Obvious Child 📚
Today's movie is a romantic comedy streaming on Netflix
Happy Tuesday 💥 I’m a day late, but I promise it’s worth the wait. Don’t forget to sign up for biweekly movie recommendations and news:
I think we could all use a lighter watch right now. So, today’s recommendation is for the romantic comedy Obvious Child — streaming on Netflix.
Here’s what it’s about: Donna (Jenny Slate) is an aspiring stand-up comedian who plays gigs after her shifts at a bookstore. After one particularly bad drunken set after a breakup she has sex with charming nerd Max (a swoon-worthy Jake Lacy). However, when that one night stand results in a pregnancy, she has to balance her own desires with a promising new relationship. [Trailer]
Why you should watch it: There’s something so special about Obvious Child. It’s not the plot, which feels like an amalgamation of indie dramedy cliches — the failure to launch twentysomething thrown into a situation that requires them to grow up fast and the too-perfect love interest they push away. Instead, it’s the clear female-perspective. Slate’s Donna feels grounded in something incredibly relatable and real, as does the movie’s handling of its hot button plot points. Slate and Lacy have so much effortless charm and chemistry that they’re hard to resist. Now, will someone warm my butter, cuddle with me and watch Gone with the Wind? Thanks.
Directed by Jennie Livingston // ⏱ 83 mins // 📅 2014 // 🎭 Romantic-Comedy
📺 Buy or Rent: Prime Video | iTunes | YouTube
In movie newsRIP Max von Sydow
Yesterday, we said goodbye to one of cinema’s greats, Max von Sydow. The Swedish actor was 90. Here are some of his greatest roles (🚨 bonus recommendations abound):
I was first introduced to von Sydow in The Exorcist. The William Friedkin-directed horror is one of my favorite movies and the most enduring image (above) is of von Sydow’s Father Lankester Merrin standing in front of the MacNeil home preparing to save a girl’s life.
His performance is so alluring and commanding that you’re convinced he’s the hero — it takes a greater actor not to be.
Later on his career, he starred in Steven Spielberg’s cyberpunk crime film Minority Report. Where he was an integral part of a classic film noir plot twist that left me reeling when I was a kid.
However, he will always be known as Antonius Block, the knight that literally plays Death in Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. Von Sydow is one of the most instantly recognizable actors and Bergman uses that unforgettable face to great use. His performance showed so much promise and he didn’t let us down.
My take: We lose giants from our screens every year. This one just hurts a little more.
That’s all for today! Stay safe and healthy.
See you on Thursday!
Karl (@karl_delo)