My Very Own March Madness: Some Good Movies!

 [I review "It Ends With Us," "The Last Showgirl," "A Real Pain" and "Companion"]

It Ends With Us (2024)

The many faces of domestic abuse.

First of all, I need to address the elephant.  You know, that proverbial elephant in the room?  A pall seems to have fallen over this film because of the dispute between the stars, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni (Baldoni also directed the film). Lively has sued Baldoni for sexual harassment and intimidation and Baldoni has countersued for defamation, civil extortion and invasion of privacy.  That all started back in December, and it is still ongoing with more and more accusations flying back and forth almost every day. And despite the fact we now know who Justin Baldoni is (I don't think very many people did before), it is too bad that this movie has been overshadowed by the real life sturm und drang between the two co-stars, because it is actually a really good movie with an important message about domestic violence and emotional abuse.  

So let me try to put the film back into the spotlight by giving it some props.

It's all about Lily Bloom (Lively).  She is living in Boston and is getting ready to open her first flower shop, to be called appropriately, Lily Blooms. One evening, when she is brooding atop a high rise, she meets a guy who is clearly having a bad day.  How do I know?  He is kicking furniture. Should be a sign that this guy has anger issues, but, you know, he's a handsome guy.  Let's give him a chance. Meet Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni), a handsome neurosurgeon, and the two have an immediate connection.  But it doesn't get very far before he is called away and Lily thinks, that's that. But then Lily meets Allysa (Jenny Slate) who is looking for a job.  Lily hires her to work with her in her flower shop and wouldn't you know...guess who Allysa's brother is!  Bingo!  It's Ryle.

Lily and Ryle begin a relationship, but things get complicated when Lily runs into her old high school boyfriend, Atlas Corrigan played by Brandon Sklenar  (Atlas, Lily Bloom, Ryle - don't you just love the names in this movie?  Right out of a romance novel!).  Atlas just happens to be the owner and head chef at a restaurant where she has taken Ryle to meet her mother.

Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that Lily's father had been abusive to her mother and Atlas had run away from his home to escape his mother's abusive boyfriend.  The two teens bonded and fell in love.  However, when Lily's father discovered them in bed together, he beat Atlas so badly that he was hospitalized and he later joined the Marines and Lily and Atlas lost touch.

Now in the present day, Ryle and Lily marry but Ryle has some concerning anger issues that have followed him since childhood, and though he loves Lily, some manipulation and abusive incidents start to raise their ugly heads, and it doesn't help that Atlas is back in the picture. Then Lily discovers she is pregnant.

Will the cycle of abuse continue?

Based on the book by Colleen Hoover (adapted for the screen by Christy Hall) and directed by Baldoni, the film does a good job of showing the insidious way marital abuse begins.  We wonder, how could a woman get herself into an abusive relationship?  Well, it's not a black and white thing.  Relationships don't usually start with abuse, but if there is a history of abuse or anger issues, those can creep in and affect those we profess to love. 

And it's ironic that since the film, Justin and Blake are now locked in acrimonious lawsuits about those very issues which feels very strange watching the film, because Justin and Blake have real chemistry, so it is difficult to believe Blake could play this part while being sexually harassed on set but maybe she is just a really good actress.  

Rosy the Reviewer says...with all of the sensational news reports and accusations flying back and forth, it's difficult to know what really occurred between the two, but one thing I do know, this is a satisfying film experience. (Netflix)

The Last Showgirl (2024)

After 30 years as a showgirl, the show is closing.  What's a girl to do?

Shelly Gardner (Pamela Anderson) is a 57-year-old showgirl who has performed in Le Razzle Dazzle, a French-style revue at a Las Vegas casino for 30 years. Her younger co-stars, Mary-Anne (Brenda Song) and Jodie (Kiernan Shipka), view Shelly as a mother figure and Shelly's older friend, Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis), is a close friend and ex-showgirl, though she was ousted from the show and now works as a cocktail waitress. 

But now, the show is closing. Eddie (Dave Bautista), the producer of the show, breaks the news that the show will close in two weeks due to lack of ticket sales.  No one seems to care about showgirls anymore, and Le Razzle Dazzle is going to give way to a more contemporary circus show. Shelly is devastated by the news. Not only does she feel proud of the glamorous history of Las Vegas showgirls but she is not in favor of what is replacing it.  But she is also fearful about her future. With no means for retirement and few resources, what is she going to do?

