My September 2026 Movie and TV Series Picks and Pans

[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!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to like it and share it on Facebook, X, or other sites; email it to your friends and/or follow me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer where I share short reviews about TV shows I am watching, books I am reading and all sorts of other fun stuff that doesn't appear here!

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)!

Biopics! - "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," "Being the Ricardos" and "What Happened, Brittany Murphy?"

[I review biopics "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," "Being the Ricardos," and "What Happened, Brittany Murphy?"]

 

The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021)

A biopic about Tammy Faye Bakker and her televangelist husband, Jim Bakker.

Watching this film, I couldn't help but wonder... why?  Why was this film made?

Why are we supposed to care now about Jim Bakker and his wife, Tammy Faye, 20+ years after they fell from grace in the midst of financial and sexual scandals?  And what led Jessica Chastain to want to play this role, portraying a woman who became a cartoon of herself? Oh, don't get me wrong. The film is well-done and Chastain channels Tammy Faye and Andrew Garfield, who plays Tammy Faye's husband, evangelist Jim Bakker, channels him too, but I don't feel that you would be able to appreciate Chastain's performance if you didn't know who Tammy Faye Bakker was (she died in 2007). So what is the deal?

Turns out, according to an interview with Chastain in the LA Times, while filming "Zero Dark Thirty" back in 2012, she came across a documentary on Bakker by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey (2000) and connected to it.  She secured the rights and went on a ten year journey to get it made.  When asked what she thought of Tammy Faye she said,

"I had this judgment against her, and I realized it's so fascinating how the media can give everyone a collective memory that may not really be the truth.  It's not right.  I wanted to do something about it to honor her...there's shade of me in [her]...Tammy Faye doesn't write anyone off.  I love that she believes everyone is deserving of love without judgment."

So that is how it came to be but again, I can't see that Tammy Faye Bakker is relevant today.  Maybe Jessica has a Tammy fetish because her next role is playing Tammy Wynette!

Tammy Faye and Jim met in college and decided early to devote themselves to God. Their work spreading The Word began with a puppet show ("Get the kids and their parents will follow") and eventually turned into their famous, or infamous, PTL Club.  Despite Tammy Faye's giggly personality, according to this film, she was the brains behind Jim and the power behind what was to be their evangelical empire.  

Chastain was amazing in this - the makeup, the mannerisms, the Minnesota accent.  She got it all spot on.  Likewise, Andrew Garfield was Jim Bakker.  Speaking of the make-up. Tammy Faye was made fun of for, er, famous for, her elaborate make-up, especially outrageous eyelashes and eye shadow.  So the title is apt, though it's also a metaphor for how she saw things. Despite her very conservative religious beliefs, she was also amazingly accepting of the LBTGQ community and the rights of others to be happy, even if she didn't agree with them. 

But is Chastain and the make-up enough to make this film work?  Yes and no.  If you didn't really know who the Bakkers were, you could take this film at face value - a film about a sweet televangelist who just wanted to love people - but if you do remember them, then you may feel that this film didn't go far enough about their deeds and misdeeds and you may ask the same question I did.  

Why?

Rosy the Reviewer says...adapted from the aforementioned documentary by Abe Sylvia and directed by Michael Showalter, this is an interesting film that is worth a look, particularly because of Jessica Chastain's "outside of the box" performance. (Netflix)

 

Being the Ricardos (2021)

A week in the life of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.

You young-uns out there (anyone born after 1960 is a young-un to me), might not know who these people are or ever seen an episode of "I Love Lucy." But back in the day, that show was a household staple, and the star, Lucille Ball, is arguably considered one of the greatest comic actresses in history, mostly because of her amazing physical humor.  Who can forget Lucy doing a commercial for the supplement vitameatavegamin and getting drunk on it (she didn't know it had alcohol in it) or her stint working in a candy factory where the assembly line got the better of her?  I could go on and on.  "I Love Lucy" was not just a household staple during the 1950's, it was also a staple of my childhood.

