THE CAST – Iliza Shlesinger, Tom Welling, Megan Mullally, Lola Tung, Garrett Wareing, Cassidy Freeman & Aimee Garcia

THE TEAM – Josephine Decker (Director) & Iliza Shlesinger (Writer)

THE RUNNING TIME – 98 Minutes

Much was written about the supposed death of romantic comedies a decade or so ago. Far less has been said about the genre’s resurgence, or reshaping, in the mid-2000s. No filmmaker had a greater impact on that era than Judd Apatow, who fused raunchy, R-rated humor with traditional romance to revitalize a form that had begun to feel creatively exhausted. Much has changed since then, though you might not know it from watching “Chasing Summer,” a nostalgic, crowd-pleasing rom-com that feels as if it stepped straight out of the late 2000s. That sensibility may seem like an unexpected match for filmmaker Josephine Decker, known for challenging, experimental work like “Madeline’s Madeline.” Still, the result is a glossy, fun picture designed to entertain.

Iliza Shlesinger writes and stars in “Chasing Summer,” her second time doing both following “Good on Paper” in 2021. She plays Jamie, a successful disaster relief worker who thrives on her workaholism, at least until she is abruptly dumped by her boyfriend while on assignment. Suddenly homeless and between job sites, she returns to her hometown in Texas. Jamie is not someone who simply grew up and moved away. She fled after years of accumulated drama. Slowly, the details come into focus: her cheating ex Chase (Tom Welling), rumor-spreading classmates led by Aimee Garcia, and her recovering addict sister Marissa (Cassidy Freeman). There is plenty she would rather avoid. Her parents (Megan Mullally and Jeff Perry) are loving but predictably overbearing, making her temporary return anything but comfortable.

For now, Jamie wants very little beyond a place to crash while preparing for her next job in Indonesia. Instead of reflecting on her future, she slips easily back into her teenage habits, immaturity, and all. While this approach mostly works, the film never fully establishes her as a well-adjusted adult, leaving her to feel emotionally stalled. Even upon returning home, her strongest connection is with a much younger employee (Lola Tung) at her sister’s skating rink. Still, these shortcomings matter less when the comedy is landing as consistently as it does. Shlesinger is endlessly charming as Jamie re-immerses herself in Texas culture. Whether she is blasting Sum 41 or downing oversized convenience-store drinks, the film leans hard into nostalgia and broad humor. It strongly recalls the Apatow-era rom-coms, right down to its lovable but underdeveloped lead.

To its credit, “Chasing Summer” eventually grows into a more mature emotional space. Jamie begins a relationship with Colby (Garrett Wareing), a much younger man whose optimism and openness reflect what she feels she has lost. More importantly, reconnecting, sometimes reluctantly, with her former classmates reveals that her memories of the past are incomplete. This is where the film truly shines. Many of us believe we have outgrown the people we left behind, only to discover that they have evolved as well. They are not frozen in old conflicts, as we imagine. Through these realizations, Jamie is forced to confront her own arrested development. It is a thoughtful, vulnerable insight, even if it is occasionally buried beneath broad comedy and familiar plotting.

Predictable as it may be, “Chasing Summer” has enough easygoing charm to keep things moving. While it may seem like a conventional project for Decker, her visual sensibility brings a grounded authenticity to the material. The stripped-down aesthetic makes the story feel more sincere than it might in the hands of a more polished studio. Ultimately, “Chasing Summer” works as a loving throwback to raunchy rom-coms. Though it plays things relatively safe, it sticks the landing, offering a warm, hopeful take on what it means to go home again.

The post “CHASING SUMMER” appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Susan Sarandon, Bette Midler, Megan Mullally, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Bruce Greenwood, Timothy V. Murphy & Michael Bolton

THE TEAM – Jocelyn Moorhouse (Director), Ann Marie & Allison Jenna Milly (Writers)

THE RUNNING TIME – 99 Minutes

Some of the greatest female love stories in film are platonic. Close friendships between women are integral, and the subject of friends traveling together adds an insightful layer to the dynamic. A change in scenery can strengthen, rekindle, or challenge relationships for better or worse. Girls trip films have seen an uptick in recent years with 2017’s “Girls Trip,” 2023’s double whammy of “Joy Ride” and “80 for Brady,” and now this year’s summer release, “The Fabulous Four.” Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, the film stars Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Megan Mullally as four lifelong friends who travel to Key West for a wedding celebration. “The Fabulous Four” is far from fabulous, with Midler and Sarandon having seen far more engaging trips with 1988’s “Beaches” and 1991’s “Thelma & Louise” respectively. Given the accomplished cast, one might expect an entertaining picture, but each faces an unfortunate challenge at nearly every turn. From the rough editing and odd direction to an undeveloped screenplay and forced sense of humor, “The Fabulous Four” sets up one roadblock after another without any improvement.