Shelly reaches out to her daughter, Hannah (Billie Lourd, Carrie Fisher's daughter), who is a student in Arizona.  The two have a strained relationship because Hannah had lived with family friends for most of her adolescence and harbors resentment because she feels that Shelly chose he career over her.  And in all fairness to Hannah, Shelly is a bit of a dingbat, forgetting her daughter's age and not showing she knows much about her own daughter.

Written by Kate Gersten and directed by Gia Coppola - yes, that Coppola family.  She is Francis Ford Coppola's granddaughter - the film explores Shelly's attempts to find a place for herself in Las Vegas, highlighting many poignant moments as she auditions unsuccessfully for another show, struggles to save her relationship with her daughter and keep a big secret about Hannah's parentage. This movie has a very low budget indie feel, but it beautifully captures a Las Vegas world that is no more. I had no idea that the classic showgirl disappeared from Las Vegas years ago. That's how much I know about Las Vegas these days  

This is a wonderful showcase for Pamela Anderson. Famous for her spreads in Playboy, her "Baywatch" bathing suit and her sometimes volatile marriage to Tommy Lee, she has rarely been given props for her acting but she did receive a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Shelly, though snubbed by the Academy. She has also gone through a major life change over the years, moving back to British Columbia, where she grew up,  starting a cooking show and eschewing make-up.  Though I get that last bit - yes, she wants to divorce herself from that world where beauty and make-up are everything and she is judged on her looks, but, sorry, I question going so far in the other direction.  Without any eye make-up, her coloring is such that her eyes disappear and she looks older than she is.  I get that she wants to get rid of that pin-up girl part of her life, but why make yourself look older? I know, I digress. 

And I reluctantly have to give a shout out to Jamie Lee Curtis. For some reason, I am not a fan.  I find her insufferably smug on talk shows and her little stints on reality TV, but I will say, she has been giving her recent acting roles her all. I admire how she is not afraid to go for it.  She magnificently chewed the scenery in "The Bear" and here has some small scenes where she makes you feel the pain of an aging woman in a world where youth and beauty is everything.  She was rewarded with a Best Supporting Actress Bafta nomination. So kudos to her.

And props to Dave Bautista who gets to show his dramatic acting chops.  He usually plays villains, odd sci/fi characters and lunkheads.

Rosy the Reviewer says...the film does a good job of capturing a world where youth and beauty are major commodities and what it would be like for a woman aging in that world. Pamela Anderson poignantly takes us there and you will want to be there with her. (for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime and Apple+)

A Real Pain (2024)

Two polar opposite cousins take a trip to Poland to learn more about their family and honor their grandmother but there is some "pain" there.

Benji Kaplan (Kieran Culkin) is, shall I say? - an outspoken free spirit (more like a smart ass).  His cousin David (Jesse Eisenberg) is one of those closed up, reserved guys. Let's just say they don't get each other and had not been in touch for awhile. Using funds left by their late grandmother, they are embarking on a Jewish Heritage Tour through Poland and to also see their grandmother's home and reconnect with their family history. Same goal, two different personalities.  You know what they say about traveling.  It's a make or break when it comes to marriages and friendships. So expect some conflict.

In Warsaw, David and Benji meet their tour group members: Mark (Daniel Oreskes) and Diane (Liza Sadovy), a retired married couple from Shaker Heights, Ohio; Marcia (Jennifer Grey, who I never seem to recognize now since her nose job), a recent divorcee from California; and Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan), a survivor of the Rwandan genocide who converted to Judaism. The tour is led by James (Will Sharpe), a mild-mannered, knowledgeable Englishman. On the first day, the tour visits the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, Grzybów Square, and the Warsaw Uprising Monument, and Benji indulges in some shenanigans that embarrass David. 

Then the group travels to Lublin by train on the second day. Benji doesn't like traveling first class on a Holocaust Tour - I mean, their ancestors were shuttled onto cattle cars and then killed, right?.  Okay, he has a point but then Benji gets on James' case for his focus on facts and statistics and lack of emotion at the Old Jewish Cemetery furthering David's embarrassment. Benji continues to misbehave and make uncomfortable comments during a group dinner later that evening but you can't help but think that Benji is saying what others may be thinking. When Benji leaves the table, David opens up to the group about the complex nature of their relationship and his confusing feelings about his cousin.  

