Review: The Deb

Much like weddings, debutante (or "deb") balls provide a rock solid structure for a film that wants to build up to a big finish. There's plenty to organise, people are under stress, there's the whole "find a date" angle, and the big night is an explosion of fancy outfits and dodgy dancing. So why not base a musical on the whole thing? Why not indeed.

When a feminist protest at her elite private school goes wrong - well, it doesn't go wrong exactly, it's just unclear how flashing the entire school was meant to achieve anything - the aggressively outspoken culture warrior Maeve Barker (Charlotte MacInnes) is sent out west to hide out with her country cousin Taylah Simpkins (Natalie Abbott) and her father Rick (Shane Jacobson) in the drought-stricken town of Dunburn.

Taylah is at the low end of the town's social ladder, constantly pranked by a trio of mean girls led by Annabelle (Stevie Jean), daughter of the town's beautician, Janette (Rebel Wilson, who also directs). Taylah's dreams of a date to the upcoming Deb ball have been dashed yet again; maybe her cool cousin will be able to help her out?

Maeve finds the whole thing a retrograde disaster with a big slice of sexism on top; the only way she can stand to be around any of the locals is by starting a podcast designed to mock and expose their backwards ways. This, of course, will not come back to bite her on the arse when she eventually warms to her cousin and her plight.

Based on a 2022 stage musical by Hannah Reilly and Meg Washington (Reilly also wrote the screenplay), parts of this are a reminder of just how quickly culture moves these days; the opening musical number 'FML' features bitchy teens with minor complaints about their pampered lives (never goes out of style) with what's best described as weaponised performative wokeness (which now feels very much like a 2022 thing).

The film is on steadier, if somewhat more well-trod, ground once it gets to the country. Reilly seems aware that audiences have seen this kind of thing before, and the story rushes through a number of familiar twists and turns (plus a few new ones) in a way that can feel a little breathless at times. 

Then again, there's a bunch of songs to fit in, and the numerous numbers are consistently catchy. Abbott and MacInnes are charismatic stand-outs both musically and as actors, keeping their characters relatable despite the occasional whiplash change in standing or situation. The tone is camp, except when it's not, and at times it's a little tricky to separate the comedy from the moments we're meant to care about.

Rebel Wilson is also in this, so you know what to expect there. Whatever comedic flair she displayed a decade or so ago has largely faded; even as the main antagonist she's miscast. Her directing (this is her debut behind the movie camera) is competent at best, and that's mostly during the musical numbers where the choreography is doing the hard work.

Dunburn is largely populated by stock stereotypes animated by ham-fisted performances (the local cop is played by Sam Simmons, which should give you an idea of what's being served up), which become even more jarring when things take a turn for the serious towards the end - so much so that a comedy cameo from the late Julian McMahon, while funny in isolation, simply doesn't work. 

High energy is always welcome in a comedy musical, but at times this feels like a film of two parts: the songs, the leads and a sweet subplot involving Rick make this an entertaining romp with heart, while Wilson and much of the supporting cast are going for the kind of broad strokes that often distinguishes Australian big screen comedy.  

Well, maybe "distinguishes" isn't quite the right word. 

- Anthony Morris 

Review: The Drama

Much of the early discussion around The Drama has been focused on spoiler culture. The film's plot involves a revelation around twenty minutes in that critics have been asked not to mention - so don't go looking for it here. 

That said, if critics hadn't been warned ahead of time, it's unlikely anyone would have considered it a spoiler. It's basically just what the movie is about, like trying to hide the fact that Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far, far away. What can be said at this stage is this: couple Charlie (Robert Patterson) and Emma (Zendaya) are hurtling towards their looming wedding when one of them reveals something that turns everything on its head.

It's the nature of what's revealed that's the big secret, which is a bit weird because as far as shocking revelations go it doesn't quite work. It's like writer / director Kristoffer Borgli tried to think of the most inflammatory thing he could (for a US audience at least) that was also politically neutral - it's something nobody on either side of that divided nation can support.

The thing is, the character (okay, its Emma) didn't actually go through with it, and it's fairly easy to imagine anyone hearing about it (it's revealed during a drunken session of "what's the worst thing you've ever done") just thinking that yeah, teens do tend to get a bit excessive, let's move on. 

For the story to properly hang together, this reveal needs to be earth-shattering and basically unforgivable, the kind of thing that would change how you see someone forever. Instead, the revelation is a bit wobbly, something that needs to be sold to us over and over rather than hitting like a hammer. 

Fortunately, much of this burden falls on Patterson, who is basically playing a Hugh Grant character from the 1990s. It's extremely plausible that he would obsess over even a minor revelation, so his gradual but growing commitment to the worst possible decisions - which drives a lot of the comedy here - works well.

