Fighting with My Family

First Hit: Mildly entertaining and while it was a bit too predictable at times, there were effective moments of inspiration.

Back when TV wrestling got its real start as (Golden Age) the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) in the early 1950s there were outsized characters like “Gorgeous George.” The narcissistic persona he embraced both elevated the sport’s popularity, but it also created an over-exposure by the late 1950’s early 1960’s.

But as the NWA developed to become the WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) and shortened to WWF, its outsized characters regained its audience both in person and on television. Having to switch to WWE (Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment) because WWF was used by the World Wildlife Fund in 2001, WWE was global, and its ego and brawn based characters were known worldwide. “Hulk Hogan,” “Triple H,” “Stone Cold Steve Austin,” “Ric Flair,” and “The Rock” (Dwayne Johnson) who makes a couple of appearances in this film moved the WWE into the financial and popularity stratosphere.

This movie is based on the true story of Saraya “Paige” Bevis (Florence Pugh), who had her mind set on becoming a WWE wrestler. Coming from Norwich, England her chances were minimal. How she became a WWE wrestler is this film’s story.

She got started in this business because her father, Patrick “Rowdy Ricky Knight” Bevis (Nick Frost), and mother Julia “Sweet Saraya” Bevis (Lena Headley) started a wrestling business to put food on the table. It was either this or crime. Patrick was a thief, and robbing banks was his previous line of work and had already spent time in prison for this. However, he loved wrestling, and it was the life he took on to keep from robbing banks. Although “Paige’s” oldest brother was in jail, her next older brother Zak “Zodiac” Bevis (Jack Lowden) was also a wrestler and part of the family business.

Together the family had a company called WaW that taught younger people to wrestle in addition to putting on small matches throughout England. With pestering calls to WWE to help promote their business and Zak and Saraya, they finally get a call back from the WWE. Their representative for talent, Hutch Morgan (Vince Vaughn), contacts the family and ask that “Paige” and “Zodiac” come to tryouts in London at the O2 arena when WWE shows up to do a show there.

Only Paige gets chosen to continue the training, and the film follows her in this process. Immediately we see her struggle against other women who happen to be beautiful, sexy and physically healthy and capable. This was the one part of the film’s story I thought the filmmakers could have done more with. Each of the other girls was former models and cheerleaders, and they also needed to work and make money, and they were putting it all out there as well as “Paige.”

Of course, Zak is jealous that his sister got chosen while he didn’t, and therefore the film follows the jealousy track Zak has towards her sister’s success. But when “Paige” wants to quit, we find out how the family stands behind her, and “Paige” finds her strength.

This is a feel-good story of success and perseverance while also finding your place in the world.

The wrestling scenes were reasonably well done, and when “Paige” goes in the ring for the Diva championship, her world and dreams come together.

Pugh was excellent as “Paige.” I like her ability to show vulnerability as well as strength as she made this journey. Lowden was terrific as well. His jealousy was ideally placed as he wanted to be the star of the family but realized he was the star of what he gave to others. Frost and Headley were terrific as the parents of the wrestling family. Vaughn was fantastic as the talent manager and finder. His story about why Zak would fail as a WWE wrestler was wonderfully told. Johnson as himself (The Rock) was appropriately perfect. His personality leaps off the screen. Stephen Merchant wrote and directed this story with his eye on the ball. He kept it moving and did a great job of getting wonderful performances from the actors.

Overall: This isn’t a great film, but the heart shows up well on the screen.

Table 19

First Hit:  Poorly conceived, not funny, and poorly executed.

When a film isn’t clearly defined, and has no real point, the audience will struggle. When a film adds poor execution to a lack of direction it ought to be tabled.

There is so little about this film that works, I cannot imagine the producer seeing it for the first time in the screening room saying, I can’t wait to get this distributed. So why did someone put this in theaters? They may have been hoping that the stars who are in it would fill seats ($).

Briefly, Eloise (Anna Kendrick) has become the ex-maid of honor after being dumped via text from the bride’s brother Teddy (Wyatt Russell). The story tells us she had known the bride her whole life and she was shocked to find out that she was also dumped from the bridal party as maid of honor. I did like the scene where she kept checking both the regrets and acceptance boxes on the wedding invitation. In her own disgust at her behavior, she finally sets it on fire and then puts out the flames and sends the burnt invitation back to the bride Francie Millner (Rya Meyers). Arriving at the wedding, her seating assignment is Table 19 the table furthest from bride a groom. This is the table for outcasts, people who the bride and groom wished had sent their regrets.

When Eloise gets to the table, she finds Nanny Jo (June Squibb), Bina and Jerry Kepp (Lisa Kudrow and Craig Robinson) Renzo Eckberg (Tony Revolori), and Walter Thimple (Stephen Merchant). Eloise explains the entire room table setup because she did the seating chart and why the people she’s sitting with are not important to the wedding party. With this knowledge, the table leaves the wedding party and spends time outside learning more about each other.

There are several scenes when the camera is aimed at the wedding reception and wedding party and it is just wasted film. There is no reason for the camera pan and these scenes add no value to the story. There is a set of scenes when Eloise meets a handsome guy named Huck (Thomas Cocquerel) who dances with her, but the team at Table 19 find out later he’s the groom to a wedding just down the hall. There are several set-up scenes which could have evolved into a funny sub-plot or something interesting but they all failed.

The film tries to be funny and it has some wonderful actors who could have made it funny like Kendrick, Squib, Kudrow, Robinson, and Merchant, but most everything failed to be funny. The other side of the film wanted to be dramatic with the subplot of having Eloise pregnant with Teddy’s baby but it failed to gain traction.

