"Respect" and Some Movies You Might Not Know About

[I review the Aretha Franklin biopic "Respect" as well as "tick, tick...BOOM!," "Old," "The Guilty," "Val (a documentary about Val Kilmer)," and "Yellow Rose," a little indie film about a Filipina girl who wants to be a country singer]

Shoulder surgery recovery is coming along and 2021 will soon be behind me, so thank you for listening to me whine, but now I don't feel the need to go on about it any more.  Let's get back to what I do best - reviewing some good films (and warning you about some films you should avoid)!

Rosy the Reviewer is back!

Respect (2021)

Aretha Franklin gets some respect with this biopic starring Jennifer Hudson, who as a singer and actress is worthy of bringing Aretha back to life.

But that's kind of the problem here.  A little too much respect and not enough life.

Divas come and go but some live forever and Aretha is one of those - she lives forever in this respectful biopic that reveals aspects of her life most people might not have known about, that she stopped speaking after her mother died and later in life she had a drinking problem that almost sidelined her career. Sadly, this film skirts another issue you might not know about - that she had two children before the age of 15, her first pregnancy at the age of 12 after sexual abuse by a family friend. How does someone get over something like that and become one of the greatest singers of all time?  Yes, the film implies the first early pregnancy but then leaves it out there. It doesn't dig deep into that aspect of her life and how it affected her. In fact, at one point in the film, she says "I'm going to say goodbye to my children," and I said, "What?  She has more than one?"   

As I said, as the title implies, this film written by Tracey Scott Wilson and directed by Tommy Liesl, is very respectful of Franklin, so it's not surprising that the film did not dwell on those early pregnances since she did not like to discuss what happened to her as a young girl.

One can't help but compare this film to the eight-part TV mini-series "Genius:Aretha" starring Cynthia Erivo as Aretha that played on the National Geographic Channel earlier in the year and, in my opinion, did a better job of revealing all of the personal details of Franklin's life. Certainly, eight 50-minute episodes have plenty of room to give all of those details, but at two-and-a-half hours, this feature film could have done better, especially since it only covers her life up to 1972.  However, I have to say, in both cases, they were too long and failed to capture the heart and soul that was Aretha Franklin.

Here the first hour kind of drags and it's only when Aretha gets rid of her Dad (Forest Whitaker) and sets off on her own that the film takes off, though "takes off" is high praise.  In fact, the film doesn't really leave the runway. This is a traditional biopic that mechanically checks off the main points of Franklin's life up to the release of her gospel album, "Amazing Grace."  Raised in Detroit by her minister father who had divorced her mother, Franklin was a gospel star in her church from a young age.  Her father would wake her up at night to sing for party guests so it's no surprise that a gospel album would turn out to be her biggest-selling album ever.

Franklin hand-picked Hudson to play her and she does a good job dramatically and vocally and almost saves the film. I say almost. She is joined by some acting stalwarts but sadly the film lacked heart.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you are a big Aretha or Jennifer Hudson fan, you might enjoy this but as for me, it was a missed opportunity to really shed light on an American icon and instead found it to be a kind of a soap opera snooze fest. (On DVD and for rent on most sites)

 tick, tick...BOOM! (2021)

A young man tries for years to make it on Broadway.

What a cruel irony that composer/ playwright Jonathan Larson, who tried for years to get his plays produced on Broadway and who faced rejection after rejection, should die suddenly at age 36 the morning that his play “Rent” was to preview on Broadway, a play that would go on to great success and change the face of Broadway musicals. But it’s a happy irony that this play by and about Larson was directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, another composer/playwright whose play “Hamilton” also changed the face of Broadway musicals almost 20 years later. And it’s a film you do not want to miss.

“Tick Tick Boom” was a solo work that Larson performed off-off Broadway during the early 1990’s before “Rent” and was made into a three-actor musical play after his death. It’s an autobiographical piece about “Jon” and his trials and tribulations as he tries to make it on Broadway. As his 30th birthday approaches, he laments that time is ticking away and that he will never make it.

Andrew Garfield, as you have never seen him, stars in this film version of Larson’s play making his singing debut. Vanessa Hudgens and Alexandra Shipp also star along with others you will recognize. Garfield is quite wonderful. He can not only sing, he can dance! Lin even makes a cameo appearance as do many Broadway greats in a song about Sunday brunch (see if you can spot them).