He's not the only one obsessed, though Emma is largely focused on dredging up her past. Neither of them are in the right headspace heading into a big fancy wedding, and their constant stumbles over many of the decisions required only add to the growing sense of doom.

There's a long tradition of films where the selling point is the walk back to the car afterwards where couples get to ask "what would you do if that happened to us?". The question is as important as the resolution, and on that level, this succeeds - which again, is probably why critics have been asked not to reveal that side of things.

Aside from that, what's left? The romance is deftly established then slowly demolished, helped along by two likable (for the most part) performances. Weddings always make for great drama, and this takes full advantage. 

As cringe comedies go, this isn't all that cringe-worthy. The big laughs come from comedy juxtapositions and oblivious outsiders; Charlie's slow-motion car-crash approach to messing things up never quite hits the high notes. 

That's possibly because it's all in character for him: the movie begins with him retelling the story of how they met-cute, only it's based on him lying about having read a book then telling that lie into Emma's deaf ear, giving him a chance to get out but instead he doubles down (and later on, doubles down again). 

This is just how he rolls, and Emma loves him anyway. A feel good - or at least, not an aggressively feel-bad - ending is all but guaranteed, no matter how badly things go wrong. How badly, you ask? When it comes to the central dilemma, it's safe to reveal this: it involves a gun.

- Anthony Morris 

 

 

Review: They Will Kill You

The cheap joke currently doing the rounds is that They Will Kill You and Ready or Not 2 (out last week) are pretty much the same movie. And yeah, the basics - young woman is trapped in a deadly location by murderous wealthy Satanists and has to fight her way out while repairing her relationship with her estranged sister - are somewhat similar. Is there enough of a difference in their approaches to set them apart? Let's break it down.

They're both as much horror as action, but the angle of attack here is closer to a cartoony Sam Raimi-esque take than Ready or Not 2's slightly more grounded approach. Occasionally this will take the time to break out a memorable image, comic-book-style; likewise, the fondness for pulling back to show a tunnel crawl or corridor fight from an impossible angle gives this a nice visual flair.

The action (as with Ready or Not 2) does suffer a bit from the current Hollywood trend where the action is a big part of the story while never really being all that different from the action in any other story. It's very well done here, and there is the occasional moment of visual flair, but even when it's trying to be gritty it's really just people running through a set of poses - which can be impressive, but ever since John Wick made this style the mainstream we're all very much used to it.

Where this does step up is in the gore side of things. The twist here is that the rich Satanists have been granted immortality by their dark master, which means whatever you do to them - cut off limbs, blow off heads - it just grows back. Also, the severed parts have the ability to keep on keeping on, which comes in handy (as it were). 

Zazie Beetz (as Asia Reeves) does an excellent job in the lead, so much so that the film feels built around her - her mix of exasperation and annoyance perfectly suits the over-the-top nature of the challenges she faces, while the occasional moment of more realistic emotion comes off well. She also does a good job of selling the fight scenes, which definitely doesn't hurt.

Lilith (Patrica Arquette) leads the forces of darkness with a wandering Irish accent that makes sense for the character but is still a little distracting, while Sharon (Heather Graham) is the standout amongst the expendable rich - she's the only one that seems like a plausible person, the rest are basically little more than unkillable goons.

At just over 90 minutes this isn't messing around, and there's enough variety to the action to keep things exciting even when an individual scene doesn't quite land. There's even a few well-thought-out twists in the big climax to make sure everything ends in a satisfying fashion without having to break the previously-established rules.

There's definitely room enough in cinemas for two movies about stressed-out arse-kickers taking down the Satanic rich - just maybe next time, don't release the two of them only one week apart.

- Anthony Morris 

 

Review: Ready or Not 2: Here I Come

The original Ready Or Not way back in 2019 was a comedy-horror twist on final girl tropes, the latest in an off-on line of movies where rich people hunted the poor because it was fun and they were evil. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come arrives at a time when killing the rich (on screen) is more popular than ever; good thing we know the hunted pretty much always become the hunter.

Kicking off roughly one second after the end of the previous film, we see Grace (Samara Weaving) stagger out of a burning mansion in a blood-soaked wedding dress then promptly collapse, leading to a lot of unanswered questions at the local hospital. Seems like she's in a lot of trouble, even before her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) shows up for some spiky banter.

But while the police are getting heavy, the real threat is getting ready to strike. Seems surviving her wedding has triggered an upheaval in the world of the Satanic Elite, and now the whole "ruling the world" thing is in play. 

Chester Danforth (David Cronenberg), the previous title holder, is too feeble to defend his title, so it's up to his children, evil twins Titus (Shawn Hatosy) and Ursula (Sarah Michelle Gellar), to step up. But there's a bunch of other rivals eligible to take the crown (well, ring), and so the stage is set for a much bigger hunt in a much bigger location. But is bigger better when it comes to this kind of thing?

