SXSW: Kiersey Clemons captivates in ‘The Young Wife’

by Abe Friedtanzer

Kiersey Clemons is a superb talent who has proven her ability in films like Hearts Beat Loud and Asking for It. She is once again magnetic in writer-director Tayarisha Poe’s follow-up to Selah and the Spades as a bride that no one seems to truly notice or care about being happy. The Young Wife isn’t nearly as depressing or foreboding as another miserable wedding movie, Melancholia, but there’s still a sense something could go seriously wrong at any moment, and only its title character would notice.

Onscreen text invites audiences to the party - it’s not a wedding - of Celestina (Clemons) and River (Leon Bridges). A horde of people descend on Celestina’s home, each arriving with their own energy and distinctly ignoring the vibe she’d like to have on her big day...

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Showbiz History: Marilyn & Joe, Jennifer & Elektra, Samuel & LaTanya

7 random things that happened today, January 14th, in showbiz history

newlyweds leaving City Hall

1954 Marilyn Monroe, hot off of her superstar making year, elopes with baseball star Joe DiMaggio to San Francisco City Hall. He would be abusive and possessive and they would divorce the following year but stayed entangled  for the rest of her life.

1970 The Supremes perform their final concert together in Las Vegas... 

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Showbiz History: Three celebrity weddings and a biopic suggestion

4 things that happened on this day, December 31st, in showbiz history

1992 Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved and the Czech Republic and Slovakia both emerge from the split. Which means, for our purposes here at TFE that they started all new Oscar submission histories ;) Czechoslovakia had had six Oscar nominations and two wins from 23 submissions the bulk of which were in Czech (though one of their winners, The Shop on Main Street was Slovakian). Interestingly enough just after the split in 1993 only Slovakia submitted to the Oscars while the Czech Republic took a year off. The Czech Repubic has since won one Oscar (Kolya) and had two additional nominations (Divided We Fall and Zelary) and a finalist (The Painted Bird last season). The Czech submission this year is Charlatan. Slovakia has yet to be nominated though they have a Holocaust drama this year, The Auschwitz Report... 

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Showbiz History: Olivia marries, Spice Girls act, and Gone With the Wind premieres

7 random things that happened on this day, December 15th, in showbiz history

1939 Gone With the Wind has its world premiere in Atlanta, Georgia. The premiere was very well documented because the movie was so famous even before release. It was three days (!!!) of festivities in Georgia for the world premiere to usher in the surefire blockbuster.  NYC followed a few days later and LA just after Christmas before the movie went nationwide in January of 1940. If you adjust for inflation it's still the highest grossing movie of all time (with Star Wars, The Sound of Music, E.T. and Titanic completing the top five).

1978 Ryan O'Neal risks a sequel to his blockbuster Oscar hit Love Story (1970) called Oliver's Story, new in theaters on this day. It's hard to capture lightning in a bottle twice and critics and audiences weren't fond... 

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Gay Best Friend: Gareth & Matthew in "Four Weddings and a Funeral"

by Christopher James

Mike Newell’s Four Weddings and a Funeral is an odd delight. The Best Picture nominee (I know, right?!) takes place almost entirely at those five titular events. Every three months, at least half the ensemble gets engaged or married. Despite having chemistry, our lead couple Charles (Hugh Grant) and Carrie (Andie MacDowell) seem to only exist in hotel rooms. Similarly, we skip over a lot of development with the other members of the core friend group. That’s part of the fun of the film. With such large gaps between weddings and funerals, we get snippets of their lives, rather than full pictures. Thus, putting an out gay couple on equal screen time footing as the rest of the members of the ensemble was a major step forward. 

However, by only showing glimpses, we get a rather incomplete look at Gareth (Simon Callow) and Matthew (John Hannah). Still, they were a major step forward in the “gay best friend” trope because they got to be out and in a healthy, loving relationship... 

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