The film (screenplay by Steven Levenson) is a musical about making a musical and it does a good job of integrating parts of Larson’s original play into this film version of his life as he not only tries to make it on Broadway with his scifi musical "Superbia," but is also dealing with his best friend and roommate moving out, losing his girlfriend and a friend in the hospital dying of AIDS. As he turns 30, Jon's life really does seem like a ticking time bomb.

The music is wonderfully original and the songs all have the hallmarks of those in “Rent.” In fact, this film reminds us of just how groundbreaking Larson’s work was, creating a modern day “La Boheme,” but adding themes that were happening in real life, embracing difficult subjects like HIV/Aids, homophobia, poverty and drug addiction.

“Rent” didn’t open until 1996 and Larson never would know what a success it would become and how it would change musical theatre forever, but nevertheless, his play “Tick Tick Boom” and this film version end on a note of hope.

Rosy the Reviewer says…sadly, when Larson wrote and starred in “Tick Tick Boom,” he didn’t know that his life was also ticking away and that he didn’t have long to live but his talent and creativity lives on in “Rent” and this wonderfully charming musical film that made me cry. I cried partly because of Larson but also because this was such a wonderful film. If you love musicals, this is a must, and even if you think you don’t love musicals, this is still a must!

(Now streaming on Netflix)

Old (2021)

You are on the vacation of a lifetime - a deal you found on the Internet - only to discover that you could die of old age on the beautiful beach you are sunning yourself on. What?

Nothing like some good, old-fashioned horror from the likes of director M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense,” “Signs,” “Split”) to get over the horror of hanging out with family members over the holidays.

The film starts out in classic horror mode – unsuspecting family of four - Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal), Prisca (Vicky Krieps) and their two children Maddox (Alexa Swinton) and Trent (Nolan River) - heads to a tropical resort for the vacation of a lifetime and everything seems fine. Yes, they have some personal issues – medical and marital – but the couple decide to put those issues aside, compartmentalize and give the kids a great vacation. And as Prisca, the wife, says, “Can you believe I found this place online?”

BUT…yes, well, everything seems fine, but there is this little thing…a special beach that they and others are invited to by the resort manager. They are taken there on a bus (note the driver is Shyamalan himself) along with a doctor named Charles (Rufus Sewell), his wife Chrystal (Abbey Lee) and the doctor's mother, Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant), and their daughter Kara (Mikaya Fisher). There is also married couple Jarin (Ken Leung) and Patricia (Nikki Amuka-Bird). When they all arrive they meet a rapper named Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre). His nose is bleeding and... is that a dead body on the beach? Special beach, indeed.

Turns out, this special beach is a place where cells age at an accelerated rate and one could die of old age in a matter of hours. The cells in the kids are particularly susceptible. Let’s just say that a little girl manages to go through puberty and adolescence and not only get pregnant but give birth within hours of arriving on the beach and then for the older folks, there is dementia, hearing loss, blindness and death, all developed by some of our unlucky heroes, all in the course of one day. Oh, and did I say that no one is able to get off the beach?

We all fear getting old and not being able to escape the passage of time is a great topic for a horror film and the ensemble cast does a good job with what they have to work with, but at times, the dialogue is over-dramatic and quite laughable. Adapted for the screen by Pierre-Oscar Levy (from his graphic novel "Sandcastle" with Frederik Peeters), this is one of those films destined to become a cult classic, because it’s so bad it’s good. At certain points, I thought I was watching a comedy. But that’s not a bad thing. I thought the whole thing was great fun, in a horror sort of way. I love all of Shyamalan's films because even when they shouldn't work, they do!

Rosy the Reviewer says…If you fear getting old, this might not be for you, but if you are already old, it’s a hoot. If you liked the series, “Nine Perfect Strangers,” you might like this one, because it’s kind of like that. And the moral of the story? Beware of online deals!

(Available on DVD and to rent through the usual sites)

The Guilty (2021)

A police officer who has been assigned 911 dispatcher duty is in a race against time to save a kidnapped woman.