The story zips along and there's enough twists and turns to keep the "they're all trying to kill you" drama at least somewhat fresh. Faith's stand-alone charm doesn't add a whole lot to proceedings - anything that takes screen time away from Grace is a bad thing, as her stressed-out desperation is a large part of the appeal here - and the snarky banter drags a little, but eventually this finds a new gear to grind.

A stronger addition is Elijah Woods as Satan's smirking lawyer, the man with the big book who explains all the rules and loopholes. The kills are often entertaining, the hunters are a varied lot united by pretty much all being clueless dorks (they're often not even that good at murder), and the joke that displeasing Satan will make you explode in a shower of blood never gets old.

There's a bunch of fun scenes and strong performances (largely from Weaving and Wood), but the connecting material often feels flimsy. Still, going from not bad gags to okay banter to decent action to gory deaths and back again isn't the worst way to spend 100-odd minutes. If they do make a third film - hopscotch in a minefield perhaps - here's hoping Satan lifts his game.

- Anthony Morris 

Review: Cold Storage

Slime, goo, body horror, action, a bunch of jokes and some misfits rising to the occasion: Cold Storage is the kind of film that not everyone will like, but those that do will like it a lot. There isn't really a name for this particular niche - Tremors is the touchstone, but films like Slither carry the torch - but despite never really breaking out they keep on coming back. Seems the people who do like them are often film makers themselves.

When Skylab crashed in the late 70s, it spread a bunch of wreckage across Western Australia. A decade or three later a fungus on one of those chunks of debris came to life, ate a small town, and only the actions of a containment team led by Robert Quinn (Liam Neeson) kept it under control. Not all the team survived.

A small sample was kept, dumped in a top secret government vault, decades passed, privatisation happened, and today the vault is a cut-price storage warehouse. And the fungus left behind in a freezer is starting to wake up.

For minimum wage worker "Teacake" (Joe Keery), the night shift is just another chance to keep his head down. New hire Naomi (Georgina Williams) is a bit more proactive. Together they decide to investigate the weird beeping noise coming from the bowels of the facility. This would usually not be a good idea, but considering there's already a zombie cat outside, the faster they find out what's going on the faster they can start dealing with fungus-infected humans. Of which there are a steady stream.

There's a fair bit going on here: this isn't exactly deep, but it is wide. Suicidal old ladies, infected ex's, an extremely rag-tag bikie gang who arrive to buy dodgy 4K TV sets, and vomiting deer all push the story forward. And that's not counting the return of Quinn, who is still in the loop as far as the contents of the vault and is coming out of retirement to take care of things once and for all.

Adapted by David Koepp (most Jurassic Park movies, various other blockbusters) from his novel, and directed by UK TV stalwart Jonny Campbell, this is a polished product (despite all the slime) that keeps throwing new ingredients into the mix. Not all of them are first class - Teacake and Naomi are likable enough, but there's probably an excess of backstory with both of them - but there's enough going on that the more time-worn elements don't drag the whole thing down.

Which is to say, while this is a zombie movie of sorts, it doesn't belabor the gory point. There's also a bunch of weird animals, living bad guys, and "don't get it on you!" sequences that keep things fresh, plus Neeson is off in basically another movie for a large chunk of the run time which doesn't hurt. Just don't ask too many questions about exactly how the fungus is meant to spread (does it have spores or what?)

Cold Storage might feel a little reheated at times, but there's enough flavour left in the many ingredients to create a tasty snack. Well, apart from all the vomiting.

- Anthony Morris 

Review: Project Hail Mary

So Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship with no idea of who he is or why he's there. The rest of the crew are dead, and the ship is almost at the Tau Ceti system, eleven light years from Earth. Sure, he's stressed out, but don't worry; as indicated by his cry of "am I smart?" after automatically figuring something out, Project Hail Mary is all about entertainment, not angst.

Which is a little surprising considering Grace soon figures out (and remembers - as the present day story progresses, lengthy flashbacks fill in his past) that he's part of a last ditch mission to save Earth's sun from being eaten by space microbes. As this is based on an novel by Andy Weir (The Martian), this somewhat shaky idea is basically an excuse to throw around some real science, but again, no need to worry; despite literally every character in the movie being a genius, the explanations are kept down to earth.

Before, Grace was a massively overqualified high school science teacher who was roped into a project by the world's scientists - led by Eva Stratt (Sandra Muller) - to figure out what was going on. Now he's at Tau Ceti, the only infected star system where the sun isn't slowly going out. He's there to find answers. And he's not the only one.

Also alone in his spaceship is an alien eventually dubbed Rocky (James Ortiz) - it seems it's a little difficult keeping a full crew alive in outer space. A spider-like creature that's basically a hand made out of rocks, Rocky is a skilled engineer, and once Grace figures out a way for them to communicate we've got something of a buddy comedy in space complete with wacky bickering. Oh yeah, and saving two separate worlds.

