Here are the films:
All About Eve (1950)
Dead Ringer (1964)
Jezebel (1938)
Here are the films:
Junior (1994)
Juno (2007)
Nine Months (1995)
Here are the films:
Christmas Vacation (1989)
Jingle All the Way (1996)
Saving Christmas (2014)
Pixar is one of those movie companies that always seems to get your attention in an ad.
“Oh, is that a Pixar movie?? Awesome! I’ll have to check that out.”
They can do that because their name is synonymous with quality and they have a proven track record of great films (Cars 2 aside). So, even though I wondered how the (admittedly funny) trailer for Inside Out could be stretched into a full length movie, I decided to see it anyway.
And I’m glad I did, as it’s one of the most complex and amazing animated films I’ve seen in a long time. It’s also one of Pixar’s best, which is saying quite a lot.
(I should also add that I was initially hesitant about this movie because the trailer reminded me of an animated version of a segment from Woody Allen’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask, and that seemed like a strange fit to me. But while there are some similarities, the overall tone and style of these two movies couldn’t be more different.)
The story revolves around a young girl named Riley who has just moved to San Francisco with her family. She’s going through all of the usual things young people go through (such as fitting in and finding yourself) but rather than a traditional narrative where we see and hear her the entire time, the story is told by characters representing her different emotions. It’s interesting what Pixar has done here because they’ve broken these emotions into five distinct categories: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust and Fear. This approach allows us to see the unique purpose of each emotion, and, much like mixing primary colors, their combinations can lead to wonderful discoveries. It can also cause quite a bit of trouble, and that is the crux of this story. These are her dreams, her personality, and this is her growing up. There is a lot of nuance to this microcosm inside Riley and it’s all quite unexpected and all quite remarkable.
Amy Poehler leads the group as the voice of Joy, while Bill Hader plays Fear (in perhaps the most clichéd character). Phyllis Smith adds some emotional complexity as Sadness and Mindy Kaling gives some spunk to Disgust (They’re both seemingly doing riffs on their Office characters). But it’s Lewis Black’s portrayal of Anger that stands out the most of these five. Seriously, can you imagine anyone else portraying angry rage in a more hilarious way? Yes, he may be playing himself, but who cares because he’s absolutely perfect and provides most of the film’s biggest laughs.
Still, my absolute favorite character here is Bing Bong. Richard Kind is able to inject so much life into this imaginary friend role and turn what could have been a silly, forgettable part into something so much more. The scene where he and Joy find themselves in the (literal) pit of forgotten memories is, perhaps, one of my favorite scenes in any Pixar movie and truly elevated the whole experience. In a sense, this scene made the movie for me.
Inside Out reminded me most of Monsters, Inc, combined with the emotional weight of Up (you know exactly which scene I’m talking about) and it’s no wonder: Pete Docter directed all three. I think he just has a way of getting to the bittersweet emotional core of life in a way that feels… real. That’s no small feat for a computer animated film.
So, go check it out but be prepared for all the feels. I can’t wait for whatever is next on Pixar’s plate, and how many movie companies can you say that about?
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Cast: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Stephen Root, Peter Gallagher, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Don Stark, Tyne Daly, Natasha Lyonne, Rich Sommer, Caroline Aaron
Director: Michael Showalter
Screenwriters: Laura Terruso, Michael Showalter
Rated: Not Yet Rated
Runtime: 95 min
Doris (Sally Field) is a 60-year-old woman who is learning to connect with others again after her mother passes away. She is eccentric, to the point of being a hipster to the younger crowd. She becomes obsessed with a man thirty years her junior, and desperately pursues him, with the help of her best friend’s granddaughter and a self-help seminar run by Peter Gallagher.