I had a negative attitude about this film since it is a remake (you know I hate remakes) of a 2018 Danish film that I loved.  My feelings about most remakes is why try to improve on something that is already wonderful.  In the case of the Danish film, it and its star, Gustav Moller, had won 40+ awards.  But I know...Americans don't like reading subtitles so "foreign" films are ripe for poaching, and though I'm not a fan of remakes, surprisingly this remake directed by Antoine Fuqua with a screenplay by Nic Pizzolatto is faithful to the original and actually good. And if making an English version of this film will get viewers, then I am all for it because this film needs to be seen.  It's that good.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays LAPD officer Joe Baylor who has had some issues and been demoted to the night shift at a 911 call center while he awaits a court hearing for an incident that occurred on duty eight months prior. He's not a happy man and has no problem telling people off who should not be calling 911. But when he answers a call from a woman named Emily Lighton (voice of Riley Keough, Lisa Marie Presley's daughter) who reveals she has been abducted, Joe realizes he is in a race against time. Joe learns that she and her abductor are traveling in a white van, but Emily is forced to hang up before she can provide more details. Joe relays the information to the CHP but they are unable to locate the van without a license plate number.

Joe calls Emily's home phone and speaks with her six-year-old daughter Abby, who tells Joe that her mom left the house with her dad and she is alone with her baby brother, Oliver. Joe then calls his former partner Rick (Eli Goree), who is off-duty, and asks him to visit Henry's house. When the officers arrive at Emily's house, they find baby Oliver gravely injured in his crib. And then Joe and we realize that nothing is as it appears.

Jake Gyllenhaal has always been a good actor but here he excels in pretty much a one-man-show as we watch Joe play out this emergency in real time on the phone. It's a white knuckle experience for us and for Joe.

Rosy the Reviewer says...here's an idea.  See this one and then see the original Danish film and compare.  Then get back to me!

Val (2021)

A documentary about actor Val Kilmer - you know, the "I'm your huckleberry" guy.

Val Kilmer has said that he may look like a leading man but he's really a character actor. You would never know he was once a leading man in this documentary that follows him now as he attends fan conventions and lives his life after suffering from disfiguring throat cancer and the loss of his voice (though he can speak through a voice box).

The film spans 40 years with never-before-seen footage - Kilmer's own videos taken over the years - of Kilmer as a young man to the height of his career and now. Kilmer is probably most famous for his stints in "Top Gun" and "Tombstone" and playing Jim Morrison in "The Doors" and Batman in "Batman Forever."  He was married to actress Joanne Whalley and had a reputation as being "difficult" to work with. He was a dichotomy - a successful Hollywood actor who also resented his own success when faced with doing films he didn't approve of. However, before his cancer diagnosis, Kilmer was traveling the country with his pet project, a one-man-show portraying Mark Twain. In 2015, Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer and several operations later, his face is now disfigured and his voice has been reduced to a rasp (his son, Jack, plays his Dad in a voice-over narration).  Sadly, Val is no longer a leading man but makes his way attending fan conventions and helping young artists.

Now you might think that this would be a depressing film and that Kilmer would be angry about how his life has turned out, but it's not and he is not.  He attends the conventions and signs autographs because he wants to thank his fans and he realizes he has much to live for and be thankful for.

Leo Scott and Ting Poo are credited as directors but this is a family affair and all Val as he shares his home movies and videos that he compulsively shot over the years. Was he difficult? You decide. At any rate, this is a fascinating look at a fascinating life from the man who lived it.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a poignant portrait of Val Kilmer as you have never seen him. (Available on Amazon Prime)

Yellow Rose (2019)

A Filipina teen living in Texas wants to be a country singer. 

Seventeen-year-old Filipina Rose Garcia (Eva Noblezada) lives in a motel in Austin, Texas with her mother, Priscilla (Princess Punzalan), who supports them by running the front desk and cleaning the rooms.  Rose dreams of becoming a country singer, a hill difficult to climb as Rose is not perceived as your classic country singer, though she certainly has the chops. But it doesn't help that Rose and her mother are undocumented and when ICE comes calling and Priscilla is taken away, this story becomes much more than a young girl trying to make it as a country singer. Rose is taken in by her estranged aunt (Lea Salonga) who took a different path, one of assimilation, and is living a middle class life with her wealthy American husband and regretting giving up her Filipino family. Rose is also befriended by country singer Dale Watson (playing himself) who takes her under his wing.

