Humor at the Oscars: Where Was It?

by Eric Blume

ABC/Art Streiber

My Oscar assignment for the site was to do a review of the show's hosts (Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer, and Regina Hall) and cover the evening's best jokes.  But the next day, it's difficult-come-impossible to do such a thing, because there really was little to no humor in the show! In fact, the evening drove into such an abyss of darkness that it was actually full-on depressing.  What can one say about a program that is meant to honor the highest artistic achievements of the craft, when there is no attention given to art, achievement, or craft?

I will do my best to quickly execute my given assignment nonetheless. There were jokes in there somewhere...

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Interview: Sean Baker and Simon Rex on 'Red Rocket'

by Nathaniel R

What film character will you remember best from the past year? One of our contenders for that crown is, for better and worse, Mikey Saber, the motor-mouthed adult film actor in Red Rocket. Better, because he's wonderfully written by Sean Baker and brilliantly played by Simon Rex. Worse because he's a walking disaster and narcissistic predator. Though the indie grossed a solid $1 million in limited release, it would surely have been a bigger success if its raucous mix of sex/cringe/character comedy could have played to more crowded theaters in non-pandemic times. Still, a Cannes competition premiere, 3 Gotham Award nominations, and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association win for Best Actor makes Red Rocket's brief run a major success. The film and Simon Rex's devilishly funny star turn are both bound to pick up more admirers soon on home viewing.

We had the privilege of sitting down briefly with writer/director Sean Baker and star Simon Rex prior to the release to talk about the film. [This interview has been edited for length and clarity...]

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ACE Eddie Awards split on musicals, embracing "tick tick... BOOM!" while shunning "West Side Story"

by Nathaniel R

a split decision on the big musicals of 2021

The American Cinema Editor's Guild is the second of four guilds to announce on this unofficial "Super Thursday" in which PGA, ACE, DGA, and WGA are all announcing... It's the last big precursor announcement before Oscar nominations on February 8th. The biggest surprise if that they've shunned the energetic precision of West Side Story in Best Editing but somehow Don't Look Up (with considerable pacing / rhythm problems) was honored. tick, tick... BOOM!'s nomination is interesting given the West Side Story cold shoulder. The list of nominees and a few more comments after the jump...

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Sundance: 'Cha Cha Real Smooth' is Frustrating, But Lands On Its Feet

by Eurocheese

Cooper Raiff wrote and directed Cha Cha Real Smooth, in which he stars as Andrew, a conflicted often frustrating man. The first scenes show Andrew in romantic situations at different ages (preteen and just after college), letting the audience know two things about him: he speaks without a filter when it comes to his emotions, and he falls head over heels when he is drawn to someone. When he isn’t romantically entangled, he stays with his loving mother (Leslie Mann) and her boyfriend (Brad Garrett), who he taunts at every opportunity. (At one point, Andrew asks the boyfriend if his purpose on earth is to make things weird… which someone should have been asking him instead!) 

Andrew’s outspoken nature is an excuse to be casually cruel at times though people find him charming. The script relies too heavily on this “charm,” including when he attends a bar mitzvah with his brother and meets Domino (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter Lola (Vanessa Burghardt). It’s clear he feels a spark with Domino right off the bat. The feeling is mutual though he makes remarks that would have most people running away from him... 

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Ariana DeBose, Saturday Night Live, and Oscar Campaigns

by Nathaniel R

As you may have heard Best Supporting Actress Oscar hopeful Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) will be hosting Saturday Night Live when the show returns tomorrow, January 15th. That's just 12 days before the Academy starts voting on nominations. Which got us to thinking: How often is Saturday Night Live used as a campaign stop for Oscar hopefuls and is it successful? Let's do a little research. We're only going back five years for time constraint reasons but we do wonder when this became a thing or if it's always been thus? I have only ever been a casual SNL viewer but perhaps there are Saturday Night Live experts reading who could shed some light...

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