Tag: PrimeVideo

Oh. What. Fun.

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Every year at Christmas, Claire (Michelle Pfeiffer) goes out of her way to make it a special time for her family. Her husband Nick (Denis Leary) is clueless and spends most of his time in his garage. Claire’s eldest daughter Channing (Felicity Jones) thinks she’s better than everyone because she’s writing novels now while Channing’s husband Doug (Jason Schwartzman) is never taken seriously. Middle daughter Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) shows up with a new girlfriend each Christmas and youngest son Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just been dumped. When her family actually forget about her, Claire packs a bag and sets off to find her own happiness.

The cast is absolutely stacked and that is a good enough reason to check this film out. In addition to the names mentioned above, there’s also Eva Longoria who stars as TV host and Claire’s hero Zazzy Tims, Danielle Brooks who portrays Morgan, a delivery driver who Claire meets shortly after she leaves her home and Maude Apatow is Mae-bell, the girl who breaks Sammy’s heart. Unfortunately many of these characters are kind of awful. They are mean, selfish and as a result do not have very many redeemable qualities. That made it hard to root for any of them. At times even I was yelling for Claire to just speak up and give her family a piece of her mind.

While the film was trying to stand out from others in its genre, it became evident that ideas had been borrowed from other, more well known titles. I saw snippets of Home Alone, The Family Stone and Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It wasn’t obvious or in your face at least, but it would have been nice for some more originality.

I did appreciate the message they were trying to get across. The fact that mothers (and fathers or really anybody else who finds themselves in a similar situation) give it their all over the holidays can be under appreciated. At the beginning, I really felt for Claire because her family clearly didn’t even seem to really know her. Over time, however, I felt like this stance was being repeated a bit too much and that took away its importance.

Overall, while I did like Oh. What. Fun for the most part, though it didn’t quite hit the mark. Part comedy, part drama, it was as if the film didn’t know what it wanted to be. It could have made more of an impact if it had leaned a bit more into the drama side of it, but the problem was solved rather quickly.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

The Threesome

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Connor Blake (Jonah Hauer-King) has had a crush on Olivia Capitano (Zoey Deutch) for ages. Aside from one night where they hooked up, she’s only ever seen him as a friend. When Jenny Brooks (Ruby Cruz) is stood up at the bar where Olivia works, the three strike up a conversation. One thing leads to another and the three engage in a night of passion. It all comes crashing down around Connor when he discovers that both girls are pregnant.

My initial reasoning for wanting to check the film out was its cast. I don’t understand why Deutch isn’t on my screen more because I have always liked her as an actress. Hauer-King has been popping up more and more lately and I can’t say that I’m mad about it. I was unfamiliar with Cruz, but she impressed me. I was just expecting a cute romcom of sorts and that wasn’t exactly what I ended up getting.

The relationship between these characters was the grounding force of the film. Their chemistry was palpable and I thought that the love triangle was fell thought out. I don’t blame those for thinking that the story would warrant more explicit material, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The threesome was just the launching pad of what was otherwise going to develop into something else.

Although this was pegged as a comedy, I don’t think that that is a very fair description. Sure there were some moments, particularly in the first act or two that had me giggling. As time went on, however, the tone shifted to something more dramatic. At the core, these people were thrown into an impossible dilemma that had me wondering how they were all going to get out of it. Understandably the characters changed as time went on, but I did not like the way in which Deutch’s character was taken; she was quite unlikable by the end. I also felt like the run time could have been cut short by about twenty minutes because it did drag a bit.

I had had high hopes from The Threesome, especially after hearing many positive things about it. While it did uniquely portray such a situation, I felt like it didn’t really know what it wanted to be at the end of the day. I also felt no satisfaction with the ending and as a result did not think it was very realistic.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

Maintenance Required

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Based on You’ve Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner, Maintenance Required follows Charlie (Madelaine Petsch), who runs the mechanic shop that she inherited from her father. Together with her best friends Kam (Katy O’Brian) and Izzy (Madison Bailey) the business has become a staple in their neighborhood. When a big time car dealership moves in across the street, Charlie’s business is threatened. What she doesn’t know is that her business rival Beau (Jacob Scipio) just so happens to be the person she’s been confiding to online for months.