The movie lends itself to a completely different and unique role especially for Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Stephen Root, and Don Stark. I was taken aback by Doris’s level of eccentric quirkiness, so much so that I spent a few scenes with my hands over my eyes, squealing and squirming in my seat. It was odd to see Sally Field in a frilly and peculiar way, not as strong or demonstrative as I remember her in films like Forrest Gump, Steel Magnolias, Murphy’s Romance, and Mrs. Doubtfire. It was slightly unnerving, but still I had to watch. As much as I wasn’t in favor of Sally Field and Max Greenfield hooking up (probably because I can’t cope with the idea of M’Lynn and Schmidt being intimate), I rooted for Doris. Mostly, I rooted for Doris to have human companionship and interactions, to quit hoarding, to tell her brother and sister-in-law to shove it, and to be happy.
“Hello, My Name Is Doris” SXSW Clip | “The Ball” from Red Crown Productions on Vimeo.
The casting is incredible and greatly underrated. There are people in this film that I would have never dreamed of having cast:
Max Greenfield (New Girl, Veronica Mars, They Came Together)
Stephen Root (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Dodgeball, Office Space)
Peter Gallagher (Covert Affairs, The O.C., While You Were Sleeping)
Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs, Bridesmaids, Blended)
Don Stark (That ‘70s Show, John Carter, General Hospital)
Tyne Daly (Judging Amy, Cagney & Lacey)
Natasha Lyonne (Fresno, Orange Is the New Black, American Pie)
Rich Sommer (Mad Men, The Giant Mechanical Man, The Devil Wears Prada)
Caroline Aaron (21 Jump Street, House Arrest, Edward Scissorhands)
Even though there are quite a few purposefully awkward moments in the film, the movie really does give hope to people starting over again. It is never too late to start finding and rediscovering yourself.
Hello, My Name is Doris is not set for release at this time.
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I honestly hate spoilers, and feel like I’ve given up enough information as it is, but I have to say that this series is at the top of my watch-list. You may think that having a limited cast would get boring, but I haven’t been bored in these first four episodes.
Showrunner duo Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) shared during SXSW that it won’t get boring anytime soon. “Just when you think the show is headed one way, it goes another. So keep watching.” – Christopher Miller
At the center of this show is Will Forte, a man who has no fear (probably due to his decade-long success on SNL) and stashes an array of characters at his fingertips. Here’s a video I took during the “Creating the Shows We Like” panel at SXSW. I apologize for all the laughter, but he is hilarious, explaining the ending to his stage comedy routines, which was also his SNL audition. (Warning: NSFW)
In The Last Man on Earth, Will Forte plays Phil Miller. As the title suggests, he is the last man on earth, living in Tucson, Arizona, a year after some mysterious virus wiped out the earth’s population.
What makes this series so appealing is Phil Miller’s freedom to say and do virtually anything. He decorates his house with famous artwork and relics from museums around the country, shops for groceries in his underwear, breaks random objects in parking lots, fills a kiddie pool with margarita mix and drinks from it while laying in it – I can go on and on about Phil Miller’s shenanigans, but part of the fun is not knowing what he will do next. Just know that the sky is the limit, and by the end of each episode you will be at least a tad bit jealous of his many freedoms.
Phil Miller is a complex character to figure out. He has conversations with God: apologizing and repenting for his behavior, asking for a woman to come into his life, and engaging in small talk. At the same time, he appears to be apathetic and cynical, not that I can’t blame him. I probably would be too, if I was by myself for years or months on end with no sign of life in sight. He hits a breaking point where he tells God that he doesn’t need other people to survive.
“Hey, okay. I get it. Nobody’s coming! You’re not giving me anybody. Well guess what? I don’t even care! I don’t even need people! I can make it work on my own. Watch me! Watch me!
(Turns to his left) ‘Hey Phil, what’s up?’
(Turns to his right) ‘Oh I’m great Phil, how are you?’
(Turns back to his left) ‘Oh I’m doing great, thank you very much for asking.’
See, I’m already doing it!”
From that point on, Phil creates friends out of inanimate objects and he begins to spiral out of control. And just when he’s ready to end it all, he sees smoke off in the distance. Cue gasp.
The Last Man on Earth airs on Sundays at 9/8c on FOX.
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