Written by Diane Paragas, Annie J. Howell and Celena Cipriaso and directed by Paragas, this is not just a coming-of-age story, but a story of racial discrimination and our broken immigration system played out as Rose faces roadblock after roadblock trying to find work and find her mother. But there is also some great music too!

Noblezada is a Broadway baby who made her Broadway debut as Kim in a 2017 revival of "Miss Saigon," for which she received a Tony nomination.  She was only 21, becoming one of the youngest nominees.  She received a second Tony nomination in 2019 for originating the role of Eurydice in "Hadestown" on Broadway. She carries this film

Rosy the Reviewer says...a charming coming-of-age story that brings a personal side to the immigration issue.

(Available on STARZ, on DVD or from Direct TV)

Thanks for reading!

See you again soon!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, Twitter, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer 

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 "Critic 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)!

What I Watched (and Liked) While on My 2021 Summer Stay-cation: Part 2 - Some Good Movies You Might Not Know About

[I review "Summer of Soul," "Georgetown," "The Last Letter From Your Lover," "Honest Thief," and "Supernova."]

"Summer of Soul...or When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised"

A documentary of the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival that celebrated African-American music and culture and black pride.

The what?

Who knew that, musically, 1969 wasn't just the year of Woodstock but the year of the Harlem Cultural Festival that also drew hundreds of thousands. Except Woodstock became famous with all kinds of coverage and a feature film and the footage from the "Black Woodstock" languished in a basement for 50 years...until now. Questlove (Ahmir Khalib Thompson) has rescued it and makes his directorial debut with this feature film streaming on Hulu.

After the losses of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and police violence, The Harlem Cultural Festival was a chance to heal and celebrate black music and culture by bringing together some of the most famous black artists to perform in Mount Morris Park. Black Panthers were hired to provide security so that there wasn't a huge police presence.

Forty hours of footage was shot by producer Hal Tulchin but unlike Woodstock, nobody wanted to turn it into a film or show it on TV, so the footage sat dormant in a basement for decades until rescued and made into this wonderful and inspirational film. And after seeing it, one has to wonder why this got no coverage at the time or since. Mmmm, one does.

See a 19-year-old Stevie Wonder come into his own: Sly and the Family Stone kicking the usual proverbial ass; along with Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Fifth Dimension, Hugh Masekela, the stars of gospel and more. A particular moving and controversial segment shows Nina Simone reading a poem by David Nelson that is clearly not flattering to white folks.

She asks the crowd:

“Are you ready, black people? Are you ready to do what is necessary? Are you ready to smash white things, to burn buildings, are you ready? Are you ready to build black things? Black people, are you ready?"

Fred Hampton was killed later that year, and still today, continuing police brutality and deaths of young black men...At the end of the film, I cried, because so little has changed.

But thankfully, the music hasn't changed and is a positive that endures...and this film is a musical extravaganza!

Rosy the Reviewer says...you missed it in 1969 but now you get to be there!

(Now streaming on Hulu)

Georgetown

An ambitious social climber marries a much older but well-connected woman in order to be somebody.

What is it with old ladies who think a handsome, much younger man wants anything to do with them except money?  Don't they know that once they hit 50 they are invisible?  I know, I'm being cynical, but if you have ever seen some of those TV shows about older women being catfished by young men on the Internet, you would be cynical too.

So anyway, that's what this is about and, of course, it's based on a true story, an article "The Worst Marriage in Georgetown."  It's a pretty bad marriage - well, the worst, really - when the husband kills his wife, right?

Ulrich Mott (Christoph Waltz) has arrived in Washington, D.C. from...not sure where.  He has a very mysterious past but so far he has landed a job as an unpaid intern, though at the age of 50, an intern is not how Ulrich sees himself.  The congressman he works for also doesn't see it so he lets him go ("Not a good fit"), but that doesn't stop Ulrich from getting himself invites to "in" parties and attaching himself to the rich and powerful D.C. society.  And it's at just such a party that Ulrich meets Elsa Breht (Vanessa Redgrave), a rich and famous journalist who knows everybody. When they first meet, Elsa is married but Ulrich so charms her, that when her husband dies, they connect again and ultimately get married, he 50 something, she 40 years older.

