I was getting Audrey Plaza vibes too, in a “give your best Aubrey Plaza impression” sort of way. Plaza’s flat approach to comedy has subtle nuances, which is one of the many characteristics that make her such a great actress. Ortega’s performance was just flat, full stop. She’s being Ricci in Addams Family, which is…

I think this is probably one of the more genuine responses from the Harry Potter cast and because of that, will probably be deemed one of the more problematic. She’s towing the line, and in 2022, falling into the gray area where reality lives doesn’t fly when your voice is broad enough to go viral. I’m sure the…

If you ignore its every intention, Beauty and the Beast was a postmodern masterpiece. For starters, it spun the whole concept around, with Catherine keeping the beast captive. I always thought the tagline should have been, “Who’s the Beast?”

Unless the passenger says they’re live streaming, how would the officer know they’re not simply recording? It seems like this could open a loophole for police to demand any recording stop.

Aside from The Addams Family’s historic success as a family, there’s a reason NBC never launched spinoffs around Cosmo Kramer or Karen Walker. A good show needs a “straight character,” the main one from which the audience takes its point of view. Sure, we sympathize with certain characteristics of Norm from Cheers or…

As a gay man, I’d wager straight dudes are more into threesomes than gay ones. I’ve been in more than a few and there are ways to make them fun, even more fun if there are more than three guys. But it’s more physical than psychological.

If I pretended this movie came out in 1997 I’d give it an A+ for gay inclusivity. But it’s 2022, and not only did the movie indulge in the grand tradition of shoehorning as much diversity as possible into its gay characters (see: The Family Stone), it amped up some stereotypes so tired they aren’t even funny anymore.

Race is a biological reality in the sense that it can be used to sort or filter DNA left at a crime scene or make certain adjustments in medical treatments, true, but genetic markers determine many biological factors that aren’t always associated with what we consider “race.”

Republicans repeatedly vote against their own self interests because they winkingly know that the rules don’t apply to rich white men. See: Abortion.

“...people of all ethnicities and identities have and will continue to contribute to the network in great ways both in front of and behind the camera...”

“I would argue Joker was just 2 hours of Todd Phillips pretending to be Martin Scorsese. His mental illness, while key to the character, felt like a very Hollywood kind of condition that creates all the problems giving rise to the events of the film, while otherwise allowing the character to go about his business. His…

Thanks for your detailed reply. You clearly know more about cinema than I do, and I really appreciate your insight. I may have to give it another shot before seeing or deciding to see the sequel.

I used to be a fan of superhero movies until Marvel cornered the market with its Avengers franchise and set the gold standard at three hours of noise. I didn’t find Black Panther to be an exception.

Typically the bane of creativity, workplace comedies like The Office and Parks and Recreation succeeded thanks in part to test audiences and feedback. The first season of Parks and Rec was so tonally awkward they completely wrote out a main character and shifted Leslie Knope from being an unlikable Michael Scott to…

After 20 years in Philly, I love that you can still become famous here for nothing more than being a weirdo on “that abandoned pier near Walmart.”  

I wonder how the cast-members broached the fact that Flick went on to become a porn star (okay, porn actor. He wasn’t winning any Woodys). That seems like it would have been a pretty big elephant in the room.

First of all, thank you so much for such thoughtful insight into this movie, all of which perhaps explains why it’s so memorable. I never thought of it as subversive (with the exception of defying the Christmas movie cliches you mention), but I see it now, and proves it’s much smarter than it appears on the surface.…

To be fair, A Christmas Story succeeded as a relatively novel concept when Christmas movies weren’t an industry of their own. For Gen Xers, we hopped on this one because it was one of the first Christmas movies we saw that wasn’t an “oldie,” despite how much Depression era nostalgia was shoehorned in it for our…

“We are the weirdos, Mister” -my mantra since 1996.

It’s probably worth noting that Skechers is owned by a Jewish family. I used to think he was just a textbook narcissist with a fame-made messiah complex, but the more I read about him lately he just sounds like an idiot. I don’t even know whether I believe he’s mentally ill, at least not anymore than any other stupid…