'Barb and Star' set the bar high for comedy in 2021
Visiting Vista Del Mar, talking The Snyder Cut, and more.
This past Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent and, with it, my 40-day sabbatical from social media. It was interrupted last year when the COVID-19 pandemic made it a little more important to stay connected, but this year I really want to buckle down and eliminate the noise from Facebook and Twitter. If you follow me on those platforms, you won’t see much from me aside from when I post this newsletter, some podcasts and other writing. But personal interactions and opinions will be quiet (I still keep Instagram going for special events).
I’m happy for the break, because the more I use those platforms, the more troubled I become. Ideally, social media should be a way to remain connected. Unfortunately, the way these platforms are designed and their goals of keeping us constantly glued to our phones tends to bring out the worst in us. It’s not just the anger or disinformation, although those are obviously giant problems. It’s my tendency to replace personal connection with digital ones and real, in-depth news with whatever Twitter headline I see. So, my focus from now until Easter is going to be on disconnecting a bit from these sites and rethinking my use of them.
But one thing I miss is the opportunity to share my opinion on whatever happens to be on my mind that day, whether it’s the reaction to a trailer, my thoughts on a film that I don’t quite want to flesh out into a full review, or my musings on a piece of news that I found interesting. And so, every once in awhile, particularly during Lent but maybe even after, I’m going to set aside one of my newsletters for these scattered, pop culture-related thoughts. Maybe we’ll do this once a month. We’ll see how it goes! So, let’s get started!
Earlier this week, my wife and I watched the new Kristen Wiig/Annie Mumolo comedy Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar, which we rented on Amazon Prime (although it’s available elsewhere). Wiig’s a comedian I’m hot and cold on. There’s no doubt she’s extremely talented. I think Bridesmaids is one of the funniest and best comedies of the last 10 years or so, and I think she’s really good in some of her dramatic work, particularly The Skeleton Twins. But when she goes for big comedy, she has a definite shtick and certain gags she leans on, similar to Will Ferrell and Mike Myers. There are crazy voices, awkward trailing off, inappropriate comments. Sometimes it’s funny, but after awhile, it gets grating.
When I saw the trailer for Barb and Star a few months back, I wasn’t sold. It seemed like more of Wiig doing a variation on her Target Lady from SNL, and I didn’t know if I could handle a full movie of that. When several critics I respected responded to the movie with raves, I thought maybe I’d give it a whirl. And friends, let me tell you: It’s been a long time since a movie has made me laugh this hard.
I’d recommend going into Barb and Star as cold as possible. But if you’ve seen the trailer and had a reaction similar to mine, let me assure you: This is not what that movie sells. Yes, Barb and Star are two strange-speaking, slightly sheltered middle-aged white women. And yes, they take their peculiarities with them to a Florida resort where, of course, hijinks ensue. But what the trailer doesn’t sell is the strange world everyone, not just Barb and Star, inhabits. There’s the bizarre “Talking Club” where Vanessa Bayer and Phyllis Smith threaten to walk away with the entire movie. There are talking crabs. There’s Jamie Dornan and Wiig (in a dual role) wandering in from a film that is part musical and part Austin Powers sequel. And yet, through it all, Wiig and Mumolo create characters who, despite their silliness, are grounded in a very real friendship. The movie is by turns gleefully crass and joyfully surreal, and there are moments that made me laugh harder than any film I can remember in several years. If you can flow with its weird rhythm, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar will delight you.
I’m sure that next month we’ll talk more about Zack Snyder’s Justice League cut on HBO Max, so I won’t belabor the point. I get that there are some fans who are passionate about seeing Snyder finish out his DC Comics movies the way he wanted. And if he truly felt the story hadn’t been told the way he wanted, I’m glad Warner Brothers is giving him that chance; lord knows we’re all looking for a way to move past Joss Whedon these days. I think Snyder can, and has, made good movies, and I really like his Dawn of the Dead remake. But from the start, his propensity for badass, macho heroes and edgy stories just felt like a bad fit for Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. I know there are some defenders of Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but both those movies are among the most dispiriting film experiences of my life. Of the three DCEU films Snyder was involved with, Justice League was my favorite (damning with faint praise) because it at least had a bit of levity to it, courtesy of Whedon. But it definitely does feel like two films smashed into one, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about what Snyder had originally planned. This week’s trailer release definitely hints that there’s a lot more to the story, but it also affirms that it’s heavy with the same dour, “I hate you Dad” energy that propelled Snyder’s other DCEU films. If this is a big deal for you, I’m glad you’ll get to see it. And morbid curiosity will probably have me turning in. But man does this continue to feel miles away from the aspirational tone I associate with Superman, and I hate seeing Batman turned into a warrior instead of leaning into the detective side.
