Posts Tagged ‘Billy Porter’

THE SHOWGRAM WITH JIM RICHARDS: DOES RICHARD CROUSE LIKE THESE MOVIES?

Richard joins NewsTalk 1010 host Jim Richards on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “Showgram” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse like these movies?” This week we talk about to talk about Marvel’s first Asian superhero in “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” Amazon Prime’s updated version of “Cinderella” and Riz Ahmed in the surreal “Mogul Mowgli.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

CINDERELLA: 3 STARS. “presented with sincerity and no small amount of humour.”

The new “Cinderella,” starring pop singer Camila Cabello and now streaming on Amazon Prime, begins with a sweeping crane shot of the title character’s rustic village that could have been lifted from any one of the dozens of adaptations of the famous story. But by the time the villagers begin dancing to Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation,” tossing pitchforks of hay in the air and doing the Robot in time with the music, you realize this isn’t your fairy godmother’s version of the oft told tale.

The story’s bones are roughly the same as the Brothers Grimm folk tale. Orphan Ella, nicknamed Cinderella (Cabello) by her jealous stepsisters (Maddie Baillio and Charlotte Spencer) because her skin is often besmirched by cinders, dreams of one day travelling the world as a famous designer. For now, though, she lives in the dingy basement of her cruel and imperious step-mother Vivian’s (Idina Menzel) home, where she waits on them hand and foot, only to be called “worthless” and dismissed by a wave of Vivian’s hand.

The Royal Ball is imminent, and Prince Robert’s (Nicholas Galitzine) father King Rowan (Pierce Brosnan) thinks it is the perfect chance for his son to find a wife and settle down. When the prince catches an eyeful of Cinderella he is smitten before she disappears into the crowd. “I’ll play your silly game,” he tells the King, “but only if every girl in the kingdom is invited to the ball regardless of wealth or stature.” The king reluctantly agrees, and everyone is invited, even Cinderella. Except that she’s not interested. “The whole thing is weird and antiquated,” she says. “Not my thing.”

She changes her mind when the Prince, in disguise, convinces her that there will be interesting people there, and she might even drum up some business as a designer. But she doesn’t believe anything romantic will come out of it. “I’m dirty,” she says. “I smell like a basement and my best friends are mice.”

She whips up a frilly pink dress for the big night, but Vivian puts her foot down, and throws ink on the outfit, ruining it and Cinderella’s chances for going to the ball. She is despondent until Fab G (Billy Porter), her Fairy Godparent, enters her life in the most red-carpet-ready way possible.

“Hush, it’s magic time,” Fab G says as a sequined dress, glass slippers and a fancy carriage materialize. There are rules. No one, except the Prince, will be able to recognize her while she’s in the gown and the magic will wear off at midnight, so she must run home as the clock strikes.

Sparks fly between the Prince and Cinderella. He professes his love for her and says he intends on making her his princess. She’ll be royalty. “Royalty?” she says, channeling her inner Meghan, “What about my work?” As she is announced as the future Queen, the clock strikes and she flees, leaving behind one glass slipper.

“Cinderella” is a big Broadway style jukebox musical of the familiar tale given a thoroughly modern makeover. Written and directed by former “30 Rock” writer Kay Cannon, who also created the “Pitch Perfect” franchise, updates the story to emphasize female empowerment, the autonomy of fathers and sons, the freedom to choose one’s life and she evens softens up the traditionally evil step family. It is still a classic love story, but here Cinderella is no Disney Princess. She’s Girlboss Cinderella, in charge of her life, love and future.

The modifications are presented with sincerity and no small amount of humour—there’s even a pretty funny reference to Brosnan’s legendarily terrible singing voice, first noticed by, well, everyone in “Mama Mia”—but the changes also make it fairly simple to predict what’s going to happen, even if Cannon tries to distract you with big production numbers.

Gone are the old school Disney songs like “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” and “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.” They’ve been replaced with reinterpreted pop and rock songs like “Material Girl” and “Somebody to Love.” Think “A Knight’s Tale,” the 2001 fantasy that mixed-and-matched modern music and dancing with a medieval setting.

