The Gentlemen

First Hit: A few scenes were to fun watch, but as a film, it was poorly constructed.

I’ve never seen a Guy Ritchie film that I thought was constructed with thoughtfulness and skill. He either attempts to cover too much ground or is more inclined to use pop and dazzle to engage the audience.

In this film, he has to use narration throughout to create, set up, and deliver the story. He hides his inability to write a good screenplay by making the narration of his story part of the storyline his characters say to each other.

Specifically, watch most of the scenes between a dirt-digger detective and reporter Fletcher (Hugh Grant and Ray (Charlie Hunnam). Ray is the right-hand man and consigliere for Mickey Pearson (Matthew McConaughey), the weed lord of England. Because Fletcher is attempting to blackmail Mickey and Ray, he explains the whole story to the theater’s audience by reading the screenplay with Ray.

This is the main issue with this film. Having to rely on this narration to provide a lot of the movie’s context is troubling. However, I will say the way it is done here is better than having an unknown voice over-explanation.

The story as I saw it, was that Mickey wants to sell his vast marijuana growing and distribution empire to Matthew (Jeremy Strong). The reason for selling was unclear and unconvincing. Matthew is a wealthy eccentric Englishman who is intrigued with the possibility of buying this empire for $400M. However, it is a lot of money, and to drive the price down, Matthew engages “Dry Eye” (Henry Golding and a term used for Asians). Dry Eye makes an offer that Mickey scoffs at, but because the offer to sell to Matthew was supposed to be secret, Mickey is now on guard.

Then the story adds complexity because we learn that Matthew and Dry Eye are working some sort of side deal to assist each other in reducing the price, but each plans to screw the other as well.

Adding to this is Fletcher, who, through his detective work, documents all the goings-on between all the parties, which led to the script he reads from. His hopes are to sell the screenplay to Mickey and Ray for $20M so that Mickey and Ray will know all the subversive planning that is going on to drive the price down.

The most fun part of the film is when we have scenes with Coach (Colin Farrell). His group of boys is caught raising havoc in one of Mickey’s underground farms, so he owes Mickey and Ray. The payback to Ray and Mickey are amusing and fun to watch.

Confused? One could be, but this convoluted story is kept on track by the narration scenes. This saves the film from being a total disaster and it also makes it a poorly constructed film.

Anyway, there are lots of side plots and stories in this movie, including Mickey’s wife, Rosalind Pearson (Michelle Dockery). She’s supposed to be the most magnificent woman in the world, but it is only in the eyes of the beholder. There is the newspaper owner who hired Fletcher. There is Lord George (Tom Wu), head dragon, heroin distributor who crosses Mickey.

The movie has lots of twists that are used for creating interest and complexity, and in some cases, it works, but mostly it doesn’t.

McConaughey's role in this makes me wonder. At times he selects fantastic parts like in film Dallas Buyer’s Club and other times, he chooses roles like this one. He does it well enough, but it’s really a role of false, blustery, and cool-man behavior. Hunnam is outstanding as Ray, Mickey’s right-hand man. Grant is oddly compelling as a bad guy. I’ve not seen him recently, and seeing him here was fun. Farrell is brilliant as the Coach of a group of guys and honest to his word. Actually, I liked his character and role the best of all. Dockery is okay as Mickey’s wife and auto builder entrepreneur. Strong is mediocre as the wealthy and odd Englishman who wants to buy Mickey’s empire. Golding is formidable as Dry Eye, a youngish Asian who wants to make his mark. Wu was perfect as the wry old heroin distributor. Ritchie wrote and directed this film, and as I’ve indicated, Guy has little to offer in the realm of filmmaking and his background in music videos is where his talent may lay.

Overall:  Although entertaining at times, being so convoluted the required narration means the story and film needs additional work.

Last Christmas

First Hit: It started off on the silly side, and by the end, I was very touched by this heartfelt story.

I’d seen the previews for this story and thought, oh, this could be a silly sort of way to spend an hour and a half. However, I’m glad I didn’t judge the movie by the preview. It has a beautiful and deeply touching message.

The story begins with watching a young Kate (Madison Ingoldsby as young Kate) being the lead singer in a Yugoslavian church choir. Her mother, Petra (Emma Thompson), Ivan her father (Boris Isakovic), and her sister Marta (young Marta played by Lucy Miller) are in the audience watching. There is a moment in this scene that plays out later with the sister Marta looking at another person in the choir.

Roll into the future, and the twenty-something years old Kate (Emilia Clarke) is living in London as is her whole family. Kate is working at a Christmas store that’s open year-round, owned by “Santa” (Michelle Yeoh), who loves Christmas and the magic it brings. Kate is her employee and dresses like an elf. We get that Kate isn’t a perfect employee but that Santa likes her for some reason.

