Blue Jay (2016)

After watching and really enjoying Paddleton, I decided to check out more from the Duplass brothers and Alex Lehmann. That's when I stumbled upon Blue Jay and, since it sounded interesting and the cast appealed me, I checked it out (more than a month later because I'm terrible at this). 

The film follows Jim (Mark Duplass) and Amanda (Sarah Paulson), two high school sweethearts who meet by chance for the first time in years when they both go back to their California hometown. They seem very awkward at first as they don't have much to say to each other, but once they get to talking, and decide to spend some time at Jim's old house, they fall back into the past as if nothing has changed between them.

The story is very simple, so simple there's barely a story and the chances of it being dull were pretty high. Fortunately, Blue Jay immediately generates our interest as it's clear from the beginning that Jim and Amanda share a troubled past, and keep us engaged for its entire running time as we wait for the secret to be unveiled. In addition, it shies away from the predictable, clichéd romantic territory I was expecting it to fall into, as it turns out to be a very realistic, everyday kind of drama.

It's the actors though that get the job done. First of all, Mark Duplass and Sarah Paulson have such strong, beautiful, magic chemistry that makes the relationship between Jim and Amanda incredibly genuine. Second, they both give great performances —Duplass he plays the role of Jim, a sensitive, normal guy, in such a natural way, Paulson plays the role of Amanda, a woman who is almost impossible to read, with so much tenderenss— and they both capture the playfulness and vulnerability of two people who used to mean the world for each other. And they are wonderful at improvising —Duplass is credited as the screenwriter but there wasn't an actual script, only a draft and he and Paulson did the rest.

The Orchard, Netflix

At last but not least there's Alex Lehmann's cinematography. It is simple and yet beautifully breathtaking, the black and white wonderfully conveys an atmosphere of nostalgia that complements incredibly well Jim and Amanda's past and present, each frame is perfect and shot in a way that it almost feels claustrophobic, as if you were stuck in the film with the characters, and enhances that feeling of intimacy that the actors bring to the screen.

Paddleton (2019)

When I first saw Paddleton on my Netflix homepage, I thought, oh god, another Netflix original that will probably suck, and I skipped it. Days later, I was wandering on IMDb and I stumbled upon it, the rating was pretty good —7.2— so I checked it out. 

The film follows Andy (Ray Romano) and his neighbour and friend Michael (Mark Duplass) who, in the opening scene, learns that he has terminal cancer. Forced to weigh his options and not wanting to let the illness take him, Michael opts for prescribed suicide and asks Andy to help him to it.

As you have probably guessed, Paddleton isn't a plot-heavy film as there isn't anything else other than the short synopsis above. That said, the story is such a beautiful one, one of the most touching of the year so far as it's a poignant story of a friendship between two lonely men, a simple story that gets to you as it slowly unfolds and makes you feel like you're part of it, like you're going through the same journey as the characters.

Which brings me to the best part of Paddleton, the characters. Andy and Michael are two kind of quirky, awkward people presented as two ordinary men because that's what they are. There's nothing extraordinary about them, nothing that makes them worthy of being main characters, some people would say as they aren't particularly interesting —actuall, they are pretty insignificant. It's their simplicity, their normality that makes them real, believable and makes you care about them as much as they care for each other.

Mark Duplass and director Alex Lehmann sure did a great job writing the script, but the film wouldn't be the same if the actors didn't do such a good job. Mark Duplass is great as Michael with a calm, never over-the-top performance. Ray Romano is the standout though as he's able to deliver humour and plenty of emotions —and seeing him sad is one of the saddest things ever. And the chemistry between them is excellent.

Netflix

If you are one of those people who skipped this afraid of it being another bland Netflix original, please give it a shot and you won't regret it as Paddleton is a bittersweet, emotional, poignant film with natural dialogue —most of it is improvised—, natural performances and a good balance of awkwardness, humour and seriousness. A beautiful, touching and honest portrayal of friendship.

Tully (2018)

I watched Young Adult a while back and I didn't love it. It wasn't terrible but I sure didn't find it as good as Jason Reitman's previous movies. In spite of that and the fact that both Young Adult and Tully star Charlize Theron, I decided to give it a chance.

The film follows Marlo (Charlize Theron), a wife and mother of three, including a newborn baby, who is going through postpartum depression and is exhausted of having to take care of the kids all the time. When her brother Craig (Mark Duplass) offers the gift of a night nanny, though reluctant at first, she accepts which brings a young nanny named Tully (Mackenzie Davis) in her home. She and Marlo hit it off immediately and a very unusual relationship develops between the two women.

