Teen comedy Booksmart is the slightly unexpected directorial debut for actress Olivia Wilde. Playing like a grungier Romy and Michelle and an indie American Pie with touches of Superbad, the film explores teen high school rituals in a refreshingly honest, insightful and ballsy manner. The film sees nerd besties Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Deaver) preparing to crown their
Read moreDid television clowns Zig and Zag really break the King Street bridge while trying to crack a coconut? Who would have succeeded King Edward the Second if he’d been Irish?
These and many other questions are answered by “Historical John” in this podcast from the 8 July 2019 edition of “A Newsman and his Music” on 88.3 Southern FM.
As any film fan who has seen the trailer would realise, The Hustle is a remake of 80’s comedy classic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels which starred Michael Caine and Steve Martin and was itself a remake of the 1964 film Bedtime Story which featured David Niven and Marlon Brando (in an intentional comic role). Notably, The Hustle has a gender flip
Read moreBefitting its innocuous title, Book Club, the directorial debut for Walk in the Woods writer Bill Holderman, is a wafer thin but amiable senior citizen rom-com. The film would probably evaporate if not for its wonderful all-star cast which features Dianne Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen as well as Craig T. Nelson, Richard Dreyfus, Ed Begley Jr
Read moreFrench film Ces’t La Vie is supposedly a comedy but works better as a study in workplace chaos. Set amid an elaborate wedding reception in the sprawling gardens of a French chateau, the film sees catering company boss and ring master Max (Jean-Pierre Bacri) desperately try to control an endless stream of disasters. Staff flirt with guests, people suffer food
Read moreAnyone familiar with the films of New Zealand director Taika Waititi will recognise his idiosyncratic style: low budget and aesthetically minimalist with extremely droll piss-taking humour, absurdist depictions of everyday life and affectionate oddball characters. This is almost the house style for his company, Piki Films and it carries through to their latest effort The Breaker-Upperers which, for about half its
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