“Cinderella” is a frothy, enjoyable confection that often resembles a music video. Cabello’s take on the character breathes the same air as Moana, “Brave’s” feisty Merida, and Elsa and Anna from “Frozen.” Purists may miss the old songs or traditional blue dress, but stories about women as active participants in their lives should become the new tradition.

RICHARD’S WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FROM CP24! FRIDAY JANUARY 10, 2020.

Richard and CP24 anchor Kelly Linehan have a look at the weekend’s new movies including soggy “Underwater,” the buddy-business-comedy “Like a Boss” and the gritty drama “Luba.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

RICHARD’S CTV NEWSCHANNEL WEEKEND MOVIE REVIEWS FOR JAN. 10!

Richard sits in on the CTV NewsChannel to have a look at the weekend’s big releases including the shipwrecked “Underwater,” the buddy-business-comedy “Like a Boss” and the gritty drama “Luba.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

Richard sits in on the CFRA Montreal morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres including the buddy comedy “Like a Boss” starring Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne, the soggy horrors of Kristen Stewart’s “Underwater” and the gritty drama “Luba.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

CTVNEWS.CA: THE CROUSE REVIEW ON “LIKE A BOSS” “UNDERWATER” AND MORE!

A weekly feature from ctvnews.ca! The Crouse Review is a quick, hot take on the weekend’s biggest and most interesting movies! This week Richard looks at the Tiffany Haddish buddy comedy “Like a Boss,” the wet-but-not-wild “Underwater” starring Kristen Stewart and the family drama “Luba.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

LIKE A BOSS: 2 STARS. “feel good comedy but it doesn’t feel as good as it could.”

“Like a Boss,” a buddy comedy starring Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish, is a story of besties in business almost torn apart by money.

Fast friends Mia (Haddish) and Mel (Byrne) are self-described “badass queens, like those b*tches who raised Wonder Woman.” The cosmetics company they started allows them to “run their best life” but the bills are piling up. “We’re four hundred and ninety-three thousand dollars in debt,” says Mel. Helping them out of the financial hole is Claire Luna (Salma Hayek), a mogul with bottomless pockets. She offers them over a million bucks but it comes with strings. “Per your contract,” Claire’s assistant tells them, “you now have to give Claire $.49 of every dollar for the rest of your lives.” Claire’s involvement brings more than just cash, however. “In my experience,” Claire says, “business and friendship don’t always mix,” and soon a rift develops between the levelheaded Mel and reckless Mia.

The experience of watching “Like a Boss” in theatres is not unlike watching a movie at home. In the comfort of your castle you might get up to make a sandwich, get a drink or go to the bathroom and miss some of the connective scenes that help the movie make sense. Like a Boss” replicates that experience by taking out many of the scenes necessary for the story of female empowerment to work properly. No need to leave your theatre seat. The movie feels rushed, as if those scenes of exposition were ripped from the script on long shift days in order to accommodate the film’s slight 83 minute running time.

It’s a shame because the charming cast is trying hard to wring laughs out of the thin, predictable story. There are a handful of good giggles—Billy Porter’s “witness my tragic moment” scene among them—that hint at what this movie could have been—a mix between “Bridesmaids” and “The Devil Wears Prada”—but it runs out of steam fast, well before the inevitable impromptu musical dance number at the end.

“Like a Boss” wants to be a glass of chardonnay, you go girl kind of feel good comedy but it doesn’t feel as good as it could because of its scattershot approach to the storytelling. With no emotional connection to the characters, the jokes fall flat despite a talented cast.

CJAD IN MONTREAL: THE ANDREW CARTER SHOW WITH RICHARD CROUSE ON MOVIES!

Richard sits in on the CJAD Montreal morning show with host Andrew Carter to talk the new movies coming to theatres including buddy comedy “Like a Boss” starring Tiffany Haddish and Rose Byrne, the soggy horrors of Kristen Stewart’s “Underwater” and the gritty drama “Luba.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!