Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less than a New York Minute! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the horror flick “Smile 2,” the Michael Keaton drama “Goodrich” and the political satire “Rumours.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: Andy Goodrich (Michael Keaton) always put work ahead of family. But now, with his once successful gallery is on the verge of collapse and his wife in rehab for ninety days, his self-centeredness must take a back seat to tending to his rocky relationship with pregnant adult daughter Grace (Mila Kunis) and his nine-year-old twins.
CAST: Michael Keaton, Mila Kunis, Andie MacDowell, Carmen Ejogo, Kevin Pollak, Poorna Jagannathan. Directed by Hallie Meyers-Shyer.
REVIEW: The success of “Goodrich” hinges on star Michael Keaton’s ability to milk humor and charm out of human drama. A wee bit sentimental, and more than a bit manipulative, the film is saved from melodrama by Keaton’s sure and steady hand.
The family drama emanates from the title character. During an argument, his grown daughter Grace calls him the “never available, never home, never ask you how are you? Goodrich,” and we see that guy, but we also see who he’s trying to be, and it is that arc that makes him, and the movie, interesting.
Keaton gives the character the cockiness of a man who is used to success, but as that fades, he becomes more appealing, more aware of his failures as a father and a person. He quotes a Buddhist saying about how the measure of a life can be tallied in how much you’ve loved, how gently you’ve lived and how gracefully you let go of things that weren’t meant for you. He botched all three but wants to make amends.
It’s not a new story but Keaton draws us in because he’s willing to change, particularly in the relationship with Grace.
“Goodrich” is a slight movie that tries hard to pull at your heartstrings. A little too hard perhaps, but the scenes between Goodrich and Grace do offer some unexpectedly hard-hitting moments. “I am then only person who loves you as much as you love yourself,” she says and her words land like a slap in the face.
Ultimately, Goodrich discovers that it is the small things in life that matter, and that everything, from a sunrise to the smile on your Grace’s face can be art, not just the artwork he devoted his life to. Simple messages but delivered with the kind of heartfelt conviction and mix of comedy and drama that recalls Keaton’s earlier work in films like “Mr. Mom.”
“Ready or Not” puts a darkly humorous spin on a childhood game but it isn’t the first horror film to use hide n’ seek as a plot device. The inventively titled short film “Hide & Shriek” sees a masked killer ruining the fun while “Emelie” features an evil babysitter who keeps the kids busy with a dangerous version of the game. The new film is a bloody satire with sly commentary about the lengths the 1% will do to keep their cash.
Upon marrying Alex (Mark O’Brien) Grace (Samara Weaving) becomes the newest member of the wealthy but weird Le Domas family. “You don’t belong in this family,” says drunk brother-in-law Daniel (Adam Brody). “I mean that as a complement.”
Her new in-laws, including disdainful father-in-law Tony (Henry Czerny), angry mother-in-law Becky (Andie MacDowell), coke-head sister-in-law sister Emilie (Melanie Scrofano) and her husband Fitch Bradley (Kristian Bruun), all heirs to a board game fortune, tell her the marriage won’t be complete until she partakes in a family ritual, a randomly selected midnight game. “It’s just something we do when someone new joins the family,” explains Alex.
The last time this tradition was carried out it took the form of a game of Old Maid. Unfortunately for Grace this time around the family chooses hide n’ seek. “You pulled up a bad card,” says Alex. “The truth is If they don’t kill you something very bad will happen.”
What begins as a lark turns lethal when Grace realizes that to ‘win’ she must first learn to navigate the Le Domas’s rambling old mansion, complete with trap doors and secret passageways. “When you marry into this family you have to play the game or you die. I know it sounds crazy but it’s true.”
“Ready or Not” is a well-executed lo-fi thriller with an unusual premise and lots of creepy characters straight out of a game of “Clue.” For the most part Weaving plays it straight, even as she uses her wedding dress as a tourniquet, while the Le Domas family amps up the antics with broad performances driven by the belief that something terrible will happen if they don’t find Grace by first light. They’re a motley bunch, pseudo-aristocrats with an interest in the occult who don’t appear to have much in common except for the bond of family and a desire to stay alive. As old-money members of the 1% they believe they are above the law, able to indulge in their game (even if they’re not very good at it) because of some old family legend. In other words, as Daniel says, “It’s true what they say. The rich really are different.”
The surprisingly nasty third act gives “Ready or Not” the feel of a future cult classic, a crowd-pleaser with some laughs and a giddily gory climax.
“Paper Year” is a coming-of-age story about two people who should have already come-of-age.
Out-of-work actor Dan Delaney (Avan Jogia) and aspiring writer Franny Winters (Eve Hewson) are impulsive twenty-somethings who married quickly, without any kind of life plan. Unemployed and carefree for much of their first year of wedded bliss, the dynamic of their relationship changes when he comes home one day with an announcement. “I forgot to tell you,” he says, “but I got a job. A real adult person, adult job” looking after the mansion and dogs of a b-movie star. As he stays home looking after the dogs, she takes a job as a junior writer on the game show “Goosed.” “We’re going to be rich,” he says. “Can I get a Nintendo?” Her career is on an upward swing while he stays in lounging by the pool, watching porn and playing videogames. Will they make it to their first anniversary as their careers go in two different directions? “What do you mean work?” he says. “It’s just you writing for your dumb job.”
“Paper Year” is a low-key examination of relationships, brought to life by strong performances by Hewson who, if she continues doing work this strong will soon lose the label of “Bono’s daughter, and Delaney. The pair has an easy way about them as they navigate the landmines of an unplanned life. Writer-director Rebecca Addelman provides realistic dialogue and relatively low-stakes situations that allow her actors to shine. Harassment at work, respect at home and straying feelings are all delicately addressed. It’s never terribly dramatic but neither is it stagey. Addelman and company are more interested in keeping it natural, allowing the characters drive the situations, not the other way round.