That's all I'm gonna tell you and all you need to know about Tully's plot. Without spoiling anything, I can tell you that the plot is simple and yet incredibly compelling and captivating and that it has an ending twist that will make you think. Tully's is a realist and intimate story about motherhood that shows how hard, exhausting and even impossible at times can be, but also shows that, ultimately, it is very rewarding. It is a deep and quite uncomfortable portrayal of motherhood.

In addition to that, Tully has character(s) you really care for. While the supporting characters are pretty thin --you barely notice Mark Duplass's Craig, Marlo's brother, and Ron Livingston's Drew, Marlo's husband--, Marlo is one of the most, if not the most interesting character of 2018. She is a woman who is trying to be a good wife to her absent husband and a good mom to her precocious but smart 8-year-old daughter, her quirky 6-year-old son who constantly needs attention --he's probably autistic-- and her newborn that basically cries all the time. She is exhausted, physically and emotionally drained as she also has to deal with her postpartum body that does not recognize as her own. Charlize Theron gives yet another fantastic performance. Not only she physically committed to the role by gaining 50lbs to understand better what Marlo was going through, but she gives such a realistic and haunting performance as Marlo. Everything she does or says, you believe it.

Focus Features

Another great performance comes from Mackenzie Davis. She is terrific as the free-spirited and insightful night nanny Tully, and her vibrant and refreshing presence is a real blast. Also, she shares a wonderful chemistry with Charlize Theron and, with the relationship between Marlo and Tully being the core of the film, it really helps keep the movie going.

Tully is also filled with clever, hilarious and realistic dialogue. Throughout very interesting, it gets even more gripping when it leans into the mundanity of family life. At last, director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody, at their third collaboration, do a wonderful job in balancing the dramatic and humorous aspects of the story. They do an excellent job especially when it comes to finding humour in situations you wouldn't normally find humorous.

3 Romantic Comedies That Don't Suck

Hollywood has now given such a bad name to romantic comedies, it's essentially thrown in the towel and stopped making them. (Go ahead: try naming one successful studio-made rom-com from the last couple of years.) For some people that may not be a terrible loss, but I'm not one of them. I'll always enjoy a clever, truly funny rom-com�hold the schmaltz�and I'm sure there are other manly folk out there who secretly like to watch couples meet cute, fight, then make up while we grin foolishly and pretend there's soot in our eye.

That's where independent filmmakers are able to pick up the slack. In place of stratospheric budgets, exotic locations, or superpowered special effects, romantic comedies demand little more than a solid script, a likable, talented cast, deft direction, and an ability to breathe freshness into situations we've all seen a thousand times. A tall order, certainly, but one that, like any good indie, can be achieved for the price of a digital camera and a cast and crew willing to subsist on pizza, bagels, and passion.

Sure, the results can be as bad and predictable as anything starring Katherine Heigl or Kate Hudson (*shudder*). But there are also unheralded gems able to climb their way out of the streaming indie muck (for examples, see my reviews of Stuck Between Stations, Cashback, and In a World). Some of these combine a surprising level of star power, professionalism, and originality, and are more than worthy additions to a genre all but abandoned by the studios who invented it. I'm not saying any of the below titles are the next It Happened One Night, When Harry Met Sally, or Silver Linings Playbook, but each offers its own unique take on the pitfalls of finding love in the modern world.

Save the Date (2012)

Lizzy Caplan, Mark Webber

Despite its generic, rom-com-sounding title (ugh, not another wedding movie!), Save the Date still had me wondering how bad a film starring Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, and Martin Starr could possibly be. The answer, it turned out, was, "Not bad at all." As representatives (joint and otherwise) of three very funny cult comedy series�Freaks and Geeks, Party Down, and Community�the three stars promised to deliver at least a few laughs (and of course it's never hard to watch Ms. Caplan or Ms. Brie, who hit a sweet spot of smart/funny/gorgeous that can warp the faculties of even the harshest critic).

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Expiration Watch: SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED

There have been movies based on books, plays, TV shows, news articles and even songs. But Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) must be the first to have been spawned from a classified ad. Granted, as classified ads go, this one was a doozy:

Published in the pages of a ruralist magazine back in 1997, the notice went on to gain notoriety on the Internet as well as on Jay Leno's The Tonight Show. Even before its authorship and veracity were finally accounted for in 2010, its core idea piqued the interest of screenwriter Derek Connolly and director Colin Trevorrow, who decided to create their own backstory for the ad's mysterious author and spin from it a gently romantic tale. The result was a scruffy, high-concept indie comedy, one sadly scheduled to leave Netflix on August 12 (at 11:59 P.M., for those watching the clock).

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