On the last day of the tour, the group visits Majdanek, a Nazi concentration and extermination camp where incredible pain was inflicted on other humans. Back at the hotel, David and Benji smoke a joint together on a hotel rooftop and Benji confronts David about his changed personality and asks why he never visits him. Truths and personal pain are shared.

As a personal aside, on one of our trips to Europe we visited Mauthausen Concentration Camp in Upper Austria and witnessing something like that is a painful moment to be sure.  When we walked by the ovens, our daughter was overcome and had to leave.

Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg (his screenplay was nominated for an Oscar), this is an original buddy picture with a lot of heart. Rumor has it that Jesse was going to play Benji, but after Kieran has picked up numerous awards for this role (Golden Globe, Oscar, etc.), it's difficult to imagine anyone else playing the part, though Jesse certainly could have done it. Jesse plays straight man to Kieran's out there character, and I have to say, before seeing the film, but after seeing countless acceptance speeches and interviews from Kieran, I thought he was just playing himself or his "Succession" character - both out there personas - and though my thoughts on that were mostly valid, he actually went much deeper into this role than I have seen him in the past. Kieran has gotten all of the praise for his performance but I have to say that Jesse's screenplay was wonderful and his direction sensitive and powerful at the same time.

Rosy the Reviewer says...part historical travelogue and part buddy picture, the film examines different kinds of pain, all with Chopin's beautifully painful music playing in the background. Highly recommended. (Hulu)

Companion (2025)

What if you could just put in an order your next love interest and program it?

The film begins with a young woman, Iris (Sophie Thatcher), strolling through a supermarket remembering meeting her boyfriend Josh (Jack Quaid) for the first time. 

Flashback to Iris and Josh traveling to a remote lake house to meet friends Kat (Megan Suri), couple Eli (Harvey Guillen, who I just loved in "What We Do in the Shadows") and Patrick (Lukas Gage), and Sergey (Rupert Friend), Kat's boyfriend who owns the house.  I should have known it was going to turn into a weekend from hell. Whenever people travel to a remote lake house, that is often an ominous clue that some bad stuff is going to go down.  And it does. When Iris is assaulted by Sergey and retaliates, when she attempts to explain what happened, Josh tells her, "Iris, go to sleep," shutting her down.

What!!??

You see, Iris is a companion robot Josh is renting from the Empathix company.  Her emotions and intelligence are controlled by an app on Josh's phone.  News to her.  When she wakes up and Josh gives her this information, this is a shock to her.  And it also turns out that Josh wasn't just in this for a love/sex interest.  He has planned to use her in a nefarious plot.

But our Iris may be a robot but she's not a dummy.  She does a runner and all hell breaks loose as Josh and the others go looking for Iris to shut her down.  Josh is a very, very bad man. Will he get what's coming to him? There are lots and lots of enjoyable twists and turns to find out.

Sophie Thatcher is wonderful in this.  She made her mark in the Showtime series "Yellowjackets" and more recently starred in "Heretic," which I reviewed positively.  Jack Quaid is the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan and should have a successful career as a leading man, but the entire ensemble were first rate, though Bill Murray playing a Russian came to mind listening to Sergey. 

Written and directed by Drew Hancock, this is a stylish sci/fi horror comedy reminiscent of the 2013 film "Her." It asks a lot of "what if" questions such as what if all of this online dating and love affairs with our phones lead us to have relationships with robots instead of humans? What if you could have a girlfriend you could program? What if the programmed girlfriend goes rogue?  

But this is also a cautionary tale about white male misogyny and supremacy.  You know, those guys who feel entitled but who feel overshadowed by the needs of others and live in their mother's basement talking to their computers?  Maybe those "what if" questions are no longer "what ifs."  What if we are already there. Scary.

Rosy the Reviewer says...an enjoyable sci/fi horror comedy but brace yourself for a very gross ending...but it's so gross it's funny. (for rent on Amazon Prime).

See You Next Time!

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And next time you are wondering whether or not to watch a particular film, check out my reviews on IMDB (The International Movie Database). Go to IMDB.com, find the movie you are interested in.  Scroll over to the right of the synopsis to where it says "Critics Reviews" - Click on that and if I have reviewed that film, you will find Rosy the Reviewer alphabetically on the list (NOTE:  IMDB keeps moving stuff around so if you don't find "Critics Reviews" where I am sending you, look around.  It's worth it)!