I really wanted to like this film. Romcoms are always a good idea and the fact that this one was a remake of one of my all time favorites certainly peaked my interest. Unfortunately it all fell apart for me rather quickly and I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. It did have potential, but that potential just never really saw the light of day.

I have been a fan of Pestch’s since her Riverdale days (Cheryl Blossom was my spirit animal). Now that the show is over and done with, I have been looking forward to seeing what she would do next. While she’s already tossed her hat into the horror genre ring, I had not yet seen her do something more contemporary and I think it really suited her. The character of Charlie is one who is one hundred percent dedicated to her job. She’s so dedicated that she lets other parts of her life take a backseat. Although she had to make some difficult choices, she always stayed true to herself. I was not familiar with Scipio prior to this role and while I thought he and Pestch had decent enough chemistry, I did not like his character one bit. I know that was the point, but I wish we had seen more of a backstory to him to garner some sort of empathy.

What I did enjoy about the film was the friendship between Charlie, Kam and Izzy. You could tell that they had each others’ backs no matter what. The way that Kim and Izzy in particular would always show up for Charlie and help find ways to keep the business going was so sweet. Everyone deserves friends like them! Their scenes together really lit up the screen; that was the true love story.

Overall, Maintenance Required was not great. It had some flickers of promise, but it never came to fruition. It had some pretty big shoes to fill and yet it just fell short. There was a magical spark that I couldn’t help feel was missing and that just made watching it through difficult.

Rating: ♥️♥️

The Map That Leads To You

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Based on the book by Joseph Monninger, The Map That Leads To You follows Heather (Madelyn Cline) who has embarked on a European adventure with her best friends Amy (Madison Thompson) and Connie (Sofia Wylie). On a train to Barcelona, she meets Jack (KJ Apa) and there is an instant connection. Jack is a free spirited soul who is visiting the various places his grandfather wrote about in his journal. Heather has always had her life planned out so when Jack asks her to extend her trip and go with him she surprises herself and says yes.

Spanning across Amsterdam, Paris, Spain and Portugal, the audience is invited along for the adventure. I loved how we actually got to see these places (particularly the latter two) and had the chance to learn about their history and culture. It made the story so much more authentic and like we were right there with instead of watching somebody else’s story unfolding in front of you.

The casting choices for the film were spot on. The friendship between the three girls was real and genuine. They were proper ride or die who would do anything for each other. I mean, banging down the door of a guy your girl hooked up with because he stole her purse is pretty impressive. Even though they went their separate ways, they would still check in regularly with one another. It was refreshing that the friendship didn’t just disappear when the romantic aspect of the film came more into focus.

Cline and Apa had an easy going and natural chemistry. From the very first moment Heather and Jack meet on the train, sparks are flying and they don’t let up for one moment. Their characters were complete opposites and yet so similar at the same time. I liked how even though they had their hurdles, it wasn’t dealt with in the way that I thought it was going to be.

I truly wasn’t expecting The Map That Leads To You to be anything special. That being said, it left me feeling rather emotional and I even cried at the end. I don’t want to say too much, but it really came together in such a nice and hopeful way and because of that, I would definitely revisit it in the near future.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️♥️

Another Simple Favor

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Taking place five years after the events of the first film, Another Simple Favor reunites Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) for a new mystery. When Emily asks Stephanie to be her maid of honor, Stephanie reluctantly agrees. She’s whisked away to Capri for the celebrations, but when one of the guests is murdered, Stephanie starts to worry that she won’t make it home in one piece.

I was a big fan of the first film. It was quippy, smart and sexy and the cast were phenomenal. This may be the sequel that nobody asked for (I feel like everything was wrapped up well before), but I still found myself looking forward to revisiting this world.

Kendrick and Lively reprise their roles effortlessly. It was like no time had passed at all. They have such a playful and organic chemistry that I could literally watch them for hours. The hijinks that ensued this time around were even more insane and yet it somehow still worked. Another returning face was Henry Goulding’s Sean, Emily’s ex husband and Stephanie’s former paramour. Clearly struggling with what happened in the past, he’s turned to drink. While you can’t help but feel bad for him, he also has some of the best lines in the whole film. There are some new players this time around: Allison Janey is Emily’s offbeat aunt Linda, Alex Newell is Stephanie’s bubbly assistant Vicky and Michele Morrone is Emily’s new beau the elusive Dante Versano. They each fit in perfectly.