When the film begins, Ulrich is hosting a dinner party and Elsa's daughter, Amanda (Annette Bening) shows up.  It is clear that Amanda dislikes Ulrich but her mother dismisses her.  After the dinner, Elsa also dismisses Ulrich telling him not to smoke in the house so he goes out for a walk to have a smoke.  When he gets back home, 91-year-old Elsa is dead.  As Keith Morrison says on "Dateline," "Could it be murrrr-der?"

Well, duh.

So in flashback we see how Elsa and Ulrich meet, how he courts her and how she helps open doors for him in D.C. society. She enjoys helping him make a name for himself in D.C.  However, realizing her mother is being woo'd by a gigolo, Amanda tries to intervene but Elsa is one of those old ladies I mentioned earlier.  She thinks she still has it.  She doesn't.  Ah, vanity. But Elsa eventually catches Ulrich in his lies. Turns out our Ulrich not only doesn't like old ladies, he doesn't like girls! 

But for a time, he manages to cast himself as a player, starting The Eminent Persons Group (I mean, who doesn't want to be an "eminent person?) and parlaying his life into that of a kind of diplomat, getting credit for a peace-making mission when in fact he just took credit for what others did.  Ulrich had a knack for being at the right place at the right time and playing whatever cards he could get. Georgetown is a metaphor for social climbing and hanging out in the corridors of power and that is what Ulrich was all about.  He was a genius at sucking up and giving the rich and powerful what they wanted and needed to hear.  

Written by David Auburn (based on Franklin Foer's aforementioned New York Times article) and directed by Waltz, the film captures the wheeling and dealing that goes on behind the scenes in our Capitol, the jockeying for position, the posing, the posers.  It's great to see Waltz, Vanessa Redgrave (who at 84 still looks great, by the way) and Annette Benning chewing that proverbial scenery. I just wish there had been a bit more background on Ulrich. What was his life like before he came to Washington?  What motivated him? Who was he really?

Rosy the Reviewer says...but all-in-all, a satisfying, old-style melodrama brought to life by wonderful performances.

(On DVD and for rent at Amazon Prime)

The Letter from Your Lover

Two parallel love stories 56 years apart.

Ellie Haworth (Felicity Jones) is a journalist who has broken up with her long-time boyfriend. She is tasked to write an article about the recently-deceased editor of her newspaper and while searching the newspaper archives runs across a love letter to someone identified as "J" from "Boot." Intrigued, Ellie is determined to learn who "J" and "Boot" were and what happened to them.

So begins this romantic film starring Felicity Jones and Shailene Woodley.

Flashback to the 1960's, we learn that "J" is married socialite Jennifer Stirling (Woodley) who meets foreign correspondent Anthony O'Hare (Callum Turner) who has arrived on the French Riviera to interview her husband, Laurence (Joe Alwyn). Laurence is called away and Jennifer and Anthony end up spending the summer together. They write little letters to each other signing them "J" and "Boot" but it's all platonic until Jennifer tries to kiss Anthony. He pulls away and rejected, she returns to London. But Anthony contacts her, asking to meet, and thus begins a clandestine love affair and the two decide to run off together. But wouldn't you know, as Jennifer rushes to meet Anthony at the train station she gets in a car crash resulting in amnesia. Yes, it's one of those where the lovers almost get away but one of them doesn't quite make it. I think that storyline started with "An Affair to Remember."

In the meantime, Laurence has found the last letter Anthony wrote Jennifer, the one where he asks her to meet him and he hides the letter. Jennifer desperately tries to regain her memory and finds several letter from "Boot" hidden around the house which in turn leads her to a post office box that Laurence has closed. When Jennifer confronts Laurence, he reveals that he knew about Anthony but that Anthony has died. And that's that. Or is it?

In the present day, Ellie has a sort of relationship with Rory, the newspaper archivist, as they get to know each other while looking for more love letters but she is down on romance because of her recent break-up.

So...will Jennifer and Anthony ever see each other again?  Will Ellie and Rory hook up?

Again, duh.

This is one of those big production, old-fashioned, romantic feature film soap operas that we came to expect from producter Ross Hunter and director Douglas Sirk during the 50's and 60's. Great sets, lavish costumes, exotic locales. Think Lana Turner in "Imitation of Life" or "Portrait in Black." It's all here: lovers thwarted, amnesia, love letters, the lovers trying to reunite but just missing each other - you know, one walks into an elevator while the other walks out, making you go "Noooo!" 

