Change Your Image
charlesalanpeck
Reviews
Rye Lane (2023)
A Modern Take on the Classic Romantic Comedy
Pop Culture Happy Hour (NPR) gave a strong endorsement on a recent podcast - and I couldn't agree more. It's a splendid throw-back to the old Doris Day and Rock Hudson type of movies - transformed some sixty years later (think West Side Story), focused on two young black couples enduring parallel breakups who meet cute. Replete with boat rides and motorcycle night rides, karaoke, art galleries and good eats. The pace is fast, the music is terrific, and the camera work makes it feel like you are along for the ride. The cast is well selected - especially the leads. This is a delightful retro vibe that is a real feel good affair.
A Little White Lie (2023)
Brilliant character portrayal
A Little White Lie might be the worst marketed movie and yet the best ratings sleeper since My Cousin Vinnie. IMBD currently has a score of 5.9 Why? The trailer and promotional materials list it as a zany romantic comedy. Director Michael Maren didn't make that movie; rather he turned Chris Belden's hilarious book Shriver - a campy case of mistaken identity and turned it into a brilliant portrayal of imposter syndrome and writers block. The production values are more in keeping with a low budget comedy - such as Caddyshack or Dodgeball - and the cast including Kate Hudson and Don Johnson (and their scripts) would be perfectly appropriate for a rom com. The giveaway is the sublime Michael Shannon. He was the top choice by Maren after the untimely death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. It's his movie. Conjuring an exquisite metamorphosis worthy of Kafka. From a janitor who doesn't read to a a suspect invitee at a literary conference to perhaps the real McCoy? Shriver published Goat Time - a singularity of brilliance a la JD. Salinger. 15 years later, he isn't sure about anything. Could he have possibly written it? Is he actually a writer? Yet the festival draws him out of his cocoon. Whether he is the real Shriver or not - I leave to you to find out. Watch this movie. But temper the obvious expectation for a light comedy. It may be the next Being There. And an aside - the marketing team has some serious explaining to do!