Some may say that there’s too much going on this time around. There’s more twists, more turns and not all of them make sense, but that’s okay. As long as you allow yourself to lean into it, I think it is much more enjoyable. There’s a lot of really fun callbacks to the original as well which I appreciated. I also need to give a shoutout to the outfits that were worn by the cast. Absolutely beautiful.

If it wasn’t for Paul Feig, I probably wouldn’t have even bothered with Another Simple Favor. At least having him at the helm meant that we’d be in safe hands. Set against the beautiful backdrop of Capri with brilliant lead performances by our two leading ladies and the over the top story it seemed like it could all fall apart. Luckily that was far from being the case.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️.5

Holland

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Nancy Vandergroot (Nicole Kidman) is a teacher and homemaker who lives in Holland, Michigan. Together with her husband Fred (Matthew Macfadyen) and her son Harry (Jude Hill), they seem to have the perfect life. But when Nancy starts to suspect that Fred has a secret, she joins forces with her colleague and friend Dave (Gael García Bernal) to find out what it is.

Director Mimi Cave splashed onto the scene with 2022’s Fresh which was a runaway hit. Many have wondered what she would do next though I suspect they weren’t thinking it would be this. From what I have seen so far, not many have been a fan of her sophomore outing, but I actually quite liked it!

We already know that I will watch anything that Kidman is in; she is one of the greatest actors of our time. Though this may not be one of her most iconic roles, the slightly awkward character of Nancy was fun to watch. The rest of the performances were well done too. Macfadyen’s Fred certainly gave off a mysterious air and Bernal, who harboured some secrets of his own, seemed to fit right in.

Though this didn’t take place in The Netherlands, there was enough to make me feel like I was right at home. The various tulip fields, the windmill and the Dutch songs and words that were spoken throughout were a trip. I honestly did not know there was a Holland in Michigan, but at least I do now.

The film was very slow burn. I can understand that for this reason alone it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But I couldn’t help but feel invested throughout. There was just something about it that gripped me from the beginning and while it may not have had the pay off I was hoping for, I still found it satisfying enough.

Overall Holland was an interesting film that blurred the lines between what is real and what is not. As the audience, you never really know if what is happening is in Nancy’s imagination, or if it’s real life. I liked that we could make up our own interpretation of the events that transpired and how we will never really have any answers. I felt like it worked for the story.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️

Picture This

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Prime Video’s latest romantic comedy offering comes in the form of Picture This. Pia (Simone Ashley) has always marched to the beat of her own drum despite her family’s wishes to settle down and find a husband. When she receives a prediction that true love will find her in five dates, they step up to the plate to play matchmaker. Their plans may be thwarted, however, when her ex Charlie (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) reappears.

Ashley soared to fame in Netflix’s Sex Education and Bridgerton. For her first leading role, I thought she did a commendable job. Her character stuck to her guns no matter what and always put her passion for photography first. I had no idea she could be funny either; her little quips and one liners combined with the physical aspects worked well. Fiennes Tiffin has come a long way since the After series. I’m glad that he’s putting himself forward for different roles and getting more out there.

Laxmi (Sindhu Vee), Mukul (Adil Ray) and Sonal (Anoushka Chada) make up Pia’s mother, father and sister. They were all perfectly casted. Everyone gelled well and it did feel like a proper family. I can’t forget Pia’s best friend Jay (Luke Fetherston). Seemingly the brother she never had, their scenes were so genuine.

While the chemistry between our two leads was cute, I can’t say that the film was really a romcom. The main focus was definitely on Pia and while I preferred that direction more, I do think it would be confusing to those expecting more swoon-worthy moments.

Picture This didn’t quite deliver on the romance aspect. Where it made up for was in the running theme of family. That was where the true heart of the film laid and that is where it excelled the most.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

You’re Cordially Invited

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Palmetto Island is one of the most idyllic locations to get married. When two weddings are booked on the same day, the rival families vow to make the most of it. But things get messy when father of the bride Jim (Will Ferrell) and sister of the other bride Margot (Reese Witherspoon) go head to head.

It’s hard to believe that this is the first time Ferrell and Witherspoon have teamed up in a film. While their characters were great individually, I have to say that I did not completely buy their romantic chemistry. If anything, I would have preferred for them to stay friends. I did enjoy watching their antics unfold on screen and them calling each other out had me laughing out loud.

