I’ve attended a couple great shows at Just for Laughs in Toronto, featuring Lena Dunham and Miranda Sings. I’m a huge fan of Jenny Slate’s acting chops, so I was thrilled to see she was part of the lineup for this year’s festival.
Yesterday I went to see a conversation with Jenny Slate at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and it was amazing. I knew I was going to like the event as soon as she said, “film sets are a lot like camp.”
Between the popularity of Throwback Thursdays and the Timehop app, the appeal of nostalgia in the media is going strong. So when I found out Jenny Slate is starring in a new movie about a dysfunctional family set in 1995, I was sold. I loved watching her in Obvious Child and I was ready for more laughs from the Jewish comedian in Landline.
Personally, I find characters that work in advertising more likeable, but there’s no excuse for Ali (Abby Quin) and Dana’s (Jenny Slate) cheating dad (John Turturro). I don’t care if he’s a superstar at McCann Erickson. He’s a scumbag. Ali reveals his infidelity to Dana after finding her dad’s love letters to his mistress on a floppy disk labelled as Ali’s schoolwork. Their reactions then become the focal point of the movie.
As soon as I saw a transit ad for The Founder, I knew I had to see it and I was right. It was fantastic. The Founder, starring Michael Keaton, focuses on the early days of McDonald’s and explains how Ray Kroc transformed a burger shack in California into an international institution. This portrayal of Ray Kroc’s life deserves to be nominated for awards and win.
Ray met the brothers behind the original McDonald’s while selling mixers. He was impressed by their story and observed that their cooking process was like “choreographing a crazy burger ballet.” After learning about their speedy system for serving fast food, which they called a “symphony of efficiency,” he convinced them to open franchises under his leadership.
When iTunes featured Hello, My Name Is Doris as their movie of the week, I immediately removed it from my wish list and rented it. Now that the Gilmore Girls revival is behind us, I had a chance to sit down and enjoy watching the movie this weekend.
Leading lady Sally Field is believable as a kooky data entry clerk in an advertising agency. I’m all about watching movies and TV shows that portray the media industry! As soon as she meets John (Max Greenfield), the new art director, she falls in love with him despite their age difference. I can’t blame her. I mean, have you seen him?
Photo Source: Universal Pictures
Conner4Real loves Snapchat. He loves updating his fans on his surreal lifestyle and acting like everything is ok, even though it isn’t.
Recognizing how social media allows stars to control how fans perceive their lives, it’s entertaining to watch a mockumentary about what could actually go on behind the scenes. In this case, the footage is about Conner (Andy Samberg), a singer whose time in the spotlight is going to end unless he repairs his relationship with his childhood buddies. In real life, Conner’s former Style Boyz band mates Owen (Jorma Taccone) and Lawrence (Akiva Schaffer) make up the rest of The Lonely Island and they also co-produced and directed Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.