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Flash Movie Review: Nightbitch
THE WOMEN I KNEW IN THE generation before me did not have jobs outside of the home. Most of my friends’ mothers stayed at home taking care of the house and raising the children. It was not until we were in seventh and eighth grade where some mothers went back to the work force. When I was little, I did not comprehend how much work these mothers did, even more with an increase in children in the family. It was not until we were older and would find ourselves, from time to time, sitting with a friend’s mother for a soft drink or dessert that I would comprehend how much these mothers did for their family. Now the interesting thing I noticed about this generation was most of the women gave little thought about having a career. By career, I mean like a lawyer, event planner or sales. Granted it was a different time and that was the norm back then. Adding to it, I honestly do not remember hearing anything about daycare centers where children could be dropped off while the parents were both working. The usual method was to find a neighbor or relative to babysit while the parent ran out to work or do errands. WITH ONE NEW GENERATION, IT BECAME a whole different story regarding having and raising children. The things I have seen and heard from my peers in my generation, many of the households have both parents working. Those who can afford it, send their child to daycare; others create a unique schedule where they can bypass daycare by parents working different shifts. I know one family who did this and when their schedules conflicted, they had one of their parents watch the children. A few of my friends were lucky that their company gave them twelve weeks of maternity leave; other friends chose to quit work by the time of delivery and stay home with their baby. No matter what the option, from what I have seen it is not an easy thing to do. I admire each and everyone of them because to me it is a big undertaking to choose to have a child. And I know for some, it is a struggle just based on being a witness to the people in my circles. One friend, who was an avid reader, had to spend several years only reading children’s books. By the time she had some free time, she was too tired to read any of her books. Being a parent is certainly not an easy job and if you do not believe me, see what happens in this dark comedy horror film. FROM A THRIVING CAREER IN THE art world to becoming a stay-at-home mom, a woman begins to feel primal urges she has never felt before. With Any Adams (The Fighter, The Woman in the Window) as Mother, Scoot McNairy (Speak No Evil, Luckiest Girl Alive) as Husband, Jessica Harper (Phantom of the Paradise, Shock Treatment) as Norma, Zoe Chao (Downhill, The Afterparty-TV) as Jen, and Mary Holland (Senior Year, Happiest Season) as Miriam; this movie’s lifesaver was Amy Adams. For me, it was pretty much the only thing. I found the script weird, not knowing if it wanted to be a satire, dark comedy, or horror film; it just never committed fully to a genre. I could have gotten into the satire and dark comedy, but the whole feral thing was a dud for me. I did think the directing and pacing were good; however, when one is sitting and wondering if this is going to be a take on a Franz Kafka story or a Saturday Night Live skit, it caused me not to be 100% into the story. If this had been a babysitting job, I would have passed it up.
1 ¾ stars
Flash Movie Review: Senior Year
MAYBE I AM BIASED BUT FROM the people I have met, those that told me they had a wonderful time in high school were more than likely part of a clique or group. I am not saying that as a negative or positive; it is simply my findings. When someone is part of a group, they immediately have a social structure in place where they can find support, friendship, kinship, and a variety of other attributes. But if one is not part of a group, they could have a tougher go of it through their school years. Trust me, I should know. It was not until my junior year before I found a group of students that I would hang out and do things with, in and outside of school. Before you think I was a hermit or something when I started high school, I want to state I did have friends throughout my years in school; the only difference early on is none of us were part of a group. We did not participate in sports activities, let alone any other sanctioned groups of the school. I was on the school paper one year, but after that nothing else. PART OF THE REASON I DID not want to be part of a group/clique was due to the ones I did see when I started high school. There was a sport, a cheerleader, a druggie, and an academia (brainiac) group, along with a few others. The most lethal group to me was the “popular” group. Freshman year I saw two older girls get in a fight that was vicious. They were scratching, slapping, and ripping each other apart until a teacher came and broke them up. The reason I knew they were part of a popular clique was due to hearing a couple of junior students talking in the lunchroom. It turned me off from wanting to be part of a group. Also, my high school was one of the smaller ones in the city; maybe if it had offered more options of interest, I would have had a different mindset. It is easy for me to say this now, so many years later; but back then I always had an issue being part of a social pecking order, where one is supposed to look and act a certain way. I always gravitated to those who embraced their individuality. Maybe it would be easier to explain if I suggest you watch this comedic drama. AFTER BEING IN A COMA FOR 20 years since her high school senior year, a former cheerleader who was hoping to become the prom queen, wants to return and win her crown. With Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect franchise, Isn’t it Romantic) as Stephanie, Angourie Rice (The Nice Guys, The Beguiled) as young Stephanie, Mary Holland (Happiest Season, Keeping Company) as Martha, Sam Richardson (We’re the Millers, Hooking Up) as Seth and Zoe Chao (Downhill, Love Life-TV) as Tiffany; this movie’s saving grace was having Rebel Wilson as the lead. If you like her style of comedy, she gave it her best with the little the script provided her. Besides being predictable, there was only a couple of times where I chuckled at a scene. For the most part, the script tried to do too much and wound up doing little. There were scenes that were not believable, some that were touching, others that tried to be funny; yet all together they did not blend well with each other. At times, the musical numbers seemed to have been created because the writers did not know which way to go next. Overall, there is not much here to make the viewer want to go back and experience their high school years. There was an extra scene during the ending credits.
1 ¾ stars