Year-end miscellany

A few loose ends to tidy up the past year, starting with Springsteen on Broadway (MC-87, NFX).  You might not be as old or as weepy as I have become, but I have to report that I watched and listened to much of Bruce’s solo concert (plus brief assist from Patty) with tears streaming down my face, tears of admiration and appreciation, tears of memory and joy.  Let’s be honest here, the Boss can fake sincerity, authenticity, and intimacy better than anyone, even on Broadway.  To know the guy is to love the guy, and he provided the soundtrack to large swatches of my life.  I don’t always like radically pared-down versions of anthemic songs, but once again the Boss does it better than anyone.  And he has melded his literate autobiography with a varied assortment of his iconic songs into a memorable evening with the man himself.

“Surreal” is not generally a term of approbation for me, but I confess to appreciating the surreal elements of Foxtrot (MC-90, Starz), an Israeli film by Samuel Maoz.  The film, nominally about two parents coming to terms with the death of their soldier son, has a parable-like quality, and a sort of “Appointment in Samarra” storyline.  In the first of three distinct parts, the mother (Sarah Adler) falls in a fit the minute she sees two soldiers appear at the door of the couple’s very stylish Tel Aviv apartment, and has to be sedated.  Alone, the architect father goes silent and nearly catatonic, in a brilliant performance by Lior Ashkenazi.  After a twist, the scene changes in the second part, to see the son “in the line of duty” at some remote desert outpost, where most of the comic surrealism comes in, presumably in coded satire on the whole Israeli military mission.  The third part finds us back in the upscale apartment with the parents, now in disarray, after some time has elapsed, and events we only learn at the very end of the film.  Maoz has a sharp wit and a bravura visual style, as well as genuine human empathy.  There’s plenty of the absurd in this film, but not in the filmmaking.

Andrew Bujalski is building an impressive independent filmography; after early mumblecore explorations of aimless twentysomethings looking for love and work, he has settled into the Austin TX milieu and developed a sociological interest in ordinary businesses and workplaces.  In Beeswax, Results, and now Support the Girls (MC-85, Hulu), we go inside small independent businesses to see what the inhabitants get into, in the way of love and work.  This time the workplace is a Hooters-style restaurant by a highway interchange, whose whole operation depends on the competent and empathetic manager played by Regina King, who embodies the spirit of the title.  The most bubbly of the girls is played by Haley Lu Richardson, in a role that could not be more of a contrast to her lead in the must-see Columbus, establishing her as a young actress to watch.  We follow one day of various mini-crises with deadpan humor, boisterous outbursts, and subtle attention to markers of class, race, and gender.  The film is understated in approach, but capacious in its concerns.

As a rule I don’t watch films about comic book superheroes, which means I don’t see most of the highest-grossing films these days, but I make an occasional exception when something genre-expanding comes along.  So as with Wonder Woman last year, in the name of diversity I made allowance for Black Panther (MC-88, NFX) and was pleased to do so.  Which raises the question – who will be the next Denzel?  Will it be the upstanding Chadwick Boseman, or the appealing but more dangerous Michael B. Jordan?  They face off here, for control of the African utopia Wakanda, and both come off winners, at least as action stars. Black women also get a fair shake in Wakanda, and in Ryan Coogler’s direction.  This is popular entertainment infused with a bit of soul, and all the better for it.

Chadwick Boseman plays another sort of black hero, but with a similarly upstanding character, in Marshall (MC-66, Show).  So add Thurgood Marshall to James Brown and Jackie Robinson in his pantheon of portrayals.  Unfortunately, the film takes a very early and very hackneyed approach to the career of the distinguished jurist, way before the Supreme Court, and even a decade before Brown v. Board of Education.  Here he is a young attorney assigned to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman, and forced to take on a semi-comic white partner in Josh Gad.  And it all makes for a standard-issue courtroom drama.

[Click through for more reviews, with special attention to documentaries]

Stand up for Netflix

[After an extended period of doubt about continuing Cinema Salon without the platform of film programming at the Clark, I’ve recommitted to film & tv commentary and developed a new voice, more as a self-portrait in cinema, rather than ex cathedra pronouncements on this and that.  In line with that change, I’m redesigning the website, as I make a series of posts that will bring me up to the moment.  Feel free to comment as I continue to tweak the design.]