Yes, well-known potboiler tropes but I loved those movies so I loved this film too.  

I have to say that I was rather put off at first by the casting of Shailene Woodley for this, because I think of her as more of a teen action character, not a sophisticated London socialite. She is certainly no Lana Turner.  But she grew on me.  And I always like Felicity Jones. Her charm is her fidgety sweetness.

Written by Nick Payne and Esta Spalding, based on the book by JoJo Moyes and directed by Augustine Frizzell, the film beautifully recreates the mid-60's where we were still wearing hats and gloves.  A side note: Everyone thinks the 60's was all about hippies but that's not true.  I graduated from high school in 1966 and we were still dressing up with hats and gloves to go to church.

Yours truly with her mother, circa 1966.  

It wasn't until the end of the 60's and the early 70's that the hippie ethos really kicked in. 

Yours truly with a friend circa 1971.  I rest my case!

Rosy the Reviewer says.. it doesn't matter that this is predictable and that you know how it will end.  It's an old-fashioned romance and we need a satisfying ending, preferably with some tears attached - mine - and that's what I got. I enjoyed it and if you like romantic dramas, you will too.

(Now streaming on Netflix)

 

Honest Thief

A bank robber (Liam Neeson) falls in love and tries to go straight -- but it ain't workin' out.

I can't resist Liam Neeson movies. His ability to remain stoic in the face of adversity is a thing to behold. I mean who can forget these lines from the first "Taken" movie:

"...what I do have are a very particular set of skills...skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it...But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you."

Liam has made an entire career out of movies and lines like that, and this one is no exception, though I hate to say it's not as good. But if you like to see Liam work his way out of a sticky situation in his usual deadpan way, you will enjoy this.

Liam plays Tom Dolan AKA "The In-and-Out-Bandit," so-called because he has been robbing banks for six years. He gets in, he gets out. But now he is in love with Annie (Kate Walsh) and wants to get his past behind him. He wants to turn himself in, do his time and then get on with this life. But not as easy as it sounds. He calls the FBI to make a deal. He will turn himself in and hand over the money for a minimum sentence. However, here's the problem. THEY DON'T BELIEVE HIM! They have heard too many false confessions before. But when two of the cops finally decide to check his story out, they find the money and decide to keep it! So now poor Liam has to STEAL THE MONEY BACK!

Okay, I know. Implausible? Yes. But entertaining. Yes! It's Liam bloody Neeson. He always delivers.

So we have bent cops, car chases and over-the-top dialogue.

"I will never see you again."

"I promise you will."

"Because I am Liam bloody Neeson!"

I made that last line up but you get the drift.

Written by Steve Allrich and Mark Williams and directed by Williams, it's all very B-movie with lots of "Huh?" moments, e.g. I couldn't figure out how a guy could be stabbed in the scrotum with a pair of scissors and just keep going. But, you know, if you can suspend disbelief and all of that, this is fun.

Rosy the Reviewer says...it's kind of a cartoon but, hey, we love cartoons, right? And it's Liam Bloody Neeson!

(Available on Amazon Prime)

Supernova

Stanley Tucci and Colin Firth play a married couple dealing with dementia.

Sam and Tusker are a married couple who have been together for years, but two years before, Tusker was diagnosed with dementia and now he is declining quickly. The two decide to go on a road trip, one last one, to say goodbye to friends and family but more importantly to spend time together.  Just like a supernova - a star running out of fuel and exploding - so is Tusker's life.

So Sam and Tusker rent an RV and head out to travel around England's Lake District to see friends and family but when Sam discovers that Tusker has a suicide drug, that changes everything.

Written and directed by Harry Macqueen, this is a tender, quiet film that explores how dementia affects not just the person dealing with it, but that person's loved ones as well.

There is a quote highlighted in the film: 

"We will not starve from lack of wonders, but lack of wonder."

 And this film does not lack wonder. Tucci and Firth are wonderful in this, creating a completely believable, loving relationship between these two characters, often without saying a word.  This is probably their best work to date.

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you enjoy seeing two consummate actors at the top of their games at work, then this is for you.

(On DVD and available to rent on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Apple+ and Vudu)

Thanks for reading!

