Reviewing Two Movies On The Past And Future

 

October is fading away, but November will kick off Awards Season with much better movies. We're due to see the process of choosing a pope, an unusual musical, and some Russians trying to cancel a marriage (and not succeeding too well on that).

Some interesting movies have gotten lost in the shuffle, and this is my way of commenting on them. The first is My Old Ass with Aubrey Plaza and newcomer Maisy Stella. They technically play the same person, someone named Elliott. Maisy is the 18 year old version who's looking forward to leaving her cranberry farm in Ontario for adventures in Toronto. She'd especially would like to get away from her quirky family, including a brother who is Saoirse Ronan's number one fan.

Anyway, after drinking some very potent mushroom tea, she meets her 39 year old self, played by Plaza. Young Elliott is stunned, and the movie never explains how this happens. Plaza did play a woman who was up for some time travel in Safety Not Guaranteed. Maybe that character got separated from Mark Duplass and wound up in the past....where she gives birth to Elliott's mom. Maybe Future Elliott got a hold of another form of time travel and we have this meeting.

The point is, Future Elliott is careful not to mention too much of the future, but does tell Young Elliott to stay close to her family. BUT she should also avoid getting involved with anyone named Chad.
Both Elliotts do stay in contact for a while via cell, and Young Elliott does meet a guy named Chad played by Percy Hynes White.
Despite the fact Young Elliott is attracted to women, including a hot and heavy romance, she's drawn to Chad. He's a decent guy, actually, and a good mechanic. So what's the problem?

Well, Old Elliott is suddenly unreachable, so Young Elliott is on her own. That actually makes sense because Young Elliott might make the wrong choice and Earth blows up. Not here, though.
She's also thrown for a loop by some decisions her family makes. Her dad just says she shouldn't expect the future to be one thing.

Eventually, Old Elliott does come back, and finds out Young Elliott has made up her mind about Chad.
Old Elliott is not happy with that decision, but the reason is quite unexpected.
The final ten minutes actually makes the movie work as a coming-of-age flick. Old Elliott finally explains her Chad-a-phobia, and Young Elliott tells her future self what she'll do. The big moment is who meets both Elliotts and SEES THEM CLEARLY.  It's a moment that makes the film special.

Maisy and Aubrey are great together as both sides of the same woman, with te younger self wondering if the future knows what she's talking about. Aubrey's big scene at the end is very good, and Future Aubrey realizes trying to "correct" the past may not help her in 2045.

The movie is mainly off theater screens to make room for Halloween fare, but should be on Prime Video in November

Then, there's the origin story of Donald Trump, where he becomes The Apprentice. Sebastian Stan, who plays Trump and usually a Winter Soldier, said in EW that there is a little Trump in everyone. This is how the Trump we know came into being. The movie shows it's mainly due to notorious lawyer Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong. Seeing both notice each other is very chilling.

At the start, Trump may be VP of his dad's real estate firm, but it's mainly collecting the rent. That's an amusing sight to behold. Trump and Cohn do meet to try to find a way to make housing discrimination charges dropped. Donald does see how ruthless Cohn can be. Trump recoils from this, but not for long. 
From there, the movie shows the slow development of Trump through Cohn's advise and help. He also finds love from a model named Ivana (Maria Bakalova). Cohn isn't sure about this, but lets it happen. It also shows the collapse of Trump's brother Fred Jr,, and hints strongly Donald should have made more of an effort. As Donald becomes more of a success, he leaves people behind. That includes Cohn, who will lose a lot in influence and also his health.

The movie has some interesting comments about Trump seemingly skeptical of getting into politics, and showing ignorance about his health. It mentions his financial problems in passing, but more details about that would made it a stronger movie. 

Both Stan and Strong are just incredible as Trump and Cohn. They could have a good chance at the Oscar race, but they might be crowded out by many other actors who will impress over the holidays.  The fact that The Apprentice has been in very few screens is another factor. It might make a comeback when it hits the streamers, but we shall see. 

One more thing: I was surprised seven other people were there for the one showing the Cinemark Sierra Theater had. They stayed, and seemed to be interested in it. I suspect it will get its money back thanks to streaming over the holidays. there is one movie that will flatter the heck out of him, but it doesn't have a Winter Soldier

Coming of Age On Film

Lost among the big robots and superheroes that are part of every movie summer season are small films that express more about life that wrecking stuff.

This year, two movies looked at how two teenagers spent their summer: a boy who would rather be somewhere else, and a girl who wants to know what sex is before heading off to college.

The Way Way Back started its run a couple of weeks back after some positive buzz from critics. It has a good cast, and the writers of The Descendants, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, directed and wrote this film about a 14 year old kid named Duncan (Liam James) who heads to a summer home with his mom (Toni Collette) and her new boyfriend Trent (Steve Carrell) who is a bit of a jerk. Located next door to the house are Betty, a brassy divorcee and her two kids. It's not long before Duncan feels like a fifth wheel while the adults have fun. Trent is trying to bond with Duncan, but it's not going well, especially when he calls Duncan a "three" on a scale of ten.

Duncan decides to head to a nearby water park run by Owen (Sam Rockwell). He's also a jerk but a lovable one who sees something in Duncan. The summer becomes more bareable, especially when he gets to know Susannah (Annasophia Robb), Betty's daughter. Things take a dark turn when Trent does something that lowers his grade way below three.

James may be familiar to those who watched The Killing, and he does very well as a kid who trying to deal with a potential stepfather, and a summer love. Carrell is also good in a role that's much different than his nice-guy roles in previous movies. Janney also keeps things lively in her role as a mom who should know better.

On the other end of the spectrum is The To-Do List, about Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza), a grade-A

student from Boise who decides her summer project will be losing her virginity. That was after her friends take her to a wild party, and she gets one look at Rusty (Scott Porter), a very handsome guy.
The best thing about this movie is Plaza as the nerd who decides, to quote Spike Lee, she's gotta have it. Sure she's 29 (which surprises me, actually), but she's very funny as a brainy girl who approaches the "first time" from a clinical approach. She lists all the sexual acts she has to approach before the ultimate goal of Rusty. It's not long before she finds out real feelings are also part of the process, since she uses her study pal Cameron (Johnny Simmons) to perform some of them. As she did in Safety Not Guaranteed, she proves she's much more than April on Parts and Recreation.

In the meantime, she works as a lifeguard (and can rock a red, one-piece Speedo) at a local pool...where Rusty works. I did like her relationship with Willy (Bill Hader), the manager, especially when she finds out a big secret that could threaten his job.

Her relationship with her pals Fiona (Alia Shawkat, who has changed a LOT since her first season on Arrested Development) and Wendy (Sarah Steele) is also funny. It's amazing how much they think they know about sex, mainly from Penthouse or Cosmo.. It's too bad the movie does haven more scenes with Brandy's family. Sure, we know big sis Amber (Rachel Bilson) and her first time, but there should have been a couple more scenes with Connie Britton and Clark Gregg as her parents. Britton does do well in her scenes to prove she's racier than most wives. Gregg does get in some good scenes towards the end.

The movie also brings back the 90s very well, from VCRs to ancient video games. Andy Samberg is also a riot as a faux Eddie Vedder who helps Brandy check off something in her list.

The movie hasn't pleased everyone, maybe because it's a sex comedy with no nudity, but Plaza is the best reason to see the movie. Considering the film was made for one point five million bucks, and it's a chance to show female-centered teen sex romps can work, it's a good film, and may inspire more teen sex films from s girl's viewpoint.