Like other tech disrupters, Netflix is sometimes in bad odor these days, but here I look at one of their many innovations (among which is Roma, well deserving the Best Picture Oscar, with review soon to be posted):  they have become the dominant outlet for stand-up comedy.  I guess a taped solo act represents good bang for the producer’s buck, but also brings new audiences (and practitioners) to this performance art. 

Unquestionably, the most provocative and talked-about performance of the year was Hannah Gadsby: Nanette (NFX), which is funny for a while but then deadly serious, while remaining brilliant.  Hannah is a portly 40ish lesbian from as far Down Under as you can go (i.e. Tasmania), who mines humor from her liabilities in the usual way.  But then partway into her act, she swears off comedy as damaging to herself and others, and deconstructs the art of stand-up (and indeed art per se, as she uses her art history degree, instead of her personal quirks, as material).  This performance would have been powerful at any time, but it found its moment in the year of #MeToo.  I’m not going to give anything away, but only urge anyone who might be as brave as Hannah to listen to what she has to say.

The year’s other major breakout was Hasan Minhaj, with his outstanding stand-up act Homecoming King (NFX), which delves his personal history in the typical way (but with high energy, flashy stagecraft, and the unique perspective of a young Indian Muslim raised in California), and then his topical series Patriot Act (NFX).  With the latter, he follows in the footsteps, and maybe takes a step beyond, his fellow Daily Show alums Stephen Colbert, John Oliver, and Samantha Bee.  I recommend watching the stand-up act, and putting the series in regular rotation with the others, as a good way of keeping sane in an insane era.

Somewhat stranded on The Daily Show, Trevor Noah is much more natural and energetic, personal and personable, in his own stand-up performances, the most recent being the finely-honed Son of Patricia (NFX).  Along with his fascinating autobiographical material, he’s a terrific mimic in a Richard Pryor vein.

I consider myself a big fan of Tig Notaro (and lament the passing of One Mississippi), but have to report that her latest routine, Happy to Be Here (NFX), left me cold.

On the other hand, I’ve only lately come around to appreciation of Sarah Silverman, with her stand-up special A Speck of Dust (NFX) and her topical series I Love You, America (Hulu).

Another woman who has muscled her way into the male-dominated field of stand-up is Jen Kirkman, following the pattern of “working blue.”  I was eventually won over by her energy and physicality, and wound up chuckling my way through both I’m Going to Die Alone (And I Feel Fine) (NFX) and Just Keep Livin’? (NFX), though I shy away from recommending either outright.

A newcomer to look out for is Aparna Nancherla, who was featured on the best episode of The Stand-Ups (NFX).  Soft-spoken and smart, she’s putting her Amherst education to good use, making delightful humor out of depression, anxiety, and shyness. 

At the opposite end of the energy scale, one youngster worth a glance is Bo Burnham, whose excellent filmmaking debut with Eighth Grade led me to seek out his earlier stand-up performances, of which Make Happy (NFX) is the pick.

In my survey of this category, I also watched routines by Chelsea Perretti (NFX), John Mulaney (NFX), and W. Kamau Bell (NFX), none of which proved memorable or recommendable, though pleasant and amusing enough to occupy an idle hour.

One known quantity that I didn’t really know at all was Dave Chappelle.  He’s recently had four routines taped by Netflix in four different cities.  I watched two of them – from Austin and LA – in “Collection 1” (NFX).  He was as provocative, if not downright filthy, as I expected, but more expressive and trenchant.  Skilled and funny, as well as out there.  So outrageous you had to laugh at the audacity.  Given his up-from-the-’hood vibe, it came as a surprise to learn that both his parents were college professors, but that explains the smarts on display.

Late-breaking postscript:  I don’t know if it’s true that “Everybody Loves Raymond,” since I never watched that show, but I certainly loved Ray Romano’s follow up, Men of a Certain Age, so when Netflix released his first stand-up routine in 23 years, Right Here Around the Corner (NFX), I tuned in immediately and treated myself to a lot of laughs.  Without adjudicating precedence, in this special Ray literally follows in the footsteps of Louis C.K., through the streets of Greenwich Village and down into the Comedy Cellar, and winds up with a slice of pizza.  That Ray has his wife and four grown (or growing) children with him for pizza is indicative of his difference from the other guy, kinder and gentler, though still personal and provocative.  I guess I love Raymond after all.