Kendrick was as good as she could be with the material she had. I’d suggest that she do a better job of script selection. Squib was thoroughly underutilized and didn’t have an opportunity to share her comedic chops. Kudrow and Robinson as a couple failed. There was no chemistry and I could buy their story of how they got together. We know they both can be funny given good material but… alas. Merchant had a very odd role which if stretched could have been funny, but again the script and direction failed. Revolori was interesting as I couldn’t figure out why he was in the film. His character didn’t fit and the comedic scenes with him didn’t work. Walking up to a table and telling a young woman about the size of his penis didn’t work. Meyers was gracious in her minimal dramatic role. Russell was mediocre in his role. I know the role has him being a bit slow and not too bright, but it didn’t work. Jay and Mark Duplass wrote this strangely weak and poorly constructed screenplay that really had no real beginning, middle, or end. It just started at one level, ran for a couple hours and fizzled out all-together. Jeffery Blitz had no chance to make this film work because of the script, but it is important to note that his direction didn't help the film either.

Overall:  One of the worst films that will come out in 2017.

Logan

First Hit:  As a superhero movie, it's realistically dark and thoughtful.

Most superhero films are either tongue in cheek, lighthearted, go overboard on the superpower action, or all of these things. This film doesn’t do any of this. It is downright about the characters some who have superpower traits.

We have Logan (Hugh Jackman) as Wolverine who is aging, ill, and driving a limousine to make enough money for him and Caliban (Stephen Merchant) to take care of X-Men leader Charles (Patrick Stewart) who is dying. They are living out in the middle of nowhere and seem to be counting their days till they fade away and die. There haven’t been any new mutants born in the last 25 years and the clan is dying out.

However, a Dr. Rice (Richard E. Grant) has been experimenting with genetics on embryos and young children trying to create warriors/soldiers with superpower abilities. He's trying to create his own mutants. However, he's discovered that they have feelings and minds and cannot be controllable easily. He thinks he's got a way to make mutants that don't act on their own so he decides to kill all his previous experiments. Learning this, the young kids who are still alive, stage a revolt and escape.

Laura (Dafne Keen) is assisted by a nurse in the clinic and is in search of finding Logan because Laura has Logan's genetics and his wolverine superpower. The story is about how Logan helps Laura escape Pierce (Boyd Holbrook), Dr. Rice and a group of soldiers whose job is to kill all the remaining mutant children.

The effective parts of the story include strong acting by Jackman as a superhero whose both aging and slowly being poisoned by the adamantium (fictional metal alloy) that is imbedded in his body. The high-strung touchiness by which Logan and Caliban have towards each other while taking care of an ever-fragile Charles is indicative of their fading lives. The scenes are designed to breathe and nothing was rushed to show the strength of the mutant children, Laura, Charles, Logan, or Caliban. However, the ending fight was a little elongated and the men brought in to capture the mutants were too large an army to be believable.

From an acting point of view Jackman was perfect. It would be my guess that he’s probably glad to end his reign as Wolverine. He ends it with dignity which is a good thing because Marvel has let other characters in its stable get too far afield to enjoy or believe. Merchant was wonderful as Caliban with his ability to track and find. He made this role work. Stewart was wonderful and, like Jackman, is probably glad to have this role end because series like these can get too wildly convoluted. Grant was appropriately arrogant as Dr. Rice. Keen was mind-blowingly sublime. I loved her character and silence throughout the film until the end. She was totally believable. Holbrook as the soldier tasked with finding Laura was appropriately demonized. Scott Frank, James Mangold, and Michael Green wrote a very solid, strong and not overdone script. Characters could grow and develop which is rare in a superhero type film. Mangold did a wonderful job of directing this story and making it work.

Overall:  This was one of the best superhero mutant films on the books.

I Give It a Year

First Hit:  Laugh out loud funny in moments and a little overdone and mishandled in others.

Maybe there is a trend these days to portray therapists as dolts and in need of more therapy than their own clients, and this film does it as well.

The first few scenes with the therapist and then at wedding reception telegraph the ending a bit more than I liked. Nat (Rose Byrne) and Josh (Rafe Spall) have a torrid 7 months together and marry. Was this too early? That is the question the film attempts to answer.

Their friends and family “give it a year”. That their minister gags, coughs, and cannot get our “I now pronounce you man and wife”, also is a dead giveaway to the film's ending. Danny (Stephen Merchant) is one of Josh’s friends and his monologue scenes (wedding toast and during dinner conversations) are horribly distasteful and made me cringe.

That anyone would tolerate anyone with such poor taste and not be guided to alter their behavior was unreflective of any truth.

On the plus side, many of the scenes with Nat and Alec (Terence Harvey) were great and funny while scenes with Josh and Diana (Jane Asher) were touching and reflective.

Byrne is both beautiful and effective as a reserve, active, interesting, and a successful woman who is flustered by Alec from the moment they meet. Spall is strong as the husband who lives by the beat of a different drum from his wife. He isn’t very active, has an odd sense of humor, and is less sophisticated than his wife. Merchant is great at being a total disgusting jerk but I thought his character was really unnecessary in this film. Harvey is perfect as the guy who steals Nat’s heart. Asher is very good as the somewhat shy idealist who wants Josh to fight for her. Minnie Driver plays a friend of theirs and her scenes are wonderfully effective. It was good to see her again. Dan Mazer wrote and directed this. Some of the comedy was gross and ineffective but other aspects of the film were good and spot on.

Overall:  Although uneven, there are good lines and qualities in this film. However it is better suited to watching On Demand.