[I review "Fly Me To The Moon," "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story," and the French foodie film, "The Taste of Things"]
Fly Me to the Moon (2024)
Remember that conspiracy theory about how the U.S. never really landed on the moon and what we saw was all faked? Well, this rom-com has fun with that idea.
In late 1968, Manhattan advertising executive Kelly Jones (Scarlett Johansson) is offered a high-stakes job by Moe Berkus (Woody Harrelson), a covert government operative working for President-elect Richard Nixon. The U.S. space program had been put on hold partly partly because of the Vietnam War and the costs of running a space program but also because of waning interest in the Space Race in general. The program was in need of some PR, and Berkus tasks her with revitalizing NASA's bad public image. "Sell the moon!!" Kelly has a bit of a bad image herself and Berkus threatens to uncover it if she doesn't agree to take the job, so off to Cocoa Beach, Florida Kelly goes with her loyal assistant, Ruby.
Almost upon arrival, Kelly "meets cute" with Cole Davis (Channing Tatum), the serious and principled launch director at the Kennedy Space Center before either knows who the other is, but when they eventually meet at work, a love-hate relationship begins. There was immediate attraction between the two, but Cole is uptight and serious and doesn't approve of Kelly's techniques. She is a force of nature and not above doing what she needs to do to get her way. For example, when Cole tells her that his men don't do interviews, she hires actors to, not only pretend to be the space scientists so they can do interviews, but hires an actor to also be Cole. They also clash over Kelly's move to get corporate sponsorships e.g. the astronauts wearing Omega watches up in space and drinking Tang.
As NASA prepares for the historic Apollo 11 mission, Kelly suggests broadcasting the moon landing using a television camera on the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), a proposal Cole dismisses as impractical. However, Moe secretly endorses the idea and reveals an additional, shadowy directive to Kelly: she must prepare a fake moon landing to be aired if the real mission fails, a project codenamed "Artemis," a name that is an eery forshadowing for today. Once again, Moe threatens to expose Kelly's past if she doesn't cooperate, and then it comes to light that Moe wants them to broadcast the fake transmission, no matter what, even if the launch is successful.
Kelly becomes increasingly uneasy with the deception, especially as she and Cole grow closer and their romantic relationship blossoms, though it still manifests some love/hate issues. This is an opposites attract kind of rom/com.
There are some twists and turns and bumps along the way, not only in the launch, but in Cole's and Kelly's relationship and a black cat figures prominently in the outcome.
Scarlett and Channing are two beautiful people playing in the usual "I love you, I hate you" rom-com. It's fun to see their relationship play out in this scenario, and it's especially fun to see all of the behind-the-scenes machinations that go into a space launch. It's also fun to be reminded of that old conspiracy theory that the moon landing never happened and was fake,which is especially appropos today two years after this movie was released with astronauts up in space right now, flying around the moon in a spaceship called "Artemis."
Scarlett is expecially good here playing a smooth saleswoman who will do anything to get what she wants. And I couldn't help but wonder where she has been? She hasn't done many movies in the last few years. And Channing is more subdued but still a handsome guy to watch. Oh, and keep your eye out for a cameo by Scarlett's husband, Colin Jost. If you blink, you will miss him.
With a screenplay by Rose Gilroy and directed by Greg Berlanti, this is one of those "what if?" scenarios, and though a bit overlong, it reminded me of those old feel-good rom-coms we don't see much anymore. But it also unintentionally made me ask myself - with another war going on and so many domestic issues, does anyone really still care about space travel?
Rosy the Reviewer says...if you have missed seeing Scarlett Johansson or are a Channing fan and you are looking for an old-fashioned rom/com in an unusual setting, you might just love this to the moon and back. Or maybe not. (Apple+)
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
Young Al's (Richard Aaron Anderson) Dad wants Al to follow him into the factory where he works, but Al wants to write parody songs. Al's Dad is not happy, but Al's mother secretly purchases an accordion for Al. Years later, an older Al is living with his roommates Steve (Spencer Treat Clark), Jim (Jack Lancaster) and Bermuda (Tommy O'Brien), and is constantly rejected in band auditions as an accordion player, but while listening to "My Sharona" on the radio and fixing a bologna sandwich, Al is inspired to write "My Bologna," which becomes a huge hit and Al becomes a huge star...and a huge ego.