Marilyn (Midler), Lou (Sarandon), Kitty (Ralph), and Alice (Mullally) have known each other since college. The film’s opening montage gives a brief rundown of their characters. Marilyn is in her influencer era on TikTok, Lou is a cat-obsessed doctor, Kitty is a botanist who makes special weed gummies, and Alice works in the music industry. Their opposite personalities attract, presumably explaining why they still orbit around each other’s lives. The film fails to explore what exactly draws and holds them together. Instead, the story focuses on bad blood between two of the friends. Many years ago, Marilyn fell in love with and married the man Lou was seeing, a betrayal that still stings. Lou still holds a grudge for losing a potential romance and gaining a broken friendship. Marilyn hopes the two can reconnect and uses a wedding celebration in Key West as the perfect opportunity. A few months after losing her husband, Marilyn surprises everyone by getting engaged and wants the old college gang back together to be her bridesmaids. Kitty and Alice, knowing full well that Lou would never accept the invitation, coerce her into traveling. All hell breaks loose when Lou discovers the truth, making the girls’ trip a bumpy emotional ride ahead. Will she ever forgive Marilyn? Or is their friendship a lost cause?

Jocelyn Moorhouse is no stranger to the non-sensical. Her previous feature, “The Dressmaker,” a camp dark comedy about a couture seamstress with a vengeance, works in mysterious ways. Moorehouse’s directorial sensibility is peculiar and experimental, which works against the familiar breezy narrative of “The Fabulous Four.” A simple story about lifelong friends putting their past grievances aside is made surreal to the absolute extreme. Each plot development feels overtly dramatized, especially the recurring nightmare of Marilyn betraying Lou. Plus, some characters (Marilyn and Alice in particular) are exaggerated to a near caricature degree. “The Fabulous Four” egregiously coasts on the shine of a star-studded cast. However, there is only so much charisma the actors can bring to make insubstantial material feel worthwhile. One can easily tell that Sarandon, Ralph, Mullally, and especially Midler enjoyed each other’s company making this film. Still, their quality time comes at a cost, given such a middling outcome on-screen.

Co-written by Ann Marie Allison and Jenna Milly, the screenplay flirts between intendedly heartfelt and mischievous but struggles to excel at both tones. The result is a mess of different energies patched together. Attempts are made to explore the double standards of aging and how women are perceived as having less value as they grow older. Sarandon’s performance personifies this message to some extent. Lou is more cautious than her fun-loving friends, partly because of the hurt and disappointment harbored over the years. However, the potential for this thematic exploration is reduced mainly to one monologue in which Lou pleads that she still matters, regardless of how much time goes by. While Sarandon plays this moment with expected gravitas, the scene is a mere glimpse of a role (and a story) that could have been more interesting to engage with.

The silver lining of the film is its embrace of older women’s stories, which are increasingly more difficult to get financed. Each character is identified as the lead of their own life, rather than as the mother/grandmother figure. Unfortunately, the screenplay fails to explore the characters beyond at a glance. Not only does the writing lack nuance, but also enthusiasm in keeping the viewer entirely on board with this girls’ trip. Plus, the effort to engage with today’s culture through TikTok and fan cams has little resounding impact. Ultimately, the mismatched direction and writing make “The Fabulous Four” an oddly uninspiring and painfully flat experience. There is a sorely missed opportunity here in not pushing the unique talents of Midler, Sarandon, Ralph, and Mullally to their full potential, especially given the more mischievous elements of the story.

The post “THE FABULOUS FOUR” appeared first on Next Best Picture.

THE CAST – Josh Sharp, Aaron Jackson, Megan Mullally, Megan Thee Stallion, Bowen Yang & Nathan Lane

THE TEAM – Larry Charles (Director), Josh Sharp & Aaron Jackson (Writers)
​
THE RUNNING TIME – 86 Minutes

If you thought you’d seen every iteration of “The Parent Trap,” the most profane and preposterous version likely ever to exist has arrived. Absurd is the word for “Dicks: The Musical,” an off-the-wall concoction that must be seen to be believed, though not without notice of its acquired taste. Directed by Larry Charles, known to offend with Sacha Baron Cohen-led films such as 2006’s “Borat,” 2009’s “Brüno,” and 2012’s “The Dictator,” the film is an outrageous queer comedy that outdoes its ridiculousness at every turn. Co-writers Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp engage with a specific tone and take on the switcheroo synopsis of “The Parent Trap” – twins who discover they had been separated at birth switch places to reunite their estranged parents in the hopes of piecing their family back together. Insanity ensues when it turns out the twins’ parents are absolutely bizarre, made wildly unhinged by the musical acting stylings of Megan Mullally and Nathan Lane. While not all of “Dicks: The Musical” successfully lands at all, and it can be obnoxious to watch, there is never a dull moment with the swing it takes on a comedic and visceral level.