Kate rushes out of the store to make singing and acting auditions but is usually late, rarely prepared, and seems to have lost her ability to sing as well. We soon get that Kate’s in a rut, which is compounded by her almost always homelessness. She’s often shown dragging around her roller suitcase. At times, when she needs a place to sleep, she picks up guys in bars, sleeps with them, but something invariably happens, and she’s back on the streets.

Her friends, like Jenna and Rufus (Ritu Arya and Ansu Kabia respectively), give her a room, but within two days, she’s messed this up, and they ask her to leave. She tries to reconcile with her family, but her mom is tough, and her father hides from her mom as much as possible. She and her sister Marta (Lydia Leonard) seem to be at each other’s throats, and there appears to be no love lost anywhere. The family dynamics are really screwed up.

All during these scenes, we are under the impression that Kate has no common sense, is flighty, and very ungrounded. Some would say unlucky. There is some hint that something happened to Kate about a year ago, but at this stage in the film, we are not privy to that part of the story. Did this event cause this ungrounded flighty nature?

One day Tom (Henry Golding) pops into her life one day and impresses upon her to take a walk with him. She declines, but on the second random meeting, they walk, and you can see his caring and compassion for others, including Kate. The chemistry is strong between them, and he just seems like a wonderfully lovely person who’s taken an interest in Kate. She wants to see him again and asks for his mobile number, but he says he doesn’t use it, and it’s kept in a kitchen cupboard at home, so giving Kate his name would be useless.

On one of the walks, Tom takes her to a homeless shelter. Thinking he’s trying to get her to stay there, she discovers differently; he volunteers his time at the shelter and says she could help as well. But as Tom is prone to do, Tom disappears for days at a time. No one seems to know where he is.

 Kate begins to sing outside the shelter, collecting money, hoping that Tom will pop-up again. Alas, he doesn’t, but just as she becomes even more despondent Tom shows up again.

One evening she tells him what happen to her a year ago and why she doesn’t feel like a whole person anymore. It is genuinely a sweet scene. He tells her that she can change her life by being open to others and by making kinder decisions. She’s not a victim and can change her life.

Tom’s influence has a positive effect on Kate. She starts to make amends with “Santa,” her mom, dad, and sister. She volunteers more at the homeless shelter and is more thoughtful. An example of this is early in the film we see her getting picked up at a bar from some guy using a standard line. Now, we see her in a bar, she gets the same pickup line from another bloke, and she makes a better decision.

A fun secondary story is about “Santa” trying to find companionship dates for herself. One day “Santa” meets “boy” (Peter Mygind), and how they engage with each other is so sweet and funny.  

I cannot delve into what happens to Kate that made her feel the way she does, nor how Tom is there to help her see the light, but the story is sweet, and the ending was fun and touching.

Clarke is a hoot and actually inspirational as the film moved along. She did a great job of making this character work. Golding was beautiful as the man who pops into Kate’s life to provide hope and inspiration. Yeoh is hilarious as the Christmas store owner who can see Kate’s sweet side. Mygind was excellent as “boy,” the man who brought joy to “Santa’s” life. Arya and Kabia are fantastic as Kate’s friends, who keep supporting and allowing her to get better. Thompson was oddly funny and entertaining in her role as Kate’s mother. Isakovic was terrific as the browbeaten husband of Petra and Kate’s father. Leonard was harsh in her role as Kate’s sister, with whom there were a lot of animosities. I didn’t think this part of the film was developed enough, and their conversations felt too jarring at times. Thompson and Bryony Kimmings wrote this screenplay in such a way that it didn’t telegraph the ending, and that was a good thing. Paul Feig got the feel of this story right.

Overall: After the end credits, I was surprised by how much I ended up liking this film.

A Simple Favor

First Hit: I enjoyed this quirky, twist filled, film.

Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) is a widowed mother of one young boy named Miles (Joshua Satine). His best friend at school is Nicky Nelson (Ian Ho) whose mother is Emily (Blake Lively) a high powered marketing person and his father is Sean Townsend (Henry Golding) a one novel writer.

Stephanie has a video blog which she dedicates, each filming to her deceased mother. Each vlog has useful household tips, cooking tips, or advice for dealing with the world. However, she’s got a secret.

One day she helps Emily out by watching her child and Emily doesn’t come back. This leads the film back a few weeks, into how Emily and Stephanie met, how they learned about each other, and how they became best friends. One of the secrets is that, although Emily and Sean work, they really cannot afford the house they are living in and they desperately need money.

This leads to a crazy plot that includes death, false identity, and Stephanie’s ability to sort-out and resolve pieces of the puzzle.

When it comes down to who knows what and who can better deliver the goods, Stephanie, Emily, and Sean have their own ways to settle the score.

The dialogue between Lively and Kendrick was funny, pointed and filled with sarcasm. There are plot holes, and things that don’t quite add-up, but from an entertainment value, this film was fun.