The story goes on to show how Al wrote "I Love Rocky Road" and "Another One Rides the Bus," meeting his idol Dr. Demento (played by Rainn Wilson), who becomes his manager, how he got the name "Weird Al," and his love affair with Madonna who is dying for him to parody one of her songs - at this point, if you haven't already figured it out, that you are being drawn into a Weird Al parody of his own life, you will stop going "Huh?" When Al gets involved with a drug lord, you will certainly realize Al is having fun with you (he can't help himself), and when he eventually reconciles with his father, who shares that he grew up in an Amish community where he wasn't allowed to play the accordion, you will be shaking your head. And there is more, but you get the idea.
It's difficult to know what is true and what is Al's imagination or exaggeration in this parody of his life written by Al and director Eric Appel. For example, Al did become a great accordion player after a door-to-door salesman selling accordions stopped by his house when he was a young boy; Madonna did want him to parody one of her songs, but as far as I can tell, Al never had a love affair with her; nor did he take drugs despite the scene where he goes off on an LSD trip. I also don't think he had to save Madonna from a drug lord or was on the cover of People Magazine as "The Sexiest Man Alive (duh)," but that's not the point. This is a comedy. Al is making fun of himself, and it's a lot of fun.
Let's just say it becomes apparent very soon that this is not a biopic of Weird Al, but yet another parody from the weird mind of Weird Al. Daniel Radcliffe does a good job of playing Al and is joined by a star-studded cast of comedians in cameos playing other famous people - I mean Conan O'Brien as Andy Warhol? Will Forte, Patton Oswalt, Michael McKean, Jack Black and others make appearances. It's fun to try to spot them.
Rosy the Reviewer says...an over-the-top biopic parody of Weird Al's life. Can we expect anything different from Weird Al? (For rent on Amazon Prime)
The Taste of Things (2023)
Set in 1889, this film depicts the romance between Eugenie, a cook, and M. Dodin, the gourmet chef for whom she has been working for over 20 years.
Winner of several awards and chosen as the French entry for "Best International Feature Film" at the 2024 Academy Awards, the movie begins on a country estate in France in 1889. Eugénie (Juliette Binoche) works as a cook for Dodin (Benoit Magimel), a gourmet, who loves not only her cooking but it appears, he loves her too. Eugénie and Dodin, along with her assistant Violette (Galatea Bellugi) and Violette's young niece Pauline (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire), who is visiting for the day, prepare an intricate meal for Dodin's friends.The group meets regularly to eat and enjoy food and praise Eugénie for her artistry. And let me tell you, they eat a LOT!
And let me also tell you. We see every... single... bit... of the preparation. The first 30+ minutes of the film is, well, cooking. Every ingredient gets its close-up (thank you, Mr. DeMille)! This is a film for major foodies. If there is such a thing as food porn, this is it.
Eugénie and Dodin, both middle-aged, are in a sort of long-term romantic relationship, but maintain separate bedrooms. He has asked her to marry him several times, but she has declined, preferring that they maintain their relationship as they are. Somehow being his cook rather than his wife allows her to lock her bedroom door from time to time. However, their real joy is in developing new recipes and preparations together.
For the first hour of the film, it's a quiet worship of food, but then Eugénie begins to experience fainting spells, and Dodin grows worried about her health. His doctor friend, Rabaz (Emmanuel Salinger), is unable to determine the cause, and Eugénie persistently claims she is fine. After one such scary fainting episode, Dodin cooks an intricate meal for her and includes an engagement ring hidden in a dessert. Talk about a slow burn. It's taken him 20 years to get that together. But Eugenie finally accepts Dodin's proposal, and they plan to marry in the "autumn of their lives."
He should have asked sooner.
The French are known for their passion for fine food and wine, and this film captures that passion. Written and directed by Anh Hung Tran, Dodin is based on Dodin-Bouffant, from the 1924 novel by Swiss author Marcel Rouff - "La Vie et la Passion de Dodian-Bouffant, gourmet" ("The Passionate Epicure"). It is one of those slow-moving French films meant to evoke emotion through sight and sound. And if you have emotion about food, this is for you! It's all very elegant, gentile and sensual. The cinematography is glorious. There is one scene where a large party is taking place on the grounds of the chateau and everyone is seated at a long table, and it looks exactly like a Renoir painting.
I love my cooking shows, so this film feeds right into that (pardon the pun), and I also love Juliette Binoche and I love love...so food, Juliette, love...what more could I ask for? Who wouldn't want to watch the beautiful Juliette Binoche prepare gourmet food? She is a charming actress no matter what she does. She has been charming us in films for years, and she may be in the "autumn" of her life, but she is still beautiful and luminous. I could watch her prepare food for hours.
Rosy the Reviewer says...this film might not be for everyone, but like dining at a five-star Michelin restaurant, it is an experience. If you consider yourself a foodie, you will want to see this. It is food porn at its finest! (Hulu)