This film begins with Lucy (Nicole Kidman) already at the top of her game, but behind the scenes she is anything but the silly Lucy character she plays on her TV show.  In real life she is all business as she works to make her show better, deal with her husband, Desi's (Javier Bardem), suspected infidelities and fight off an accusation from Walter Winchell (no, not the donuts, he was an influential gossip columnist) that she is a Communist at a time when the House Un-American Activities Committee was going after actors suspected of liberal leanings. She was also pregnant and worried about how that would affect the show since TV not only never showed pregnant women, the word itself was taboo.  

And all of that was just one week in her life! 

And that perhaps is the weakness of this film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.  It's all over the place and tries to tackle too many issues.  Yes, Lucy was a shrewd business woman who belied the nutty character she played on TV.  Yes, Desi was a cheater.  And yes, she "checked the wrong box" once on a voter registration card.  But there was more to all three of those stories and the film just didn't delve deep enough, though we do learn some things about Lucy that perhaps we didn't know such as why she never became a big movie star and why she wanted to do a TV show (so she and Desi could be together).

That said, I thought my biggest reservation was going to be Nicole Kidman as Lucy.  I just couldn't see it. But she lowered her voice just enough to approximate Lucy's gravelly voice and was particularly skillful at reproducing some of Lucy's most famous antics on the show. And though she is way too skinny for Lucy or any other 50's woman for that matter, she pulled it all off. I found myself believing she was Lucy.  Nina Arianda as Vivian Vance and J.K. Simmons as William Frawley were also believable.  However, Javier Bardem as Desi?  I didn't buy it.  Much as I respect him for his acting, he was just too beefy and didn't exude the charm that Desi inately had that would explain why he was such a ladies man.

Rosy the Reviewer says...despite some reservations, this was still a satisfying film experience that honored Lucille Ball and brought back many happy memories of my childhood, though I could do without being reminded of the House Un-American Activities Commission (Amazon Prime).

What Happened Brittany Murphy? (2021)

An investigation into the mysterious death of actress Brittany Murphy.

Brittany Murphy was a successful actress in the 1990's who made her feature film debut as Tai Frasier in "Clueless" and went on to have critical success in such films as "Girl, Interrupted" and "8 Mile" among others. This two-part docuseries investigates her untimely and mysterious death at the age of 32. And to make matters even more mysterious, her husband died several months later of the same illness under the same mysterious circumstances.

Murphy was a successful actress whose career seemed to take a turn for the worse when she met her husband Simon Monjack, who appeared to be a con man and one of those guys who needed to run things.  Not having much going on before he met Murphy, when they married, he not only took over her career but appeared to take over her life, isolating her from others.  He also seemed to be one of those guys who liked wraiths. She lost a lot of weight after marrying him and didn't look well.  Let's just say that when she met him, she lost much of the joie de vivre for which she was known.  

Her death was a shock to those who knew her.  

An autopsy report said that the manner of death was "accidental" and the cause of death was pneumonia with secondary factors of severe iron-deficienty anemia and multiple over-the-counter drug intoxication meant to treat a cold or respiratory infection. Even more shocking was the death of Monjack soon after of seemingly similar causes. But huh?  There was no real reason for a seemingly healthy 32-year-old woman to just die. Murphy's mother lived with them and, after Brittany's death, she and Monjack went on a talk show tour of sorts, being interviewed about Brittany and there was a decided "ick factor" to that and their relationship (she would supposedly crawl into bed with Monjack to comfort him after Brittany died - double ick).  What was Brittany's mother's role?  We will never know.

This series, directed by Cynthia Hill, tries to figure out just what happened and though, frustratingly, there are no easy answers offered, the implication here is that Brittany was yet another young woman who had everything going for her but was vulnerable to her insecurities and met the wrong guy.

Rosy the Reviewer says...If, like me, you are a sucker for true crime and unsolved mystery stuff, especially when it involves celebrities, you will like this. (HBO Max)   

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)!

(NOTE:  If you are looking for a particular movie or series, check out this cool site: JustWatch.  It tells you where you can access all TV series and movies)