Kendrick was strong in this leading role. I believe this is the first film in which she was expected to carry the main work-load and she does it well. Lively was a hoot as this know-it-all, seen the world, been there done that kind of high powered marketing person. She clearly enjoyed the role. Golding was good as Blake’s hangdog husband. I never really got the connection that made it work for them, except that Lively’s character was so strong, he was under her spell. Jessica Sharzer wrote a pointed and rapid fire script which kept the movie moving along nicely. Paul Feig did a good job of keeping it both light and funny as well as dramatic with mystery.

Overall: I enjoyed the dynamics of the two women characters and how Kendrick used her analytical plodding way to uncover the truth.

Rich Crazy Asians

First Hit: There are some very funny bits in this revealing film about Crazy Rich Asians.

Having dated a number of Asian women, I’ve experienced some of the familial ties as represented in this film. The closeness, nepotism, and sacrifice in business and family situations is difficult to fully comprehend by an outsider. The cultural differences are part of this film’s attraction. Adding social and financial differences within the Asian community only adds to the insight and delight.

The film sets up the Young family as wealthy and ruthless in the first scene. It opens with a young Eleanor Young (Michelle Yeoh) entering a swanky hotel with her two young children (Nick and Astrid) and her mother. They have reservations for the biggest and best suite in the luxurious hotel. However, because they walked in wet from a pouring rain and the kids had muddy feet, the snooty desk staff felt they weren’t really the type of people they wanted in the hotel. Refusing them their reserved room, and suggesting a room in Chinatown, Eleanor calls her husband who immediately buys the hotel. Walking back into the lobby, the current owner pops out the elevator and tells the staff that the hotel is now owned by the Youngs. The now sufficiently humbled staff get them checked into the hotel immediately.

This is a wonderful setup to show racism, the power of money, and how family ties can make something work.

The film moves forward in time about 25 years and we meet Rachel Chu (Constance Wu), a gaming theory economics professor, teaching her class about confidence through a poker demonstration she had in class. Rachel was raised by her single mother Kerri (Kheng Hua Tan) who worked multiple jobs to sacrifice her life for her child’s education and wellbeing.

Rachel’s boyfriend is Nick Young (Henry Golding) who was the young boy in the opening hotel sequence and who went to school with Rachel and hasn’t told her about his family’s wealth which has now blossomed to be the wealthiest family in all of Asia.

Nick wants to bring Rachel home to meet his family while he serves as best man for his best friend’s wedding. The wedding is in his home country of Singapore. What makes this an easy decision for Rachel to join him is that her best friend from college, Peik Lin Goh (Awkwafina), lives in Singapore and Rachel will get to visit her.

Getting on the plane, Rachel expects to eat what her mother packed for snacks and sitt in the crowded economy section. However, Nick and her are ushered to a private first class room at the front of the plane and this is when he explains to Rachel his family is wealthy.

The rest of the film shows an overindulgence of rich Asian families. For instance, Peik, who comes from a wealthy family of her own, drives Rachel to the Young family compound in a Audi R8 sports car. Remaining outings in cars feature Bentley and Rolls Royce cars. The parties are over the top extravagant and beyond the means of 99% of the population, including the bachelor party where everyone is flown out to a huge container ship, tricked out as a huge disco, in helicopters. The maid of honor party is the take over of an entire island and it's resort facilities where they shop, get massages, and party.

The heart of the family rejection of Rachel is Nick's mom Eleanor who doesn’t think Rachel is good enough for her boy, although Eleanor’s mother Ah Ma (Lisa Lu) likes her and her “auspicious nose.” Many of Eleanor’s friends participate in the hating of Rachel, and that is only part of the problem. There are many girls in Singapore that want to be hooked up with the very eligible and rich Nick, so most of young girls despise Rachel as well and think she is just a gold digger.

With these plot devices, the story is filled with comic opportunities and the director takes advantage of this. The romantic part of the film is a test of Nick and Rachel’s love for each other along with Rachel’s ability to own her power.

Wu was wonderful as Rachel. She showed the right kind of strength of character to make this role work. Awkwafina was hilarious as Rachel’s best friend. I loved how she kept specific outfits in her car for all occasions. Golding was strong as Nick. He embodied humbleness and his position of wealth is an elegantly. Yeoh was outstanding as Nick’s protective mother. Some of her steely looks were perfect. A priceless scene was when she and Rachel played a round of Mahjong. The intensity and pointed dialogue was executed by both Wu and Yeoh was spot on. Tan was great as Rachel's mom. Lu was wonderful as the matriarch of the family. Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim wrote a poignant and culturally pointed screenplay. Jon M. Chu did a wonderful job of keeping the film both light hearted and well intentioned through all the scenes.

Overall: This somewhat tongue-in-cheek film has some great comedic and heartfelt moments.