The rest of the cast is stacked with some familiar names. Geraldine Viswanathan, who portrays Jim’s daughter Jenni, was brilliant. The father daughter relationship was a big selling point for me, even though it was borderline cringe on several occasions. Meredith Hagner was Neve, the other bride and sister of Margot, who was super bubbly and added an extra layer of comedy. Jack McBrayer played Leslie, the inn keeper who you couldn’t help but feel sorry for among the and Celia Weston was kinda scary and a little bitchy as Margot and Neve’s mother.

Though the film started off promisingly enough and with an interesting concept, it soon grew to be tired. The constant back and forth initially kept me enthralled. After a while it was repetition. The insults weren’t as funny and the hijinks were too far fetched. It also seemed liked the film didn’t really know what it wanted to be. The constant back and forth started to give me whiplash.

You’re Cordially Invited was better than I thought it was going to be. Unfortunately, I just don’t think it reached its full potential. It’s a pity because the cast were great and really seemed to give it their all. I just wish the story would have been more well rounded.

Rating: ♥️♥️.5

Jackpot!

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After another Great Depression, The Grand Lottery is introduced to help boost the economy again. The only catch is that if you kill the winner before sundown, you can legally claim their prize. Katie (Awkwafina) is new to LA when she unknowingly becomes the newest lottery winner. She ends up joining forces with an amateur jackpot protector named Noel (Jon Cena) who vows to help Katie make it to the end of the day.

There was so much wrong with this film, I don’t even know where to start. The one positive I can think of is the cast. Awkwafina and Cena develop an enjoyable friendship that I did like watching. Simu Liu, who portrays Louis Lewis, another protector and rival of Cena’s Noel, is another great addition and it was fun having him and Awkwafina reunited after Shang Chi. I mustn’t forget about Sean William Scott who starred in a feature film again after so long which was a welcome treat. While the script lets them down, it’s easy to tell that they are doing what they can with the material they were given.

Unfortunately it’s pretty much all downhill after that. While the storyline held promise, despite the fact that it’s not something we haven’t seen before, it wasn’t executed well at all. I would appreciated more background as to why this lottery made people so crazy that they wanted to kill the winner to claim the prize for themselves. The action sequences were almost cartoonish after a while and became less and less exciting to watch.

I also didn’t think the film was funny. A couple of the jokes made me chuckle, but most of them fell flat. Very rarely am I a fan of slapstick comedy so I should have realized I would find problems here. It just didn’t work and after a while it all just started to feel like more of the same.

Overall, Jackpot! was a huge waste of time. Aside from the cast who were trying their best, there really were no redeeming qualities. I’m surprised that Paul Feig directed this as I usually like this work. With its runtime coming in at almost two hours, I couldn’t wait until it was over.

Rating: ♥️

Space Cadet

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Tiffany “Rex” Simpson (Emma Roberts) is a party girl from Florida who works as a bartender. Once upon a time, she wanted to be an astronaut. When her best friend Nadine (Poppy Liu) tweaks her letter to NASA, against all odds, Rex is accepted into the program.

I’ve been a fan of Roberts for as long as I can remember. She takes on a lot of different types of roles and while they don’t win any awards, you can tell that she is having a fun time with it. Her friendship with Liu’s Nadine was one of the highlights for me – the way in which Nadine went to bat for Rex and pretty much committed fraud just so she could make her dreams come true shows that she is a true ride or die. In fact, the rest of the cast was pretty good too. From the camaraderie with the rest of her teammates in NASA (Kuhoo Verma, Desi Lydic, Yasha Jackson, Andrew Call and Josephine Huang) to Logan O’Leery (Tom Hopper) and Pam Proctor (Gabrielle Union) who ran the program, everyone gelled really well together.

One needs to suspend all disbelief while watching as there is no way that this could happen in real life. But at the core of an otherwise bonkers plot is a story of finding yourself and following your dreams. It reminded me a lot of Legally Blonde. Nobody believed Elle could go to Harvard just like everyone overlooked Rex at NASA. At the end of the day, they proved everyone wrong.

I honestly thought that Space Cadet was going to be awful. It came across as cringey and kind of childish, just what you would expect from a film on a streaming platform. What I got instead was something that actually really resonated with me as I’m sure it will with many others. It was also the perfect pick for the Fourth of July.

Rating: ♥️♥️♥️