At its core, this isn't any smarter than any number of big dumb Hollywood blockbusters. What makes it seem like it is, on the surface at least, is a few offbeat choices here and there. The threat to the sun isn't an alien invasion, and the response doesn't involve blowing something up; Rocky is alien in form and abilities, even if his (his?) personality turns out to be pretty standard sidekick material.

Likewise, by downplaying the drama - the big emotional reveal of the story is totally undercut by both the film's structure and the way nobody actually seems to care about it - this takes on a tone of "we're above all that". This would like to be seen as an intellectual thriller, even if the content is firmly down the crowd-pleasing end of the scale.

Where The Martian was relatively low stakes (one man, live or die) and the threat here is of a new ice age and half the world's population dying in a few decades, The Martian also had a ticking clock that was constantly ratcheted up; one mistake and it was all over. Here, the tension is nearly non-existent: scenes are leisurely, time stretches or contracts as needed (numerous scenes take place over days or weeks) and with such a limited cast nobody is expendable.

What this does have in spades is problem solving, and as with The Martian that turns out to be enough. Seeing likable people (and aliens) working together to figure stuff out is solid entertainment, and this mixes in enough variety - the flashbacks are also about problem solving but of a different kind, while being in space does prove to occasionally be both exciting and hazardous - to keep the two and a half hour run time flowing freely.

Gosling's role here is largely to deploy charisma as a character who's main setting is "flustered", while Rocky is endearing enough for there to be some actual tension when his life is at risk. Despite being a two-hander (Grace and Eva in the past, Grace and Rocky in the present), this feels epic enough to be a satisfying big screen experience, all the while making sure the story stays focused on human-level concerns like working together and making friends. 

It's a heart-warming, optimistic vision of the future - based on global cooperation and taking firm action on a looming climate disaster. So sadly, despite the science and the spaceships, this is a fantasy through-and-through.

- Anthony Morris 

Review: The Bride!

Assembling a Frankenstein movie out of bits of other movies is on point as far as approach goes, but it does leave you with one problem: how do you get audiences to buy in to a film that constantly threatens to become little more than a list of references to other films? 

In the case of The Bride!, writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal solves the problem two ways. The first involves throwing a lot of things at the audience: this is a mash-up of multiple genres featuring a large cast who all have more going on than it seems, plus there's a number of shoot-outs and hostage situations with a couple of dance numbers thrown in. If you're after a wild ride, look no further.

The second is the cast. Jessie Buckley is an actor with pretty much only one gear and that's flat-out, so given the chance to play a 1930s gangster's moll who gets possessed by the spirit of Mary "I wrote Frankenstein and I have another story to tell" Shelly before being killed, dug up, brought back to life and then struggling to figure out where to go from there? We're back to "wild ride" territory.

Alongside her for much of the film is Frankenstein (Christian Bale) - forget all that "technically he's the monster" stuff, he took his father's name. He's turned up in 1930s Chicago on the doorstep of Dr. Euphronius (Annette Benning), to find himself a mate: crushed by loneliness and knowing that the good Doctor is basically a mad scientist, this is his last roll of the dice to find love.

Frank (as everyone calls him) is a cultured, gentle fellow, aside from the occasional crushing of skulls, and Bale's performance is easily the most human thing here. For an unholy monster, he grounds the events in something human and believable: a decent man who loves a woman, and gives her the space to figure out if she loves him in return.

He's also obsessed with Hollywood musicals, especially those featuring Ronnie Reed (Jake Gyllenhaal). Which is why he spends a lot of time hanging out in cinemas - so much so that when Frank and The Bride go on the run after a lethal altercation at a jazz / sex club, detective Jake Wiles (Peter Sarsgaard) and his deputy / secretary (who's the brains of the outfit) Myrna Mallow (Penelope Cruz) figure they can track them down by hitting the cinemas showing Reed movies.

By this stage the references are piling up (there's even a wave of Bride copycats), though thankfully this isn't a film that takes itself too seriously. At one point a mob of New York movie-goers somehow find flaming torches to help in their monster-hunt; Frank's obsession with musicals leads him to fantasise himself in top hat and tails singing "Putting on the Ritz", which got a big laugh in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein back in the 70s.

Buckley's Bride is at the center of this swirling malestrom, but she doesn't quite hold it together. For much of the film the character is flailing about trying to find herself, too busy running to find any obstacles she can push against, while Frank is too decent a guy to be the enemy this feminist take could use to define itself - even if he does have a very rom-com style secret that could tear the young (well, they're not getting any older) lovers apart. 

But while this never stitches itself together into a satisfying creation, the many parts are entertaining enough on their own to make this a thrilling, if occasionally frustrating, experience. You may not love the whole, but there'll be parts you take to heart. Isn't that the way love goes?

- Anthony Morris