I sit in with hosts Jim Richards and Deb Hutton on NewsTalk 1010 to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the family drama “Here,” the odd couple “A Real Pain” and the sci fi flick “Levels.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 28:36)
I joined CP24 Breakfast to have a look at new movies and television shows coming to theatres and streaming services. Today we talk about the family drama “Here,” the odd couple “A Real Pain,” both playing oin theatres, and two shows about psychiatrists, “Shrinking” and “Before,” boith streaming oin Apple TV+.
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: A mix of humor and pain, “A Real Pain,” a new dramedy from writer/director Jesse Eisenberg, and now playing in theatres, sees polar-opposite cousins David and Benji (Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin) embark on a tour of Poland to honor their Holocaust-survivor grandmother. As their odd couple trip progresses the double meaning of the title becomes apparent. Is Benji’s wild behavior a pain, or is it the result of pain?
CAST: Jesse Eisenberg, Kieran Culkin, Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, and Daniel Oreskes. Directed by Jesse Eisenberg, produced by Emma Stone.
REVIEW: “A Real Pain” is both an oddball couple comedy and road movie, but, most importantly, it’s about personal pain and coping mechanisms. As David, Jesse Eisenberg says his, “pain is unexceptional,” and yet he is anxious and medicated, hobbled by feelings he cannot control.
Benji (Kieran Culkin), on the other hand, is a raw nerve, charming and charismatic, but quick to temper and bitterly selfish. “Forgive me if I don’t see his magical spark,” says Mark (Daniel Oreskes), another traveller on their heritage tour.
The characters share DNA and a handful of memories, but despite their familial love, they are oil and water, and it is that dynamic that drives the movie.
Despite its subject, “A Real Pain” is a gently amusing movie. There are no jokes in the traditional sense, just situational and character-based humor that bubbles forth through their interactions. David’s exasperation with his cousin’s antics is milked for some laughs, but it is Culkin who delivers the goods.
As Benji he is an anti-establishment motor mouth who makes pronouncements like, “Money is like heroin for rich people,” and never entertains an unexpressed thought. Benji is overbearing, but this isn’t a big performance.
The beauty of it is in the small details.
The way he snaps an elastic band against his wrist as a coping mechanism is a subtle touch but speaks loudly about his state of mind. Culkin grabs Benji’s complexities, his kindness and cruelty, his humor and pain and folds them into one fascinating character.
“A Real Pain” is a quiet movie, with some somber moments, like the tour’s visit to the former concentration camp Majdanek, but Eisenberg finds the tricky balance between the heartfelt moments and the humor.
