Hello Dayton937 & NEON Fans,
Today was a short day with just 2 films…this is due to things partially slowing down and to the fact that I went to see Lady Gaga tonight at Scotiabank Arena. It’s been a pretty terrific day, but I’m certainly showing signs of slowing down. I have a couple films tomorrow (Friday), and then it’s back to Dayton on Saturday.
My first film of the day was a teen comedy – DRIVER’S ED (dir: Bobby Farrelly – USA) “Bobby Farrelly’s charming Driver’s Ed follows a high school senior (Sam Nivola from The White Lotus) who hits the road to save his relationship with his college-bound girlfriend, with his principal (Molly Shannon) and driving instructor (Kumail Nanjiani) in hot pursuit.” (TIFF Catalog) There are some teen comedies that I really like – CLUELESS, MEAN GIRLS, and EASY A to name a few. This new film from the director of DUMB & DUMBER, THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and CHAMPIONS (which we played) is not one of them. Though not without some funny moments, this film had plot holes galore and was mostly not funny. It also seemed quite possible that the screenwriter hadn’t spent much time recently in a high school classroom. There are enough f-bombs and some sweet character chemistry to make this film popular on a streaming service, but I don’t see it being a theatrical hit.
There is no trailer yet for this movie, but here’s a still photo:
My second film for the day will be a big contender this year – HAMNET (dir: Chloé Zhao – United Kingdom) “Academy Award–winning director Chloé Zhao (Nomadland, TIFF ’20 People’s Choice Award) helms this lush and tender drama about William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his family, as seen through the eyes of his thoughtful wife Agnes (a luminous Jessie Buckley).” (TIFF Catalog) Though lovely and deliberate from the start (visually, musically, performance-wise), it took a little while for me to be completely swept away. But I did indeed get swept. Jessie Buckley will get an Oscar nomination (and possibly win), and the film will be recognized in many other categories. Upon walking back to my apartment, I started crying again thinking of a couple scenes…and again upon recounting the film to my boyfriend. Chloé Zhao has made a really impressive film about family, loss and the healing power of art, and I will certainly be seeing it again.
Lady Gaga put on a really terrific show tonight. My boyfriend has been wanting to see her perform live for nearly 20 years…and we had good seats in a very energized arena.
Thanks so much for reading.
My best,
Jonathan
