"All My Friends Hate Me" -- Movie Review

 

This week at The Tribeca Festival, I streamed the world premiere of the new U.K.  comedy-horror, “All My Friends Hate Me”.  

Synopsis

When a man attends a weekend-long birthday party celebration thrown by his friends, will they still be pals after things take some unexpected turns?

Story

Pete is eagerly looking forward to his birthday -- but only because it will be a party with his old college buddies held over the course of an entire weekend.  He hasn’t seen many of these folks in years, so he expects it’ll be a good time of catching up and re-connecting with everyone.  Pete’s girlfriend Sonia won’t be travelling with him initially, but plans to join him the next day.  After a long drive where he occasionally gets lost and encounters some odd situations, he finally reaches the countryside English Manor -- except no one’s there!  He waits hours for them to arrive.  Are they ghosting him?

Late that night, they finally arrive; after spending the evening at a pub in town, they bring back Harry, someone whom they met while out drinking.  Harry is a rather suspicious character -- at least as far as Pete is concerned.  Why is this stranger being brought in to celebrate Pete’s birthday?  And why did Pete’s friends think this was an appropriate thing to do?  Pete tries to shrug it off so as not to put a damper on the party, but he’s definitely feeling a bit of hostility coming from Harry. 

 

In a tete a tete with one of his closer allies, Pete confesses that things are going so well with Sonia that he’s planning on proposing to her.  He cautions Pete about Claire not finding out about this; Claire, one of the guests at this party, is Pete’s ex-girlfriend and she went through a difficult period when the two broke up.  As the weekend continues, Sonia finally arrives -- and by this time, Pete is especially glad to see her because he feels as though the people holding this party have been throwing quite a bit of shade at him the entire time.  On the night of the big party, Pete is infuriated when his “friends” make things extremely weird.  Can their friendship survive the night after this perceived transgression?  

  

Review

If you like quirky comedies with an element of horror, “All My Friends Hate Me” might be a good choice.  Despite the comedy (or, perhaps, because of it), it can be quite uncomfortable to watch; add to that the horror/thriller portions, and the movie could potentially make you rather anxious as well.  It’s something of an intense mix at times -- especially in the last act -- so be prepared for that if you intend on watching this film.  You don’t know if it’s appropriate to laugh or not in certain scenes because you aren’t quite sure what’s coming next. 

The characters, as written and performed, are well-defined and clear in their individual personas.  Stourton does a particularly good job in his role of Pete as he becomes gradually unravelled as the weekend proceeds and his perceived slights only serve to make him increasingly incensed.  What adds to the mysterious nature of these scenes is that it appears as though the characters are deliberately trying to gaslight Pete.  Are they in fact trying to do that or is it Pete’s paranoia (or narcissism) that leads him to believe this?  One must really hang in there to figure out which one is happening in subsequent scenes.

Following the screening, there was an interview with the filmmakers:  Director Andrew Gaynord, screenwriter Tom Palmer and star Tom Stourton (who also co-wrote the screenplay).  Palmer said that the manor in which the story took place was also where the cast and some of the crew stayed during the entire three-week shoot.  Gaynord mentioned that the person who owned the house made dinner for the cast and crew every night; he was very welcoming and put everyone at ease.  Regarding the horror element of the story, Gaynord said that he was always conscious of doing things to keep the audience off-balance, including his choices for music.  

"Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It" -- Movie Review

 

This week, Film At Lincoln Center arranged a special screening of the new documentary, “Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It”, about the life of actress-singer-dancer Rita Moreno.  

Story

At nearly 90, Rita Moreno has left quite a legacy in the world of show business.  She is one of the few people in the entertainment industry who can brag of possessing the much-envied “quadruple crown” of awards known better as an EGOT (i.e. -- winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award).  While this is impressive for anyone, it is particularly so when you consider the extremely humble beginnings from which she came; there is almost nothing in her background that would suggest that such a bright future was any kind of a certainty.  

Born in Puerto Rico, Moreno and her younger brother were mainly raised by their mother following a divorce; while living with her maternal grandfather at this point, her mother decided that in order for them to have a better life, they needed to move to New York City.  So, the mother accompanied her daughter on a ship to Manhattan -- but left the son behind.  Moreno never saw her younger brother after that.  Moreno was bitten by the entertainment bug early on; when an associate of Louis B. Mayer helped to arrange a meeting with him, she was immediately signed to a contract with his studio because she looked like a Hispanic version of Elizabeth Taylor.    

With her first name now changed from Rosalita to Rita, Moreno embarked on a career in show business.  After small parts in motion pictures both major and minor, her big break came in “West Side Story”, for which she won an Academy Award.  After an on-again-off-again romance with Marlon Brando, she later settled down and married a physician; they were together for many years and had a daughter.  Following her success in “West Side Story”, Moreno didn’t work on a movie again for a couple of years because she kept getting typecast.  Eventually, she would find success on television (“The Electric Company”) and on Broadway, in Terrance McNally’s play, “The Ritz”. 