I’m not always against dark, stupid, badass stuff. This week, for instance, HBO Max also unveiled the trailer for their Mortal Kombat reboot that’s hitting the streamer and theaters in April. It’s flashy, hyper-violent, and stupid, but all in a way that makes me smile. It feels on brand for “Mortal Kombat,” a game I played quite a few times on our Sega Genesis and at the arcade. I always felt the Paul W.S. Anderson movie was a valiant attempt at bringing the franchise to the screen, but we all know that if you’re doing a “Mortal Kombat” movie, what’s the point unless it’s gorey and filled with numerous scenes of one-on-one fighting. As a movie, I’m sure this is going to be dumb, loud and ultimately forgettable. But I also have to admit that watching the four-armed Goro pummel an opponent and hearing Scorpion growl “get over here” made my inner child give a wicked smile.
I wanted to write a longer piece on both Minari and Nomadland, but time got away from me. But these are both films you can seen now, in theaters or at home (Minari is streaming through A24’s site, and Nomadland is now on Hulu). They make a fascinating double feature. Minari is about the immigrant experience, following a Korean-American family as they attempt to create a farm on a plot of Arkansas land. It’s about home, assimilation, cultivation and the deep bonds of family, and it’s a funny, gentle and often moving experience. Nomadland, meanwhile, is about being unrooted, choosing to live a life free of the constraints of family and place, and finding an alternative to the American dream. Frances McDormand gives one of my favorite performances of the year, and the cinematography is breathtaking. Chloe Zhao also captures the lived-in feel of her characters by populating the film with first-time actors, many of whom are real-life nomads. We’re going to talk about both these movies next week on We’re Watching Here, but I didn’t want to wait to tell you to track them both down now.
Finally, Disney unveiled its trailer for Cruella this week. It’s their latest attempt to do a live-action twist on an animated classic, although they’ve already done the live-action 101 Dalmatians. Taking the Maleficent route, the film follows a young Cruella De Vil (Emma Stone) and watches her break bad. Honestly, I don’t know who this movie is for. Do kids really want to see the Cruella De Vil origin story? And do any adults care? There’s a Disney-fied attempt at some sort of scuzzy, punk rock feel, but none of it works. I like Stone quite a bit, but I don’t feel like angry brat is really the vibe I care to see her in. As I saw elsewhere, this trailer’s aesthetic makes it feel like Disney’s Joker, and I’m definitely not interested in anything resembling that.
The Digest
Where to find me this week
Cross.Culture.Critic podcast -- Joe and I met up for our monthly episode, which finds us discussing the passing of Christian music icon Carman, talking about my NYT Crosswords obsession, and our thoughts on the Heaven’s Gate and Night Stalker documentaries. Listen on iTunes and Spotify.
Chrisicisms
The pop culture I’m loving this week.
Average Jerks podcast -- My CCC co-host Joe has a great other project going on, which I guested on a few weeks back. But this week, I highly encourage you to seek out his two-part interview with Five Iron Frenzy frontman Reese Roper. The two have a long history, and it allows them both to do a casual, honest talk that is by turns funny and enlightening. Joe, as he says, has no shame when it comes to discussing his bathroom habits or ailments, and it’s hilarious to hear Reese both engaged and grossed out throughout the talk. But mixed in, there’s honest discussion of the pitfalls of being labeled a Christian musician, discussion about Five Iron’s use of political themes in their music, and stories from the bands’ touring days. It’s an unvarnished, very funny conversation that I don’t think you’d get if it wasn’t coming from two peers. Available on iTunes and Spotify.
The Bullet Journal Method by Ryder Carroll -- This month, I started experimenting with Bullet Journaling as a way to organize my thoughts and track my progress on a few goals. I’d heard other people talk about BuJo before, and it’s definitely been an experience that I’ve found helpful at allowing me to keep focus and increase motivation. Carroll’s book complements his websites, and the first half of it is a really solid explanation of Bullet Journaling and its practical aspects. But the back half of the book meanders, and delves too much into vague self-help territory that has been covered better elsewhere. Worth a read for those exploring the discipline, but most of the helpful information is provided upfront.
And that’s it for this week! As always, thank you for reading!