturdays on Gusto (see local listings).
POP LIFE can also be seen on demand at the show’s official website, through Bell Fibe’s TV On Demand, and on the CTV NEWS GO mobile app (visit CTV.ca for local television listings).
Crouse moderates the show’s lively panel discussions – set in the POP LIFE bar – featuring actors, journalists, and entertainment personalities debating hot topics in pop culture and the arts.
“My first radio boss told me something I’ve never forgotten,” said Crouse. “People want to hear about people. It’s simple and true and that’s what we’ve brought to POP LIFE, the chance for some of the most interesting people from pop culture – actors, musicians, newsmakers and authors – to share their personal stories and opinions. We keep it conversational and you never know what people will say. I can’t wait to share this season with our viewers.”
Crouse is the resident film critic for CTV News Channel and CP24. His syndicated Saturday afternoon radio show, THE RICHARD CROUSE SHOW, originates on NEWSTALK 1010 in Toronto. He is also the author of nine books on pop culture history including Who Wrote the Book of Love, the best-selling The 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, its sequel The Son of the 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, the best-selling Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils and Elvis is King: Costello’s My Aim is True. He also writes a weekly column for Metro newspaper.
In addition to airing Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CTV News Channel, POP LIFE also airs Saturday nights at 12 midnight ET on CTV and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. ET on CTV News Channel. Encore presentations of the show air Saturdays on Gusto (see local listings).
POP LIFE can also be seen on demand at the show’s official website, through Bell Fibe’s TV On Demand, and on the CTV NEWS GO mobile app (visit CTV.ca for local television listings).
ICYMI: The Pop Life panel, “Black Mirror” and “12 Monkeys” actress Lisa Michelle Cornelius,artistic director of the Toronto International Film Festival Cameron Bailey,and “Taken” and “Kim’s Convenience” star Simu Liu,speak about the changes they’re seeing in the entertainment industry when it comes to diversity.
Crouse moderates the show’s lively panel discussions – set in the POP LIFEbar – featuring actors, journalists, and entertainment personalities debating hot topics in pop culture and the arts.
“My first radio boss told me something I’ve never forgotten,” said Crouse. “People want to hear about people. It’s simple and true and that’s what we’ve brought to POP LIFE, the chance for some of the most interesting people from pop culture – actors, musicians, newsmakers and authors – to share their personal stories and opinions. We keep it conversational and you never know what people will say. I can’t wait to share this season with our viewers.”
Crouse is the resident film critic for CTV News Channel and CP24. His syndicated Saturday afternoon radio show, THE RICHARD CROUSE SHOW, originates on NEWSTALK 1010 in Toronto. He is also the author of nine books on pop culture history including Who Wrote the Book of Love, the best-selling The 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, its sequel The Son of the 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen, the best-selling Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils and Elvis is King: Costello’s My Aim is True. He also writes a weekly column for Metro newspaper.
In addition to airing Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CTV News Channel, POP LIFE also airs Saturday nights at 12 midnight ET on CTV and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. ET on CTV News Channel. Encore presentations of the show air Saturdays on Gusto (see local listings).
POP LIFE can also be seen on demand at the show’s official website, through Bell Fibe’s TV On Demand, and on the CTV NEWS GO mobile app (visit CTV.ca for local television listings).
Check out the Richard Crouse Show on NewsTalk 1010 for March 17, 2018! This week Richard welcomes Fan Expo HQ Vice President Andrew Moyes, Tanner Zipchen and one of Toronto Comic Con’s cosplay guests, Violet Love.
Here’s some info on The Richard Crouse Show!: Each week on The Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favorite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Richard also lets you know what movies you’ll want to run to see and which movies you’ll want to wait for DVD release. Click HERE to catch up on shows you might have missed! Read Richard NewsTalk 1010 reviews HERE!
The show airs:
NewsTalk 1010 – airs in Toronto Saturday at 9 to 10 pm.
For Niagara, Newstalk 610 Radio – airs Saturdays at 6 to 7 pm
For Montreal, CJAD 800 – Saturdays at 6 to 7 pm
For Vancouver – CFAX 1070 – Saturdays 6 to 7 pm.
For London — Newstalk 1290 CJBK, Saturdays 10 to 11 pm
Richard joins CP24 to have a look at the weekend’s new movies including “Tomb Raider,” the dark comedy “The Death of Stalin,” the old folks road trip “The Leisure Seeker,” the crime thriller “7 Days in Entebbe” and the Cecil Beaton documentary “Love, Cecil.”
“Flower” is a coming of age story in reverse. When we first meet the adolescent main character Erica (Zoey Deutch) she is already jaded by life. Her father is in jail and she is involved in a very dubious plan to earn his bail money. Over the course of time she regains her innocence, flip flopping the usual teen movie formula.