See you soon!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to click on the share buttons to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, email it to your friends and LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer 

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 "Critic 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)!

Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain (Review)

I have been a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain's ever since he wrote "Kitchen Confidential," a best-selling and scathing account of what goes on behind the scenes in restaurants.  Because of him, I would never order fish in a restaurant on a Monday. 

After studying at The Culinary Institute, Tony worked himself up to head chef at Les Halles restaurant in New York City and in his forties wrote "Kitchen Confidential," which in turn led to several TV shows where he traveled the world sampling international culture and all kinds of strange food.  It started with "A Cook's Tour" on the Food Network, followed by "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" and "The Layover" on the Travel Channel and finally "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" on CNN, which was more travelogue than food show.  He was also a judge on a cooking competition called "The Taste" for three seasons and wrote several other books and articles.  

And I watched and read them all because I loved Tony. He had a certain combination of dark humor and sensitivity that oozed warmth from the television that made me feel like he was my friend. He was also down-to-earth as he toured the world, hanging out with the locals, showing us out-of-the-way spots and teaching us how not to act like tourists.  And he seemed to be at the top of his game.

And then he hanged himself in France while filming "Parts Unknown."

But don't think this is a downer movie.  It is not.  It's all about a life well-lived.  

Through film archive footage and interviews with those who knew him - his second wife, Ottavia Busia, his brother, Christopher Bourdain, friends, colleagues and fellow chefs David Chang and Eric Ripert (Ripert was filming "Parts Unknown" with Tony when he died and found him in his hotel room), a portrait of Tony emerges that covers his life and career and it pulls no punches. He had a heroin habit at one time that he kicked, he had a dark side but he was also a talented writer as well as being a talented chef. Before his success, Tony sent emails to a publisher friend who was blown away by his eloquence and so "Kitchen Confidential" came into being and all that followed.  Success at 43.

But did Tony enjoy being successful?  Did he like being a Food Network star?  No.  He never wanted to be an Emeril or a Bobby Flay.  In fact, he had disdain for the Food Network.  And despite Tony's elan, he was quite self-deprecating and shy. His 30-year-relationship with his first wife fell apart and, even though he found happiness with his second wife, Ottavia Busia, and the birth of a daughter, life on the road - 150 days at a time - took its toll and he started to suffer from agoraphobia. And then a third relationship fell apart.

Does any of that explain why he did it?  

There are no easy answers and this film directed by Morgan Neville (who also directed the wonderful film about Mr. Rogers - "Won't You Be My Neighbor?") doesn't offer them. This is more about Tony's life than his death.  But there seems to be a theme: a smart, charming, sensitive guy who fought demons gets caught up in the fame machine and it chews him up and spits him out.

Hubby and I had the pleasure of meeting Tony.  We attended his one man show in Seattle and had VIP passes to a reception afterwards.  

He autographed his books and took pictures with us.

  

Here I am having my picture taken with Tony, something he must have done with fans hundreds of times.

I remember saying to him how much I enjoyed "The Layover" and he laughed and said he HATED doing that show. He was just so kind and down-to-earth, nary a bit of celebrity preening. He was a superstar who didn't act like one. He oozed warmth and self-deprecation and meeting him, I felt just like I did when I watched him on TV. He felt like a friend.

But now look at this picture. This is a less "official" one. 

You can see how happy I am to have met him, to have an autographed copy of his book, but then look over to the right at Tony.  Look how happy he looks.  He looks happy for ME being happy!  That picture says so much.  He made others happy, but, sadly, it seems he couldn't make himself happy.

So why did he do it? Was it the stress of life on the road? Was it his divorce?  Was it losing his latest love?  Did he feel unlovable?  We will never know.  But one thing I do know.  I loved him. 

Someone says in the film that Tony was always in pain and he tried to outrun it.  I guess he couldn't.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a brilliant documentary about a brilliant life well-lived that burned out too soon. I predict this will win the Oscar for Best Documentary at next year's Academy Awards. (In theatres and available On Demand and from Amazon Prime)

(Note:  I chose not to address the controvery surrounding director Neville's decision to use A.I. to replicate Tony's voice at certain times in the film because I don't really care.  It's a wonderful film.  But I hope it doesn't affect his winning an Oscar).

Thanks for reading!

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