[I review the Anthony Bourdain biopic, "Tony" as well as the drama "The Seemingly Perfect Family" and the Netflix docuseries "The Death of the Pastor's Wife."]
Tony (2026)
Origin story about Anthony Bourdain, when he was just Tony.I was a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain, from his ground-breaking restaurant expose book, "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000)" to his foodie travel shows - "A Cook's Tour" on the Food Network followed by "No Reservations" and "The Layover" on the Travel Network and "Parts Unknown" on CNN. Happily, when I lived in Seattle, I was able to get some VIP tickets for his "Close to the Bone," one-man show in 2015 and met him. He was very welcoming and humble, though he didn't like it when I said I enjoyed "The Layover," which he did NOT enjoy.
Sadly, Anthony took his own life in 2018 at the age of 61.
But this movie is before all of that, when Anthony was still Tony, a young guy without a clue. He said about himself during those years, "I was - to be frank - a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout, and badly in need of a good ass-kicking." And the movie begins with that quote and that guy.
Dominic Sesse ("The Holdovers") plays 19-year-old Tony Bourdain who is a student at Vassar and aspires to be a writer. When he doesn't get a fellowship to write a novel over the summer, he travels to Provincetown, Massachusetts to catch up with Nancy (Emilia Jones), a girl he is interested in, but upon arrival discovers she is dating a pizza delivery man. He gets drunk at The Flagship, a local seafood restaurant, and afterwards is robbed, so finding himself short of money and not able to take the ferry home, he returns to The Flagship and appeals to the head chef there for a job, even though he has no restaurant experience. The kindly chef (Antonio Banderas - always a joy to see him) takes pity on him and gives him a dishwashing job and Tony eventually works his way up to a cook, though he still engages in some clueless stuff, but that summer stint in a restaurant in Provincetown, Massachusetts, turned out to be a turning point in young Tony Bourdain's life.
Sesse is wonderful as Tony, the "young lout," and the rest of the ensemble is also excellent, espcially Banderas and the handsome Leo Woodall ("The White Lotus") as Sal, an abrasive macho guy who takes Tony under his wing. Anthony's close friend, chef Eric Ripert, who discovered Anthony's body has a poignant cameo in the film. Directed by Matt Johnson and written by Johnson, Todd Bartels, Lou Howe, and Matthew Miller, this is an atmospheric "coming of age" story about one very special summer and how Tony became Anthony.
Rosy the Reviewer says...an affectionate and very poignant tribute to a wonderful talent we lost too soon. (For rent on Apple+)
The Seemingly Perfect Family (2026)
A young woman who has just aged out of foster care, gets a nanny job under false pretenses.
I was surprised to discover this was a Lifetime movie. I didn't really realize Netflix was in cahoots with the Lifetime movie folks. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing as I have been known to like Lifetime movies in the past (I even wrote about it - "Lifetime Movies: A Baby Boomer's Appreciation"), but that was the past. I have become more sophisticated since then. However, I am susceptible to movies about couples being impacted by their nannies or housemaids. In fact, the premise and the teaser for this movie totally reminded me of "The Housemaid," a movie I enjoyed and which I favorably reviewed back in March, so I jumped but I have to say the fall wasn't pretty. I was reminded of just how bad Lifetime movies can be.
Lexi (Rylee Reagan) is a young woman leaving foster care but not sure what to do with her life. She overhears her friend, Blair (Violet SinClair), talking about a nanny job and Lexi goes behind her back and nabs the job. Chelsea (Anna Morgan Neugent) and Daniel Sterling (Bourke Floyd) are an affluent couple with a newborn, but it becomes clear early on that they are not a happy couple and theirs is not a perfect family. And despite the title of this film, they don't even SEEM to be a perfect family. Chelsea is not a happy camper and is actually quite hostile to Lexi. And let me tell you about Daniel. He is about as pervy as an older man can get. He is forever oggling Lexi and following her around. Let's just say he has plans for our Lexi.
As I said, I have a weakness for this kind of movie, but even I have my standards. Remember how I always say, "I see the bad ones so you don't have to?" Well, this one is bad. Directed by Lisa France (story by Ken Sanders and written by Amy Dawson and Daniel West), the whole film is like a cartoon and it actually made me laugh at times, but not in a good way. Everyone is overacting like crazy. Neugent always looks mad; Floyd as Daniel seems to have two expressions - a menacing grimace or big eyes as he leers at Lexi. And speaking of Lexi, Reagan always seems either concerned or surprised. She is probably wondering what she is doing in this movie.
Rosy the Reviewer says...you might watch this for the campy aspect to get a laugh or two, but all-in-all, I can't recommend it. If you like this genre, try "The Housemaid" instead. (Netflix)
Death of the Pastor's Wife (2026)
Can you be a murderer if you drive your wife to suicide?
This three-part docuseries makes you wonder as it recounts the true story of Mica and John-Paul Miller and the circumstances surrounding Mica's mysterious death.
John-Paul Miller was a charismatic pastor for the Solid Rock Church and young Mica Francis was one of his parishioners. He was a 38-year-old married man with five children and she was just 16 when they met. She worked for him as a nanny and they later began an affair when John-Paul was 35 and Mica was 20 and wed when he was 38 and she was 22.
From the outside, the Myrtle Beach-based Millers appeared to have a picture-perfect marriage. Mica sang and helped John-Paul lead the congregation but behind closed doors the two had a tumultuous relationship and Mica would ultimately be found dead at aged 30 in a state park, and it wasn't long before everyone started asking questions about Mica's death.
Mica grew up in the chuch, dedicated her life to it and spent most of her time with John-Paul and the congregation during her young years. She looked up to him as a pastor and as an authority figure and he had a tremendous amount of power over her. She was fully wrapped up in John-Paul's world but as time went on, the relationship soured and Mica suffered from mental health issues and it didn't help that John-Paul was controlling (he would bombard her with texts and calls whenever she left the house) and had kinky sexual proclivities, such as hiring homeless people to have sex with the both of them. She complained in her diary of being abused "emotionally, sexually, spiritually, financially and physically."
Mica first filed for divorce just six years after they married but dismissed it and then there were several back and forth separations and dismissals. That was a theme for them. Mica also sought a restraining order against John-Paul due to his alleged abuse. The final filing was in 2024 when Mica moved out of their home and was living on her own. She reported John-Paul for stalking her, tracking her car with surveillance devices, cutting her tires with razor blades and posting nudes of her online. But her cries for help were not answered.
She eventually purchased a firearm, called 911 to report that she was going to kill herself and wanted them to know where she was so her family could find her body. She was later found in a state park with a bullet to the head.
On the day after her death, John-Paul held a lengthy service filled with humor and only at the very end mentioned to the congregation that Mica had died. Nice guy.
Mica's story was a cause celebre on the Internet, and this series directed by Michael Gasparro and Julia Willoughby Nason uses John-Paul's sermons (he was quite the misogynist and talked about sex a lot), police calls, text messages, never-before-seen footage and firsthand accounts from friends and family to try to figure out what drove her to suicide. The series also shines a light on how sometimes patriarchy in religious doctrine can facilitate abuse and that domestic abuse does not always include physical violence. And even though John-Paul had an alibi for the day Mica died, after seeing this docuseries, one can't help but feel his hand was also on that gun.
Rosy the Reviewer says...a chilling and engrossing docuseries that raises awareness about the different faces of domestic abuse. (Netflix)
See You Next Time!
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