Review

If you are familiar with the work of Rita Moreno but not necessarily an avid fan, then you will likely learn quite a bit about her life in "Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It".  This documentary contains many surprises -- and not all of them good ones.  The audience is presented with as close as we might possibly get to the unvarnished truth about this woman.  That said, the interviewees in this movie are predictably glowing in their characterization of Moreno; not one of them is even remotely critical.  Despite Moreno’s attempts to come across as forthcoming, it would seem that the other participants thought this was supposed to be a hagiography.  

One of the more unusual techniques the director used was introducing animation in portions of her documentary.  Specifically, there are scenes when Moreno appears as a paper doll -- especially when referencing her youth -- where the doll gets dressed in various outfits.  Its use can be somewhat distracting although this was obviously attempted as something of an analogy; the purpose behind this is to show Moreno as being fragile and dressed up to be what other people perceived her to be, as opposed to who she really was.  It would seem that other photographs and movie clips made this point quite well and the cringeworthy paper doll stunt was a bit too on-the-nose.        

Following the screening, there was an interview with the director of the documentary, Mariem Pérez Riera.  While most of her work is done in Puerto Rico, her son plays Moreno’s grandson in the Netflix series, “One Day At A Time”.  Through that connection, she was able to get Moreno to consent to participating in the documentary.  It was her intention to show Moreno as she truly is instead of her “glamorous” side; she wanted the audience to see the real person when not on screen or stage.  As a result, Moreno did not wear a wig or makeup during the interview.  In total, 80 hours of footage were shot over a one year period -- of which, only an hour and a half made it into the final cut.

"Roadrunner" -- Movie Review

 

This weekend at the Tribeca Film Festival’s Virtual Cinema, I streamed “Roadrunner”, the new documentary about the late chef-writer-television host Anthony Bourdain.

Synopsis

How did the noted ex-chef change the way we viewed other cultures and why did he end his life?

Story

In 1999, Chef Anthony Bourdain’s life changed irrevocably when his book “Kitchen Confidential” was published.  At the age of 43, Bourdain found himself the author of a best seller which was read and loved by many in the restaurant business.  What Bourdain himself could not have predicted was that it would eventually lead to him leaving his world as a chef behind in order to become a full-time writer and host of a television show.  As hard as it was for Bourdain to believe his good fortune, his long-lasting influence on people around the world -- and especially in the United States -- was equally unforeseeable.  

When Bourdain was hired to write a book called “Cook’s Tour”, a production company reached out to him to ask if they could film his excursions around the world for the purpose of selling the resulting footage as a television show -- when Bourdain consented, the show also named “Cook’s Tour” was born on The Food Network.  Eventually, he and the production team moved the show to The Travel Channel, where it was renamed “No Reservations”; after many years, the show moved to CNN under the name “Parts Unknown”.  All the while, Bourdain kept writing a stunning array of books between his journeys.

During the last couple of years of his life, Bourdain had changed -- and it was clear to those closest to him that his demeanor had taken a dark turn.  Restless and miserable, Bourdain separated from his wife Ottavia, with whom they had a daughter.  He continued with his television show responsibilities, albeit joylessly.  Then, he met actress and filmmaker Asia Argento, who became his new romantic interest.  His mood changed for the better.  When she announced her sexual assault by a noted producer, Bourdain became an advocate for the Me Too movement.  However, his enthusiasm for his advocacy waned when he learned of Argento’s trysts with a much younger actor.  While shooting an episode of his CNN show in France, Bourdain committed suicide in his hotel room.  

Review

If you consider yourself a hardcore Bourdain fan, you may come away with some strongly mixed feelings about this documentary.  For one thing, there is very little in the way of previously-unseen footage from his old television shows; true, there are occasional outtakes, but much of this two-hour film consists of already aired footage.  One nice touch was the inclusion of some home videos where he’s seen as a doting dad to his daughter Arian.  While the last quarter of the movie focuses on Bourdain’s dark side, most of it concentrates on what he contributed to society and American culture.

There are some notable things missing from the documentary.  Perhaps the most glaring is the direct question to each of the interviewees, “Why do you think Bourdain committed suicide?”.  Since he did not leave a note, we can never know for sure, but it would nevertheless be good to have heard the answer.  One person interviewed merely speculated that Bourdain felt that he had come to the end of a successful journey and this would be a logical end.  Also missing were those who did not appear in the film:  his friend and former Travel Channel host Chef Andrew Zimmern and Bourdain’s girlfriend Asia Argento.  Were they asked?  Did they decline?  Did their interview wind up on the so-called cutting room floor?  Who knows?  His friend, Chef Éric Ripert, made it in the final cut; this is significant because he was the one who found Bourdain’s body in the hotel room, yet he declined to talk about the incident.    

Following the screening, there was an interview with the director, Morgan Neville.  He was approached by CNN and the family estate to do the documentary; although he wasn’t a Bourdain super-fan, he was convinced to make the film after working with restaurateur David Chang on a television show.  After becoming friends with Chang and learning how deeply Chang was hurt by Bourdain’s death, Neville was determined to shoot the movie.  Work on the documentary began about a year and a half after Bourdain’s death, so the memory of his passing remained fresh for those interviewed -- evidenced by how emotional many of them got during the conversation.  Among the interviews conducted which failed to make the final cut was one with David Simon, who was the creator of the HBO television series “Treme”, on which Bourdain served as a writer.