Based on the off-Broadway show “Fucking Identical Twins” by Josh Sharp and Aaron Jackson, the story is told from the perspective of two self-centered businessmen, Craig (Sharp) and Trevor (Jackson). They behave as alpha males on top of the world. Both are the prized pigs of the sales department at a company that makes wheels, gears, and teeny tiny brushes. The film plays into the gag of Craig and Trevor being identical twins who look nothing alike. The two discover their family ties when a company merger forces them to work together. Their corporate-fueled opening number is chock-full of sharp line deliveries, as well as visual humor such as parody film posters plastered on walls (from “My Queer Lady” to “The Gay Odd Couple”). The number immediately sets the film’s parodic tone, as does the opening text beforehand, which makes a joke about gay actors being “brave” enough to play heterosexual characters. Sharp and Jackson establish a strong satirical lens and self-awareness from the very start. “Dicks: The Musical” continues to build on its absurdity until all hell breaks loose – from a flying vagina to a pair of gremlin-looking “sewer boys,” and that does not even begin to capture the insanity.

The film sometimes feels like an experiment of how much craziness can be thrown to the wall and how much can stick. But there is an overall sense of control over the chaos. Sharp and Jackson’s screenplay maintains a consistently unusual vision, and the eclectic performances are fully committed to the gags. The film would completely fall apart without the actors’ idiosyncrasies and impeccable timing. Starring as the twins, Sharp and Jackson are appropriately exaggerated and bring a reliable energy to the screen. Part of the film’s humor is in watching their confusion and terror towards their parents’ behavior, as the twins’ estranged mom and dad, Evelyn and Harris, both Mullally and Lane channel characters who feel like they are from an alternate universe.

To make the switch with each other, Craig and Trevor put on terrible wigs and commit very little effort to embody the other’s personality. They are too busy simply anticipating the opportunity to spend quality time with the parent they had never met. Craig wishes for a mother to be anything but kooky (Evelyn is Megan Mullally in kooky mode, times infinity). Trevor wants a father to do all the stereotypically boring dad activities with (Harris is Nathan Lane). Mullally and Lane surpass all expectations, doing and saying things one could never imagine from their wildest dreams. Not only are the actors of service to insane dialogue and outrageous scenarios, but they also add unique talent and pathos to the depiction of these characters. Mullally, doing the strangest voice work and sporting the quirkiest costume, puts on a singular show full of surprises. Her character, Evelyn, is a total recluse who converses in the most peculiar of ways. Her musical numbers are amongst the film’s most surreal moments, as are each one of her deliveries, with lines such as “I switched the tea and the sand again.” Mullally’s use of pauses for comedic effect is also a humorous standout.

Adding to the surrealism is an excellent performance by Lane; his instantly welcoming presence grows anticipation for what his character will do next. Harris has come out as gay, and his only companionship is a pair of “sewer boys” named Backpack and Whisper (puppets that look like deranged gremlins) he had found while inexplicably riding a boat down a sewer. Lane’s brilliantly wonderful comedic timing, grand musical numbers, and underlying poignancy cobble together into an unforgettable performance. Among the ensemble standouts Lane and Mullally, the film has a fun cast, including a great narrator, Bowen Yang as God (literally), and an entertaining Megan Thee Stallion as the twins’ boss, Gloria. Stallion, making her feature film debut, has a catchy musical number, “Out-Alpha the Alpha,” during which she commands the screen.

As amusing as “Dicks: The Musical” can be, mainly thanks to the committed performances, the obnoxious and juvenile humor is more often than not exhausting and tedious to watch. The hit-or-miss jokes are patience-testers, and the unhinged “Parent Trap” concept starts to wear thin far earlier than hoped for. Considering the hyperactive energy of the material, Larry Charles’s direction falls surprisingly flat. The musical numbers are a fun exception, with choreography that plays to the actors’ strengths and the physicality of their performances. From Lane’s “Gay Old Life” number to the entire cast’s “All Love Is Love” at the film’s conclusion. But the world-building outside of those sequences lacks creativity. The writing also veers into repetitive territory, which is especially frustrating given the film’s short runtime.

“Dicks: The Musical” will not be for everyone, and it does not always work. It is funnier in hindsight when reflecting on the sheer fact that this film managed to get made and that Nathan Lane feeds deli meat to his “sewer boys” directly from his mouth, just one example of how unhinged the story becomes. Lane endearingly refers to the humiliation he feels during the end-credit bloopers, having a grand time but wondering what he is doing in the film. As the viewer, this sentiment is deeply relatable. The glimpse into the making of “Dicks: The Musical” may very well be more amusing than the film itself.

The post “DICKS: THE MUSICAL” appeared first on Next Best Picture.