The holiday movie season is off and running, with the new Disney family offering “Encanto” and “House of Gucci,” starring Lada Gaga, hitting theaters.
We take a look at some of the choice offerings, including the dark Thanksgiving-themed watch “The Humans” and “A Boy Called Christmas,” a holiday tale whipped up by Netflix.
Here’s a roundup.
“House of Gucci”: The first 30 minutes of Ridley Scott’s messy epic depicting the fall of the Gucci fashion empire is tailor-made for its bigger-than-life cast, particularly Lady Gaga. The “A Star Is Born” actor owns the screen the instant she struts on in wearing a tight skirt and sporting a big ‘do while slinging around a cockamamie Italian accent. She goes way over the top, channeling a Jackie Collins heroine to portray Patrizia Reggiani, an Italian of meager means who gloms on to the dweeby but handsome Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver), an heir apparent to his family’s fashion dynasty if he can stop peeving off daddy (Jeremy Irons, seriously miscast). There’s a meet-cute scene between Patrizia and Maurizio that leads to a frenzied sex scene and thenb a meet-and-greet with kooky members of the fam. All good. Then it becomes a gasp-inducing mess with characters turning into jerks without any notice and scenes that border on the laughable. The dreary look of the film doesn’t help either. Al Pacino pops in to do his shtick as Maurizio’s uncle Aldo and he’s OK. The worst performance belongs to Jared Leto, unidentifiable as Aldo’s talentless son Paolo. Leto resorts to an Italian caricature that is offensive and stops the film in its tracks.
While some salacious details and intriguing characters emerge here, including Salma Hayek as a psychic chum that Patrizia leans on, “Gucci” just grows more muddled and uncertain about what it wants to be. Is it a trashy guilty pleasure? A cautionary tale about the dangers of greed and blind ambition? Who knows? By the time, it reaches its labored and inept finale, “House of Gucci” has long since succumbed to its hammy, disjointed family theatrics and clumsy tonal shifts. Gaga and Driver deserve better. This would have made such a better streaming series. As is, it’s an overstuffed turkey. Details: 1½ stars out of 4; in theaters Nov. 24.
“C’mon C’mon”: Berkeley native Mike Mills’ latest in a string of beloved family dramas is a metaphysical embrace. It’s about a radio journalist (Joaquin Phoenix, exposing his vulnerable side) tending to a precocious nephew (Woody Norman, in one of the best child performances you’ll ever see) while his sister (Gaby Hoffmann) travels to Oakland to care for the boy’s troubled dad (Scoot McNairy). After wringing out your handkerchief, you’ll want to call and make amends with someone in your life. It’s an ideal film for Thanksgiving, filled with sensitive observations on human connections and human frailties. Details: 4 stars; in theaters Nov. 24.
“The Humans”: Whereas “Gucci” flip-flops all over the melodramatic map, playwright Stephen Karam’s adaptation of his own Tony-winning drama keeps everything focused, steady and steely. Set entirely around one pressure-cooker of a Thanksgiving family dinner in a weathered, barely furnished Manhattan apartment, it dishes out extra helpings of family disharmony and dysfunction. Karam’s play/screenplay sets a claustrophobic, ominous tone that helps escalate tensions as the Blake family members (played to the hilt by Richard Jenkins, Jayne Houdyshell, Amy Schumer, June Sguibb) gather ‘round a meager table set by daughter Brigid (Beanie Feldstein) and her boyfriend Richard (Steven Yeun). As the night stretches on, we discover why these characters act in such strange ways. It’s hardly chipper, but it is beautifully scripted, sharply acted — notably by Houdyshell as the mom — and will remain stained on the brain as if it were red wine spilt on a white tablecloth. Details: 3½ stars; in theaters Nov. 24.
“The Unforgivable”: Sandra Bullock gives a tough-as-leather performance as Ruth, a woman just out of prison, in Nora Fingscheidt’s gritty character study/thriller. Adapted from a British limited series, “Unforgivable” doesn’t sugarcoat Ruth or her relentless search for a younger sister (Aisling Franciosi). “Unforgivable” is at its best when it shows how Ruth is struggling to get a foothold in a world that doesn’t want her in it. She works two jobs, gets beaten up and catches the unsavory interest of unsavory characters. A later plot development feels too contrived, but the performances both major and minor make up it. Impressive are Jon Bernthal as Ruth’s co-worker and Viola Davis and Vincent D’onofrio as the new homeowners where Ruth’s crime took place. Most of all, “Unforgivable” reminds us what a fine actor Bullock is. Details: 3 stars; opens Nov. 24 in select theaters; available Dec. 10 on Netflix.
“A Boy Called Christmas”: Holiday-themed films tend to be enjoyable and rote, and rather forgettable. Not so with director/co-writer Gil Kenan’s adaptation of Matt Haig’s novel of the same title. That’s because things get a bit Brothers Grimm in this origin story about Father Christmas. Newcomer Henry Lawfull brings a wide-eyed innocence to the role of young Nikolas, a lonely kid who journeys with Blitzen to find Elfhelm, the domain of elves and the spot his father (Michiel Huisman) is trying to pinpoint. “Christmas” might have too sharp of an edge for small kids, but Kenan’s film benefits from that, and gives Kristen Wiig a chance to get wicked and Maggie Smith to pop in to tell the story. Details: 3 stars; available Nov. 24 on Netflix.
“The First Wave”: There’s really no better time to see Matthew Heineman’s gripping, powerful documentary than this Thanksgiving season. The talented documentary-maker gained unprecedented access to film health-care workers at a New York City hospital during the first four months of the epidemic. He captures how emotionally overwhelming the pandemic was for these front-line workers and the toll it took on them. He follows the long journey of a physical therapist, as well as nurses and patients. But it is in the exhausted voice and presence of Dr. Nathahlie Douge when the film really hits home as she gives an anguished plea to an unmasked protester during a rally after George Floyd’s murder. Details: 3½ stars, now playing in select theaters.
“King Richard”: In this compelling, well-acted but conventionally told biopic about the unconventional dad of tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams, actor Will Smith makes another convincing bid to collect some acting trophies. He’s terrific in every scene of Reinaldo Marcus Green’s carefully detailed portrait of Richard Williams, the upstart Compton dad/coach who challenged the overt whiteness of the sport and confronted racism in the process. Smith’s performance — both physically and psychologically — is one of his best, if not the best. Turning in equally compelling performances are San Francisco native Aunjanue Ellis as his strong-willed wife and Jon Bernthal as tennis coach Rick Macci. Details: 3 stars; now in theaters and on HBO Max.
“The Feast”: If you’re concerned about overstuffing yourself during the holiday, this gory folk tale will curb your appetite. Director Lee Haven Jones’ Welsh folk horror parable is both moody and mad, and doesn’t just exist to gross us out. Roger Williams’ screenplay skewers the rich and illustrates how out-of-control greed tramples morals and desecrates the land. It’s set around a dinner party in the minimalist sterility of an influential family’s home. They’ve invited to their table a businessman with intentions to make more of a profit. But a person they hired to assist in the gathering has more on her mind than preparing a tasty meal. “The Feast ” is horror with a purpose and offers a real sense of how to make a genre picture. Details: 3 stars; now playing in select theaters and streaming on Amazon Prime, Google Play, Apple TV and Vudu.
Contact Randy Myers at [email protected].
source: https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/24/new-movies-heartwarming-cmon-cmon-over-the-top-gucci
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