I’m just going to say it: you seem bored. Luckily, your pal Brendo is always on call to share some things I’ve watched lately that I’ve enjoyed and think you may enjoy as well! Honestly, I give and I give and I give. Would it kill you to call?
A Real Pain
If you’re like me, you see that something gets Oscar buzz and think “Wow - this is probably a shitty movie!” And most of the time, we’re right! The Oscars tend to reward the most mawkish brand of acting and schmaltziest and heavy-handed of writing. But A Real Pain is a real exception. Wordplay! You love it!
A Real Pain is a small well-written story with fully constructed humans and complex relationships. It’s also got a lot of funny with its pathos. And if you’ve followed my work at all, you know that’s my go-to combo - funny and pathetic. (Will “Funny and Pathetic” be written on my tombstone? Wait 7 years and find out!) Kieran Culkin gives a terrific performance that is at turns enthralling and infuriating, leaving us with one of my favorite type of movie experiences: thinking “I know that guy!”
Night Bitch
“Amy Adams in a pregnancy-themed horror movie? No thanks!” That’s what I thought too! But we can be wrong, friends. We can be wrong. Full of dark humor and surrealism, Night Bitch takes us through the interior life of young motherhoood through the metaphor of turning into a dog. It walks a nice line of being wonderfully unhinged while not losing touch of the grounded human emotion underneath. I didn’t love the third act (no spoilers but I feel like it walked things back a little), but overall definitely worth a watch as a funny, surprising, and truthful look into the fact that having children is horrible and everyone who says it isn’t is lying.
Friendship
When I watched this one at the Burbank AMC over the weekend, I recognized maybe a dozen faces in the audience from the LA improv community. This was no surprise. Tim Robinson is sort of the alternative comedy pope these days. With apologies to Nathan Fielder, Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave has left a tsunami-sized comedy wake unlike anything else in the last decade. So I was excited to see what Robinson’s signature sideways aggression/neediness could bring to a longer narrative.
It didn’t disappoint! Interestingly, the story of Robinson as a needy neighbor trying to befriend cool guy Paul Rudd could have easily been shot in a traditional Judd Apatow-style big Hollywood comedy. But director Andrew DeYoung made the interesting choice to light and score Friendship like an arthouse horror film. As a result, there is a creepiness factor throughout that makes the comedy pop in this cool, atypical way. Robinson is his predictably sideways self while Paul Rudd continues to never make a misstep. It’s funny!
Say Nothing
In a complete gear shift, we move from a cringe bromance comedy feature to a historical drama series about IRA bombers! I contain multitudes, bitches!
As I mentioned in my St. Patrick’s Day edition, my green paddy arse is super drawn to stories about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Say Nothing tells the true story of Dolours and Marian Price, two sisters convicted of IRA bombings in London. While the series has been criticized for some historical flaws, it is a compelling portrait of the inner turmoil and uneasy grey areas of one of the most complex and fascinating times in Irish history. It eschews any easy heroes and villains and imbues the characters with depth and dark humor that is quintessentially Irish.
Murderville
I rewatched this one recently on a lark and maybe it’s because of my recent improv journey, but I had a whole new appreciation for the comedy artistry of this show. Will Arnett as Detective Terry Seattle takes a celebrity guest (Conan O’Brien, Sharon Stone, and others) through an improvised murder mystery which the unknowing guest has to solve. It combines two of my favorite things - murder mysteries and improvised silliness. And I don’t know that I’ve laughed much harder than the solutions Jason Bateman, Maya Rudolph, and Pete Davidson gave at the climax of the Christmas special. If there is a comedy God (there isn’t, nor is there a regular God), we will get another season of this one.
Shooting Guards
This is part of Netflix’s “Untold” sports documentary series (similar to ESPN’s “30 for 30” but I guess with less Bill Simmons?) about the infamous ‘guns in the locker room’ incident between Washington Wizards players Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenden. These days, I love watching sports documentaries way more than watching actual sports. The story reported in Shooting Guards is a heartbreaking lesson in the heavy and often hidden impact of nonsensical masculine bravado. Well worth a watch even if you don’t give two shits about professional basketball. My only complaint was that they left all Washington Bullets jokes on the table. Come on, Untold. You think Bill Simmons wouldn’t have nailed that lay up?
So there you are! Stuff for you to watch! I’m an American hero!
Boogie Writes is a completely independent endeavor by one hard-working funnyman trying to make his way in the world today (which takes everything you’ve got.) If you like what you read, please subscribe, support, and tell a friend! Also - do you need advice? Of course you do! Send your queries to brendan@brendanboogie.com with “Dear Boogie” in the subject and get some solid or at least passable advice!